Past Mistakes
Chapter 14-6 months later
Christine was proud of Mike. He was doing well in physical therapy but not pushing too hard. He took time out with all three girls, and found an interest for Hannah so that she felt she was bringing something to her family. She loved to cook and bake and Mike was an always willing taste tester. Rosalie helped her and encouraged Hannah. Mike also made a point to spend a lot of time with Emma, forging a very special relationship with her.
It took some learning, but he was finally able to climb the stairs with his prosthetic. It meant that he spent every night with Christine, which also meant they did a lot of talking and processing. It meant sacrifices on both parts. Mike had to accept how successful Christine had become, and Christine had to learn to rely on Mike. There were good days and bad, but mostly all good.
Mike had spent a lot of time establishing the naval base and there were a lot of Navy personnel that put in for assignment at Port Miami due to the beautiful homes Mike, Christine and Katie had made for them. Service members slowly filtered in, and a community was set up. In time, Christine was grateful to Kara Greene because she allowed for Mike to spend time with his family and to recover without being stressed by squabbles between Navy wives who thought they deserved bigger condos, or rival grocery store chains. Kara usually made the decision, and then alerted Mike.
They settled into an easy existence. Mike would gear up for retirement within a few years, and he had found a role to help Christine and Katie. He was building furniture and enjoyed it deeply. He also worked some with wrought iron. One day; in a remodel that Christine had designed Mike put the final touches on a kitchen island and then Christine put a plate of Hannah's cookies on it, to make it more homey.
"This is perfect." Christine said before kissing Mike.
"Yeah. This house is just right for a young family." Mike remarked.
"It is. And as luck would have it; a young couple expecting their first child is buying it. They are so cute and sweet. Kind of remind me of us, pre kids." Christine agreed with a laugh.
"That was a few years ago." Mike said.
"More than. We have a dinner plan with Katie and her boyfriend Sunday afternoon. I'm pretty certain Ethan is going to ask for her hand. He asked me for her ring size last week." Christine informed Mike. Ethan was one of Christine's young carpenters that worked with Katie a lot. They had been dating for a long time, even before Mike reappeared.
"Can I say no?" Mike asked.
"No. You like Ethan. And he loves Katie and she loves him. They are a wee bit young but still older than you and I when we got married." Christine answered firmly.
"I know. I guess its missing so many years. It just seems so odd that she is marrying. I suppose I think she should still be Emma's age." Mike remarked.
"She adores you, Mike and this is a very natural progression of events. Plus, Hannah and Emma are still young enough. You will have longer with them and just because Katie might be getting married, doesn't mean she isn't still your daughter." Christine told him before giving him another kiss.
"He does have a plan for housing? I don't want to live with newlyweds. I remember what we were like when we first got married. I don't want to expose myself, Hannah or Emma to that." Mike asked.
"He has a small fixer-upper. Besides, the girls have survived us reuniting and it rivaled when we first got married." Christine pointed out.
"Yes, and we have a much bigger house now. It helps." Mike said.
"Alright. The closing is about eleven. Let's get out of here." Christine said. She grabbed her purse and Mike locked the door behind them.
"And afterwards; lunch?" Mike asked.
"Absolutely. Tomorrow, I am supposed to meet with Hannah's college advisor on the next steps since Hannah has decided to go to culinary school." Christine told him.
"Fun." Mike answered.
"Yeah. Since she is changing courses, we need to go over financing." Christine said.
"I realize this is kind of a problem financially, but we can afford it and we need to support Hannah in this. She truly believes she brings nothing to this family, and I hate that." Mike said.
"I'm fine with it. Its just a hiccup and there are far worse things to happen. I am thrilled she has found her niche finally." Christine answered before Mike began the drive.
"I love you." Mike said. Christine smiled at the spontaneity of the comment, but that was them now.
"I love you too. You know, when I think back before the Red Flu, we should have always communicated like this. Its so much healthier." Christine remarked.
"I agree, but if we hadn't been like that before, we wouldn't be like this now. We had to learn from past mistakes, and rebuild. I think we are doing just fine now." Mike said.
"I agree." Christine said. She blinked away tears, but they were from happiness. Not fear, frustration, or loneliness. Her marriage was back on track. The kids were healthy and happy and Mike was doing well. She had learned from her mistakes well.
The End. Thanks for the reviews!