Tempest
Chapter 12
Mike loved sleeping next to Antonia every night. He had completely moved into her bedroom, due to it having a larger bathroom and closet. He had been concerned about Hannah's reaction but she didn't seem bothered by it all. She just rolled with it. Her only concern seemed to be Hunter, who was trying to crawl.
Mike and Antonia had not been physically intimate. Just slept next to each other each night. They did kiss, but that was it. He wasn't sure when that would happen, but they weren't rushing it.
Tom had called Mike and let him know he would be in Mayport. Mike felt obligated to invite him to stay over, even though he knew it would make Hannah nervous. He was just hoping that Tom had gotten the counseling he needed so badly. Antonia cleaned Mike's old bedroom and bathroom from top to bottom with Hannah's help and spent the door before Tom's arrival cooking, even though Tom couldn't stand her.
Mike had offered to pick Tom up at the airport but Tom had never communicated when his flight was due to land, so Mike just helped Antonia on the day of. Hannah was as nervous as a cat. About two, the door bell rang and Mike opened the door to Tom, while holding Hunter.
"You mean you didn't give him up for adoption?" Tom asked as he walked in.
"Of course not. I would have picked you up." Mike answered.
"I got a ride share." Tom remarked as he looked around.
"Where's Sasha and the kids?" Mike asked.
"Back in Annapolis. Kids are in St. Louis." Tom said. Mike had noticed that he had brought a brown paper bag with him, along with just a duffel bag.
"You didn't bring them?" Mike asked. Now that he had Hannah back; he couldn't imagine being separated from her. The day would come, but Mike wouldn't go out of his way to choose it.
"No. They didn't want to come along. You got any ice?" Tom asked.
"For what? Don't you want to get settled in?" Mike asked.
"Where?" Tom retorted.
"Upstairs. First door on the left." Mike said.
"Isn't that your room?" Tom asked.
"It was. I'm in with Antonia." Mike answered, glad that Antonia and Hannah had gone to the store.
"Of course you are. It took way longer then I figured. She finally set her hooks in." Tom said.
"Enough. Antonia did nothing to deserve this animosity. She has always treated you well. I don't get it. You weren't like this with Christine." Mike pointed out.
"Antonia is no Christine." Tom said as he pulled the bottle of whiskey out of the brown bag. Mike groaned as soon as he seen it.
"Be careful with that around Hannah. She gets nervous when she sees alcohol. Been through a lot." Mike said.
"I have a feeling I'm gonna need both bottles. Figured that you would join me for a drink." Tom remarked.
"Tom; alcohol is not the answer. I lost almost my entire family. God knows I could have turned to it. Hell, the past five months hasn't been a walk in the park, but alcohol is still not the answer." Mike said.
"You quit drinking?" Tom asked in disbelief.
"I drink an occasional beer or glass of wine. Nothing more. Sure, I used to love the taste of whiskey, but I am not going to jeopardize Hannah's mental health for a drink." Mike answered as he laid Hunter down in his playpen and gave him a toy to play with.
"Where is she anyways?" Tom asked.
"Antonia and Hannah went to the grocery store to pick a few things up." Mike answered.
"Didn't ask about Antonia." Tom said.
"Tom, you need to understand. Antonia is part of my life. I married her and I do love her. It doesn't mean that I didn't or don't love Christine but I had to move on. Besides, you moved on with Sasha; relatively quickly after Darien died. Christine has been gone for years. It was time. And she would have kicked my ass for waiting so long." Mike reminded Tom.
"You and she were going to divorce." Tom said.
"Doesn't mean I didn't still love her. Just don't make things hard for Antonia. She doesn't deserve it." Mike insisted, even though he knew Tom would not follow his directive. He just would have to buffer between Tom, Antonia and Hannah. It would be a long weekend.