Better Together
Chapter 1
Christine Slattery-Ross checked the clock and chuckled. Never in her life did she think she would be waiting on Mike Slattery again. They had divorced after the Red Flu. Their marriage had been rocky before and after losing a child; not worth saving. The one thing they did well was co-parent their daughters. Both girls were grown now and as a favor to them, Christine had invited Mike for Katie's birthday.
He was busy and away a lot and both girls voiced wanting their dad there for a few days but not wanting two separate birthday meals. Since Christine's second marriage was over and her divorce from Mike was a lot healthier; she agreed. When they made their plans, Katie and Hannah were supposed to be there to meet Mike. Except they were young and wanted to meet friends, so Christine agreed to pick Mike up at the airport. Finally she saw him come out of the airport and honked at him. She opened the trunk and he put his bag in and then got into the passenger seat.
"Thank you for picking me up. I could have gotten a cab though." Mike said.
"You're welcome. Katie is meeting friends for dinner and Hannah is finishing up some school stuff. I figured we'd have a quiet dinner at home tonight." Christine answered as she maneuvered her car away from the airport.
"Are you sure you're okay with me staying with you all? Katie was practically insistent." Mike asked.
"Why stay in a hotel when I have a guest room? It was an issue before but not now." Christine asked quietly. Her second ex-husband had hated her first ex because of how close Mike and Christine remained. He hated the friendship.
"I was sorry to hear of your divorce." Mike said.
"Really? You hated Mark." Christine deadpanned.
"I did but you loved him." Mike pointed out.
"I was wrong to. I was really sorry to hear about Andrea though. Katie and Hannah wanted me to go to the memorial service but it…didn't seem right." Christine said, not wanting to tell Mike that Mark had forbidden her to go.
"I would have liked for you to be there, but I understand. So, are you dating?" Mike asked.
"No. You?" Christine asked.
"No. I thought about it after the James sunk but it wasn't the right time or person." Mike said.
"How so?" Christine asked.
"Too young. I guess I forgot how settled I liked being. So, Katie said business was booming at least." Mike said.
"Yes, it recovered well after the divorce. I was concerned but things are good." Christine said. Mark had tried to ruin her professionally. It had confused her because when she and Mike divorced, he went out of his way to take care of her. Not Mark. He wanted to destroy her real-estate company.
"What finally convinced you to leave him?" Mike asked.
"Finding him in bed with a twenty-three-year-old." Christine said. Mike made a choking noise and then tried to recover it with a cough. "You aren't actually shocked by that?" Christine asked. She wasn't going to tell him that Mark had beat her to a pulp numerous times.
"No. I knew but I was shocked to hear you say it. Katie said you were in denial for a while." Mike said.
"It…hurt. Things were so easy with you. We just quietly decided that we had done everything we could to save our marriage. We parted as friends because it was best for the girls. Mark wanted nothing that resembled what we had." Christine said.
"He did a real number on you." Mike remarked.
"Yeah. I guess I thought if I looked younger, he would stay put. I shouldn't compare the two of you but it was not that way with you." Christine said. In a lot of ways, Mike was still her best friend and the one person she could be honest with. Except where the domestic abuse was concerned. She knew if Mike knew about Mark doing that, Mike would do something he would regret.
"I suppose it was because of the girls. I wanted them to know they count on both of us being there for them. I've seen a lot of parents that divorce and force their children to live two separate lives. I didn't want Katie and Hannah to feel they had to choose which one of us was at a graduation or special day." Mike said.
"And they are very well-adjusted young women." Christine said. Again Mike made a choking noise.
"It is hard to imagine them as young women. Doesn't seem that long ago that I was teaching Katie to ride her bike and giving Hannah piggy-back rides." Mike remarked.
"And Lucas." Christine remarked. It was a matter of sadness for both of them.
"Yeah, he is there too. Except, he just stays eight years old." Mike said.
"Yeah. I know. So, I got us steaks out and I have a grill if you wouldn't mind manning it?" Christine asked as she pulled into her garage.
"Sure. Nice place. Katie said you bought this?" Mike asked.
"Yeah. Divorce settlement. I didn't want to be the top real-estate agent in St. Louis County and living in a rental." Christine admitted.
"It gets aggravating. Apartments are not what they are cracked up to be but it makes no sense to buy when I don't stay in the same place more than a month or so at a time." Mike said. When the girls visited him, he usually rented a beach house or condo for their stay. He had invited Christine but it had never been right to go. Christine unlocked the door into the house and let Mike in.
"I have a guest suite on the first floor. The girls and I stay upstairs. You have direct access to the pool but it is still a bit cool. Hot tub is nice though." Christine said.
"Perfect. I will stow this bag away and start those steaks." Mike said. Christine led him to the guest room. She gave him a brief tour and then stepped out so he could freshen up. By the time he walked back into the open concept living area, she had a glass of wine poured for herself, a bottle of beer for him, and the steaks and vegetables were ready to go.
"Hannah texted. She will be home about nine. Katie won't be until midnight or later. I told her you would probably see her in the morning." Christine told him. Mike took the beer and drank a little.
"Yeah. I am at sea so much anymore when I do get a break, I tend to be exhausted. I do good to stay up until ten. Sounds lousy, right?" Mike asked.
"More like normal." Christine remarked. Mike grabbed the pan of steaks and vegetable packets and gave her a smile.
"Do you still like yours burnt to a crisp?" Mike asked.
"Medium well. Not my fault I hate seeing the blood. Thanks, Mike." Christine said. She showed him to the back patio area and then went back in to fix a dessert; wondering why Mike's smile had made her weak in the knees.
They had given their marriage every shot imaginable. Couples and individual therapy, weekends away, couple's vacations, date nights, you name it; they did it. A part of Christine would always love Mike because she shared her children with him and because he could have treated her as Mark had done. He had always been kind to her, even once their marriage was over. She had stopped being physically attracted to him years before, except seeing him now and feeling safe and secure had her wondering if there was any chance they could rekindle something.
Mike had loved and lost. Christine had loved and that love had broken her. In ways that Mike and the girls would never know. The girls knew about some of the abuse, but not all. They didn't know about the baby that Mark had forced her to give up because he didn't want children. Christine had desperately wanted to keep that baby girl after losing Lucas, but it was not to be and she hadn't had the courage to speak up. If Mike and the girls ever found out, they would never forgive her.