"Who's that?" Joey asked Chris, standing near the grill  out back by the pool. Chris was manning the giant grill, complete with the " Kiss the cook" apron and everything. Looking across the pool at the girl that was laughing and talking to Karly that he did not recognize.

 " That's. Kendra.  Karly's friend. She has known her for a few years now. Her kid plays hockey for the Preds travel league and Ken is a big part of the charity organization that the Preds support. That's how they met."

"Oh." Joey said, sitting down on one of the deck chairs, and watching her from across the pool.

Chris watched him watch Kendra from afar. flipping the burgers over to the other side and closing the lid on the grill. He got a beer from the mini fridge , and joined Joey on the patio.

"Joseph. Hands off." Chris warned.

Joey turned and looked at his friend and said ," Shut up fucktard."

" She is definitely not your type, bro."

Joey was starting to grow annoyed with Chris. " And that would be?" He huffed, taking a long drag off his beer.

Chris pinpointed at her with his beer bottle and said," Not her."

"Awful protective of this girl. "

" She is a good friend." He said, watching as Nash and Lennon cannon balled into the pool.

" And I'm not, bro?"  Joey, now clearly annoyed by the conversation, crossed his arms over his chest in a huff.

 " I never said that."  Chris stated, back peddling.

" She has been through a lot in the last few years. I just don't want to see her get hurt again"

" And you think I'm capable of that? Intentionally hurting someone I don't even know? That's  

just fucking fabulous."

" You are mad at me. You are the one with a girlfriend. What's is been now? Five years?"  Chris retorted.

"

Now was as good a time as any to tell him. " Not anymore."

Chris turned and looked back at him. He was serious. He could see it in his eyes.

"Since when?"

" Three of four months now."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Never came up."  Joey stated finishing off the rest of his beer and getting up to get another from the mini fridge.

He took the beer, and sat back down and said. " It was a long time coming, I guess. She was tired of my schedule. Didn't like that what time I have off, Intry to spend a lot with the girls. That I have a relationship with my ex wife. That kind of bullshit. She wanted me to move to LA . I told her I wasn't interested.  She flipped the fuck out, and it all kinda just went to shit from there."

" Your relationship with the girls should be your main priority. Kelly, I don't know so much about.  About. " Chris said.

" It's not like that. Kelly, has a great guy. And she is happy. Izzy never got that. Kel and I are good friends. She was always jealous. I couldn't take it anymore, so I told her I was done. And that was it. The next day she packed up her shit and she was gone back to La La Land."

" So officially single again."

" Don't forget divorced and single.. yeenhaw." Joey said , raising his beer in salute, and taking another long drag.

" Chris? Karly was wondering if the burgers are done yet. Everything else is ready to go."

 A female voice asked from behind them. Joey looked up to fine Kendra standing there,and damn near choked on his beer. Chris got up from the chair and  went over to the grill to check the burgers. " Be nice." He mouthed .

That left Joey there alone to stare at Kendra. She was pretty, in a girl next door kinda way. Long dark hair that hung to her shoulders, and soft brown eyes. She was dressed in a long flown, floral maxi dress, barefoot.

" You must be Joey. I'm Kendra. You can call me Kenny." she reached out her hand to him.

Henleaned twoard her, and took her hand in his , shaking it. Grinning from ear to ear , like a goofball.

Chris appeared back with a plate of hot dogs and burgers. " Soups on guys"

karly came out the back door of the house onto the deck and said, " Come on guys, let's eat."

"Never have to tell me twice." Joey said, his eyes deadlocked on Kenny's. " After you."

" Thanks." Kendra smiled at him, and  they joined everyone else at the table to freast on the Hot dogs and burgers.

It was the first time in a long time that Kendra had been anywhere without one or all of her kids.Adult time was something of the past , once she had become a single parent. The conversation had been borderline hysterical all evening. And she couldn't help but notice Joey watching her intently throughout the evening. 

