All Roads Lead Home
Chapter 15
The girls were taking a day out with Mike. From what Christine understood; they were going to a art museum(Katie's choice), a ballgame(Mike's choice), and finally out for sushi(Hannah's choice), unless Mike started feeling bad. Christine was a little worried that he would overdo it, but the girls had been really looking forward to the day and Mike was still trying to make amends with both of them. It also gave Christine the privacy to sort through what she needed to.
She found herself looking at the same photo album that Mike had been looking at a few days before. Seeing the pictures reminded her of them as a young couple. Busy with jobs and different shifts; sometimes only seeing each if he stopped in at her job or she visited the precinct. On their rare days off, they would spend the day in bed; laughing, talking, making love. It changed when she got pregnant with Katie. She quit work and Mike tried to be home more, especially after the baby arrived. He absolutely doted on Katie.
About the time she got pregnant with Hannah, they started having money problems. Mike's mom had died and he was responsible for paying her final expenses. It put them in the red and they were desperate. Mike had come from a military family and on a whim; joined the Navy, mostly to get the housing allowance and free healthcare for his wife and children. It was post-9/11 and he was able to get into the Academy despite being married. It was a rough couple years, followed by BUD/S training, and countless deployments. Christine essentially become a single parent.
Resentment built over the years. She thought he was having the time of his life while deployed and he thought she had it easy by staying home and raising their three kids. The arguments were brutal and it all came to a head after Mike refused a desk job in Miami. It was for a security firm and would have involved a very nice pay package. Christine had her house picked out, and had even scheduled meetings at private schools for the kids. Mike would have been home every night, the weather would be better, the kids would be happier and they would have time to fix their marriage.
Mike had just made Lieutenant Commander and been promoted to XO. He was wanting in the Captain's chair, and without even talking to Christine about staying in the Navy; turned down the job offer. She was furious. Things were said that she would never be able to take back and she told Mike she wanted a divorce. He begged her to hold off until he got back from the Arctic. It was supposed to be a short deployment and he would be home for the Holidays, for a change. Once he left, Christine actually had the appointment made at the attorney, and then the Red Flu happened and Lucas died.
It took time, but the anger and resentment went away. In its place, Christine just wanted her husband. Wanted the emotional and physical comfort he could provide. It was all she thought about most days, and then they were reunited and he was so upset about her not contacting him. She could have and she was foolish to think it would be a nice surprise for him to find them at their old house.
She had identified the problem, which was mostly her fault. She was terrible at communicating, but she wasn't sure how to fix it. One thing hadn't changed. She still wanted the physical and emotional comfort that only Mike could provide. The question was; was he still willing to provide it after she had burnt so many bridges. The other thing that hadn't changed was the fact that she loved Mike deeply. He hadn't known how badly she wanted the move to Miami because she had never told him and most of the other arguments could be drawn back to her not communicating something. She was lost in thought when she heard Mike and the girls come in and Mike immediately head for the couch. She put the album away and walked into the living room.
"You guys are home early?" Christine remarked. The girls were unpacking some food containers and Mike was sitting in his recliner looking exhausted and pale.
"Yeah. I wore them out. We decided to get Chinese food to go and eat here." Mike said. Christine heard both girls laughing and she approached Mike out of concern.
"You're the one who looks worn out. You okay?" Christine asked.
"I'm…I think I pulled a stitch." Mike admitted.
"Let me see?" Christine requested as she came closer. She pulled his shirt up and immediately saw the blood on a bandage. "Mike! I was afraid of you overdoing it. Lets go in the bedroom before we eat and I'll look that over." Christine scolded before helping Mike out of the chair. Katie nodded in understanding and she led Mike into their bedroom. She pulled his shirt off and began cutting the bandages away when he started laughing.
"What a way to get you to undress me." Mike joked.
"Not for a good reason though." Christine responded. She pushed Mike to the bed and made him lay down so she could assess the wound. Thankfully, there was no signs of infection and the stitches were supposed to come out within a day or so.
"And now you have thrown me on the bed. What's next?" Mike teased.
"Normally, I would climb on top of you and we'd start kissing, but we have two daughters in the dining room; waiting on us to come back out so they can eat dinner." Christine said as she leaned over Mike and rebandaged the wounds.
"Hmm. Should have just given them the money to go eat and came on home. Maybe then, I might have gotten lucky." Mike continued teasing.
"Is that something you actually want? With everything between us?" Christine asked.
"I want to put everything that is between us behind us, so yes." Mike answered seriously. Christine thought for a moment, leaned down and gave Mike a long kiss.
"To be continued later." Christine said as she helped Mike back up and handed him his shirt. She figured the moment was over, but he took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead.
"One thing that hasn't changed regardless of everything is that I love you. I know I hurt the girls, but I am working through that with them. I just hope you can forgive me someday." Mike said quietly.
"I already have. We have a lot to talk about but I agree with you. I want all the wrong things we both did behind us instead of between us." Christine said.
"Good. Now, let's go eat dinner and maybe convince the girls to go to bed early." Mike answered before giving her another long kiss. He put his shirt and sling back on and they headed back into the living area to spend the evening with the girls.
