Bitter
Chapter 31
Christine groaned as Mike hit a bump. She was exhausted. The surgery had been much harder than she had imagined. Mike had been amazing throughout all of it, only leaving her side for a few hours at a time. She had been in an extra day beyond what the surgeon initially thought due to a fever that developed.
They got home and he helped her into the house and into her bedroom. Katie helped her change into a nightgown and Mike essentially tucked her in. Once Katie left them alone, Christine patted the bed next to her so Mike would sit down.
"Thank you, Mike." Christine said simply.
"Do you need anything? Some tea? Something to eat?" Mike asked.
"I am fine." Christine said.
"Okay." Mike said as he picked at his hand.
"What's wrong? I can tell something is." Christine asked.
"Everything is okay." Mike answered, but Christine gave him a look. "Something your surgeon said. He said you should have had your surgery about a year ago. I can guess your reasons for not." Mike admitted.
"Katie was sick." Christine said.
"And I was gone." Mike continued.
"Yes." Christine agreed.
"And because of that; you could have died." Mike said.
"Mike; you didn't know." Christine said.
"I made it to where you didn't feel comfortable enough to tell me you needed me at home." Mike continued.
"What is going on, Mike?" Christine asked.
"Just…guilt; I suppose." Mike answered.
"I hope this isn't making you want to leave?" Christine asked, suddenly worried. She was enjoying having Mike there and the kids were loving it.
"I hadn't thought about that at all." Mike said as he leaned against the headboard, next to Christine. He had swung his legs up after taking his shoes off and threw an arm around her.
"Good." Christine answered with a smile.
"All the stuff I did…cheating on you, being…absolutely horrible to you and the kids, being gone…is that even forgivable?" Mike asked.
"Mmm…well, the kids have forgiven you and I suppose I did a long time ago. There will be some trust issues from time to time, but the question really isn't us forgiving you. You have to forgive yourself." Christine answered.
"Easier said then done." Mike admitted.
"Mike, we need you here. But, more than that; we want you here. And we want you to want to be here. If that can happen, we will welcome you with open arms." Christine said.
"I retired. I really don't have anywhere else to go." Mike said.
"What I need…what the kids need, is for you to have nowhere else you want to be more than here." Christine explained.
"How do I figure that out?" Mike asked.
"That I don't know. I think the normal answer might be to leave long enough to miss home, but I really don't want you to do that. I want you to stay." Christine said.
"Is this where I'm supposed to add, 'and I want to stay?'" Mike asked in a teasing tone.
"Only if you want to." Christine said. She leaned over and gave Mike a gentle kiss on the lips. It was something she had done many times before but for a long time, Mike hadn't been very interested. That was changing.
"Christine…its important that you know; I always loved you. Maybe that was the draw back." Mike said.
"But you also loved Michelle?" Christine stated.
"I did. For the longest time, I thought she was my soulmate, but…I think I've been lucky enough to have two women that I've loved, one of whom is willing to forgive all my wrongs." Mike said.
"I hope that's me?" Christine asked.
"It is." Christine answered. She gave Mike another long kiss. She knew there was still miles to go, but it felt good to have him making decisions.