Concentration
Chapter 4
The night was rough. Christine, in particular, had nightmares. Mike felt helpless. Christine had always been strong and confident. Her beauty and confidence had been stripped away, but her strength was not going anywhere.
While his family rested, Mike spoke with a realtor and looked at a website for houses. He had found a four-bedroom, three bath house that he was able to buy. It had a nice kitchen, an office, and even a pool that Hannah had quietly requested.
He would have to get furniture and all kinds of housewares, but at least he had a home. Hopefully, they would only be in his apartment a week or so. When he showed the photos to Christine, she had been thrilled.
"That kitchen! And there's space for me to tutor the girls and get them caught up. Or do I need to work?" Christine asked.
"No. You need to rest. We'll be fine." Mike said.
"I'm excited for it." Christine said.
"I'm glad. I will warn you though, we'll have to go furniture shopping when we get back and we need everything. Pots, pans, bedding, you name it." Mike said.
"That's all very expensive." Christine remarked.
"Honestly, I've had very few expenses. I have the money." Mike said.
"I didn't ask but I suppose I thought you might have moved on? Things were not so good between us before." Christine asked after making sure the girls were asleep.
"Actually, I didn't. Never felt right about it. I suppose if I had had some sort of confirmation that you had died, I might have. But, I just never did." Mike answered.
"What a terrible predicament to be in." Christine said.
"Yeah, it was it's own kind of hell. The silly thing is, in the bottom of my closet, I have all the Christmas, birthday, anniversary, and graduation presents I bought for you all. It become cathartic to do it." Mike explained as he fiddled with his I-pad cover.
"It seems very sweet." Christine said.
"It helped the days pass a bit easier. Now, I am happy to finally be able to distribute the gifts. For our fifteenth anniversary, I bought you this blue sweater. I thought you would like it, but now it'll be way too big." Mike explained.
"Someday, I will be able to wear that blue sweater." Christine said with a smile.
"I bought you a pair of diamond earrings last year for Christmas." Mike told her.
"I'll get my ears re-pierced. Its going to be fun going through that box." Christine told him.
"Almost like Christmas." Mike said. He was a little surprised when Christine leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you, Mike." Christine said.
"For what?" Mike asked.
"For just being here and not walking away from me. I knew you wouldn't walk away from the girls, but I wasn't sure about me." Christine answered as she got comfortable.
"I missed you for too long to walk away. You just have to rest and recover as much as you can." Mike said.
"Thank you, Mike." Christine said again.
"You're welcome." Mike answered. He helped her settle and put the blanket over her. Before he stepped away, he kissed her forehead, glad she didn't pull away.