The Heat – Part 1

The heat

“When I feel the heat, I see the light.”
― Everett Dirksen

Part 1

Century City, Los Angeles – August 2006

“Alex! Did you help your siblings put their shoes on?”

The answer was absolute chaos, some giggling and clearly something crashing to the floor.

Michael frowned and glanced at his watch. It was almost four in the afternoon and he had to deliver the kids back to Lisa within an hour. If they left now, they would probably be able to be only slightly late – which would be enough to piss her off. Maybe such a scenario would have been acceptable in different circumstances, but not on a day that also involved a meeting with their lawyer to discuss some details about their joint custody. Today, he really had to make sure that Lisa was in her best possible mood if he wanted things to go his way.

Sighing, he rose from his chair and walked out of his home office. He detested being distracted by work when the children were with him, but given that his last show in Vegas was planned for the end of the year, and then it would finally be a wrap, people from his camp were already losing their shit over various schedules and specifications, even the most trivial ones. To the point that some of them felt entitled to call him despite knowing well that he had taken a few days off to fly back home and be with his family. Unbelievable!

Well… They would have to stop bothering him for now. He already had way too much on his plate to think about them too. For a while, the world would have to keep going without his help.

Those were the thoughts swirling in Michael’s mind as he turned off his cell phone – the one he only used for business – and carelessly threw it on the little table in the hall. That was it for today. He would turn it on again tomorrow, after he was done with the stuff he had to deal with. Personal stuff.

Entering the kids’ bedroom, he noticed right away that there was absolutely nothing he could do to save the little porcelain carillon carousel. It was in pieces on the floor. Then, right on cue, whatever yapping had been going on came to a screeching halt and the children just stood there, staring at their dad.

Michael sighed again, scratching the back of his neck.

“Hey… what happened? Are you guys okay?”

Little Emma immediately flew into his arms. Well – she clung to his legs because, after all, she was still so tiny. She was only four and she was also his little princess. His heart melted.

“It wasn’t me, daddy! I didn’t broke it!”

“I didn’t break it…” He picked her up and she hid her face in the crook of his neck.

“…Break it.”

He kissed her head and noticed that she was wearing only one of her little sandals. Emma’s twin brother, Jacob, was sitting on the floor – feet naked, staring up at him as he sucked on his bottom lip. And Alexander, Michael and Lisa’s firstborn son, looked like someone who knew he had messed up. At ten years of age, he was starting to realize the implications of not being able to perform a task and, even though Michael didn’t want him to feel embarrassed or ashamed about it, they surely had to fix this thing – and quick.

Michael’s eyebrows rose as he and Alex stared at each other for a moment.

“Dad, I tried. But I can’t find their shoes. They’re nowhere.”

“Is that why the carousel fell from the dresser?”

“Yeah. I was trying to move it and see if, by any chance, those shoes were…”

“Toybox.”

Emma murmured the word very clearly, but shyly – almost in a whisper.

“What, baby?” Michael turned his head and tried to intercept her gaze. She stared back at him with those eyes that were a carbon copy of Lisa’s. Her head was still leaning against his shoulder and she was sucking her thumb, a habit that she had developed right after Michael and Lisa – mom and dad – had separated. “What did you just say?”

“It’s in the pirate toy box.”

“What is in the toy box?”

“Shoe.”

Oh. So the shoes were in that yellow thing right across the room. Amazing. Maybe they would indeed be able to leave the Hideout in five minutes or so.

“Why didn’t you tell your brothers, then?” His voice was very soft.

“I tried. They don’t listen to me. The boys never listen to me.”

“Daddy, it’s not that. We do listen to her.” Alexander had already walked over to the box, opening it, finding the missing shoes. “But when she speaks with her thumb in her mouth, it’s hard to make out what she says.”

“Then…” Michael sat Emma on the bed and then did the same with Jacob. When Alexander threw him the shoes, he caught them mid-air one by one. “…Then we’ll have to make sure you guys learn to understand her regardless. Right, Emma?”

“I don’t suck my thumb, daddy,” Jacob pointed out as he tried, as best as he could, to help his father deal with his little red sneakers.

“But your little sister does, and it’s perfectly fine. Alright?” Michael turned to Alexander who, at ten, already looked and acted like a perfect little man. “Are you ready to go, Alex?”

“Yes, I just need to get my Nintendo.”

“Great. Go get it, then, so we can leave. Mommy is waiting for you.”

Alexander the Great.

That was what had come into Michael’s mind when he had seen his son in Lisa’s arms, at the hospital. Of course, Michael had been there for the entire time, he had never left Lisa’s side during the delivery, but that had been the very first time that he had been able to take a good look at their baby, all cleaned up and serene, asleep in his mommy’s arms. As soon as he had laid eyes on him, Michael had felt it in his soul that this kid would do great things in his life. And so he had told Lisa that, even though they had considered an entirely different name for their firstborn, in his opinion Alexander was the best fit.

