Page 89 of His Bittersweet Regret

“Marsh, good to hear from you. This isn’t a jailhouse call is it?” He asked.

I chuckled into the line. “Not at all. If you have a minute, I’d like to discuss a contract I want set up. If at all possible, I’d love to have it in hand first thing in the morning.”

“Tell me about it, and I’ll see what I can do.”

~*~

“Good morning,” I said when Opal finally appeared in the kitchen just before ten in the morning.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe I slept that long. Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Seemed like you needed the rest.”

“I did,” she huffed as she plopped down into one of the kitchen chairs. “I haven’t slept for a full night since before Austin was born.”

That took me aback. “What about the nights when I have him here?”

Her sheepish look was equally endearing and frustrating, because suddenly I feared what she might have to say about why she wasn’t getting any sleep when she didn’t have a baby at her apartment to keep her awake.

“I can’t sleep when he’s away from me.” She laughed then and the sounds felt like music on the air. It was slightly deeper, rougher-edged than her normal laughter, since her voice was still thick with sleep. “When he’s there, he wakes me at least once or twice a night. When he’s gone, I sleep so restlessly. It’s not that I don’t trust you with him. He’s just not with me, and I keep expecting to hear him wake in the middle of the night. When he doesn’t I get nervous and then can’t get back to sleep.”

“I wish you had told me this sooner.”

“And what? You end up giving up your nights with your son, so that I can get slightly less crappy sleep?” She joked.

“Actually, no. I have another solution that I think would be good for all of us. I tried to do this before, but went about it all the wrong way.” I pulled out the folder the lawyer had left with the paperwork I requested and handed it to her.

“What’s this?”

“Open it, and I’ll tell you about it as you look it over.” She nodded and turned her eyes down to begin scanning over the pages.

“I’ve always trusted you implicitly,” I started to say as she glanced back up at me. “The thing is, I ruined your trust in me. That was something that took me a while to come to terms with, to understand even. I get it now. Maybe one day, in the future, I will rebuild that trust with you, but until then, you need some assurances that you are protected. From me,” I tacked on at the end while swallowing my pride to do so.

“So, I’m offering you those assurances. I want you to move in here with me.” I held her off with a gesture, so that I could finish explaining. “I know we’re just starting over, but it’s not that cut and dry with us. Like you said last night, we share a baby, who we both love and adore, and neither of us wants to miss any time with him. If I’m being honest, I don’t want to miss out on any more time with you either. Even if you don’t feel the same. I want us to try living together. If things don’t work out, at any time, you are free to kick me out. The house is yours.”

Her gasp made me pause. “Well, it’s not yet, because turning over property actually takes a minute to get done. In the meantime though, I had my lawyer draw up the paperwork to state that the house is yours. I cannot force you out for any reason. You, however, have the power to force me out. So, if you want to live here and banish me to your apartment, then so be it. We’ll swap. I’d really like to give us, living here together, a try first.”

“This is a lot, Marsh.” She said as her eyes drifted back down to the paperwork in her hands. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’m sure. I believe in us. I can’t fathom ever being able to give you up again, especially after getting to hold you while we slept last night. I don’t want to give that up. I want us to be able to see what it’s like to be a real family. I know I don’t deserve a real second chance with you, but I hope like hell you’re willing to give me one, anyway.”

“Okay,” she agreed so quietly that at first, I thought my imagination had played an awful trick on me and she’d start laughing and explain what an idiot I was.

“Did you just say, ‘Okay’?”

“Yes, I did. I happen to agree with you on everything. Lucky for you. Plus, it will put me a whole lot closer to work, so if something happens during the day with Austin, I can be here in just a few short minutes.”

“Is your decision only about Austin?”

“No, Marsh, it’s not. I’ve been angry with you, hurt by you, and in all that time I never stopped loving you, even when I wished I could.”

“Well, thank God for that,” I mumbled.

“Yeah, I suppose so.”

34

Opal

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