Starting Over Patar 2004

Patar, summer, 2003
Grex and Ginger are 32, Bryant and Annie are 9, Breckin is 1 and Lara is 3 simlonic months

Ginger had kept quiet about the envelope she found in the pile of papers. The envelope with the picture of Grex...and Jolie. How could he, how could she! Jolie was a good friend of Ginger's and the Grey family, she was very supportive after the death of baby Gregory.

Ginger broke down and called Jolie-after sending Grex on some inane errand for seedless yellow watermelon. Jolie confessed and apologized and said that it was only once and she didn't know what overcame them. It was comforting to know that Jolie had no intention of trying to break up Ginger's family and it also explained why Jolie hadn't stopped by in a while. The two women were developing a very close friendship...but now, they're not sure if they can continue it. What would you do if your friend slept with your husband once and vows it was a mistake and wants nothing to do with him?

To make matters more complex, Ginger's love for Grex has been dying. She barely has any wants or desires for him, besides talking to him sometimes. Most times she just wants to be with Tobi. Not to say that Ginger doesn't care for Grex, he's the father of her children and she cares for Tobi as well. Why isn't life nice and easy, why is it complicated with cheating spouses and friends who you don't know if you can be friends with them still because of them sleeping with your husband.

Grex still doesn't know that Ginger knows about the affair. Ginger herself hasn't decided what to do, she could continue to pretend that she has no idea about the affair-which really was more of a one night stand; or confront him about it.

Grex isn't as obvilous as one would assume. He has noticed a change in Ginger, blaming it first on the pregnancy, but now that Lara is here, he has no more excuses for his wife.

"What's going on, Ginger? We barely talk anymore, we used to be best friends?"

"You've been busy with the orchard, Grex, and I've been taking care of four active children."

"That's what I thought at first, but our marriage is suffering."

"It hasn't been sunshine and roses, but no marriage is that way. There's going to be storms."

"I know, but perhaps we could talk to the pastor about it, maybe get some counseling so that our future is secure."

Grex wasn't stupid, he saw the signs. He knew that the Sweeny divorce was final and there were rumors that Tobi was unfaithful. It didn't take long for him to put two and two together, but you can't confront your wife about her affair when you are guilty of your own. However, just because you couldn't confront your wife about her affair didn't mean that you were going to let her walk away from your marriage without going down with a fight.

++++

Ginger and Tobi agreed not to see each other until the divorce was final and now that it was, Ginger found herself in Apple Valley Metro to see the man. Walking up the street to the townhouse, she found herself face to face with Li Sweeny, well, Li Yoo now. Ginger froze in her steps and Li regarded her with cool eyes. Ginger dared not to breathe, fearing the wrath of the woman, but Li merely looked her up and down and walked around the woman with a smirk on her face.

Ginger wasn't sure what it was about seeing Li, maybe seeing the face of an ex-wife and wondering what she would have done if she ran into Jolie on a darkened street corner. Probably not walk around the woman.

"You made it." Tobi said smiling and embracing the woman in a kiss.

Ginger didn't return the kiss with the same passion. Her feelings were so muddled at the moment. She feels such an obligation to Grex and she loves him as well, but Tobi...well, not only does she love him, but she's attracted to him much more than Grex. Ginger feels like Tobi always had his plan. A divorce, new townhouse in the Metro, custody of the children, while she remained more confused. Leave her husband or stay...

"I don't know if I can do this."

"What? Why not?"

"I'm married...I have a family, I...I don't know if I can just leave Grex."

Tobi sighed. "I'd be lying if I say that I don't want you, that I don't love you. I made it perfectly clear that I want to persue a relationship with you after the divorce. The divorce is over. It is my wildest dream to marry you and have all our children live together under one happy roof-"

"But...I love Grex still, I do. I don't know Tobi, it's not like Grex wants to leave me."

"Are you sure? Has he always been the best husband, faithful and true?"

Ginger raised her brow, "Neither have you, Tobi. What kind of woman would I be to leave my husband for a man who left his wife for me."

"It wasn't all for you, Li wanted out."