“You know what?” Her eyes fixed on the newborn, Lisa had taken a moment to think things through. Then she had looked up at Michael, whose face showed all the barely contained ecstasy he felt. “I think I get where you come from. And I think I understand why you think it’s the perfect name. It is.”

God, she had looked so beyond gorgeous that day. Exhausted, yes, but still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. She was his wife, his soulmate and now, finally, also the mother of his child. Even now, ten years later and despite so much water under the bridge, the mere memory of that moment still made him feel as he was still stuck there. In that place and time, where things seemed perfect and immutable.

Well, ten years later, he also knew that life was far from immutable and certainly it was far from perfect. If anything, it was unpredictable. Even in a relatively recent past, had he been asked if he thought his marriage would end soon, he would have laughed in the face of anyone spouting such nonsense. No, not in a million years. He and Lisa weren’t like that. They weren’t like other people. They had went through heaven and hell together and had survived.

But it had happened. They had separated one year earlier and, in the past twelve months or so, had done their best to manage their new lives and the complexities and trickeries of co-parenting, all while trying to keep their relationship with each other civil. For the kids. And for the immense respect and love they still felt for each other.

However, today was one of those uncommon occasions when their favorite lawyer – Alan, a friend of both – would have to step in and offer his advice because it didn’t matter how much they tried, Michael and Lisa just couldn’t agree on something. He wouldn’t relent and she wouldn’t give in, and they were stuck. The only thing that made sense was to meet with Alan later that evening, and discuss the whole matter in a confidential manner and setting. The last thing they wanted – and the most crucial thing they had been able to avoid so far – was to have actual courts involved.

Of course, at one point the news of their separation had inevitably reached the press and the media had rejoiced, reveled in Lisa’s and Michael’s misery and, most of all, made tons of money with their headlines and clickbait articles on the internet. As usual, the whole media industry was ruthless and devoid of any basic human empathy or decency: someone’s fall always managed to be someone else’s personal victory.

Michael and Lisa had just kept a low profile, avoiding the paparazzi as much as they could. It hadn’t always been possible and something had leaked about the shared custody of their kids, about Michael’s mindless flings while he was busy in Vegas and – most of all – about Lisa’s short-lived affair with Billy, the stupid entrepreneur. But other than that, over twelve years of marriage – because they were technically still married – had taught them how to avoid the biggest booby traps. Which meant that, at the moment, the press was letting them be, or sort of.

After all, Michael had become a boring superstar. Married for over a decade, kids on his own – nobody going after him with some bullshit claims – knock on wood. Nothing but his residency in Vegas to take care of. Life would have been truly perfect, or at least as close to perfect as it could be, if only his marriage hadn’t ended up crumbling like a sandcastle. But still, after a while the press had gotten bored with that too. It was not salacious enough for their meager standards. Abysmal, really.

However, all things considered Michael had no doubt that the buzz would start again the moment the paps got a whiff of what was going on now. Some major changes, that was for sure. Stuff that was way too yummy to be ignored. If Lisa left, the press would notice.

Emma was clinging to his hand as they slowly walked over to the front door of Lisa’s mansion, at Hidden Hills. That house that, up until one year earlier, Michael had also considered his home. Trying not to get carried away by too many melancholic thoughts, he had to pay attention that little Jacob didn’t fall face down on the lawn as he ran around the garden like a maniac.

“Cubby! Slow down… Come on, buddy. Come here.”

The little kid, who sported a lot of his mama’s stubborn and defiant personality, at first just ignored him. Michael stopped and noticed that Alex, too, was waiting for the three of them near the door.

“Jacob…”

Michael’s voice was calm and serene, but was also not the kind of voice any of his kids would ignore. The twin stopped running lopsidedly and, giggling, walked back to his dad.

“Good. Take your sister’s hand. Come on, we gotta go now.”

“I wanna play.”

“Well, then you’re gonna ask mommy to play with you in the garden, but she doesn’t know you’re here yet. So she has to see you first, right?”

“Right…” Despite nodding his head, Jacob didn’t seem convinced in the slightest.

Michael smiled and glanced over at Alexander who, right on cue, reached for the doorbell.

The door opened before he could really do anything and Lisa appeared in the door frame. She smiled at her son and pulled him into her arms, then she glanced up and noticed Michael. Her smile seemed to falter for a moment, but she recovered pretty quickly. She had become quite good at this, and yet he could sense her slight insecurity whenever he would appear.

Yeah… he knew that she expected the nanny, and not him, to deliver the kids. He also knew that he wasn’t supposed to be there that much, especially given what had happened a few weeks earlier, when Emma had gotten sick with the flu. But Michael hadn’t needed the nanny at all that day, and he was more than happy to spend up until his last minute with his children. And to be quite honest, seeing Lisa after weeks of scarce phone communications wasn’t half bad either. He missed her…

“Hey…”

“Hey yourself… You should have called…”

She didn’t look mad. Just surprised.

“Why?” He glanced over at his watch. “Are we late? Nope, we’re perfectly on time.”

