The New Ship
Chapter 9
Mike loved sleeping next to Grace. It had made his anniversary bearable. Of course, he thought of Christine and there had been some tears shed at her grave. More for the life he should have had. If she had lived, Katie would have been in college, Hannah would be graduating High School, and Lucas would be entering High School. Mike would have been retiring and would have been settling down. They would have finished raising their kids and would have traveled.
None of that would happen. Christine and the kids had all died and left him alone. Mike knew he had not been an attentive husband or father and he had taken them for granted. He had denied himself a relationship up until that point. But, Grace was a breath of fresh air and Mike already adored Eli and Liv. But, was he ready to put his heart on the line again? Mike only knew one thing, if he fell in love with Grace and lost her or the kids, he would never be able to live through it. One family had been enough.
Eli and Liv seemed to just accept him eating breakfast with them the next morning and Eli made no mention of Mike staying the night when he drove him to school. Mike went to work after but all he could think about was sleeping next to Grace, every night. He bought the fancy chai latte that she preferred and went to her office. As soon as he sit it in front of her, she gave him a big smile.
"Thank you. I was just wishing I had one of these. What's it for?' Grace asked.
"For letting me stay the night. I was dreading being alone." Mike admitted.
"She was really special to you, wasn't she?" Grace asked.
"Yes, but I don't suppose I realized how much until she died. I took her for granted. After we found out about the Red Flu, all I could think about was getting home to her and the girls and being who they needed." Mike said as he sat down in front of her desk.
"And now?" Grace asked.
"I don't know. You don't talk much about your husband, was it Kent?" Mike asked.
"Yes. And no, it wasn't a happy marriage. We got married because I got pregnant with my oldest, Lily. He…was a cheater and I was building a career and raising kids. Eli and Liv came along and he was not happy about Liv. She…has no memories of him. Eli idolizes him, but more because aside from my dad, and now you; he has not had a male role model. I think Eli craves that. Maybe Liv too." Grace answered.
"Did he not want kids?" Mike asked.
"He never said but I suspect not. He had a family because that's what people in Texas do. It looks good. He put a lot of pressure on Lily to be successful. She was an athlete and a good student, but she had to have straight A's and make all the teams." Grace explained.
"Was he abusive?" Mike asked.
"Not physically, although sometimes I suspect he might have been to Lily. But, emotionally, yes." Grace said. Mike suspected that there was more to it but Grace was fidgeting, clearly not wanting to talk about it.
"Can I stay the night?" Mike asked.
"Anytime you want. Don't you have friends that you want to visit, though?" Grace asked.
"I do have dinner with Tom and Sasha tonight. I'll try to get there before Liv's bedtime to give her a goodnight kiss." Mike said.
"You are so sweet with her. I can only imagine how you were with your own daughters." Grace remarked.
"Oh, they were Daddy's Girls. And I am not ashamed of that." Mike replied before giving her another one of those kisses.
"Just sleep tonight, or…?" Grace asked.
"Whatever you'd like." Mike answered.
"Okay." Grace said as Mike left the office.
As Mike suspected, the dinner with Tom and Sasha was not easy. Tom was not thrilled with his relationship with Grace. Sasha seemed a bit more understanding and seemed to be working on Tom. Once their steaks arrived, Tom finally said what was on his mind.
"Look, Mike…she has a past. You would be better off with a woman who hasn't been married or had kids. You are tying yourself down and I have to wonder if you are just falling in love with having a family again." Tom said.
"She does have a past. So do I and trust me, mine is not squeaky clean. I've spoken with her regarding her past. Seems the only thing that could be remotely unwholesome is a baby conceived out of wedlock and a weak marriage…hell, that could be my past too. Katie was conceived before Christine and I married. Our marriage was less than ideal." Mike said.
"That's only what she's told you." Tom argued.
"Actually—that's it. I've checked into her. Sorry, Mike…I just wanted to make sure she was reputable with this ship thing. It was before I even knew you were dating, Mike." Sasha said.
"Its okay." Mike remarked.
"I just think you should look before you leap…unless you have already." Tom remarked.
"That is none of your business. I am a grown man. She's a grown woman. Both of our spouses are dead. We are consenting adults." Mike said.
"I'm just worried about you." Tom replied.
"No offense, Sasha…Tom, when you and Sasha got together, I didn't say a word to anyone. I was happy for you. So, why can't you allow me that?" Mike asked.
"It is apples and oranges." Tom said.
"Not really." Sasha remarked before finishing off her glass of wine.
"Look, I respect you looking out for me. I am only testing the waters with Grace. I'm not rushing into anything. Just give me and her the space to figure things out. As much as I am testing the waters, so is she. And she has two kids to think of." Mike said. He was lying because they were rushing, but at an odd pace.
"We can handle that." Sasha said, speaking before Tom could.
The rest of the dinner, Mike kept the conversation diverted but by the time it was over, he was exhausted. He drove straight to Grace's house, glad he'd packed his bag and put it in the truck before dinner. She answered the door quickly enough and gave him a kiss.
"Liv is waiting on you. She wouldn't go to sleep." Grace said.
"Alright." Mike answered before giving her another kiss. He headed upstairs and tucked the very sleepy little girl in. Once she was asleep, he checked on Eli and helped him with a question on his geometry homework. Eli finished up and headed to bed and Mike found Grace in her bedroom.
"Kids asleep?" Grace asked.
"Liv is. Eli will be soon. He was pretty tired." Mike said.
"How was your dinner?" Grace asked.
"Rough." Mike admitted.
"They don't like me much, do they?" Grace asked.
"I think they just don't like me dating. Nothing against you." Mike said before giving her a long kiss.
"Sure." Grace said.
"Do you care if I take a fast shower?" Mike asked.
"Only if I can join you." Grace answered.
"Yes, ma'am." Mike said before leading her into the bathroom and shutting the door.
"Is the bedroom door locked?" Grace asked.
"Yes." Mike answered. He reached around and unzipped Grace's dress and helped her out of it.
"Sorry…I'm not…probably what you imagined." Grace remarked but Mike shook his head.
"You are more than." Mike said. The rest of their clothes hit the floor and they climbed into the shower.
"I'm glad this is big enough for both of us." Grace remarked.
"I like this shower. I could get used to this." Mike replied with a smug smile.
"Just the shower or you and me being in here?" Grace questioned. Mike pulled her close and gave her a long kiss.
"Both." Mike answered.