Chapter 19
Things were awkward between Cody and Jen for a while. Neither spoke about that night and where they were heading. There were no more late-night talks. They helped their kids with their schoolwork and made small talk.
One day Cody and Alex were in the barn taking care of the horses.
"Dad, can I ask you a question?" Alex asked.
"Of course," Cody answered.
"Can you tell me about women?" Alex asked. "Like what do you do with them?"
Cody nearly fell over, "What do you mean?"
"What type of things do you do with a woman on a date," Alex explained. "I have been emailing this girl from the high school down in South Lake Tahoe. She wants us to go to the Winter Fling together. I can talk to her fine on email, but I am not sure what to do on a date. Aunt Robin was teaching me how to dance. But I am not sure how at act around women."
"I guess I have not been the best example for you," Cody said. Realizing his son is growing up. More interested in girls than he was. Of course, social media has helped with that connection. Something Cody did not have as a child. "Let's go for a walk son and we can talk about girls, dating and the birds and the bees. Something he was not looking forward too, and probably little late for this conversation.
Cody told him how to treat a woman with respect. He needed to be a gentleman. He told him all about sex and that it was something special between a man and woman and be saved for someone that he loved and would want to spend the rest of his life with. If he ever wanted to talk more about it, he would be there to listen.
"Dad, if you ever wanted to get married again. I am okay with it. I am growing up and will be going off to college in a few years. And then you will be here alone," Alex said.
That really hit Cody. It is now the second time Cody thought maybe he needed to make some changes in his life. Maybe it was time for Alex to go back to town and be with kids his own age. Maybe it was time for Cody to move on with his life and open his heart up again. He thought back to that night with Jen. If she would have let him, he would have made love to her. He would have made love to Jen and not Lizzie. He realized it was Jen he was having feelings for, it was Jen he wanted to be with that night, not Lizzie.
"When is that dance?" Cody asked Alex.
"The Friday before Christmas," Alex said.
"I think we can make that work, if you want to go, ask your young lady and we will make sure you are in Tahoe and we can head down early for Christmas. I will talk to Matt and Robin about it. As for how to treat a woman on a date. We need to get you a practice date so you will be ready to go," Cody said. "I will talk to Jen to see what we can do."