“No, I know. I just wasn’t expecting to see you and… Whoa! Careful, Cub!”

The little boy’s nickname was more than appropriate.

Jacob ran past his mother and straight into the house, almost knocking her off in his mad dash. He was always a little bundle of energy and, at times, he could be quite the little bully. But really, he was just very vital and energetic, and stubborn as all get-out. A perfect concoction of his parents’ most prominent personality traits.

Emma, on the other hand, was sweetness personified. She first ran into her mom’s arms and held onto her, then changed her mind and flew back to Michael, who immediately picked her up and held her close. She truly was her daddy’s girl and, out of their three kids, she was the one who had been hurting the most because of her parents’ separation.

“Daddy… can you stay? With me and mommy and Cubby and Alex.” She looked up and her little chin trembled. Her eyes, a beautiful concoction of blue and green, shone with tears, yet he could tell that she didn’t want to cry. “Please, don’t go.”

Now, this was the tricky part. To be right there, in a place that still felt like home, surrounded by all the people that meant the world to him – his son, the twins, and his wife – and having to leave. His heart broke.

“I have to go. But I promise you, little Princess, that I will come back soon. You won’t even notice I’m not here.”

“But you’re not!” Emma shook her head and sent her dark curls flying. “Stay here, Daddy.”

Michael sighed and his eyes met Lisa’s. She looked sad, lost. And, frankly, defeated. Clearing her throat, she stepped forward and gently rubbed Emma’s back.

“Emma, baby… I tell you what. What if Daddy comes back tomorrow morning so he can make you breakfast? He has to go back to work now, but you’ll see him again very soon, I promise.” She kissed her head. “Give him a kiss and then go say hello to Julie. She’s waiting for you in the living room.”

Julie was the babysitter. A gentle, nerdy university student who had the power to calm down all the kids and engage them in every kind of activity, including the most peaceful ones. Michael had only met her once, but knew that Lisa had selected her well. He trusted her instinct as a mother.

Emma kissed him on the cheek and he put her back down, waving at her and waiting until she disappeared into the house. Alexander too was nowhere to be seen. The boys had gotten used to the new routine, and most of the time they didn’t even say goodbye to their dad, knowing well that he would be back soon. Emma was different, however. She needed constant reassurance. She needed to be reminded that, as much as things had changed, they hadn’t changed enough for her to get worried. She was terrified that her beloved daddy would disappear, and Michael and Lisa did all they could to help her cope with her fears.

They found themselves alone in the garden.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you beforehand. I didn’t even think… we were slightly late on our schedule. We had a shoe problem.”

“A shoe problem?”

“Yeah… And the solution was in a pirate chest.”

Lisa laughed, a bit nervously.

“Whatever. I don’t even wanna know the specifics. It’s fine, though. I was just surprised, that’s all.”

“I know… So… um…” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, realizing that he was a bit entranced himself by this sudden closeness. So to speak. “Am I gonna see you in about three hours at Alan’s office, then?”

“Yes… Of course. That’s the plan.”

He just took a moment to truly look at her, and she, at him.

It was a hot summer day and there was something in the way the late afternoon’s sun touched her face, her hair. It was as if she was sparkling with some magical dust coming straight from the sky – like a reflection of the Milky Way. Her hair was longer and lighter lately, and she was tanned, fit. However, her eyes were a bit remote, sad. Michael could always see when Lisa was happy, and that spark just wasn’t there. It hadn’t been there in quite some time. However, she still remained the most gorgeous woman in the world for him.

“Hey, Lise… I was just thinking… Why can’t I just stay here until then? You know, for a couple of hours…” He blushed, not wanting her to think that his proposal was somehow indecent. Even though he would have loved to be indecent with her. “I can help you and Julie with the kids. And then we can drive over to Alan’s with my car, together.”

She smirked.

“Two cars instead of one? Are you worried about the environment?”

He had to laugh.

“Always. You know me.”

Silence followed. Then Lisa sighed.

“No, Mike. You can’t stay here. You know the rules.”

Right… he did. Of course. How could he forget about the rules that had been punctuating his days for the past twelve months or so? And yet, he and Lisa had bent those rules just fine only a few weeks earlier, when Emma was sick with that tonsillitis and hadn’t been able to tolerate her father leaving. And so he had stayed, up until late at night until she had finally fallen asleep.

And then, on his way out, he and Lisa had done more than bend the rules. In fact, they had kissed and he had bent her over the dresser in the foyer, and had filled her and fucked her in a way that had made them both forget they weren’t supposed to act that way any longer. Even now, neither one of them had been able to talk about it or the reasons that had brought them closer again, if only for just a moment. Not yet, at least. But what was clear was that it was not supposed to go that way, and in fact, afterward, Lisa had sent him home. Nothing of that sort had ever happened again since then, and they had only rarely seen each other.

As a matter of fact, Michael was starting to suspect that Lisa was avoiding him on purpose.

