Better Together
Chapter 8
Mike knew he shouldn't have told Katie that something was bothering him. Judging by the sound of a slamming door upstairs and Audrey crying; there had been a fight. Katie and he tended to not mix well always. Usually, they could get by about a week during a visit without fighting so her defense of him was surprising, other than she was intensely jealous of his relationship with Hannah. Maybe by defending him, she was trying to align herself with him. Prove herself?
He would fix it in the morning. It was not a restful sleep and he got up at five and went for a long run, needing to clear his head. By the time he got back to the house; Christine and all three girls were awake and Christine was making oatmeal. Katie was being very obtrusive.
"Mom; is that oatmeal steel cut?" Katie asked.
"No. I can't get that anymore." Christine answered.
"And this milk? I thought I told you I needed lactose free?" Katie said.
"Katie?" Mike said quietly. She was being difficult. Even though Christine had hurt him, she didn't deserve her daughter picking at her. Katie slammed her cup down, making Audrey jump, and headed upstairs.
"I could have handled that." Christine commented before turning away from, towards the stove.
"She doesn't need to act that way." Mike commented as he smoothed Audrey's long hair with his hand. It was so like Lucas's in texture and color.
"Daddy; I could have run with you? I like to jog." Hannah said.
"Sweetie; I don't think you wanted to do ten miles. Maybe tomorrow, we can run together." Mike said.
"I'd like that." Hannah remarked. Christine was blowing on Audrey's oatmeal to cool it before giving it to her.
"I'm going in for a shower." Mike said.
"Do you want breakfast?" Christine asked.
"I'll fix something when I get out. No need to do anything for me." Mike said before going back into his room. He could hear her frustrated sigh midway through, but he didn't care. What he didn't anticipate was her sitting on the bed when he came out of the bathroom with just a towel tied around his waist. "Christine!" Mike said.
"Not like I haven't seen it before." Christine remarked.
"What did you want?" Mike asked.
"To settle this." Christine said.
"I misconstrued everything. Its that simple." Mike said.
"You didn't. Mike; I have no doubt that you are suggesting this out of the very best intentions. You still love me. Maybe you didn't want our marriage to end. The problem isn't that I don't love you or that I don't trust you. Its that Mark broke something in me and I have no idea how I could be any sort of wife to you or anyone again. You deserve a normal marriage. I would hate to rob you of that." Christine said.
"We could figure all that out." Mike answered from the bathroom where he had gone to get dressed.
"If Mark figures out your angle; we could have hell to pay." Christine said. Mike was still in the bathroom and Christine fiddled with a pair of his socks that were still on the bed.
"I am not scared of him and I will make it to where you aren't either." Mike said. He walked back out, wearing a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, all while towel drying his hair. What struck Christine was that she still found Mike attractive even though she had told herself those days were long over.
"Mike; I am just worried about you. This…is dangerous, even if it is well-intentioned. And we can't just do this for Audrey. You deserve…much more than this." Christine said as she stood up.
"Stop thinking about everything that could go wrong. Think about what could go right. I don't want you to give me an answer immediately and I will talk to Katie. I don't know what is going on with her." Mike said.
"She…is jealous of your relationship with Hannah. She knows I upset you so she thinks that if she is like this to me, you will get along with her and you and she will have more of a connection." Christine said.
"That is ridiculous." Mike remarked.
"It's the only thing I can come up with. I may be wrong. Mike; regardless of what I decide; I do appreciate this. I know you are doing this out of love for me." Christine said. She reached up and kissed Mike's cheek. What surprised her was him stopping her from pulling away and giving her a long kiss on the lips. When he finally pulled away, he smiled down at her.
"Did that scare you?" Mike asked.
"No." Christine answered honestly.
"Good. That was my intent." Mike said. He winked at her before walking out of the bedroom; leaving her a bit stunned.