Now and Forever
Chapter 11
The next week, Christine went to her therapy and even worked a few hours at work. She hated being treated with kid gloves and it was actually worse at work. It felt good to walk into her house and see Mike cooking dinner. She kissed his cheek and smiled at Hannah working on her homework at the kitchen table.
"Supper smells good. What is it?" Christine asked.
"Steak and peppers. Good with white rice." Mike answered. She gave him a kiss on the lips and smiled at him.
"It looks amazing. Thank you for cooking. What's this?" Christine asked, looking at a cake that was sitting on the counter.
"Hannah and I made that. German Chocolate." Mike answered.
"My favorite." Christine remarked.
"Yes, I remembered. I found your recipe. Although, I'm not sure its very pretty." Mike commented.
"I'm sure it is just fine. Thank you." Christine said. She gave Mike a kiss and kissed the top of Hannah's head. Hannah just smiled up at her.
"So…do you work Friday?" Mike asked.
"No. Right now, I am Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday." Christine said.
"Good. So, I need to go back to St. Louis to pack my apartment and to meet and negotiate terms. I was hoping you could go with me." Mike mentioned quietly.
"When would we leave and get back?" Christine asked.
"Thursday when you get off work and come back Sunday night." Mike explained.
"The girls?" Christine asked.
"They will be fine. I spoke with the neighbor. She'll look in on Hannah when Katie is working and keep an eye out for both of them." Mike told her.
"I…want to go with you but I am nervous to leave them." Christine admitted in a soft voice.
"We'll be fine, Mom. Go. You need this." Hannah said. Christine was a bit surprised that Hannah could hear them.
"And you can call them whenever you need." Mike said. She finally nodded.
"Sounds like a plan." Christine said. She was nervous but she also knew Mike was a total gentleman. They would have a nice weekend.
On Thursday, when she got off work; Mike had his truck packed and after giving both girls a kiss goodbye, they headed out. Christine was actually nervous about what the outside world would be like. Aside from being at the hospital for a week, she hadn't left the town she lived in.
The drive was a few hours long and they pulled into a parking garage at about nine pm. Even the parking garage was nice and Mike led Christine up to a modern apartment. It was very sparsely furnished and not very lived in.
"I basically paid for a place to keep my civvies. I rarely slept here. Was gone a lot." Mike said, looking through mail.
"Its nice." Christine remarked.
"I liked that it had good security. There is a fair amount of scrutiny due to my position. It keeps the media at bay." Mike explained.
"I see." Christine said. There were pictures of her and the kids but that was the only personal touch other than a game schedule for the Naval Academy's football team on the fridge.
"So, I thought I would order some Chinese takeout. My favorite place is still open and they deliver." Mike suggested.
"I could cook something." Christine offered.
"I only have beer…and some whiskey." Mike admitted.
"Oh." Christine said.
"Does Chinese food sound good? I could do pizza or Thai food." Mike asked.
"Chinese is fine." Christine answered.
"Good. Anything special you want?" Mike asked.
"Broccoli beef sounds good. Some eggrolls." Christine answered, still looking around the apartment.
"Make yourself at home. The bedroom and bathroom is down the hallway. I can take the couch tonight." Mike said as he typed something out on his phone.
"I will use your bathroom and maybe change into my pajamas if that's okay?" Christine asked.
"Of course." Mike answered.
"Thanks." Christine said. She walked into the bedroom, not surprised to see the neatly made king-sized bed. Like the living area, the bedroom only had a few photos and just seemed liked random furniture was thrown in it. Nice enough and it did match but it was not Mike's personality. Christine had rolled her suitcase in and quickly changed into her pajamas. Knowing she had a bit, she looked in a couple of the drawers, figuring she might find something indicating Mike had something more than a few one-night stands. Nothing. No condoms. No women's belongings. No make up or perfume. Only men's shampoo, body wash and deodorant in the bathroom. Christine did her business, washed her hands and walked back into the living area. Mike was sitting at the counter reading a newspaper.
"Everything okay?" Mike asked.
"Yeah, I was just stowing my suitcase." Christine answered.
"So; knowing you won't want to eat out all weekend, there is a diner downstairs we can eat breakfast at in the morning and we can get some groceries when I get done tomorrow. I should be finished before lunch." Mike explained.
"Perfect." Christine said.
"I do have pots and pans. Usually, when I wanted something home cooked, I would buy a steak and baking potato." Mike explained.
"Its fine, Mike. I can't imagine its been easy living on your own." Christine said.
"Not always." Mike admitted.
"This is not what I imagined you living in though?" Christine remarked.
"I really never spent much time here. Was gone a ton. I am honestly done with that kind of lifestyle." Mike said.
"You have a nice, modern apartment in a busy city full of restaurants and opportunities. Back at my place, you have a run-down rental house that needs caulk on the windows and a town with only one restaurant." Christine pointed out as she looked at the window at the city's lights.
"And its lonely here. Back there, I have you and the girls." Mike commented.
"I was thinking, the couch doesn't look that comfortable. If you would be okay, we could just share the bed. Just to sleep." Christine suggested.
"Yes, we could do that." Mike said. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss. Just then, the intercom buzzed.
"Food." Christine said.
"Food." Mike answered. The intercom went off again. Mike groaned before standing up to answer it. "I'll be right back with the food. Make yourself comfortable." Mike told her. He left and Christine looked around the kitchen. She poured beer in two glasses and smiled at Mike when he came back in with a bag of food.
"Perfect." Christine said. She was actually enjoying how homey it felt. The apartment, not so much, but the night was nice and something she could get used to.