"Sometimes, the most scenic roads in life are the detours you didn't mean to take."
― Angela N. Blount, Once Upon an Ever After
At some point, I had checked out of my marriage. If it weren't for the children we shared, I would have been long gone. I know that now as I look back on how Lori and I communicated with each other. I was distracted. I had to find a home. Aaron who was a realtor and his husband Eric an interior designer were constantly calling or emailing for confirmation and clarification of things that I wish I had no parts in. At the risk of sounding chauvinistic or gender bias, I will leave that right there. I wasn't interested in wall colors or pallettes. Judith liked everything in the paisley family and Carl was a boy. Blue. The rest of the house I didn't care much about as long as it wasn't bright or gaudy. Whenever I wasn't preoccupied by that it was my divorce Attorney Sasha Malone. Who I had to admit was doing a good job with speeding up the process as much as possible. A few times I found her flirting with me. Any other time I may have entertained the idea but my thoughts were on trying to convince myself that I could be enough for Michonne or if I was what she even wanted in a man.
"I am taking the kids over to their friends." Lori's voice jogged me out of my thoughts.
"Okay."
"When I drop them off, I have a flight to catch."
"Okay."
"You will need to pick them up, Rick."
"I know that, Lori."
"Then act less distracted for once!"
Distracted...
When I had answered my wife's phone call, I was inside a flower shop. My thoughts were on surprising Michonne. I had just purchased delivery for a bouquet of dark red roses to accompany a gift-wrapped box of chocolates. I knew the french brand was Michonne's favorite, a tidbit I had picked up during our stay at my beach house. I had to also make an appearance at the nearby country club. I was going to give myself an hour and a half before going to pick up my children from where I thought they would be until I got the call from Michonne. I couldn't pick up because I wasn't in a good spot for a signal and the conversation had just turned to the topic of Michonne. I wondered if I were being taunted to reveal something that each person at the table knew to be true or did one of them have first hand knowledge of how great in bed Michonne actually was? I was becoming pissed. Shane slid me his untouched scotch. I tossed it back.
"Where are you?" I held my breath, anticipating Michonne's response as I stood inside the airport waiting, unsure if she would be able to get away.
"Behind you?" Michonne's voice held uncertainty.
Slowly I turned, instantly recognizing her walking towards me. She was closing the distance holding the handle of her wheeled carry-on in one hand, the other lowering the phone from her ear once our eyes locked. My feet seemed glued to the floor. Only my hands worked, reaching for her once she stood within range, drawing her close to me, our first-ever public embrace.
"You've made it," I whispered in her ear. "Damn, you feel so good."
During our time at the craft fair and the pizza parlor, we were both mindful enough not to appear like we were together in any romantic way. Still, at the airport, we both threw caution to the wind.
I gave her a peck on the lips after gazing into her brown eyes. Within mere seconds we were lip locked due to our shared longing to finally be together to bask in a passion that we both desperately needed. I felt deeply desired. We both eventually realized it was time to board our flight.
The moment we landed, she spoke in French. Impeccable. Fluent. She had taken me to a couple of places I had previously been. We had dinner at the Hotel Plaza Athenee and the Eifel Tower—a few places I had not due to my previous time constraints.
There would never be a moment to compare to holding her close in my arms as we enjoyed the Bateaux Mouches ride along the Seines. We enjoyed a leisurely stroll along Rue des Barres in Le Marais, wherein a tiny tea shop, we ran unexpectedly into her mother. Helen Valliant. From what Michonne had told me, an ex-pat with no desire ever to return stateside. Her mother was on her fourth husband who was not present.
Michonne made it known that I did not speak french in the introduction. It was an interesting half truth. My french was nowhere near the level at which Michonne and her mother spoke fluently. What I gathered were a few things her mother wanted to know; where was Micheal, her grandchildren, and who was I?
"...commettre l'adultère?" Her mother questioned Michonne, which piqued my curiosity. It wasn't long before her mother claimed a late appointment and the need to catch up at a later time.
"It was a pleasure in meeting you, Mr. Grimes." She had whispered in English, her cheek pressed against mine before slipping back into pristine French, "À bientôt!" And it was over as quickly as it had transpired.
Our limbs and the hotel cotton sheets kept us entangled throughout the late evenings. I could no longer keep my hand hands behind my head and just watch her ride the hell out of me. I was going to lose control. I had to grab her hips to position her so I could grip her ass before exploding just moments after her. We waited for our breathing to calm. The only hint of life was from the warmth felt from her nose pressed into my neck. I encased her with my arm to move even closer to me before relaxing my embrace.
"Incroyable, fantastique, stupefiant," I spoke, making my thoughts known to her as I lightly caressed her shoulder blade with my fingertips.
"Que décrivez-vous?" She had asked, raising her head slightly to peer at me.
"Toi. Et comment tu me fais ressentir quand je suis avec toi."
I felt incredibly at ease at revealing to Michonne that it was her and how she made me feel. Amazing, fantastic, and incredible. These feelings came and remained in such an intense and magnified way while holding her freely in public or as intimately as I was then after some very passionate sex.
I had fallen head over heels in love with Michonne.