His head dropped and he let out a long breath.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll see you later in Westlake, then…”

“Yeah, you sure will.” She moved her hand vaguely, maybe to reach out and touch him, but then it fell by her side. “…Later, Michael.”

They just stood there, facing each other, for just another moment. As if both wanted to say something, but neither one of the two could muster up the courage to go there. And then, Lisa turned and left. Michael could only watch his wife go back into the mansion they had shared for over a decade and close the door behind her back.

That man should have come with a warning, because his scent alone had about made her lose her mind the very moment she had gotten way too close to him to feel safe. And, in fact, she hadn’t been immune from his charm at all.

For the past couple of hours, while she first took care of the kids – who, each in their own way, were nothing but she and Michael’s mini-mes – and then took a cab over to Alan’s office, all Lisa could think about was what had happened just a few weeks earlier, when Emma’s high fever had ended up causing a mess in her parents’ already complicated separation. Being alone with Michael again for the first time since that night had brought back memories, that was for sure.

The bottom line was that breaking up with someone you were still madly in love with was no laughing matter. It was hell. And when you had the chance to taste a bit of heaven, or be reminded of what heaven tasted like, then the bowels of desperation could become even deeper and darker.

That fateful night, after they had made love in the foyer, it had been necessary to ask Michael to leave. And certainly not because she hadn’t wanted him to stay… but because him staying and never leaving again was what she had needed the most.

Right now, as Lisa listened to their very good friend Alan try to evaluate the pros and cons of hers and Michael’s point of view in the current subject matter, her mind kept drifting away. She just couldn’t help it. Maybe sitting next to him, across the lawyer’s desk, hadn’t been the brightest idea.

Still brighter than jumping him while he was on his way out, that night. God, woman. What were you thinking?

Great. Now even her own inner voice was scolding her and reminding her what a glutton for punishment she was.

Well, the truth was that she had no idea of the reasons why it had happened. Maybe it was for all the reasons in the world, or maybe for none at all. She just knew that the evening had been hectic and stressful, and that she had been so worried about Emma. Of course, Michael had been too, and the pediatrician coming over, telling them that it was nothing serious and the kid would be better soon, had only been able to reassure them mildly.

“It’s just tonsillitis. It’s a very common childhood illness, nothing to be concerned about. Emma will be fine soon.”

“Well, she feels really sick right now.”

Of course, Michael had felt the need to put his two cents in. The doctor had smiled at him in a very compassionate manner.

“She sure does, because she has a high temperature and she’s very tired. And probably because she can feel how worried you and Lisa are, and that makes everything worse for her. But these are very normal symptoms, Michael. The glands in her neck aren’t swollen and her ears are fine. Which means that she’ll be perfectly fine in three to four days max.”

The doctor had just written down a prescription for paracetamol and had told Michael and Lisa to make sure that little Emma got plenty of rest and sipped cool drinks to soothe her sore throat.

Rationally speaking, there really was nothing to be all worried about because the pediatrician was right. Being a mom, Lisa had experienced plenty of tonsillitis and sore throats with Riley and Ben, and even Alexander had gone through something similar just a couple of years earlier. However, she understood why Michael was a tad bit more upset than usual, this time. He didn’t live at Hidden Hills anymore, and that deprived him of the control he needed to feel safe and comforted. After all, he wasn’t able to be around his children as much as he wanted – which meant all the time – despite sharing a very civil joint custody with Lisa, and that was extremely distressful to him.

And because of that – and also because of Emma’s endearing insistence – Lisa had allowed him to stay for hours, way longer than their agreement entailed, just sitting next to their daughter, holding her tiny hand and reassuring her that everything would be fine.

She too had been there most of the night, alternating her presence between Emma and Jacob’s room and Alexander’s.

“Hey… What about Cubby? He can’t sleep here,” Michael had asked at one point, while Emma was finally starting to doze off. “We don’t want him to get this thing.”

“No, of course. He’s already snoring in my… in our bed.”

He had smiled, sadly, his eyes looking down at his own hand, still holding Emma’s. Minutes had passed.

“Hey, look… She’s finally out like a light.” He had glanced over at the clock on the wall. “I, ah… I better get going… It’s almost one in the morning…”

“Yeah… I don’t want your back to be all sore tomorrow because you spent the night on that tiny chair.”

“Don’t worry about me…I’ll be fine.”

The moment had felt so odd, so unlike them.

Lisa had walked him downstairs and to the door as if he was some sort of guest, and they hadn’t spoken much on his way out. Just trivial stuff that hadn’t been able to cut the tension one bit. The truth was that having him close, knowing that he too was there, with his family, where he was supposed to be, was painful and relieving in equal parts to Lisa. She wanted him to go and she wanted him to stay with the same intensity.

Michael had stopped near the door, in the foyer.

“Well, then…” He had exhaled a deep breath as his eyes finally locked with hers. “You promise you’ll call me if anything happens?”

“Nothing is gonna happen, Mike. She’ll be fine before we even know it.”

