Life Begins

Life Begins Read Free Page A

Book: Life Begins Read Free
Author: Taki James
Ads: Link
woman.
                  “Josie,” she heard Juan, the group leader call her name, “why don’t you go next. Tell us about your week adjusting.”
                  She was careful to look at no one in the room, even though she knew that there was supposed to be no judgment. She shrugged. “It was okay, I guess. I haven’t heard from Gary since everything’s been finalized. I’m getting used to living in a small apartment.” She shrugged again, “I’m alive and my kids aren’t starving. I guess I would call all of that success.”
                  “And what about your thoughts? Do you find that there is anything that you struggle with?”
                  She shook her head, still not looking at anyone. “I mean, I’m divorced and my ex wants to punish me for having his children. How can I have an easy time?” She never knew what to say in a setting like this. She didn’t like sharing her pain, especially when it ran so deep, but, she also felt like, shouldn’t everyone automatically know that she wasn’t doing well.
                  She supposed that Juan must have understood her struggle because he finally moved off her and moved to the next person, which just so happened to be her neighbor. Part of her wanted to tune out of the conversation, but this was the one that planned on giving her a ride so she figured that it was time to pay attention.
                  “As our new guest, why don’t you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself.”
                  One thing Josie could always appreciate in a man was confidence in himself. This man had it in abundance, as if he were the one leading the group. He sat straight, feet firmly planted on the floor with legs spread, his right thigh brushing against her left one. He sat there with arms crossed, looking so much like a king, she could only imagine what troubles he had in his life.
                  “My name is Žarko Knežević. I am from Serbia. I came to the US when my youngest was born. I am thirty-eight, divorced ten years. I have two daughters, Ljiljiana and Desa. They are twelve and eight.”
                  Boy that sounded like a mouthful. Josie didn’t understand half of what he said, but it definitely confirmed that he was foreign. And divorced ten years, she wasn’t sure why he even needed their little group. Most people were newly divorced, the most being Marisol, who acted as co-leader of the group. Looking around the room, Josie knew that others were asking the same.
                  sat back and relaxed, settling into her own thoughts as group continued, making sure that she remained aware enough to know when the time came to leave. She had no idea how her neighbor planned for them to make their exit, but she needed to feed her baby first, which reminded her that her breasts were growing heavy.
                  She nodded to toward Marisol, to let her know what was happening and then, just as a courtesy, let Žarko know where she was going. He probably didn’t care, but she honestly felt better about it. On cue, as she entered the nursery area, her daughter began crying as if she were dying. Josie really loved that sound and she loved it more when she felt her daughters little weight curling into her as she tried to feed from any available surface.
     
    ~*~
                  This meeting was pointless for someone not newly divorced. In Žarko’s opinion, even the newly divorced would do better than to come to this sort of group. What was there to talk about? You either made due in raising your family or you suffered the consequences of not getting over it. His divorce hadn’t been a problem. He got rid of the lying pićka and moved on with his life. Taking care of his daughters was nothing compared to getting rid of the headaches involved with dealing with his ex. Josie would do better

Similar Books

Bidding War

Julia P. Lynde

On the Dodge

William MacLeod Raine

The Endless Forest

Sara Donati

In Too Deep

Dwayne S. Joseph

Blood of the Guardian

Kristal Shaff

Then He Kissed Me

Maria Geraci

Something Noble

William Kowalski

Time Out

Jill Shalvis