Page 30 of Finding Hope

Tears slipped from his eyes as he stared helplessly down at her. He started when he felt a hand on his arm. Turning his head, he was frozen in place.

“Alex?” His wife stood next to him, looking like she did before she got sick. With her white blonde hair braided over her shoulder, she smiled up at him.

“Hi, baby.” She looked back down at Shannon. “She’s beautiful. I knew you’d pull your head out of your butt eventually. Is she a good mom? She looks like she’s a good mom.”

Was Alex watching over them?

“She’s a great mom. You should see her with Josie. She’s been so great. You’d be so happy.” He felt it down to his bones that Alex would be pleased with how happy Shannon made them. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m so fucking glad to see you, but what are you doing here? Why does she feel cold? Is she dead?” She smiled at him and shook her head.

“I just wanted to make sure you guys were okay. It’s clear you’re doing fine.” She stared up for a moment and then looked back at him. “It’s time for me to go. Kiss Josie and Tessa for me. I love you so much and I’m so glad you found someone who seems so special. Hold on tight. I’ll always love you.”

He watched her fade away until he was alone.

Jonathon’s eyes flew open and he clutched at his chest. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand to see that it was six in the morning. His alarm would be going off soon, so he might as well get up. As he stood up, Alex’s scent filled his nostrils and warmed his heart. He thought about the dream as he prepared for his day. He’d never dreamt of her like that before. It felt so real to him. What did it all mean, though? In the dream, Henry was still hooked up to all the machines, and Shannon looked like she was dead. He could still feel the dread that coursed through him.

Shannon was still asleep, so he went out to the kitchen to make coffee. While it brewed, he checked on both kids. Henry was awake in his crib, just sucking on his hand and kicking his legs.

“Hey, little man.” After changing his diaper, he took him out into the kitchen, putting him in his bouncy seat while he made him his bottle.

While he was feeding the baby, Josie came stumbling into the kitchen. He watched her flop down into her chair and then rest her head on the table. A chuckle slipped past his lips. It always took her a bit before she was her normal bubbly self.

“Morning, baby girl. Do you want some breakfast?”

“Morning, Daddy. I just want cereal.” She got up and grabbed her cereal, and the rest of the stuff she’d need and set it all on the table. While she ate Jonathon took Henry to the bedroom to wake up Shannon. When they stepped through the doorway they found her pulling her hair up into a ponytail. She smiled when she saw them.

“Hi, guys.” She kissed his forehead and smiled up at Jonathon. “When did he get up?”

“Six, can you believe it? That’s the first time he’s slept all night.” He knew that it was probably a fluke, but he was going to hope for the best.

Today, Shannon was going back to work at her parents’ bar and grill. Tessa had already agreed to watch Henry and Josie. She was going to keep them so he could take Shannon to dinner. After he woke up from his crazy dream, he knew that he needed to take things slow with her. First it was dinner, and the upcoming weekend, Tessa and Cash were going to keep the kids all night so they could go out again and then ease into their talk.

After Josie left for school, Jonathon was going to find a therapist she could talk to. A part of him wondered if he should make an appointment with one for himself, just to process everything that had happened in the past year. It couldn’t hurt.

Chapter Fifteen

Shannon

Shannon was happy to be back at work. While she loved being home with her boy, she missed seeing her parents, brother, and sister and her best friend every day. So far, it had been a fairly busy day, but by six she was exhausted. She had just spoken to Tessa and checked on the kids. Henry was sleeping on Cash’s chest and Josie was doing her homework. Shannon figured that Jonathon would be at Tessa’s anytime to pick up the kids.

During her last hour at work, she stocked the bathrooms and filled the salt and pepper shakers. Her mom cashed out her tips for her and she was getting ready to walk out when Jonathon came in.

“What’re you doing here?” she asked.

“I’d like to take you out to dinner. Is that okay?” He looked a little nervous and it was kind of cute.

“Yeah, that sounds great.” She looked down at her clothes—jeans and a fitted, scoop neck shirt and a pair of Chucks. Unfortunately, all of her stuff had been ruined due to the fire, but a few weeks ago she got the check from the insurance company so she could try to replace the things she’d lost. For now, all she did was replace her clothes and stuff for Henry. She didn’t want to buy furniture and other things until she knew where she would permanently live. “I hope it’s okay that I’m dressed like this.”

“It’s fine. You look beautiful.” She felt her cheeks heat up.

Jonathon grabbed her hand and began to pull her out of the bar.

“Are we in a hurry?” she asked. “Your legs are longer than mine.” She practically had to run to keep up with him.

He finally started to slow down once they reached his car. Always the gentleman, Jonathon opened the door for her and she climbed in. She watched him walk around the front while she buckled her seatbelt. He looked so handsome in his jeans and red button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

Is this a date? While they were sleeping together before, that’s all it was. There were no dates, but occasionally she’d make them food, or he’d bring take-out.

Why was she nervous all of a sudden? They shared a child and lived together, but she was nervous to go to dinner with him…alone. His woodsy scent wrapped around her and made her want to bury her nose in his neck. They were both silent as they made their way toward her favorite Italian restaurant. Guigino’s was a place she enjoyed going to all of the time. They were a small restaurant with Formica-covered tables, chairs that had seen better days, and an Italian family that reminded her of her own crazy family.

---