Chapter 13: Cheers and Good Riddance

Finally, after months of heartache and stalling tactics from one Jackson Raydor, Sharon's divorce was final.

Divorce wasn't really something to celebrate, but Gavin had invited Sharon out to a local wine bar while the kids were having a sleepover at Andy's house.

After their first glass of red wine came, Gavin decided to propose a toast.

"Cheers to my legal handiwork and good riddance to one huge jackass," said Gavin.

"Cheers," said Sharon.

"Why so glum, sugar plum?" asked Gavin.

"I just have a lot on my mind," replied Sharon.

"Well, spill. That's what tonight's all about," said Gavin.

"Marital freedom definitely has its perks, but also its drawbacks," began Sharon.

"Like what?" asked Gavin.

"Well, like tonight for example. The kids are at Andy's and once I leave I'll be going home to an empty house. It's just weird," answered Sharon.

"Hasn't it been that way every other time they've had a sleepover?" asked Gavin.

"Well, yeah, but I wasn't officially divorced then," Sharon pointed out.

"You know how much I love the kids, but to me it sounds like it gives you some much needed time to yourself," Gavin made a counter point.

"Yeah, but it can get lonely sometimes being in that big house by myself," revealed Sharon.

"Personally, if I were you, I'd run a bath with a good bottle of wine. Then, I'd get a good book and an even better vibrator and just cut loose for a while," advised Gavin.

"That does sound nice," said Sharon.

"Then, do it, doll face. Stop holding yourself back. You did that enough when you were married to jackass. No more," declared Gavin.

"You're right," Sharon told him.

"Cheers to that," said Gavin as they clinked wine glasses.

The rest of the night found the talking about various subjects.

Eventually, they decided to take a cab back to Sharon's place.

Since they'd taken a cab to the wine bar, Sharon's car was already in the driveway when they pulled up.

As they got out and headed towards the house, Gavin asked, "So, what about this Andy character?"

"What about him?" asked Sharon nonchalantly as she unlocked the door.

"Tell me about him!" Gavin urged her as they made their way towards the couch.

"Well, there's really not much to tell. His kids go to the same school as Ricky & Emily. Ricky and his son are on the same baseball team together. The girls get along swimmingly as well," began Sharon.

"What about you and him?" asked Gavin.

"What do you mean?" asked Sharon.

"Do you two get along well?" asked Gavin.

"Yeah. Pretty well anyways. He's had his moments in the beginning though. He doesn't like that I work for the "rat squad" or at least that's what he calls it," explained Sharon.

"Is he a cop?" asked Gavin.

"Yeah. He works for Robbery Homicide. We actually work in the same building, just different floors," said Sharon.

"Ooh a workplace romance," gushed Gavin teasingly.

"It's not like that," denied Sharon as she smiled at the thought of a romance with Andy.

"Why not? He sounds like a nice catch," said Gavin.

"We're just friends. That's it," said Sharon unconvincingly.

"I'm not convinced. Your smile when I suggested a workplace romance tells me otherwise," said Gavin.

"I did not smile," shot back Sharon.

"You totally did, Sugar Plum. Now spill," ordered Gavin.

"Okay. Lately, things have been starting to change between us. We smile at each other all the time. Recently, he tried brushing my hair out of my face while we were making breakfast for the kids. Plus, he says these things and I'm not sure if he's just being nice or flirting with me," rambled Sharon.

"Like what?" asked Gavin.

"Well, he joked that we were alone at last after I sent the girls out of the kitchen to go play. He made light of the fact that we both love blueberry muffins. Then, he was all of a sudden acting all understanding about my job and stuff," said Sharon.

"Maybe he's just gotten to know you better and likes what he sees," ribbed Gavin.

"Stop it! I don't even know if that's what I want. I just got divorced for goodness sake," said Sharon.

"Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just saying if you were looking for something, this guy seems like the whole package," said Gavin.

"He has his flaws, I assure you," said Sharon.

"Like what?" asked Gavin.

"Well, he's a recovering alcoholic, for one," said Sharon.

"And that scares you because of your baggage with jackass," Gavin pointed out.

"It doesn't scare me, necessarily. Like, obviously I trust him with my kids. That's not a problem," said Sharon.

"But you have trouble trusting him with your heart," said Gavin.

"Yeah. I'm just scared it'll end in heartbreak like my last relationship did. I mean Andy's been sober for five years, but falling off the wagon would be all it would take for me to run," said Sharon.

"Let me ask you something. Do you trust him as a person? Not just with your kids, but really trust him," asked Gavin.

"I mean, yeah. Generally speaking, I do trust him," answered Sharon.

"Well, if you trust him, then you have to find a way to trust him with his own sobriety and trust that his reasons for being sober are enough for him not to drink," Gavin pointed out.

"I guess you're right. I'm just not there yet," said Sharon.

"And that's okay. Maybe that will come with time," Gavin comforted her.

"God I hate Jack so much right now. He's affecting my life even now that he's no longer in it," said Sharon.

"Well, that's what ex-husbands and ex-boyfriends are for. Despising. I should know," said Gavin.

You have gone through a few boyfriends since I met you," Sharon pointed out.

"So, at my age, I should be an expert by now," said Gavin.

Sharon laughed at that before she said, "Thanks."

"For what?" asked Gavin.

"For listening and for giving me advice on this whole Andy situation," said Sharon.

"No problem, Sugar Plum. That's what friends are for," said Gavin.

Gavin ended up leaving around midnight.

Sharon decided to take some of his advice and grabbed the book from her nightstand before going to run a bath for herself.

Then, she went downstairs in her robe and poured herself a glass of wine and took it back upstairs.

Now that the bath was about half full, she poured in some of her favorite lavender bath oil before also adding a generous amount of bubble bath as well.

As she waited for the bath to completely fill, she sipped slowly on her wine and read a couple pages of her book.

Once the tub was filled, Sharon turned the water off and shed her robe and set the wine glass and her book on the corner of the tub before climbing in and sinking down into the warm suds.

When she was settled, she grabbed her book and continued reading and slowly sipping wine for the next hour or so.

Once she let the water out and got out of the tub, Sharon put on her pajama pants and an old and baggy LAPD t-shirt and climbed into bed to read a little longer.

She was a little distracted by her thoughts of Andy though. Would it feel like this to wear one of his LAPD or Dodgers t-shirts?

Sharon leisurely shook those thoughts from her head though. She wasn't in a place to think these kinds of thoughts about Andy.

Or was she?