An Unexpected Love (Women's Fiction/BWWM Romance) Read Free

Layla. “That’s Dolly
Parton. She gonna sing to me.”
    “If she looks like Dolly Parton to you, then
they definitely need to adjust your meds.” The blond guy shoved Andrew. “Go on
and don’t bother her anymore, all right?”
    Andrew giggled into his hand as he walked
off.
    The white guy grinned. “Dolly Parton, huh?
I bet that’s the first time you ever got mixed up with her.”
    Layla put her hands in the pocket of her
jeans.
    “What’s wrong with him?”
    “Oh, just crazy like the rest of us.” He
gestured to the six people who sat at the table by the recycling bin. “That’s
the schizophrenic table right there.”
    She stuck her neck out. “Excuse me?”
    “You’re schizophrenic, right?” He shrugged.
“So are they. That’s your table.”
    She grimaced and he tapped her arm. “Hey,
I’m just joking. You know like how it was back in high school and every clique
had their own table? It’s like that here.”
    Layla rolled her eyes.   “I’ve been to Wellington many times, and I’ve
never known there was a schizophrenic table.”
    He laughed. “Maybe you just didn’t
notice.”
    “I never saw you here before, either.” She
trotted to the table and sat on the chair at the edge. “What table do you
belong to?”
    “That one.” He pointed to the crowded table
at the other end of the yard. “The bipolar peeps,” he answered as he sat beside
her.
    “You’re bipolar?”
    “Yes ma’am.”
    He simply dipped his head.
    “How did you know I was schizophrenic?”
    “News travels fast.” He tilted his head,
staring. “It’s another thing that’s kinda like
school. You know how it is when the new kid shows up? Everyone wants to know
more about them. I asked around.”
    “May I ask why you’re so interested in me?”
    “I don’t know.” He moved his head left and
right. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
    She looked him up and down. “How long you
been here?”
    “Couple weeks.”
    “Voluntary too?”
    He nodded. “I saw you with your daughter
earlier. She looked just like you.”
    “I’m not surprised you noticed us with the
way you were staring.”
    He blushed. “Was that your husband?”
    “Ex-husband.” She laid her hands on the
table. “Been divorced a month.”
    “Just a month?” He bucked his eyes. “I’ve
been divorced three years.”
    “Did your wife dump you because you’re
crazy too?” Then she winked.
    “No, she dumped me because she was.”
    They laughed.
    “That’s good.” He pointed to her. “I think
that’s the first time you’ve laughed or smiled since you got here.”
    Layla cleared her throat and looked away
as he asked, “Mind if I asked why you got divorced?”
    “He was sick of my problems. It took a
toll on him and our marriage. I guess I can’t blame him. He put up with a lot
in the last twenty years.”
    “Twenty years?” He squinted. “How old are
you?”
    “Forty.”
    “No shit. Me too but…” He touched the
table. “You sure don’t look forty.”
    “Neither do you.” She smiled. “Maybe our
illnesses keep us youthful.”
    “ Maybe .”
He turned his body more toward her. “All kidding aside, I’m sorry about your
divorce. I remember how hard it was for me. The adjustment period was a killer,
but you’ll get through it.”
    “That’s something my husband definitely
wouldn’t say.” She grinned. “I mean my ex-husband.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “He never really told me I could do
anything. He was always there to complain and criticize, but never threw out
too many compliments.” She touched her hair. “Basically everything from the
weather to nine-eleven was my fault.”
    He propped his elbow on the table. “Sounds
like my ex-wife.”
    “We fought about that constantly.
Something would go wrong…and he’d blame me and…” She looked at her fingers. “I
don’t care what he thinks. I just wish my daughter didn’t hate me.”
    “She didn’t seem to hate you earlier.”
    “My other daughter.” Layla stared