“Alright, then. Promise me you’ll call me first thing tomorrow, when she wakes up?”

“Of course. I’ll let you know how she is…”

More lead-heavy silence.

Honest to God, she still didn’t know what had happened next, exactly. If she had made the first move or he had.

What she did know, was that he had at first kissed her on the cheek. Just a chaste little goodbye kiss that had made her skin tingle – given how deprived of his touch she felt. And maybe that had been their mistake, so to speak. Perhaps he shouldn’t have kissed her at all. Because ten seconds later, her tongue was in his mouth and his hands were already under her t-shirt. And from that point on, they had been utterly unable to stop.

It had all been incredibly quiet and yet incredibly hot. So different compared to the last months before their separation, when he had mainly been away from home, in Vegas, for his residency. Too wrapped up in his creative vision to realize that he and Lisa were drifting apart. Until remaining together, both shackled to something that was nothing but a pale imitation of what they used to have, had become no longer feasible.

Yet, that night, in the foyer, everything had seemed more than possible again. How long since he had been so incredibly turned on, to the point that she had seen his hands shaking? Her memory was substantially a blur, overwhelmed by the storm of sensations – physical and otherwise – that she had been experiencing.

Heavy breathing, whispered words, the rustling of fabric being pushed aside. Buttons popping open, sounds of kisses, zippers being pulled down… and certainly a thong being ripped off. The urgency had been palpable and they hadn’t lost a minute – maybe because they knew that, if one of them had stopped, they both would have had time to think about what they were doing and about the inevitable implications of it. They would have had the chance to stop, and that was not what they wanted.

“Woman… You don’t know what you do to me… You just don’t know…”

He was like a dragon breathing fire on her. He had whispered, panted those words in the crook of her neck, after turning her around, his arms closing around her and pulling her close to his body. Well… she definitely had been able to feel what she did to him at that very moment, but she had loved to hear his voice reminding her in that deep, husky tone she had once lived for.

“Show me… show me what I do to you…”

Her words, equally whispered like some hushed secret, had sounded both like a challenge and an admission of utter defeat. Right then and there, she hadn’t cared one bit about what he would think of her.

Michael had reacted immediately and had bent her over the dresser, her ass jutting out to him. Of course, she had opposed no resistance because what he was doing was exactly what she wanted. What she needed and had implicitly asked for. The contrast between the cold surface and her feverish skin had made her shiver, and she had reached back, skillfully freeing him from his pants while he pushed her skirt up her naked thighs, caressed her skin, stroked her ass. Glancing up, she had found herself in the mirror at the opposite side of the foyer, like a window – or a camera – reflecting pretty much everything they were doing. Not allowing them to have any place to hide.

It had been almost fascinating how quick she had been at noticing every single detail in such a short time. Her own face was flushed, eyes sparkling and lips parted – she looked drugged. And Michael… well, he too looked as if he was about to lose it. She had messed him up quite well, his shirt half out of his pants, collar crooked, pants lowered on his hips and opened. His eyes too held a quality that was so different from what she had observed in the past months, since they had broken up. They looked so very, very dark. Almost opal-black. So beautiful. Irresistible, in fact.

As their eyes locked in the reflection of the mirror, she had tugged at him gently – making him very much aware that she wanted what was happening. Her eyes had closed when his fingers had touched her, caressed her, as if he needed to make sure that she was ready for what he was about to give her. Well… she was more than ready. Even though she knew that it would hurt, because it had been so long since they had made love, and up until that point she hadn’t realized how much she missed that aspect of their relationship. The longing for Michael as a whole too strong and convoluted to be discernible in all its multifaceted details, she had just been able to accept that not being with him was painful as hell. But also, that being together the way they had been before separating would have been just as excruciating.

However, at that very moment, there was nothing other than the feel of his steel against her center, the breathtaking sensation of him sinking into her inch by inch. He had taken his time making her feel just how much she wanted her. She had felt invaded, thoroughly, body and soul, in a way that was difficult to explain in a rational manner.

Unable to contain herself, she had moaned out loud and, immediately, his hand over her mouth had muffled her sounds.

“Baby… Don’t… We’re gonna wake up the kids…”

Once again, his words had been nothing but a husky murmur in her ear. And of course, his hand had been resting over her mouth in such a gentle manner that all Lisa had done was kiss his palm. He had turned her head and had found her lips, kissing her – devouring her – as he finally started to move. Making her soar. She was the riverbank and he was the dock.

It hadn’t lasted long, of course. How could it? They had felt like renegades, outsiders, former lovers that weren’t even supposed to be doing anything of that sort. Not anymore. But damn if she hadn’t been able to feel every bit of that intense, stunning pleasure. She had come once and of course, Michael hadn’t let up, ravaging her body and her soul in the sweetest possible way, until she had turned into nothing but cosmic particles, becoming one with him. Fused and indiscernible. And when she had started to climax again, he had squeezed his eyes shut – almost as if he was in pain. She had immediately understood what it meant.

