All Roads Lead Home

Chapter 6

Mike arrived right at nine am, with coffees and donuts for him and Christine. They ate in silence before walking into Lucas' room. Christine frequently aired it out so it wasn't particularly musty but it was still a bit stifling for both of them. Mike had carried in several boxes and Christine marked one for herself, one for the girls, one for Mike and one to give away or throw away. He sat down on the bed and she stood in front of the closet. Mike began looking threw the toy box when he pulled out an old model Navy ship.

"Where on Earth did this come from?" Mike asked. Christine looked over at him and smiled.

"You should take that. Lucas had saved up his birthday and allowance money and bought it for you. He planned on giving it to you at Christmas that year. He put it in the toy box to hide it. Even painted the 1-5-1 on the hull for you." Christine said as she took a baseball jersey off of a hanger.

"Oh." Mike answered.

"Here, wrap it in his baseball jersey to protect it." Christine said as tossed the shirt at him. Mike carefully wrapped the model ship up and sat it next to him so it wouldn't get crushed with any other items. It wouldn't go with the way Breanna was decorating his apartment, but he frankly didn't care. Just then, Christine pulled out a familiar outfit from the back of the closet.

"The outfit we brought him home from the hospital in." Mike commented as he stood up. He could see the tears shining in Christine's eyes.

"Yeah." Christine answered as she smiled at the Chicago Cub's emblem.

"You should take that." Mike said as he put the outfit in Christine's box. He surprised even himself when he pulled her in for a hug. She sobbed into his chest for several minutes before pulling away and wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"Sorry, Mike." Christine said.

Over the next hour, they slowly went through the items in the bedroom. Sometimes, he cried and she held him and sometimes it was her crying. Finally, all the items were separated and Mike carried his box to the truck before they began painting. As was normal with every room they ever painted, she did the edge work and he did the trim and the roll work. For the most part, they didn't talk but Christine could tell something was really bothering Mike. He seemed kind of fidgety.

"I think I am going to take a break and fix a sandwich. Do you want one?" Christine asked.

"Yeah. I could eat." Mike agreed.

"Mike; is everything okay? You're…different." Christine asked.

"Aside from the fact that we just went through our dead son's personal items, not really." Mike said sourly, hoping to detract Christine, but she was perceptive and she was also persistent.

"You just don't seem very happy. I thought you would be with the divorce proceedings." Christine remarked.

"Let's just say; the grass is not always greener on the other side." Mike told her. He was going to leave it at that but she walked back over to him and patted his shoulder.

"If you ever need anything, just show up. I gave you a key. You are welcome anytime." Christine told him before leaving the bedroom. Mike stared into space for a moment before putting the brush down and heading into the kitchen where Christine had a sandwich and glass of iced tea ready for him. They agreed the next day to go and pick out the bedspread, curtains, rug, and accessories; which Mike was paying for and he would help Christine put the furniture together. She would help him pick out a piece of jewelry for Hannah.

They finished painting the bedroom and agreed to meet up again at nine am the next morning. As Mike got ready to leave, he looked back at Christine and wondered if there was any hope of her taking him back. He had hurt her pretty badly with Breanna. He walked back up to her to ask a question, but instead of doing that, he found himself kissing her. She put her arms around him and he felt the more normal then he had in weeks. Just then, Katie pulled into the driveway and they pulled away from one another.

"Sorry…I shouldn't have done that." Mike said before walking out the front door. He met Katie at her car, gave her a hug and kiss before leaving. Once he was back at his apartment, he walked in with the box of Lucas's things. Breanna looked at the box and groaned.

"You are not bringing that trash in here. It will ruin the whole aesthetic." Breanna said.

"It's stuff that belonged to my son. Its staying." Mike insisted. He sat the box down in the spare bedroom where the girls stayed when they visited where it would be safe.

"I made us reservations next weekend. We are going skiing with some friends." Breanna told him.

"Not me. Its Hannah's birthday that Saturday and I want to spend the day with her." Mike told her.

"Seriously? I told you two weeks ago that you needed to keep the weekends open for my plans! Those girls are so spoiled." Breanna said. Mike only groaned in response. Maybe his girls were a little spoiled but he had missed numerous birthdays. He wasn't missing this one.

"I will be spending Hannah's birthday with her. Period. You don't have to change your plans. I just won't be with you." Mike said.

"We'll see." Breanna said before waltzing back out of the room, making Mike wish he had just stayed at Christine's house.