That's not the only bombshell that Marvin drops that week, believe it or not.

"I want you to meet them," he says almost as soon as he walks in the door. He's been coming over a lot after work, I suppose because his wife isn't expecting him to be home much anymore.

I give him a blank look. "Who's 'them'?"

He sighs. "Trina. And Jason."

Jason. After a beat I realize that's his kid. He wants me to meet his family. The family he just left for me. What. The. Fuck.

He must see my reluctance, because he quickly continues. "Look. I know it's not ideal, but if this..." —he gestures to me, to us, to the unspoken of— "is going to go anywhere, I want you to be a part of his life." And I know by "his," he's specifically referring to Jason.

"I don't know if I'm ready for that," I say hesitantly. And then, because we're being honest, I ask him the question I've been wanting to ask him all week. "Did you tell your wife... Trina... about me?"

Marvin pauses. "Yes," he answers. "Yes, I did. A few weeks ago." So, before the divorce. I don't know when it was, but I don't ask any further. "She said she wasn't surprised, but I guess she never expected..." And he doesn't have to say it, because we both know what he means.

"So...?"

"So... what?"

"Does she want to meet me too?"

He looks uncomfortable. "I haven't spoken to her about it yet."

I'm sure if Trina had her way, she would never meet me. She probably hates me. And the kid. I mean, Jason. I doubt Marvin or Trina even told him about me, or about the divorce, or any of it. I saw him, only a few weeks ago, in the store. He was young. Probably too young to comprehend all of this.

"So."

"Can you stop saying 'so'?" Marvin asks me.

"I want to meet your wife first."

He raises his eyebrows. "Wait, you really want to do this?"

No. "Yes. If I'm going to meet your family—" ex-family— "I want to get to know her before the two of you put this on the poor kid. Unless you already have."

"No, we haven't told Jason. He's only ten. I can't imagine how he would take it." He chuckles a little, but it's not sincere, and neither of us are looking at each other. "But... sure. I'll ask her."

She'll say no. And then I won't have to do this. I never thought I would say this, but I almost miss the days we would sneak around behind his wife's back, unbeknownst to anyone but us.

Trina wants to meet me. I'm surprised. Not just surprised, terrified. I can't even worry about making a good first impression, because her first impression of me was when Marvin told her about his affair. I am already doomed.

"It's going to be okay," Marvin assures, since he can tell how nervous I am.

"How did she react? When you asked her to meet me?"

"Well. She wasn't in love with the idea." Obviously. "But we had a long talk about it last night, and she said that it might be better for the both of us if she knew this person I've been telling her about."

He's been telling her about me. And she wants to know me. And I don't know if that's good or bad, but we're in the car, and I'm going to be inside Marvin's house, with him and his wife.

Jason is at school today. I can tell by the missing pair of shoes in the front hall, and the papers scattered across the coffee table, likely forgotten homework. I stand up straight and try to look more professional. How professional can you really be, I wonder, in a meeting with your boyfriend(?)'s ex-wife?

And there she is. I recognize the face from the store, but she looks more tired, and she's wearing less makeup now. Her eye bags are visible and she has stress lines on her forehead. I want to turn back, but Marvin is standing behind me, so I don't.

I'm grateful when he speaks for me. "This is Whizzer."

Trina looks up at me, a worn-out smile taking its place on her face. "Come in."

The three of us are sitting at the kitchen table, and nobody is speaking. Trina has her chin in her hands, covering her mouth. She's looking at both me and Marvin. I spot a fruit bowl in the middle of the table, but it would be rude to take one.

"I'm glad that you took the time to come here, Whizzer," Trina says finally. "I know things are... complicated right now."

I nod. I feel like a kid again, on the first day of kindergarten, unprepared as the teacher calls on me to introduce myself to the class. My tongue is dry.

Marvin runs a hand through his hair. "Trina, I understand that this might be—"

She immediately waves her hand at him. "No, no, it's okay."

It does not feel okay.

"How long have you two..." she pauses. "...known one another?"

"About eight months," Marvin answers. Trina clamps her lips together and nods.

"How long were you two together?" I ask her before I can stop myself.

She looks back at me. "Fifteen years."

Oh. Okay.

This had to happen at some point. Of course it had to happen at some point. They're getting divorced, but I'm guessing they'll still be co-parenting. It's weird to think about. This whole ordeal is weird to think about. And I'm still thinking about it, and about how weird it is, when the front door slams shut.

Trina freezes, but before she can say anything, the kid walks into the kitchen. Where I am. In plain sight. I see him taking it in, and his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Jason, honey," Trina speaks, standing up. "What are you doing home?"

"It's early dismissal today," he says quietly. "I took the bus." He looks up at me. "Who's that?"

He's shy. I can tell by the way he shifts his gaze when I return it, the way he fidgets uncomfortably with his backpack straps. Marvin clears his throat to answer.

"This is my friend, Whizzer."

Friend. Right. They haven't told Jason about the divorce, about anything. I get up from the table and crouch in front of him so I'm at his level.

"Hi, Jason," I say, and he recoils. "I've heard a lot about you. It's nice to finally meet you." I awkwardly stick out my hand for him to shake it, and hesitantly he does.

"Can I go up to my room now?" he asks, looking at Trina, who nods. He quickly hurries away and I hear feet clamoring up the stairs. Trina sits back down, her face in her hands, and lets out a long sigh.

"I'm sorry," I say, even though Jason coming home wasn't my doing, but I feel like the rest of it somehow is. "I wasn't expecting to meet him today..."

"It's all right," Trina replies. Marvin sits there still, staring at the table.

I glance toward the door. If there was any time to leave, it should be now. "I think we're going to get going. Lovely to meet you Trina." I think we can both tell how thick I'm laying it on. "Nice house. Come on, Marvin."

So we leave. In the car, I'm leaning against the window, trying to take in everything that happened in the short time we were there.

"Look, Whizzer, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for him to—"

"Don't worry," I cut him off. "I'm glad I got to meet him." I muster a smile. "Kid's pretty shy."

Marvin nods silently. "Well. I know everything is... crazy. Right now. But Trina and I will get the divorce finalized, and we'll talk to Jason, and..." He trails off. Does he think everything's going to be fine? Because it's not.

"It was nice to, uh, meet your wife, too."

"Yeah." He inhales sharply. "She's, um. She's seen you before."

I stare at him blankly. The grocery store?

"She walked in on us. That one time. Do you remember?"

No, I don't remember. I'm pretty sure I would remember if Marvin's wife walked in on us. He says that it was at his house, the den. Trina only came in for a split second, but in that split second, both of them were very aware of what was going on. And either I've erased that moment from my memory or I just hadn't noticed, because everything he's telling me is new— and horrifying.

"Wait, so—"

"She already knew about you before I told her," he sighs. "We just... we finally talked about it, and that's when we decided to get the divorce."

Oh, my God. She must hate me even more now.