“Oh, fuck… I can’t hold off… You’re gonna fucking kill me, girl…”

Never his words had sounded so sweet, as of late.

She had felt him go rigid and then pound into her, releasing the sweetest, more intimate part of himself within her body and the realization had whipped her into a frenzy, pretty much dragging her along with him.

That moment of pleasure had seemed to go on forever and oxygen had almost stopped filling her lungs. She couldn’t breathe and yet was made of pure air, weightless. That was what Michael could do to her. That was his power over her. And that was why he couldn’t stay any longer.

He had leaned against her back, breathing heavily, kissing her neck, the side of her face, her head. Repeatedly, sweetly. Such a sharp contrast with his still semi-hard member still twitching inside of her. Lisa had felt like crying and had held onto his arm, still tight around her torso. She had taken a series of deep breaths and her other hand had reached down and between her legs, slowly collecting the evidence of their pleasure, caressing him in the process. They had both shivered.

Michael had sighed, still nuzzling her neck.

“Don’t make me leave just yet… Give us just another moment…”

God… how could she even say no to him? Even at that point, and especially when he was so open and vulnerable. When his words and behavior reminded her why she had fallen in love with him to begin with. Even though they hadn’t told each other those words since they had stopped being a couple. Yet, right then and there, it was impossible to ignore how much she still loved him. How she would always, always be in love with him. And that was another reason why he needed to go… in a moment.

“…Lisa? Are you following me?”

Alan’s eyebrows sprung up and he tilted his head interrogatively. His hands clasped on the desk and his forehead shiny, he made Michael think that it must have been hell, to be wearing a suit on such a hot summer evening. But that was nothing but a fleeting thought, because his attention immediately focused back on Lisa, who seemed far, far away. Lost in thought.

He wondered what intrusive memories or mental considerations were distracting her, but had no answer to that. After all, they had been embroiled in this meeting for over three hours and they hadn’t been able to sort it out yet. It was understandable that she had spaced out for a bit. Glancing out of the window, he noticed that it had gotten dark and realized that he, too, was sick and tired of discussing the same bullet points over and over again.

However, he was not going to wave any white flag. Things had to go the way he wanted and, unlike so many times in the past year, he would not concede Lisa was she was asking for. Not this time.

“I am definitely following you. Yep. Right here. See? I’m listening.”

She was so full of shit. It didn’t matter how convincing her stoic face looked from an outsider’s point of view, Michael knew her. He was aware that her mind had been wandering and could only hope it was not toward some other guy because, separated or not, he was still profoundly unable to tolerate the idea of Lisa being with anyone else. Regardless, her little debacle made him realize that perhaps he could take advantage of the current situation.

“Well then, Lisa, I’m sure you understand that keeping the kids away from me, their father, for an entire month isn’t really a viable option. I mean, I saw you nodding your head while I was explaining all the objective reasons why this just can’t be done. Which means that you obviously agree with me.”

Lisa turned to look at him and frowned.

“What? No, I don’t think so. I wasn’t agreeing with you at all.”

“Oh yes, you were.”

She turned her body fully to him and the blue-green of her eyes almost startled him – given this new, full-frontal position.

“I was tilting my head, Michael. You know the difference between nodding and tilting, right? I was tilting my head while trying to assess your reasons.”

He stretched his legs and relaxed more into his chair. His back was starting to bother him and frankly, the last thing he needed was to spend the eve of his 48th birthday bickering with his wife. Former wife. Or whatever.

“Right… So?”

“So, what?”

“You gotta admit that, although I’m sure your plan sounds good on paper, it has several flaws.”

Her eyebrows sprung up.

“Oh, does it? Like what?”

Those words were enough for him to fully perceive her sarcastic tone. He wasn’t intentioned to give in, but obviously neither was she. They were like two bulls clashing each other in the arena.

“Like, for example, keeping the kids away from school and…”

“Alex will have a tutor with him for the entire time. And the twins are four, Michael. The world isn’t going to collapse if they skip kindergarten for a few weeks…”

“…And, like I said, away from me.” He set his jaw and stared at her. “I have the right to be able to see them whenever I like and can. This is our deal. I am their father.”

Lisa inhaled a deep breath and held it – all while holding his gaze as well.

“You sure are. And yet, I never nagged at you for having been in Vegas pretty much all the time in the past two years.”

“That’s different, though. That’s my job. Not a month-long pleasure holiday in Ireland.”

“So we’re comparing four weeks of me and the kids staying in another country with two years of you living in another State six days a week out of seven. Wow… I can’t believe you’re resorting to this. It’s pretty lame, of you ask me.”

Okay, now she was starting to piss him off for real. He had almost forgotten how stubborn she could be… and that was because, up until now, they had always agreed on pretty much everything when it came to their kids. Yet when he replied, his voice sounded very calm and controlled.

“Not at all. I think it’s a fair comparison, Lisa. You can choose not to go. I can’t choose not to work.”

