This place is too damn quiet.
Mary had been on her honeymoon for six days now, and it would be four more before she's due back. The planning and arrangements for a cruise and a trip to the Dominican Republic for the newlyweds had been Marshall's gift to them. Raph was anxious for Mary to meet the rest of his family, and Mary was looking forward to the first real vacation she'd had in years. Marshall made sure great flapjacks would be available.
Marshall hated being in the office without his partner, it reminded him too much of the last time she was gone so long. At least this time, the worse thing she would suffer from would be seasickness. He missed the spitballs and prying "amusings" into his social life. It was no fun having no one to pick on. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately), work has been relatively calm. They had only one witness intake since she left, a computer geek that had picked the wrong system to hack into. He and Stan had gotten the new witness settled in, and so far, he had been fairly low maintenance. As for the rest, Stan was taking care of any crises on Mary's desk and Eleanor was helping out with the rest.
He went to the restroom and stared at his reflection in the mirror as he washed his hands. He was trying hard to keep his broken heart under the surface. It had been a beautiful wedding. It would have been better if he had a different role in it, however. Shaking the thoughts away, he went back to his desk and grabbed his keys.
"I need to get out of here for a while, Chief", he told Stan on his way out the door. Stan was on the phone and waved in acknowledgment as Marshall left. He thought he might grab some lunch, maybe drop in on the geek, then call it an early day. He'd have to find some way to occupy his time because sitting at home wallowing in what could have been was getting old. He sat on the patio at the Owl Café, pondering the events of the last week over a green chile cheeseburger. His table afforded him a clear view of Sandia Peak, the place where it had all gone down a week ago. Little did he know a phone call would soon change his life.
…
Raph had wanted the whole white wedding affair; Mary had visions of eloping to Vegas. They finally compromised and chose a sunset ceremony on the deck of the High Finance Restaurant on Sandia Peak. New Mexico has the most stunning sunsets and that night was no exception. The setting sun provided a glowing orange-purple background with the city lights sparkling below.
The groom, wedding party and guests had already taken the tram up the mountain. The bride and her partner; the man she asked to give her away, were taking the next one up. They watched the terrain pass below them in that comfortable silence that comes with knowing someone well enough that words are unimportant. He finally broke the silence, "You look beautiful, Mare." She looked up at him, smiling. Her hands smoothed the simple, yet elegant ivory dress she wore. The matching wrap slipped off her shoulders and Marshall caught it before it hit the floor. "Thanks," she almost whispered, "for everything. There's no one I'd rather have walking me down the aisle." He looked softly at her and said "Well, there is" thinking about her father, "but I'm honored you asked."
The ceremony itself was a simple affair. Brandi was the maid of honor; Raph's friend from his baseball days was the best man; they had invited about twenty guests. Marshall walked his partner, the beautiful bride, down the aisle to meet her destiny. He kissed her gently on the cheek and offered her hand to Raph. "You take care of her," he told him with his heart in his throat, then turned and took his seat next to Jinx. With an exchange of vows and rings, it was done; his exotic animal now belonged to another.
…
His ringing phone brought him back to the moment. He was surprised by the name on the caller ID: Mary. "House of Pie" he answered the phone, keeping it light. Silence greeted him back. "Mare?" he tried again. This time a weak voice replied, "Can you come to the airport? Delta arrivals?" A million thoughts raced through his mind as he replied, "I'll be right there."
He drove as fast as common sense would barely allow, the million thoughts continuing. What happened? Why was she home so soon? He found her at the curb under the Delta Airlines sign, sitting on her suitcase with a thousand-yard stare. Alone. He jumped out of the car and went to her. She had obviously been crying and looked sleep-deprived, but was not ready to tell him why she was here. He held the door open for her, then loaded her bags while she got settled. As they left the airport, she stared straight ahead and quietly asked "Can we go to your place? I don't want anyone to know I'm back in town." He looked at her, the sadness weighing on his heart. "Sure", he said. It hurt him to see his usually confident and strong partner so defeated. He was dying to know what happened, but he'd have to wait for her to tell him in her own time. The rest of the ride was quiet; that comfortable silence that comes with knowing someone well enough that words are only half the story.
Marshall opened the door to his house, and then went back for the bags. Mary went in and plopped down on the couch. By the time he had taken her stuff into the guest room, she had fallen fast asleep. He sighed deeply and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch over her. He picked up his phone, wandered into the kitchen and called Stan. "Hey Chief, since things are so slow, I think I'm going to take a couple of vacation days, if that's OK. … Thanks Stan, call me if something comes up." He grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down on the loveseat, watching his partner sleep peacefully. They stayed this way for a while until Marshall too drifted off to sleep.
He awoke to the sound of rummaging in his kitchen. He checked his watch as he stood up: 5:30pm; they'd been out for a while. Mary was pulling a bag of chips out of the cabinet to go with the beer she found in the fridge. "You hungry? I can make us something." She nodded, obviously still not in a talking mood. He got the water heating to make spaghetti and while digging out the rest of the stuff, gently asked her, "What happened, Mare?" He looked over his shoulder at her and watched as she played with the bottle in front of her. She whispered, "I made the biggest mistake of my life." He turned and leaned on the counter and listened.