I realized it more on my way back to the penthouse after our trip to France. We were back in the office. I would be considered a lying fool to think I was discreet. Our relationship was now evident to anyone with eyes and a working brain. There was definitely more going on between us. We found it very difficult to remain inconspicuous. We had become terrible liars.
This strange nuance developed whenever we were in the same meetings. I would experience these sudden unexpected intervals where I would find myself lost for words only to hear them well sorted and spoken aloud by her. She had this way of knowing what I wanted to say or the power to keep me tongue-tied when her aura seemed strong enough to drown me.
Every time I was around Michonne, I felt compelled to make a good impression, to remain in her favor. Thinking back, it all started with the County Fair. Whatever she or the kids wanted, I had my wallet out before Michonne could reach inside of her purse.
I noticed how she smiled while holding the multicolored cat. Her eyes were lit with delight. She had a short conversation with my son Carl regarding how the creator was on some other-worldly level of creativity before placing the colorful feline back on the table. In which I had gone back to pay for, along with three jars of jam, positive my brief absence would not be missed.
She glanced inside the bag and closed it. Her smile was warm. The way she acknowledged the gift made me wonder if sixty dollars could make me feel like a job well done. I could only imagine if I had spent a few hundred, I would feel like a king on top of the world.
"Mr. Grimes!"
"Ms. Benton!" I exclaimed back.
We both turned and began to look around for our children, who were twenty feet away admiring train sets.
"You didn't have to." She had said to me without looking at me.
"But I did," I responded back without looking at her.
"Thank you."
"For?"
I wanted to ensure she saw what I gave, not expecting such a thorough acknowledgment of my thoughts about animals in a home.
"Helping me come to a decision."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"What decision was that?" I had asked.
"I think I am more partial to cats." She turned to look at me. "Meow."
I knew then I was going to happily destroy her pussy the next chance I got.
Michonne's phone call surprised me. I didn't expect to hear from her just hours later. The more she revealed about herself somehow made her husband even more of a mystery to me. To shake his hand it all made sense. His disability. He was a man with visible scars and a walker, yet steady on his feet. I subconciously took in their color palette and decided on the opposite when I spoke with Eric. Warm.
"I am getting way in over my head," I admitted to Shane inside of the penthouse. There was a sickening feeling found in the pit of my stomach, and it wasn't from swallowing the chilled beer on an empty stomach. I sat next to him on the only stool left at the kitchen island.
"How is that?"
"I think Michonne wants to be in a relationship."
"What woman doesn't?"
"Do you think I should have gone after her?"
"Only if a commitment is on the table."
"Damn it, I'm just getting out of a marriage."
"Point blank, do you want to be in a relationship with her or not?"
I couldn't find an appropriate response, and the word 'no' had never occurred to me regardless of my inaction in going after her.
"I mean, the answer is no if you didn't go after her, right?"
"Shit! Damn it!" I was becoming increasingly frustrated. I blurted what was closest to a truth or my way to deflect by my abrupt response. "She hasn't even said anything about ending her marriage for christ sakes."
"Have you asked her?"
The answer was no. I had never asked Michonne. Honestly, it had never occurred to me, not even while in Paris together. My desire for her remained unabated. Didn't matter if it were with our kids or no kids. The last no show was the breaking point for me. I was ready to give her an ultimatum.
I didn't give her time to speak. I spoke. "I'm tired of this, Michonne. I am tired of waiting. I am tired of expecting you to be here. I need you to make a decision."
"A decision has been made, Motherfucker."
I was stunned for a second by the amount of bass. I took the phone from my ear before placing it back to hear a fair amount of commotion before the sound of a gunshot. I didn't think twice. I got in my car. By the time I made it to her street, three police cars were there, along with an ambulance. I had parked, leaving the engine running as I jogged along the sidewalk. I jogged. I began to pick up speed only to find her house moving farther away. I woke up in a cold sweat. I had startled us both awake. I was relieved while Michonne was deeply concerned.
"What's going on? Are you okay?" Michonne had asked.
I struggled with finding the words or admitting to any level of anxiety I felt towards loving her while she remained married.
"The codes to this place won't work after tonight." I blurted.
"What? Why?"
"I gave Lori the house. It is what she wanted besides a few other things. Since I will often have my kids, and this isn't a place I want to bring them, I purchased a home outside of Atlanta."
"Really?"
"Kings County. It is already furnished. 7 bedrooms."
"Quite a lot of bedrooms."
"I was banking on you joining me at some point. My invite includes your children. You and your children are welcome anytime, Michonne. I wanted you to know where I will be after tonight."
"This was unexpected."
"I want a relationship with you, Michonne. An out in the open. I've told Lori to possibly expect a special someone around our children and in my home. I would hope you extend the same courtesy to your husband."
"Tell Mike?"
"Does he know about us? Does your husband know about me? Does he know that I am more than your boss that happened to pick up his kids one day from his house?"
A/N: I have been hit with health issues personally and within my family. Things are in the positive. Posting while the iron is hot and the mind is willing. If there are any readers left, remember the next chapter will make this chapter make more sense. Take it in pieces to apply to other pieces, eventually a story is fleshed out. I want to thank every one who sent a message on Tumblr and here. Thank you for your patience!
P.S. Will check for errors.