“What the heck are you talking about? Refusing or postponing that residency was definitely an option that you decided to not consider.” She pointed her finger at him and he had to fight against the intense need of grabbing it. “Las Vegas was your call. You chose to move there despite me telling you that I wasn’t ready, and that it would be disruptive for our children. But nope. You forged ahead, like you always do. And then you chose to renew your contract for another full year. You also chose to come back to L.A. only when it fits your needs and your schedule. Want me to continue? So spare me the fair comparison bullshit, okay.”

Alan cleared his throat, effectively putting an end to the whole thing before it degenerated any further. Thankfully.

“Guys…”

Lisa and Michael both turned to look at him. He had raised his hands and was showing them his palms in a very pacifying gesture.

“Look, I love you both, you know that, right? We’ve been friends for ages. And it pains me to see you fight over this.” He closed his eyes for a moment. Michael was pretty sure that their old friend wished he was someplace else at the moment. “Let’s take a deep breath and try to relax… I’m sure we’ll be able to sort this out quickly.”

Yeah… He had said the same thing a couple of hours earlier. At this point, it was obviously nothing but wishful thinking.

“I know you don’t want this thing to go through the courts. I just know you. That’s why you’re here, trying to find a middle ground… so let’s do that. Let’s find a middle ground.”

Michael and Lisa stayed quiet, and Alan sighed.

“Alright… So, let’s recap. This is the second time you guys and I met in a year. The first and only time we got such a meeting was during your… ah, informal separation. So far, you have always managed to remain friendly, or at least on good terms, for the sake of your kids and that is why the confidential agreement we wrote down together works so well. It’s possibly the best joint custody I’ve ever experienced in my career…”

“Lise and I never made it to an actual lawyer…” Michael blinked and blushed. “Wait, don’t get me wrong, Al. I know you’re an actual lawyer, and a darn good one at that. I just meant to say that you’re here as a friend of ours…”

“Don’t worry about it… I know what you meant.” Alan smiled. “But that’s the whole point, isn’t it? You guys are here as my dear friends, and not clients, because you never really needed my services. Just my professional and personal advice, given that I’ve known you since you got married.”

“Yeah…” Lisa rubbed her forehead. She looked tired. “I can’t believe it’s been over twelve years already…”

Michael rolled his eyes. He hated when she acted as if being married to him was exhausting. After all, he was very low-maintenance, so what was she complaining about? Just because they had ended up breaking up, it didn’t mean that he was difficult! She, on the other hand…

“And you’ve been great. You guys put three kids into this world and took good care of them… and each other, even after… you know… even after you stopped being a couple. It’s admirable.”

A moment of silence followed, and Alan cleared his throat.

“Anyway… As we all know, as parents you both share the right and responsibility to make all the important decisions about the health, education and welfare of your children…”

“Correct,” Michael and Lisa replied in unison.

“Which means that first and foremost we gotta decide if this whole matter is trivial, something that can be easily discussed, or really about the kids’ health, education, and welfare…”

“It isn’t,” Lisa chimed in.

“Yes, it is.” It was Michael’s turn to shift in his seat to take a good look at her. “If my kids can’t see me for a month, it’s not good for their welfare and mental health… or mine, for that matter. Not that you’re forced to care about that, too, of course…”

“I’m sorry, but when the fuck did I say that you can’t come over and visit them? Mike, you know exactly where we’ll be staying and for how long. It’s not that we’re running away or anything, you know…”

“You’re not? Then tell me, Lisa Marie. Tell me, flat-out, that you’re only going to stay in Ireland for an entire month just because you’re gonna buy a holiday house there. Tell me that it’s not that maybe, just maybe, mind you, you’re planning to move there permanently.”

Lisa just stared at him, stunned, and Michael knew that this was his “ha-ah” moment. He had thrown the bait into what was essentially nothing but a dark puddle of feelings – because what he had said was just the result of his sixth sense tickling him – and she had obviously fallen into his trap. Her hesitance told him everything he needed to know… and in a way, it turned his worst fear into something tangible. All of a sudden, his stomach dropped at the possibility that Lisa left. Without him.

Yet, he remained stoic.

“…Well?”

She did her best to recover quickly and her face turned back at being a calm mask.

“I have no definite plans at the moment. But if and when I decide, and whatever I decide, you’ll be the first to know… Obviously. Because you always are.”

If those words were supposed to comfort him, they certainly hadn’t been a perfect choice. Suddenly, he realized that he was starting to sweat despite the air conditioning being on in the office. He didn’t really know what to make of her statement. What was she saying? That she hadn’t planned to move abroad yet but maybe she would consider it for real? And if so, why? Was their relationship strained to the point that she didn’t want him around anymore at all? That she couldn’t even bear to be in the same continent? Of course, he knew that Lisa would never take his kids away from him, but the idea of her being beyond the ocean was not something he was fond of.

“You mean that you haven’t planned to move abroad yet but it’s on the table? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“I am not trying to say anything other than what I said. Please, don’t put words in my mouth and don’t assume stuff you know nothing about. You know how much I’ve always hated it.”

