Page 49 of Remembering You
“How long ago was that… did you… with her?”Brittany. Marty couldn’t bring herself to say the girl’s name yet.
“My wife and I have been divorced two years. Brittany was a little less than that… maybe a year and a half ago?”
Wow, it was a long time ago. Longer than Marty thought. And only the one time… maybe Ronnie was right. Maybe this was forgivable. She certainly didn’t feel as angry or betrayed as she did last night. “I still wish you had told me. Hearing it come from gossip just sucks.”
He winced. “I know. I’m sorry. And… I was thinking about what you said and even though I really was just trying to go to the chief and cover myself, avoid the mistakes of my past, I think there was also some truth to what you said. I think there was a small part of me that didn’t want you to know about my past with the intern yet.”
Well, that was a surprising admission.
“I would have told you eventually… I just didn’t want to tell you on or before our first date. But you’re right… that was a selfish move. And I’m sorry.”
Marty chuckled, just a small laugh. But then it grew louder.
“What’s… what’s so funny?” Chris asked. And even though he had no idea why she was laughing, he chuckled, too. That’s the thing about laughter… just like the flu or a virus, it’s infectious.
“I just… that was so easy!” Marty said. Her laughter became louder and louder and even though she knew she looked and sounded like a crazy person, she couldn’t help herself as the laughter turned into tears streaming down her face. She swiped at them, shoulders bouncing as her chuckles faded.
“Easy?” Chris asked, laughing harder, too. “You thought that was easy?”
“Well… no. Yes. Sort of,” Marty clarified. “You have to understand, I haven’t been on a date in years. But I’ve heard my girlfriends, and my daughters, complain about men and dating. And then we had this little spat and not even twenty-four hours later, you are not only apologizing to me, but admitting where you went wrong. Understanding why I was hurt by it.” Marty inhaled a slow breath, feeling her chest rise with it. “I guess I expected you to defend your actions more. Be stubborn. Not apologize.”
Chris’s eyes crinkled. “Oh, Marty. I’m too old for those games. When I’m in the wrong, I’ll always apologize. And even if I don’t think I’m in the wrong, I’ll always acknowledge your feelings. I hope you do the same for me.”
Marty nodded slowly, smiling. “Always.”
Chris snorted and ran a hand through his hair. “On my end, too, this was the most cordial fight I’ve ever had.”
Marty rolled her eyes. “It was hardly a fight.”
“True, true. I just mean, with my ex-wife, this would have dragged out for a week. She would have made me feel guilty, not telling me what she was angry about, making me fret and sleep on the couch for a week before she finally revealed why she was upset.”
Marty winced and shook her head. “I would never do that to you.”
“I can tell. Like you said… there was an ease to this. A calmness.”
There was only one other time in Marty’s life she had felt this ease with a man. And that was the man she ended up marrying. And having five children with.
Children… her children. Marty winced and looked at Chris carefully. “You know… I have an awfully large family. Five kids—”
“Five kids, three spouses to said kids, two grandkids with two more twin grandbabies on the way,” Chris said, then smiled proudly. “To be exact. And I love your big family. I’ve always wanted one. I love my sons and I think your kids will welcome them with open arms.”
Marty laughed. “My kids are good at that,” she said.
“With a mom like you, I’d expect nothing less. I can’t wait for them to meet you… and your family.”
“You’re not scared off by us?”
He exhaled a long, lingering breath through tight lips. “It’ll take a lot more than that to scare me off. From you, especially.” With a flicking glance at his coffee, he cleared his throat before drawing his gaze back to mine. “I really like you, Marty. I know you’re nervous about me meeting your family… I’m happy to do this on your schedule. When you’re ready, you let me know. Because… I’m all in, Marty. My heart was all in from the moment I saw you my first day on the job months ago”
Her breath caught with his statement, and her heart pitter-pattered against her ribcage like a rabbit thumping its foot happily. Marty stood and slid into the booth next to Chris. She linked his hand in hers and squeezed. “I really like you too, Chris. Thank you for understanding that I need to take things slowly. There was only one other time in my life I didn’t take it slowly…”
With Jim. And while her marriage was amazing, and wonderful… it also wasn’t perfect. Nothing was. She couldn’t imagine herself rushing in that recklessly ever again. That circumstance, decades ago was special. Jim was special.
“I understand,” he whispered. “Really Marty, I do. I can’t wait for the day, whenever that is, that we meet each other’s families. But until then, I’m happy to have any part of yourself you’re willing to give.”
Unable to stop herself, Marty leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his.
As the kiss deepened, Marty found herself caught up in two strong arms. Heat flushed against her skin as she slipped her hands into his silky, dark hair, tugging sharply as his tongue grazed across hers.
