Sea Change

Je

“Which means he pla

“Un-huh.”

“My God,” Je

Jesse didn’t say anything.

“The other daughters?”

“Home with Mom,” Jesse said.

“You think they’ll get over this?”

2 9 4

S E A C H A N G E

“No.”

Je

“So he’s destroyed all his children,” Je

“And his wife let him,” Jesse said.

“How could she deny so much,” Je

“She needed to, I guess.”

Je

“Have you talked with Dix about this?”

“Indirectly,” Jesse said.

“You’ve talked to him about how this affected you.”

“Yes.”

“Want to tell me?”

“It was so much about sex and so little about love,” Jesse said. “And I was already worried that with you I’m too much about sex anyway.”

Je

“Dix says that it’s a kind of, what did he call it, amulet, I’ve created. If what I do can cause us to break up again, then the control is with me, because I can change. If it’s things you do . . .” Jesse shrugged.

“I guess you need to trust me a little more,” Je

“Even if my track record isn’t so good.”

“It’s about both of us,” Jesse said. “Maybe I need to trust us both.”

Je

Jesse watched her. “It’s been a year,” he said.

“I know.”

“I think I’ll try a glass of wine,” Jesse said.

2 9 5

R O B E R T B . P A R K E R

“Like that?” Je

Jesse nodded.

“Maybe two,” he said.

“You think you should?” Je

“Only one way to find out.”

“What if you can’t?”

“Then I’ll stop again,” Jesse said. “I’ve proved I can do that.”

“Have you talked to Dix about this?” Je

“Indirectly,” Jesse said.

Je

“You sure you want to waste it on wine?” Je

“I want to eat supper with you and drink two glasses of wine,” Jesse said.

“Maybe two,” Je

They looked at each other. Both of them nodded.

Je

“And,” Je

Jesse smiled.

“I’ll drink to that,” he said.