She stared at the ring the bottle made on the tabletop, tracing it with her finger, "I so desperately wanted to be happy, for him to be the one. I thought with all the stress of the wedding and work behind us, we could just enjoy each other, no distractions" Tears began to roll down her cheeks. Marshall grabbed the box of tissues from the top of the fridge and handed it to her. She continued, "after a few days on the cruise, we started in on each other about everything. All the crap we fought about here." Her voice got even quieter, "He thinks my job is too dangerous and wants me to quit. I told him that I love my job and the only way I'd leave it is in a box."
She looked up in time to see him flinch at those words. Six months ago, she almost did. Inside, he felt like someone kicked his legs out from under him. He imagined Raph had reacted about the same. "Well, you can imagine how well things went from there. Over the next couple of days, if we weren't fighting about the past, present or future, we were at opposite ends of the ship trying to stay out of each others way." She looked at her friend, who, other than the flinch, hadn't moved a muscle since she started talking. He was almost holding his breath, afraid to break her momentum."
She took a deep breath, "I spent the last night of the cruise alone on a deck chair staring at the stars, looking for guidance...a sign. I finally came to the realization that even though I loved Raph, I just wasn't in love with him. We had no future. I couldn't stay and I certainly couldn't meet the rest of his family." She got up and walked over to the window, slumping against the window frame. "So when the ship docked in Puerto Rico, we each went home. He caught the ferry to the Dominican Republic, and I caught the first flight back to Albuquerque."
He walked over to her and hugged her tightly. She sobbed quietly. In between sobs, she said "I called you because I knew like always, you'd stand by me; without judging or question. Like always, you're the one person I can truly trust with my heart." For once, Marshall Mann was speechless.
He held her for what seemed like forever, until the mood was broken by the sound of boiling water splashing out of the pot. He kissed her forehead and went to turn the stove off. She tried to compose her self as best she could and asked if she could take a shower while he finished up dinner. He got her some clean towels out of the closet and headed back to the kitchen. He waited until he heard the water running to release the flood of emotions threatening to overwhelm him. It was too soon to tell, but maybe, just maybe, he was being given a second chance to not screw up. To tell her and show her how he really felt. "Just don't blow it, doofus", he mumbled under his breath and focused his attention on his cooking.
...
Over the next couple of days, Mary spend most of her time either sleeping or thinking about how she was going to break the news to everyone that the marriage they witnessed just two weeks ago was already at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea. She was glad there was one task she hadn't gotten around to: filing the marriage certificate with the county clerk. While they were technically married, it wasn't legal until the certificate was recorded. Dumb luck, she mused, or maybe the gods really do look after fools and children.
For his part, Marshall just went with the flow. Close enough to be a comfort to her, but giving her enough distance to work things out in her mind. Slowly, she showed signs that the Mary he knew and loved was starting to reappear. A little more frayed around the edges, but the essential elements were there. She was smiling more, teasing him about his various collections and hobbies and generally giving him a hard time. He cherished every minute of it.
...
The time had finally come that she was going to have to face the world. She was going to have to go back home and face his stuff in her house and the millions of questions from Jinx and Brandi. They sat quietly eating the chicken enchiladas that Marshall had made for dinner. She had gotten her strength back, thanks to her best friend; the rock on which her soul was built. They cleaned up the dinner dishes, then went and sat out on the patio, under the stars. They chatted about this and that. He told her about the new computer geek witness, and how much fun Stan was having doing her job (not). After a couple of hours, he excused himself to go to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day helping her pack up Raph's stuff and move it into storage until he could make arrangements to get it. He had just gotten comfortable with a book when there was a knock at his bedroom door. He told her to come in, which she did. She sat down on the edge of his bed wearing the scruffy t-shirt she had borrowed from him, seeing as how she hadn't exactly packed PJs. "Thank you," she told him, "for everything." He brushed the hair back from her face, saying "Anytime. All you have to do is ask. I'll always be here for you."
"There's one more thing you can do for me", she whispered, leaning over to turn off the light. "Make the world go away for just one more night". He pulled her close and did just that.
...
The next day, he dropped Mary off at her house to break the news while he went to pick up boxes and breakfast. When he returned, the Shannon girls had cried their tears and resolved to make the best of it, like always. The music coming from the radio was from the local station that played a little bit of everything. As they packed, a song caught the attention of the partners:
I watched the world float
To the dark side of the moon
After all I knew it had to be
Something to do with you
I really don't mind what happens now and then
As long as you'll be my friend at the end
If I go crazy then will you still
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well, will you be
There a-holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side
With my superhuman might
Kryptonite
They stopped in their tracks and listened. Had someone been eavesdropping on their lives? They'd each heard this song a million times before, but this time, they listened with new ears, a new heart.
You called me strong, you called me weak,
But still your secrets I will keep
You took for granted all the times
I never let you down
You stumbled in and bumped your head,
If not for me then you'd be dead
I picked you up and put you back
On solid ground
If I go crazy then will you still
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well,
Will you be there a-holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side
With my superhuman might
Kryptonite
She put her hands on her hips and flashed a teasing smile at him "Superman, huh".
"Well, you are like Kryptonite to me", he replied with a huge grin.
They broke into a glorious laughter they hadn't shared in a long, long time. Jinx and Brandi stared at them bewildered, not clued in to the private joke. They set back about their packing, occasionally snarking or giggling at each other, but mostly in that comfortable silence that comes with knowing someone well enough that sometimes, the song says it all.