Page 28 of Chosen Road

He guffawed then continued, dropping his bag and his shoes and his sweater as he went. “That’s not even the best part! ThiawrestledJace to the ground, grabbed the hose, and she got us both!”

His grin widened with glee. “Andthat’snot even the best part! She said we had to stay outside until we were dry, but she forgot the muffins in the oven, and the smoke alarm went off and Thia said the muffins were hockey pucks and we took them to the park and hit them with the baseball bat, but she said even the birds wouldn’t eat that shit!” He paused and looked at us both, his smile almost reverent. “Thia saidshit!”

I looked at Amber, a desperate plea in my eyes. We were going to crush our beautiful boy. I was going to crush our beautiful boy. I already had. He just didn’t know it yet.

I thought back to the hospital, his tiny perfect form nestled on Amber’s chest, Amber exhausted but victorious. I vowed I’d protect them both with my life. Never dreamed they’d need protecting from me.

Amber looked as wrecked as I felt.

By mutual unspoken decree, we waited until the next morning to drop the bomb, and then spent the weekend running back and forth between the house and Amber’s condo, showing Alex a solidarity with our decision that I did not feel.

Amber slept in our bed one last night, clinging to her side until the early hours of the morning when I woke up to feel her clinging to my shirt, her face pressed into my chest to muffle the sound of her sobs.

I moved to wrap my arms around her, but her body jerked.

“Please don’t touch me, Gus. Just, please, let me hang onto you,” she whispered.

I lay helpless beneath her, my hands in fists at my sides, tears sliding from the corners of my eyes and beating a path to my pillow while my wife soaked my shirt with her heartbreak.

“Please, God, help us,” I prayed out loud. “And if not us, just her.”

Chapter 10: It’ll Be Okay

Gus

First thing Monday morning, I called first my doctor, then the HR department of my office to arrange appointments. The doctor gladly extended my leave for an additional two weeks before recommending, again, a much more gradual return to work.

While Alex was at school I met with my boss, Nick.

“Gus! How are you doing, man? You’re returning at breakneck speed!”

I shook his hand. “Yeah, about that, I’m going to need to slow it down a bit.”

After going over the details, Nick approved the two-week extension as well as the gradual return to regular hours after that and assured me he’d notify HR. The next part proved to be a bit more difficult.

I stated my request baldly. “I’d like to transfer to a different division.”

Nick’s eyebrows rose as his jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me? It took you ten years to work your way up to Luxury Homes. Listen, if you need more time, we can work with you.”

“I need something a little less stressful,” I explained.

“Okay,” he said slowly. “There’s an opening in subdivisions. I have a placement right smack in the middle of your neighbourhood. Let me call Jacqueline and see if she’d be willing to move with you.”

Nick reached for the phone on his desk, and I clamped my hand down hard over his. His eyes snapped up in surprise, and I winced.

He released his hold on the phone, and I sat back in my chair. I held his eyes. “Jacqueline’s not coming with me.”

It was his turn to sit back in his seat. He eyed me then blew out a breath. “Is there anything I need to know?”

“No,” I answered evenly. “If you’d like to bring her in here to check with her, I’m okay with that, but she has made it obvious that she has developed feelings that I don’t reciprocate. I believe it would be better all around to shift me from Luxury to something less stressful and leave her where she is.”

“You’ve been with us a long time, Gus. Why don’t we move Jacqueline? Assistants are not that hard to come by, but realtors like yourself are. Luxury clients are not the easiest to deal with. If she’s the one who’s rocked the boat, I’ll move her.”

Internally, I cringed. I could not be sure what happened that day. While I believed I was not the aggressor, I did not want to be that asshole who lost a woman her job because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.

“I need the change for my own purposes. It will be better for me this way.”

Nick eyed me thoughtfully for a moment then acquiesced. “Okay, Gus. Pick your team. You’re on site in thirty days.”

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