Aaron and I have worked to find a way to get along for Aarabelle, and Liam will be her stepfather. She’ll live with us, and I want Aaron to be a part of Aara’s life.
“Liam,” I sigh and he stops. Aarabelle climbs into his lap when he sits. She’s so attached to him. “I’m not trying to put anything off, but I don’t think we need to rush.”
He looks away and resignation paints his face. “I’m marrying you before you have this baby. I want to bring our child into the world with two loving and married parents. I’m not asking for anything big. All I want is you, me, and Aarabelle on the beach.”
“This baby will have two loving parents whether we’re married or not.”
“This is going to sound really bad, but I don’t ask you for much. I didn’t push you to choose me because I knew you would. I don’t get upset about your ex-husband hanging around the house because he’s Aarabelle’s father and he was my friend. I’ve sacrificed and lost a lot. Now, though . . . now, you are mine.” Aara moves off his lap and he moves toward me. “I want this because life is short. I want this because if I have to leave again, I need to know you’re set. I need this because I need it.”
My mind spins in circles on how to respond. Before I can answer, a knock comes.
“We’ll revisit this . . .” Liam says and he gets up to grab the door.
I look over and Aaron is standing there. Neither of them speaks and you can cut the tension with a knife.
Aaron steps a little closer and extends his hand. “I’m sorry about your mom.”
Liam grips his hand. “I appreciate it.”
“Glad to hear you’re okay too. I know everyone was worried.”
While this is the most awkward thing I’ve ever experienced, it gives me optimism. They’re talking—civilly. Aarabelle peeks from behind the couch and begins to giggle.
“Hi, pumpkin!” Aaron exclaims and she runs full speed.
“It was a mess . . .” Liam begins but hesitates.
Aaron raises Aara up and kisses her, then turns to Liam. “The mission?”
I breathe a heavy sigh of relief and fight the smile that’s building. Maybe we’ll all get through this sooner than we thought.
Liam starts to tell Aaron about some of the stuff that went wrong on the mission and why they went dark. A lot of it either goes over my head, or I just don’t want to know. These two have been friends for a long time and to see their friendship end was hard. I know that there was a lot of hurt between us all, but I think Aaron and I have come to a point where we also know our marriage was over before he died. Neither of us were ready to face facts.
“Athair,” Aarabelle says, which is pronounced “ah her.” It means “father” in Gaelic. We decided to start pushing that more and more over the last few weeks. We want her to have something special to call Liam, but allow Aaron to be her Daddy.
“I’m here. I’m here.” Liam gives her one of his hands as she gives him a toy.
We spend about an hour just playing with Aara. We talk about work and some of the things the doctors have told Aaron. His PTSD symptoms are gradually getting better and he’s starting to feel like the person he was before the deployment where they lost half their friends.
“Do you think we could step out and talk for a minute?” Liam says and my eyes snap up.
“Sure,” Aaron replies reluctantly.
Liam walks over and grabs my hand. “Trust me. This has to happen.”
“Please,” I beg.
“I’ll be right back.”
They step out of the room, heading out onto the deck. Fear grips me, and my chest tightens. I press my ear to the door but can’t hear anything. Minutes pass, feeling hopeful they’re getting along since I don’t hear anything breaking.
“What the heck are they talking about, Aarabelle?” I ask rhetorically and lie down before I get myself worked up.
She climbs on the couch with me, I nestle her into my chest. I love the moments I get her like this. Usually if Liam or Aaron are around, she’s climbing on them, but when it’s me and her, she’s my snuggle bunny.
“Pretty soon Mommy is going to be so big you’re going to have to lie with me on the bed. You’re going to be a big sister,” I say animatedly. Her smile lights up her face, and although she doesn’t know what I’m talking about, my excitement grows. “You’ll get to be spoiled even more, because if I know your uncles, they’ll overcompensate.”
More minutes go by, and finally Liam walks in without Aaron.
Great.
“What happened?” I ask.
“We needed to talk, Lee. Man to man. He needed to know from me.”
I turn my head and try to hold my anger in. “You should’ve talked to me.”
“Natalie,” he tries to capture my attention. “Look at me.”
I let out a shaky breath and then turn to him.