Once again, hers was an answer that wasn’t really an answer to anything, and it certainly did not pacify his doubts. Feeling his head starting to buzz, as it usually happened when things would begin to spiral out of his control, Michael did his best to focus on the practical matter at hand. He had to fix this and then find out more about any possible future scenarios involving Lisa and the kids. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to stop her if she decided to leave the States, but every single detail of her plan would have to be co-signed by him because they had three children together. Which, all things considered, managed to make him breathe a little more easily.

He cleared his throat.

“Alright. As far as your holiday is concerned, we don’t have much time left to agree on the specifics. You said you’re set to leave in a week, right?”

“The plan is to leave in nine days, actually.”

“In nine days. Wow. And I came to know about the whole thing just about two weeks ago…”

“First, you were in fucking Vegas. And besides, I told you, Michael… I couldn’t predict when they would find a house I’d be interested in. So stop being argumentative over nothing… Jesus…”

“I’m not being argumentative. I just don’t think we’ll be able to find some magical common ground tonight, but hey… we can try… maybe I’m wrong…”

He shrugged his shoulders in a very casual manner.

Lisa stared at him with an odd look on her face for a moment that seemed suspended in time. Then sighed.

“No, you know what? I think you’re right. We’ve been going over this for hours and still haven’t managed to agree on anything.” She turned to look at Alan. “Al, I’m sorry, but this is not working.”

Alan’s eyes widened.

“Lisa Marie, why do you say so? The fact that you and Mike haven’t found an agreement yet doesn’t mean that you won’t before this meeting is over…”

“I doubt it. He doesn’t want me to go and I wanna go… It’s that simple.”

Michael shook his head.

“Oh, come on. That’s bullshit and you know it. You can go wherever you want, but since you’re considering the idea of buying a holiday house in Ireland and you’re gonna stay away for weeks on end, and are planning to do with our kids, you can’t expect me to agree.”

“See?” Without even looking at Michael, she kept staring at Alan instead. “He doesn’t want me to go.”

Michael hated when she behaved like that. He found it childish, and although she had referred to him using that same term countless times in the past, she still wasn’t acting like the most mature person in the room. That was for sure.

“Lisa, are you twisting my words on purpose?” He leaned over, trying to intercept her eyes and failing miserably. “I said you can go wherever you want. You can even leave now if that’s what you want… Jump on that damn plane and fly over to Ireland and get yourself some red-haired new boyfriend… or something… but don’t involve our kids!”

This time she did turn to look at him, and her eyes were as cold as ice. He saw her swallow and knew that he had stricken a nerve.

“I know exactly what kind of reply you’d deserve right now. But I won’t say it out loud out of respect for Al. And I won’t dignify your bullshit.”

Al sure as fuck wanted to be in another galaxy at the moment. There was no doubt about that. After all, who would want to witness the disintegration of a marriage over such a stupid thing as a trip abroad?

“Say it, Lisa Marie. Say it out loud. Tell me to go fu-” Michael bit his tongue and shook his head again, closing his eyes and taking in a long breath. He was losing control. “No, you know what… I’m not gonna go there.”

“Amazing. That’s great. Let’s not go there, guys…” Alan loosened his tie ever so slightly. “Why don’t we just write down your schedules? So we can try and find a way to-”

And then his cell phone did that little beeping sound that always announced a text message. Al stopped mid-sentence and grabbed the phone from the table. He looked slightly relieved that something or someone might interrupt this mess. He squinted at the screen despite wearing his reading glasses and his shoulders relaxed.

“I’m sorry… My wife is coming over for a moment. She forgot some documents and she’s gonna drop by in a couple of minutes… Do you mind if I go downstairs for a bit? So she doesn’t even bother coming up… I’m sure she doesn’t want to interrupt us.”

Alan’s wife, Sarah, was a lawyer like him and, in fact, they were not only married but also business partners. Michael was not sure if she really was coming over or not, but what he did know was that Al certainly needed a breather. Hell, all three of them did. The atmosphere in the room had become toxic in the past twenty minutes or so, and he couldn’t blame his old friend for wanting to take a break from it all. After all, he wasn’t even paid to do what he was doing and certainly regretted having gotten involved in this whole disaster altogether. At almost eleven PM, they were the last people left in the entire four-story building, which wasn’t a bad thing in itself. Publicity and headlines were the last things that were needed at the moment.

Michael glanced over at Lisa, who seemed slightly more relieved as well. They exchanged a glance and she shrugged.

“No, Al, of course we don’t mind. Mike and I will just stay here and maybe we’ll manage to be more civil to one another… And if we won’t, then we’ll leave. We know our way out.”

Alan rose from his chair and fixed his glass.

“Alright, then. I think it’s gonna take me about ten minutes… You guys…” He walked around the desk and opened a drawer full of small folders. “…Um, you guys take a deep breath and try to talk things through if you can, okay… and then we’ll resume our meeting in a little while.”