They went shopping, went to a movie, worked on a music project together, and Nicki even let her practice driving her car up and down our driveway. Meanwhile, Michael and I played golf on Saturday and Sunday and he and his mom spent the evenings chatting while waiting for Nicki to get tired of hanging out with Jessie.

Although Nicki barely spoke to me Saturday and Sunday, on Friday night she caught me alone, gave me a thumbs up and whispered, “If we ever go out on a date, that’s the outfit I want you to wear, okay?”

I smiled.

“Don’t forget,” she said.

9.

April 15th
The Phone Call NICKI’S APRIL BREAKUP with Michael appeared to be far more serious than previous ones. She not only moved out of his apartment, but took all her things with her and rented a small old house in Shelbyville, Kentucky, which is about 30 miles closer to Lexington. After three days of not hearing from her, Michael panicked and began calling. When Nicki failed to answer he realized he had no idea where she had moved. So he called Jessie and asked if she’d heard from Nicki.

She hadn’t.

He asked her to call Nicki to make sure she was okay. When Jessie did, Nicki answered and seemed perfectly normal, laughing and joking. At one point Nicki asked: “Does he honestly think I can’t survive without him?” And Jessie said, “That’s how he made it sound.”

“Tell him I’m fine.”

“He wants to know where you’re staying.”

“I’m sure he does. But I’d prefer not to see him.”

“Can I at least tell him what state you’re in?”

“Colorado.”

“Omigod! Is that true?”

“Not even!”

They laughed like nothing had changed.

But Michael wasn’t laughing. He couldn’t believe she’d finally moved on, and wasn’t ready to accept it. He asked Alison to intervene, and so she called Nicki to see if she’d come to the house to talk about it. Nicki surprised her by showing up, and after what Alison considered a “very promising talk” Nicki spent the better part of the afternoon hanging out with Jessie, and reassuring her that no matter what happened between her and Michael, they’d remain friends. As proof, Nicki pointed out she hadn’t forgotten her promise to take Jessie to the concert which was still months away.

Since I wasn’t home when Nicki spoke to Alison she asked if she could call me, to get my perspective on how Michael might view their future. Alison thought that was a good idea, and that evening she sat me down and explained that Nicki had serious psycho-sexual issues resulting from horrendous childhood experiences with foster fathers, and apparently certain foster kids as well.

“You should convince her to get counseling,” Alison said.

“I’ll try.”

“That girl’s got serious issues, David. I wonder if I did the right thing, encouraging her to get back together with Michael. All afternoon I worried about it and wondered if maybe this breakup could be the best thing that ever happened to him.”

“It would break his heart,” I said.

“True, but…she’s never going to want children and they’re always going to have bedroom issues. I’m not sure she’s right for Michael.”

Several days passed before Nicki finally called, and when she did, I almost didn’t answer because I didn’t recognize the number.

“David?”

“Yes?”

“It’s Nicki.”

“Nicki!” I said, with far too much enthusiasm. “How are you?”

“Dazed.” She made a small laugh. “Are you confused?” She added, “By the way, that’s a movie reference.”

“Right.”

“You have no clue which movie I’m talking about, do you?”

“Uh…no. Sorry.”

“Never mind. It was a stupid reference. Are you at work?”

“I am.”

“In the middle of something, or is this a good time to talk?”

“No. I mean, yes, I can talk. Absolutely!”

She laughed. “You sound unsure of what to say. Can I make a suggestion?”

“Please do.”

“Relax. To answer your question truthfully, I’m fine. In fact, I’ve never been better.”

“That’s…”

“Yes?”

“I was getting ready to say that’s great, but I’m not sure where things stand with you and Michael. According to Alison, you’re considering getting back together.”

She paused. “Is that what you want?”

I paused.

She said, “David? Is that what you hope happens? That Michael and I get back together?”

“I…I guess I want what’s best for everyone.”

“Well, that could be a problem, because in my experience it’s impossible to please everyone.”

“That’s true.”

“I’d like to tell you about a decision I’ve made: for the first time ever, I want to do what’s best for me.