Saturday, July 2

6:15 pm
Plane

So, Humpty Dumpty's all put back together again.  For the time being, anyway.

Surgery went good yesterday, Doc told me after it was one of the easiest procedures he's ever done.  Went in with his little camera and lasers, cut out the rip in my meniscus, cleaned out a little old-injury scar tissue, and closed me up.  Whole thing took less than an hour.

That's a relief.  Would have been nice to not have to deal with this until after the tour, but he told me the sooner the better.  And Doc claims I'll be good to go for Istanbul next week.  I'll still have to wear the brace and take it easy while stuff heals, but I should feel better than I have the past few weeks.

But the best news of all was that I could get on this plane and fly back home.  Doc told me to expect to stay in Ireland for at least a few days to recover; he wouldn't give me a green light to travel until he got in there and saw what things looked like.  When I woke up yesterday he told me as long as I waited around for 24 hours to be sure I didn't have any weird side effects from the anesthesia or anything I could fly home for the week.

He also made me promise for the next few days I won't do shit.  Just sit around, ice my knee, and take my anti-inflammatories.  Hey, Man -- no arguments here.

And Nurse Cate's gonna be damned sure I follow Doc's instructions.  Although she's not totally on board with my post-op requirements.  I'm still trying to convince her to wear a nurse costume like that stripper back in Denmark.  Heh heh.

Can't wait to get back home, see my Kids.  A little mini-vacation is what I need right now.  Going straight out to the Hamptons house, gonna just lay around on the patio and read a book and play board games with Jake and Romey.  Can't wait to take them to the 4th of July parade, watch the fireworks from the beach.

And lay in the fucking SUN.  That will be nice after practically 40 fucking days and nights of rain, all across Europe.  Ha ha.

I feel a little bad that Cate and I didn't get to spend much time in Ireland together.  I think she was kinda looking forward to having me all to herself for a few days while I recuperated.  But when I told her I wanted to come home for the 4th she was all for it.  The first thing she said was "Of course, Baby.  You need to see your Kids."

I know she understands, but I still saw that little flicker of disappointment in her eyes.

I swear I'm gonna make it up to her.  I'm not sure how yet, but as soon as this tour's over I'm gonna steal her away somewhere and give her my undivided attention.  We won't plan anything.  We'll just be together, do whatever we feel like doing when we wake up every morning.

That sounds nice.

But for now, it's back home for the Holiday weekend and a little more.  Dorothea's already out at the beach house with Steph and the Boys; I called earlier and told her I'm on the way.  She's not telling the kids I'm coming, gonna make it a surprise.  I know the Chuckleheads will be excited; we'll see if the big ones even notice, ha ha.

D was on her way out somewhere and didn't have time to talk much, but she told me to call her back because there was something she needed to tell me before I got home.  She said don't worry, it's not a big deal, she just wants to give me a heads-up on something.  Of course I promptly forgot to call her as we were packing and getting shit together to go, and now I'm getting her voice mail.

Wonder what she wants to give me a heads-up about?  Cate says she probably just wants to tell me Brendan's out for the weekend or something.  Or maybe it's about Jess.  Maybe Bridget's out for the holiday.   Who knows?

All I know is I'm on my way home.  A little bit of normal before going back to the Grind next week.

I need a faster jet.  Or a rocket ship, ha ha.

11:35 pm
Hamptons House

Home at last.  And quite a Welcoming Committee I got.  A whole 2 people.

Romey and Jakey are already asleep so I don't get to see them tonight.  Steph's working at The Parrot.  Jesse's out with his friends somewhere, his curfew isn't until midnight.

So guess who welcomed me back to the good ol' U.S. of A?

My ex-wife and her Boyfriend.

This is why I should have remembered to call Dorothea back.  Or at least texted her.  This was the heads-up she wanted to give me.  That she's not here alone.

D pulled me aside a little bit ago and apologized for not warning me that she brought "a friend" with her this weekend.  She said she meant to, but she and Ted went out to dinner and dancing and next thing she knew I was already here.  D said she felt bad, she didn't want to spring the news that she and Ted were dating on me like this.  She had hoped to sit down with me over coffee or something, and tell me that she had someone special in her life.

And that "someone" used to be my lawyer.  Well, he used to work for the law firm that represented BJM, anyway.  Not sure what he's doing now, but I guess I'll find out this weekend, since he's sleeping in my Guest House with my ex-wife.

Apparently Dorothea and Ted have been seeing each other for awhile now.  He's a nice guy, I've always thought so.  And she says he treats her well.  They bumped into each other at a fundraiser dinner last fall and he asked her out for coffee to talk about the Kitchen and some nonprofit project he's working with.

And now it's gotten serious enough that D invited Ted to spend the weekend out here with her.  And with my Kids.

I know it shouldn't bother me, but I have to be honest.  It does, a little.  Nothing against Ted, he's a good guy.  I just... well, I don't know how I feel about this.

Dorothea said she wouldn't have asked Ted out to the house this weekend if she knew Cate and I would be here.  In all fairness, I did tell her I probably would be staying in Ireland after my surgery.  And D still co-owns the house; she has the right to come and go out here as much as I do.  When we divorced we agreed we'd share this place until one of us wanted out of our end or until all the kids were grown.  We always wanted the Hamptons House to be a place where our family could all be together, no matter what.

I guess "no matter what" includes new boyfriends.

I know, I know... I have no right to bitch about this.  Dorothea's a grown woman, she's not my wife, she can do whatever she wants.  And I have no reservations whatsoever about Ted spending time with the Kids.  I know D would never bring him around Jake and Romey if she didn't completely trust him.  Or if their relationship wasn't exclusive.

I just don't know what to think of my Dorothea having another man in her life.  She always said I was her one great love, even after we divorced.

I just don't know.