Page 60 of His Loving Wife

As I’m leaving her room, I pass Andrew in the hall.

“Everything was okay?” Noah seemed happy when they returned, but I want to make sure.

“Yeah, it was great. I understand why you wanted to stay back with Willow, but I wish you could have seen the look on Noah’s face. He was having the time of his life out there.”

“Good,” I say, and the nerves I have about Vincent and the water and all of it begin to settle.

One by one, everyone gathers around the table. I’m sure the boys worked up an appetite on the boat, and Willow will need something to soak up the juices in her stomach.

“I have to say I’m impressed you cook such elaborate meals while on vacation. Usually, we stick to frozen pizza and takeout,” Vincent says.

“Kate is a fabulous chef,” Andrew says, taking another bite of his food.

“Trust me, I don’t do this every night. I enjoy cooking. I never feel like I get the time to do it as consistently as I’d like back home, when everyone is rushing around in a dozen different directions.”

“Good food and family,” Vincent says. “That’s what it’s about.”

I take a sip of my wine. The kids remain silent as they eat.

“Tell us about you, Vincent. As I said, you’re the only one of Andrew’s online friends I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in person.”

“Pretty boring guy, really. I’m retired. Big fisherman, but you already know that. On the weekends I work security at one of the pubs downtown. It keeps me busy and can be a good source of entertainment sometimes.”

“What did you do before you retired?” I ask.

“He was a cop,” Noah answers excitedly.

“Really?” I ask. Across the table, my eyes lock with Andrew’s. That must be one of the reasons he asked him to come over.He can protect us, Andrew said.

“Part of me thought I’d never give it up, but my ticker isn’t the best. I figured at some point I had to start living life on my own terms. When my pension was ready, I hightailed it out of there and never looked back.”

“Is that why you joined Dad’s group? Did you see a lot of messed up stuff when you were a cop or something?” Willow asks. It’s the first time she’s spoken.

“Willow, that’s very personal,” I say.

“What? We all know what his group is about. It’s about helping people who’ve had problems.” She looks to Andrew. “I’m sure Vincent knows what Dad has been through. What we’ve all been through.”

“Yes,” I say. “But that’s between them—”

“Kate, it’s okay,” Vincent says, cutting me off. “I don’t mind answering her questions.”

“You don’t have to,” Andrew says sheepishly.

“She deserves to know,” Vincent says. “Yes, I’m aware of what your family went through last summer. It must have been a terrifying incident. Sure, I’ve seen things as a cop, but I can’t imagine having that level of violence targeted at my own family. I’m sorry you all had to experience it.”

As usual, when I hear people talk about that night, I feel a thick lump in my throat. I look down and close my eyes, feel like I’m holding my breath.

“Vincent’s experiences are different from mine,” Andrew says. “We all enter the group for different reasons, but it’s helpful to know that there are other men out there who are grappling with the same feelings. The fear and the stress and the resentment.”

At that, my eyes flick up to Andrew. For a second, there’s eye contact, but he breaks it and quickly looks away. I clear my throat.

“So, Vincent, why did you join the group?” I ask.

“Well, Willow is right. I did see some things on the job that bothered me over the years. Just before my retirement, my wife got sick. Cancer. It was devastating for me and the girls.”

“You have children?” I ask.

“Two daughters. Sadie and Jenna.” He stops, smiles. “After my wife’s diagnosis, we fell apart. I’d like to think we were a happy family once. I know we were. But after she got sick, everything just started unraveling. You realize who keeps the world on its axis when something like that happens, let me tell you. Suddenly, we were griping and fighting all the time. The girls were acting out. I was angry, tired from running my wife back and forth to all her appointments and therapies. It’s like we were running out of steam, and no matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t get back to that happy place. What we were really doing was reacting out of fear. Fear of losing my wife, their mother. Fear of losing each other.”

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