He looks at me and lifts his hand, but drops it before touching me. “I’m doing okay,” he admits.
“Good, I’m glad.” And I mean that. I don’t wish anything bad on him. Aaron has suffered enough in his life, and I know the man he was. He was happy, loving, and fun. I want him to find that again.
“I wanted to ask you if you thought we could have dinner this week? There’s some stuff I want to talk about and I owe it to you.”
My heart sputters and I’m not sure what to do. Aaron hasn’t done anything to make me wary, but I remember the last dinner we had.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, I just want to talk about going forward.”
“Okay, I can get a sitter for Aarabelle.”
“Great.”
We play with Aara for a while and talk about work stuff. Aaron has been working with Mark on a lead outside of the office on what’s been going on in Cole Security Forces. This will be the first time he’s back in the office for more than a day or two. They both have been steadfast in checking every clue as to who could be behind the issue that caused Aaron to go over there in the first place. Jackson is flying back this week and wants to have a staff meeting. It’s hard to believe anyone is intentionally messing with all of these guys, but it seems that way, and Mark is all too happy to work a little closer with Charlie in D.C.
After we discuss work, we transition into how he’s handling everything. Aaron’s been working hard in therapy and seems to be doing much better at opening up. His therapist has urged him to talk more about what he went through.
“Seeing Charlie this week was good I think,” he muses.
“Why is that?”
“She was able to fill in some of the gaps of time and how she was able to get me the hell out of there.”
Aaron looks off at the waves and I place my hand on his. “Can you tell me about the rescue?” I ask.
We start to pack Aarabelle’s toys and head to the house. It’s already getting dark and we’ve spent the afternoon talking and laughing. It was nice to spend time with him like two old friends. There wasn’t anything awkward or uncomfortable. We just enjoyed the day with our daughter.
“What do you want to know?”
“How did it all go down?” I really want to know how they knew where to find him and what happened.
Once we reach the deck, I can tell by the way Aaron stiffens and the way he keeps clenching his hands that this is difficult for him. I reach out and touch his arm. “You don’t have to tell me.” I offer him the out.
“No, it’s fine.”
“Do you want to stay for dinner? I have chicken in the crock pot.”
“Are you sure that’s okay, Lee? I’m not saying I don’t want to, but you need to be sure. I don’t know if I can really be friends with you like this. You chose him.”
My stomach clenches. “Aaron, I wasn’t trying . . .”
“I know. You asked me to leave. You asked me for a divorce. I don’t know how Liam or Brittany would feel.”
“You’re back with her? Even after all the shit you said to each other?” I ask.
“Do you hate it?” he asks and steps closer. “Do you wish I wasn’t?”
I shake my head. “No. If you were willing to ruin our marriage over her, I would hope you cared about her enough to try. You were planning to leave me.”
I thought we were making progress, but it seems not. I don’t know if he’s playing a game or what.
“I would’ve never done it.”
“You’ll never know that.”
“I do know.” He lifts Aarabelle in his arms. “I don’t want to fight with you. I came here to see if we could talk.”
My phone rings and it’s Liam’s number.
“I gotta answer,” I explain.
“Liam?”
“Hey, Lee.” He sounds exhausted and worn. “I only have a minute, but I needed to hear your voice.”
“What’s wrong?” Fear starts to course through me. This doesn’t sound like the man I know.
He huffs and something crumples behind him. “Everything. I’m ready to be out of this hellhole. It’s going to be a long deployment, and I’ve never been like this. I’m the guy who’s counting down the fucking days, Lee. I’m not this guy. I don’t do moody bullshit. The whole damn time I was away, all I did was worry about you. This isn’t normal. I don’t care about being away. It’s money and fun, yet here I sit all pissed off and ready to come the fuck home.”
“Lee, I need the keys,” Aaron says loudly and I know it is on purpose. I hand him the keys and give him the nastiest look. Asshole.
Liam goes silent and then his voice morphs to anger. “Aaron’s there?”
“Yes, he came to see Aarabelle.”
“But he needs the keys?”
“Don’t make this a fight because you’re looking for one. It wasn’t anything you need to worry about. Our divorce paperwork is submitted, but he’s going to be a part of our lives. You’re pissed off because you’re gone, and I get that, but there’s nothing here.”