I hired a stranger to be my boyfriend for one afternoon because my ex was bringing the woman he chose over me. I expected whispers, pity, maybe a cruel laugh by the pool. What I did not expect was for that stranger to notice one tiny habit of mine and make everyone see who had taught it to me first.<\/p>\n
I almost canceled when Daniel stepped out of his car.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
He was too handsome.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
That was my first ridiculous thought.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Not kind-looking. Not safe-looking.\u00a0Handsome.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n He was too handsome.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Tall, broad-shouldered, dark-haired, with sunglasses pushed into his hair and a white shirt rolled neatly at the sleeves. He moved like the walkway belonged under his feet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I stood on my porch in my blue sundress, gripping the doorframe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The dress had faded from years of washing. Comfortable. Soft. A little tighter around my waist than it used to be before three pregnancies and 15 years of family dinners where I ate last.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I had changed outfits six times before putting the blue dress back on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The dress had faded from years of washing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Daniel smiled when he reached the steps.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Maggie?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n My mouth moved before sense could stop it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “I’m sorry. I don’t look like my photos anymore.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He paused.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Not long enough to be rude.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Long enough for me to hear myself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Then he said, “You apologized before you introduced yourself.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “I’m sorry. I don’t look like my photos anymore.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n I laughed because there was nowhere else for my embarrassment to go.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Sorry. Hi. I’m Maggie.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n His expression changed slightly at the second apology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He held out his hand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Daniel.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Behind me, my youngest daughter yelled that someone had taken her goggles. One of the twins shouted back that goggles were communal property. A towel slid down the stairs like a surrender flag.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He held out his hand.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n “Sorry,” I said, stepping aside. “They’re excited.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Daniel glanced past me into the noise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Looks like kids going to a pool party.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I picked up the cooler before my hands could start shaking.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The truth was, I had not hired Daniel because I wanted revenge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I hired him because Ryan was going to be there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And Lucille was going to be beside him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I hired him because Ryan was going to be there.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Three months earlier, Ryan had stood in our kitchen while the dishwasher hummed and our youngest daughter’s spelling test sat on the counter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “I want a divorce,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I thought I had misheard him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Then he added, “I’m with Lucille now.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “I want a divorce.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Lucille was his secretary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ten years younger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Polished in a way I had not been since the first baby spit up on my favorite blouse.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ryan watched my face break.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Then he looked at my body.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Understand this, Maggie. You’re not the woman I married. You used to be slim. Now you’re just not attractive enough for me anymore.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “You used to be slim.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n He said it like he was explaining a bill.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n ***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n After he left, he brought Lucille everywhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Restaurants. Work events. His cousin’s birthday. Even to his mother’s house.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Lucille used to model,” he told people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Always loudly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Always close enough for me to hear.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He brought Lucille everywhere.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n So when Elaine, Ryan’s mother, invited me and the kids to her annual Fourth of July pool party, I said no.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Maggie,” she told me, “you’re still family.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Ryan will be there, Elaine.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “I know.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “With her.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n A long silence followed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Then Elaine said, “Don’t let him make you disappear from places where you belong.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “You’re still family.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n I wanted to believe her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Instead, I searched for actors online at midnight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Daniel was the third profile I clicked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n ***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On the drive to Elaine’s house, I apologized for everything.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For traffic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For the air conditioner being too cold.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For my daughter leaving fingerprints on Daniel’s window.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I apologized for everything.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Daniel didn’t point any of it out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He answered the kids’ questions instead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Yes, he had been in commercials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n No, he was not famous.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Yes, he had once played a pirate at a dental convention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He was not famous.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n My daughter gasped. “Did you have a sword?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “A toothbrush,” Daniel said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The kids howled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For a few minutes, the car felt light.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Then we turned onto Elaine’s street.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ryan’s truck was already in the driveway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Beside it sat Lucille’s white convertible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n My stomach dropped so sharply I almost missed the brake.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ryan’s truck was already in the driveway.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Daniel noticed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He didn’t say, “Relax.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He didn’t say, “You’ve got this.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He only waited until I parked, then asked, “Ready?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I wasn’t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But I took a deep breath.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Yes.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I wasn’t.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n ***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Elaine’s backyard looked exactly the same as it did every July.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The pool flashed blue under the sun.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Red, white, and blue streamers twisted from the fence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kids ran barefoot across the grass while someone yelled at them to slow down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The grill smoked near the patio, and the table was crowded with ribs, deviled eggs, watermelon, and cupcakes with tiny flags stuck in the frosting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The pool flashed blue under the sun.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n For one breath, I almost believed I could survive it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Then I saw Ryan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He stood by the grill with one hand on Lucille’s waist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n She wore a red swimsuit under a sheer white cover-up. Her hair fell in perfect waves. She looked cool in the heat, untouched by sweat, motherhood, or humiliation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I almost believed I could survive it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Ryan had not seen me yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He was laughing at something his brother said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He looked comfortable inside the life he had taken from me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Then he turned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n His eyes found Daniel first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Then me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n His smile shifted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n His eyes found Daniel first.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Elaine reached us before he did.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Maggie,” she said, pulling me into a hug. “Oh, sweetheart. You look beautiful.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I tugged at the side of my dress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “It’s old.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Her arms tightened around me for half a second.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Before she could answer, Ryan’s voice cut across the patio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Well! This is interesting.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “It’s old.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Conversations thinned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n People pretended not to look while looking anyway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ryan walked toward us with Lucille beside him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Maggie,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n His eyes slid over Daniel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “And who’s this?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Conversations thinned.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Daniel stepped forward calmly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Daniel. Maggie’s boyfriend.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The word\u00a0boyfriend<\/i>\u00a0seemed to hang between the patio stones and the sky.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ryan stared.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Then he laughed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Him??”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Heads turned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Daniel. Maggie’s boyfriend.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Ryan pointed at Daniel, then at me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Your boyfriend?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Heat crawled up my neck.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lucille looked down into her drink, but I saw the smile she was hiding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ryan laughed harder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Come on, Maggie! You obviously paid him to come here with you.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The yard went quiet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “You obviously paid him to come here with you.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Not completely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A child splashed in the pool.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ice shifted in someone’s cup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But the adults stopped speaking.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I felt every eye touch my face, my dress, my body, and my hands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The adults stopped speaking.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n My fingers slipped from Daniel’s hand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “I’m sorry,” I whispered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I did not know who I was apologizing to.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Daniel’s hand found mine again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Don’t be,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ryan’s smile sharpened.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Does the boyfriend package include hand-holding, or is that extra?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I did not know who I was apologizing to.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Elaine stiffened.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n My oldest son stood near the pool with a towel around his shoulders, watching his father.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Daniel looked at Ryan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Does the ex-husband package include humiliating the mother of your children in front of them, or do you do that for free?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Someone gasped.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ryan swallowed, his throat locking against whatever he was about to say.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Do you do that for free?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n “It was a joke,” he shot back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Daniel nodded once.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “Interesting choice.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Somehow, the silence after his words felt worse than shouting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n ***<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The party tried to continue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Music played again. Kids raced toward the diving board. Someone asked if the burgers were done. Plates were passed. Lemonade spilled. Elaine’s sister complained about mosquitoes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But the day had changed shape.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “It was a joke.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Ryan kept watching Daniel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n At first, I thought he was waiting for Daniel to slip.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n To prove he was fake.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Daniel didn’t give him anything.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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