Love and Marriage

Chapter Sixty-Two

"So, what do you think?" Sam asked Claire as they pulled into the driveway of their new home.

"Wow." Claire was amazed by their new house. It was larger than the one they had in New York. This one looked huge. "It's big."

"Yeah it is." Sam agreed, getting out of the rental car and helping Claire out of her booster seat. Then she moved to the trunk to get their suitcases out. She had made sure that the water, electricity, cable and phone lines were connected and working by the time they arrived. Also, they would be renting furniture until Martin moved down and brought the furniture with him from New York so she made sure that the rented furniture was here too. "Your bed and stuff won't be here until tomorrow so you'll have to sleep in my room tonight."

"That's ok." Claire shrugged as she ran up to the front door. She was anxious to see the rest of this house.

She watched as Claire ran up to the front door and trudged along behind her, weighed down by the suitcases and carry-on bags that she was lugging around. Once she reached the front door she took out the key that the realtor had mailed to her and unlocked it, letting Claire go in first.

Claire ran inside and looked around. It seemed like it was even bigger than it looked from the outside. "Wow."

Sam smiled at Claire's amazement as she took a look around for herself. It was even nicer than the pictures had suggested.

"Can I go see my new room now?" Claire asked, getting excited. If this house was big then that would most likely mean that her room would be bigger too.

"Actually," Sam looked at her watch, "I promised your daddy we'd call him once we got here." She looked around for a phone and found one hooked up in the kitchen. "Why don't we call him first before we go exploring?"

"Ok!" Claire exclaimed. Looking at her room could wait if it meant she got to talk to her daddy. She ran into the kitchen with her mommy.

Sam picked up the phone and started dialing. After the third ring, he picked up.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Hey." Sam greeted, trying to sound like she wasn't missing him terribly.

"Hey." His melancholy mood flipped instantly once he heard her sweet voice. "How was the flight?"

"Fine." She answered, leaving out the part about her getting sick on the plane. "How are things there?"

"Quiet." He replied, looking around the empty house. It was too quiet here already. He wanted to get out of there and go to a place that wouldn't be so quiet because this silence was killing him, but he had wanted to wait until after she called. He didn't want to miss this phone call.

She could hear the sadness in his voice and wished that she could take it away. Her only idea to help him was to let him talk to Claire for a few minutes. "I have someone who wants to talk to you." She handed the phone to Claire.

"Hi daddy!" Claire exclaimed happily.

"Hey sweetie. How are you?" He asked, making sure that his voice sounded happy and upbeat so that Claire didn't catch on to how sad he was about being alone.

"Fine. You were right about the plane. It was so cool! I got to see everything!" Her face lit up as she recalled all of the buildings and clouds that she saw. Then she started telling him about the house. "This house is huge!"

"Sounds like you're having a lot of fun." Martin commented once she was done retelling everything.

"It'd be more fun if you were here too." She told him.

"Well it won't be too long until I come down there." He told her.

"Good!" She smiled.

"Can I talk to your mommy again now sweetie?" He asked.

"Sure." Claire replied.

"I love you Claire."

"Love you too daddy." Claire replied before handing the phone back to her mommy. "Here."

"Thank you." Sam smiled, taking the phone back from her daughter.

"Sounds like Claire is adjusting pretty well so far." Martin commented.

"Seems like it." Sam agreed. "How are you doing?"

"Me?" He asked. "I'm fine." He wasn't really fine. He was miserable without his family, but didn't want to tell her that.

"Are you sure?" She asked, not really believing him.

"I'm sure." He continued to lie.

"Ok." She decided to let it go for now since Claire was anxious to go explore the house. "Well then I guess I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah." He answered.

"Ok." She wasn't sure what to say now. "Bye Martin."

"Bye." He hung up the phone. Staring at it for a moment, he said, "I miss you."

She hung up the phone and started at it for a moment. "I miss you." She whispered.

"Mommy?" Claire asked, pulling at her mommy's shirt. "Can we go explore the house now?"

"Yeah. Let's go explore the house." Sam smiled glad to see that Claire was excited about something. It was a start.

Martin sat on the couch, drinking a beer and flipping through the channels on his TV. Ever since the night he mixed alcohol with his pain pills, he had quit taking the pain medication even though his leg was still hurting him a lot. But at least this way he could have a few drinks without a repeat of what happened that night.

The phone call from Sam and Claire had only intensified his loneliness. He had considered going out somewhere but didn't really want to be around people right now. That's why when he heard the doorbell ring he debated whether or not to go answer it. He wasn't expecting anyone and wasn't sure he wanted to talk to anyone. But whoever was at the door apparently wasn't going to give up because they kept hitting the doorbell. He reluctantly got up and opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, surprised by his visitor and the fact that they were holding a pizza. "Did you take up a second job as a pizza delivery guy? 'Cause I hate to tell you this, but I didn't order a pizza."

Jack rolled his eyes at Martin's attempt of humor. "No. I came by because I thought you could use some company tonight and I brought the pizza because I haven't eaten yet."

He was surprised by Jack's reply and stared at him for a moment.

"Are you going to let me in before this pizza gets cold?" Jack asked, getting impatient.

"Uh, sure." Martin replied stepping out of the doorway and letting Jack come inside. He led the way into the living room and watched as Jack laid the pizza down on the coffee table. "Want a beer?"

"Sure." Jack nodded. "Thanks."

Martin went back into the kitchen and grabbed both him and Jack another beer. Walking back into the living room, he saw that Jack was already eating a slice of pizza. He placed Jack's beer on the coffee table. "So, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that you brought over a pizza and everything, but…"

"You're wondering why, right?" Jack finished the question for Martin.

"Well, yeah." Martin nodded.

"It's because I've been in your shoes before." Jack explained. "I've gone to the airport and watched as my family has boarded a plane to start a life somewhere else without me. I've had to say goodbye to my daughters and look into their faces as they silently plead for me to go with them. I've sat in the empty house that first night after they've left and gone crazy because of the silence." He picked up the beer from the coffee table and took a huge drink before continuing.

"Now granted, the situation isn't the same." He looked over at Martin. "You're luckier because you get to go down there later and reclaim your family. I never had that kind of hope. But the fact remains that it's hard to lose your family—even if it's just for a little while. I thought maybe you could use a friend to talk to, or at the very least a distraction because the first night is the hardest."

Jack knew everything that Martin was feeling right now and he wasn't sure what to say to that. He hadn't thought about it before, but Jack was right. He had been in the same position that Martin was in right now. And although their situations were slightly different, it helped to have someone around that knew what he was going through. "Thanks Jack."

"Ah, don't mention it." Jack shrugged it off, picking up another piece of pizza.

They sat there together eating pizza, drinking beer, and watching television for the rest of the night. Jack was right. It did help to have a distraction to keep him from dwelling on the fact that his family was hundreds of miles away. It meant a lot to him that Jack would come over and be such a great friend.