Kendra got up from the table, and said to Joey," Can I get your plate?"

He looked up at her, and stood handing her his plate. " Need some help?" 

" Uh ....sure " He picked up the remaining dishes on the table., and followed Kenny into the house and into the kitchen.Karly watching as she came up to Chris.

"Christopher Alan Kirkpatrick."

Upon hearing his given name, he turned and looked at his wife, like he was in trouble.

"Yeah babe?"

"What am I witnessing?"

" People doing dishes" he quipped," that isn't us." 

Watching the two in the kitchen at the sink... Having a bubble  war with each other.Joey with a soap bottle and sponge and Kenny with the sprayer from the sink. It was on.

" OMG !!!"  Karly said, trying not to laugh, and failing miserably. As she walked into her kitchen to a very soaked Joey, and a very soapy Kenny. Both with dopey girls on their faces.

There was soap on the tip of Joey's nose. " Um.. you gotta little soap on your face.." Kenny said as she sprayed him directly in the face. Dripping wet, he stuck his entire arm in the sink, " Well, I think you need some right about here." He said painting a soap beard on her face. 

Chris cleared his throat,and  unable to control his laughter any longer. Watching his friends in his kitchen both soaked. " Are you done yet?" He said trying to breath, his outburst of laughter making it hard.

" Uh ....yeah." Joey stammered, as Chris threw him a towel.

Kendra completely lost it, dissolving into a fit of giggles, laughing so hard that tears wear coursing down her cheeks. Coming up for air, she looked at Chris and Karly and Joey, and lost it again. " I'm sorry guys. One minute we were washing dishes, and the next minute here we are."

Karly was happy, this was the first time in a really long time that she had seen her friend laugh and smile. And it was all because of Joey.

Kenny excused herself, to go clean up, as did Joey.

As Joey went up the stairs, Chris quipped, " So I guess Incant leave you two alone together, got it.

Joey promptly flipped him off, as he disappeared upstairs.

" I believe that Joey just met his match.  Ken gives just as good as she gets. This should be very interesting."

"Ain't that the truth." Chris laughed.

Kendra came back downstairs , and into the kitchen. She had changed into cut offs and a black Jelly Roll t shirt and black sneakers.

Joey came back into the kitchen with a towel around his shoulders , drying his hair. He had changed into kaki shorts and a plain black v neck tee. And his rainbow nikes. He looked over at her and grinned, and she grinned right back at him.

" Would you like to go for a walk?" Ken asked Joey.

He shrugged his shoulders, and said," Yeah, sure."  He followed her out the back door , and around the pool. 

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Chris called after him, Joey flipped him off yet again.

"Jelly Roll? " , he asked," And it's signed." 

" yep. This actually belongs to Xander. But, he never wears it. Jason is a friend of mine."

She said, sitting down on one of the deck chairs.  She looked up at him, "I'm sorry I soaked you in there."

" Nice try. but no you aren't." He grinned.

" Guilty as charged." She said laughing and holding her hands up in the air.

 He sat down on one of the other chairs near her, and said" Chris and Karly are really protective

of you."

"Yeah. They have seen me and my kids through a lot the last several years. And that's a debt I will never be able to repay. Karly is like a sister to me, and Chris grows on you like fungus."

"Don't I know it." He said, " So what's your story?"

"I'm divorced." She offered.

"Me too."

" I was married for about 15 years."

"14 here."

" I have three kids. 4 If you want to be technical." She said staring out over the water in the pool. Her eyes had a sadness in them that he couldn't figure out. And It was driving him crazy.

" 2 girls for me, Bri is 21 and Kloey is 12 going on 35."

" Jesse, my stepson, is 20. I've had him since he was 4. Zander is 14 and my baby is Kaden is 12 too."

" Brihana is in college in Michigan. And Kloey is in 7th grade."

