Peaceful
Chapter 5
Christine smiled when she saw Hannah looking through some photo albums in the living room. Mike had had to go into work and Katie was napping. There had been some anxiety about Mike leaving them alone, but Christine understood. Christine sat down next to Hannah and realized she was looking through Mike and Christine's wedding album.
"You were so pretty, Mom." Hannah said.
"Thanks, honey. I had a very handsome groom too." Christine remarked.
"Daddy looks tired and old now. Really tired." Hannah said.
"He went through his own kind of hell. What we went through was bad, but we had one another. He was alone. He thought his entire family had died. I don't know how he even functioned." Christine answered.
"I want to hug him, but I'm scared to." Hannah admitted.
"Worried he'll hurt you like Charlie did?" Christine asked.
"Yeah. I know he won't but its still there. I miss those hugs though." Hannah said.
"Me too. And I think your dad does too." Christine remarked.
"Mom, do you think in all these years; anyone hugged him?" Hannah asked.
"Probably not. I doubt it." Christine answered.
"How lonely." Hannah remarked.
"Honey, if you want to hug your dad, hug him. I can promise you, he will never, ever hurt you. Not like Charlie. Don't hesitate. And another thing; I am really proud of you. For all you've been through and the pain you are still in; you are empathizing with your dad. It says a lot about you." Christine said. She reached over and kissed Hannah's temple.
"I just think he's really sad. He's happy we are found and we're here, but he's also sad. We are all in such rough shape and the baby…he's sad." Hannah said.
"He is, honey; but he is a good man. Despite how he feels about the baby, he understands me wanting to keep him and has already told me that he will love him. It'll be hard, I'm sure, but he will get through this. He still needs to know though, that we love him. I'm afraid if we don't let him know that; he will think he is just here to financially support us. I don't want that and I don't think you do either." Christine told her.
"No! I know he won't hurt me; but I don't know how to even get him to hug me." Hannah answered.
"Don't wait. Hug him first." Christine said with a smile.
"I do think I am going to go up and nap. I am tired for some reason." Hannah said.
"Its because you know you can sleep safely. We will all be doing some catch up. Just relax." Christine said.
"I love you, Mom." Hannah said.
"I love you too, honey and so does your dad. More than you'll ever imagine." Christine said. She gave Hannah another kiss before the young girl went upstairs. Christine stayed sitting, feeling the baby boy inside of her kicking and looked at her wedding photographs. It made her smile and made her happy. Maybe someday, she and Mike could find that kind of happiness again; unless of course, he had found someone else. Problem was, Christine was too scared to ask him. Mike was ten times stronger than Charlie. He could really hurt her and the baby.