"I know, but can I really expect faithfulness from you? You cheated on a wife before."

Tobi gritted his teeth. "Ginger, all I can say is that I would be there for you, I am still there for you. I want to be with you...I'm willing to be with me, even if...even if I have to remain a secret love."

"I don't know, this is all too much. You want to marry me...I can't say that I even want that, especially since I'm still married to Grex. Maybe if Grex wasn't around I could marry you, Tobi, but I'm married right now. I can't even bring myself to think those thoughts."

"But..." Tobi reached out for her.

"I...I need some time, please...I need some time." She said, turning on her heels towards the ferry.

+++++

Grex didn't know what caused Ginger to change her mind about the marriage counseling, he had his suspicions that her trip to the metro and her frequents phone calls to her twin sister, Marilyn and friend, Neeve, had something to do with it.

"Marriage is like a great song, it's so hard to create since there are so many parts and idiosyncrasies to make great music that if one part is lacking, we notice it, but it's so easy to make bad music."

The couple stared at him in confusion trying to decipher his tangled words.

Lyndon smiled. "I like to quote Mr. Doug Larson who says that 'More marriages might survive if the partners realized that sometimes the better comes after the worse.' In your case, you're going through a period of the worse, you just need to decide if you're going to work through it and see if there is a better on the other side."

"I'm willing to work through it. I know that I haven't been the best husband, but when I think of a life without you-"Grex choked on his words.

"When I think of a like without you, I don't see much of a life. "

"I need things to change, Grex. I want to have a marriage where I have a husband, not just a father to my children. I'm still a part of this family as well."

"So I take it that you have issues with intimacy?" Pastor Lyndon offered.

"You could say that." Ginger said standing up frustrated. "I'm always the one to initiate intimacy, then I get turned town. 'Honey, I'm tired' or 'not tonight, sweetie'. A woman can only take so much and I want to feel desired too sometimes. "

"I'm sorry." Grex offered weakly. "You were pregnant."

"Pregnant-not dead! Besides, it's been as if you're scared of touching me. You know, we don't always end up pregnant."

Grex laughed. "Even if we did, I wouldn't mind. I love you and I would love to have a houseful of children with you."

"Really?"

"Really. I love you, Ginger. I can do more in the intimacy department, I promise."

"I love you, too."

++++++

After dismissing the pastor, but before Giselle brought the children back, Grex and Ginger decide to put into practice Grex's promise of doing more in the intimacy department.

Grex also makes more of an effort to help with the children. He sends Ginger to the metro to visit the new salon and spa and agrees to oversee the contractors work in the house, since they finally have enough money to remodel the kitchen and the wooden floors for the house. He can't wait to see what she has in store for the home, his only instructions were to make sure that they don't break anything and to stay out of the way.

Grex successfully keeps all the children out of the contractors' way as they demo the old kitchen tile and put new tile up, replace cabinets and bring in new dining room table and chairs. The twins enjoy the great summer weather and childhood games while Breckin practices his talking skills and Lara sleeps, eats and poops.

Ginger returns with a new hairstyle and Grex can't stop staring at her. Her skin seems so radiant, her hair so shiny and her smile bigger. Ginger keeps shyly sneaking glances at her husband as well, it's as if they were teenagers again.

"Grace Elise's mommy is going away," Annie spoke up as the family enjoyed dinner in the newly redone kitchen.

"Really? Where?"

"I don't know, but Grace Elise said that her daddy said that her mommy had an affair. You need to buy affair if you want to go on vacation, right?"

Grex gulped and his skin paled.

"No, sweetheart. You buy airfare, not affair, for vacations. Now finish your eggplant."

Annie finished her eggplant and dutifully went to bed. She still wondered what an affair was then and when they would have money to get her some pretty wallpaper. Something with fairies dancing across it would be nice.

While Ginger tucked in the twins, Grex prepared the youngest members for bed. Lara needed her nightly bottle, as did Breckin, and they both needed new diapers before bedtime.

"Wheee!" Breckin shrieked as Grex tossed him in the air.

"Good night, sweetie." Ginger whispered.