"Jesse , he is married to Lauren. They have been married for about 2 years now, live in Franklin, that's where he drives a truck for Kroger. She is a nurse. Zander played hockey and is into martial arts. And My youngest plays basket ball  for the special olympics."

" Sounds like you have your hands full. Does your Ex help out ?"

" Um....no. Does yours?" Kendra asked him, shifting in her seat, looking uncomfortable.

" We are way better friends, than we ever were at being married. Doing the co parenting thing."

" He doesn't help you at all?" Joey asked, annoyed.

" No. It's just me. Jesse and Lauren help as much as they can, but they have lives too."

She looked away, he wasn't sure how this was going at all. She had gone from happy and laughing to almost sullen in a matter of moments.

"So, what caused yours?" She asked.

" My what?"

"Divorce."

" We tried too hard. We loved each other, but didn't " love" each other. In the end, I cheated. I'm not proud of what I did. But, we made the best decision for us."

"She is happy, has a great boyfriend. And he's good to my girls. So there is that."

" So, what about you?"

" Do you want the long version, or the reader's digest version?" She asked.

" Long version."

She took a deep breath, and looked up at him. " My Ex liked to use me as a punching bag."

"And one night, about 4years ago, I was seven months pregnant with my youngest. He was raging drunk, and he was angry at me for whatever, and we got into a fight. It got to a point where he hit me and I fell down a flight of stairs."

Joey's whole demeanor changed upon her admission. " He hit you, and caused you to fall down the stairs?"

" Yes.  And I went into preterm labor after that. The placenta detached from the uterine wall, and she didn't get any oxygen. " She stopped short, her breath caught in her throat. " I had my daughter at 27 weeks and 3 days, she was stillborn."

Now her tears were falling silently. He was close to tears himself. 

" He came to the hospital, after she was born, tried to attack me there.  He screamed at me that it was my fault. He tried to rip me out of the bed, and Jesse kicked his ass . They both got arrested, and it went south from there."

She looked up at him, he shook his head, unable to find words.

" Wow.." 

" I know , it's a lot to take in."

" And now?"

" He's dead." She said quietly.

" Huh?"  He said, confused.

" He died, about two years ago. After he got out of jail, he hung himself in his garage."

" Holy shit. I thought my life was a soap opera.Instand corrected." He said, running his hand up and down her back.

" I'm sorry." He said , misty eyed himself.

" There is nothing you can do. You didn't make him take his life."

" I meant about your daughter."

" It is what it is." 

" I could never imagine loosing one of my girls. I don't know how you do it."

she saw a tear slip down his cheek., he wiped it away.

" Don't cry for me Joey."

" It's for the little girl that never got a chance to live. What was her name?"

" Sutton. Her name was Sutton."

" Sutton has an amazing mother." He whispered.

" Sutton has a mom who should have left a long time before that happened. Maybe my girl would be here now."

"It wasnot your fault, Kenny."

" My head knows that, but try convincing my heart that." she stood up and walked over to the edge of the pool, and looked down into the water. He stood and went to her, pulling her into his embrace. There he held her for a long time.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, startling both of them. she slipped if out of her pocket.

" I have to take this call, it's the hospital."

He let her go, and she walked away a few feet. " I'll be right there.thank you."

she walked back over to him, as she put her phone back into her pocket. " I have to go , a baby is waiting on me to deliver it. " She smiled at him.

" it's ok. , he said as he followed her into the house.

Karly noted the red eyes on both of her friends. 

" Inhave to go to the hospital. Thanks for having me over tonight. " Kendra said, hugging Karly.

" I'll call you later,"

She looked back at Joey,and said" It was nice to meet you Joey."

" Same. " he said, waving at here and she was gone.

Joey landed on the couch in the living room like a ton of bricks. Chris sat down next to him

" You ok?"

" Yeah" Joey lied.

" Liar. She told you, didn't she?"

" About the piece of shit she was married to.....and Sutton."

" Now you understand."