Chapter 8
Dylan
“Is she hot? The cop?”The guys at work wererelentless.
“Yeah, is she?” They crowded closer to me with eager, curious eyes. “Did she have on her gun belt? Fuck, did she pull out her nightstick?”
Was she hot?I didn’t reallynotice.
“My wife was kind of on the ground, passed out. I wasn’t looking to start a new relationship right then with the person trying to saveher.”
“Who said anything about a relationship? Swipe right, that’s it. It’s all about hookingup.”
“This is why you’re single and can only get dates with second cousins, Frank," I said, shaking myhead.
“Nah, man. She’s gonna be the replacement. You’ll see. She’ll be wearing a little dark blue nightie when you get home. Cook you dinner – and BAM. Dylan’ll be riding her like a cowboy, and Sheri be longgone.”
What the hell was wrong withthem?
“Thank you, assholes. That’s really sensitive to the position I’m in, you know, with my wife being in the hospital andall.”
I wiped the grease from my hands over a towel and tossed it behind me as I walked away from the petty conversation. These guys still acted like they were in highschool.
Frank followed me into the break room—which was no bigger than airplane bathroom equipped with an ancient coffeemaker—and slammed right into my back when I stoppedshort.
“I’m trying to give you some advice here,” he continued, patting my shoulder with a heavy hand. “Look. When was the last time you and your wife were alone? You know,biblically.”
Biblically? What adult talks likethat?
I shrugged him off, not wanting to say aloud, suddenly extremely embarrassed. It had been over a year. Probably when Ben was conceived. Shit, maybe it's closer to a year and a half? It didn't matter to me. I wanted my wife to be okay. Her pregnancy was too hard for her. She couldn’t work. Move. Think. Breathe. And I did my best to take over all the obligations so she'd feel better. I never strayed, either. I understood – God, I understood – and I tried my best. I did everything for her. Whatever she needed, no matter how much I needed to sacrifice, I did whatever I could without resentment orpause.
I took care of Addison. I worked so Sheri could stay home. I cleaned and cooked and didn’t lay a finger on her in any sexual way—because that’s what she asked of me. For the last year, my hand became my closestcompanion.
“Yeah. See? I can tell it’s been a while for you. You don’t smile at all. A guy that gets pussy on the regular smiles at work, no matter how rough his job is.” Frank folded his hands across his chest and nodded at megravely.
“Frank. I have a baby at home. She had a hard pregnancy. This is my wife you’re talking abouthere.”
He patted me on the lower back and smirked. "I'm just saying, if the cop is hot and your wife isn't able to, you know, no one will ever know. But tell me everything, got it?" He leaned in close to me, smelling of gasoline and body odor. "I have a thing for female authorityfigures."
“Yeah, I get it,” I said, backing out of the break room. “Look, I gotta go. My wife is in the hospital, and my kids are with a sitter I barely know. I don't have time for this bullshit withyou."
He held up his hands and sucked in his lips. “Okay. But send me pictures on the down low,” he whispered. “With thenightstick.”
I walked away. I had to. Everything was a joke to these idiots, and nobody cared that my wife almost overdosed and left my kids alone. When I told my boss that morning what happened, I thought he'd have the heart to tell me to spend time with my family, but he didn't. He told me to rotate the tires on a minivan in baythree.
Fifteen minutes later, I'm pulling up to the curb in front of my house, half-frozen because the heater in my car refused to go on. I was beyond exhausted. I was so exhausted, I started seeing things, like green lights that were really red and a bear wearing a sombrero. If I didn't get to sleep soon, I was going to drop where I stood. The only good thing about the heater not working was that the icy temperature was the only thing keeping my tired assawake.
I dragged my feet across the lawn and couldn’t quite make the key go into the keyhole correctly. Finally, I got in, and the house was eerilyquiet.
My heart started beating faster.Did I make a horrible mistake leaving my children here alone with the cop?There was no sound of life. No crying or screaming. No soap operas blaring or loud screamingchildren.
I dropped my keys on the couch and rushed through the hallway. The first door I opened was Ben’s. He was snoring softly in his crib, and the sounds of a soft lullaby drifted to my ears. I closed Ben's door and drifted toward the whispered words of the story. I inched the door open to my daughter’s room, and Addison was just falling asleep as Detective Ward finished the last sentence where everyone was living happily everafter.
The sight of my daughter curled up innocently against a stained pink pillow took my breath away. I never understood what love really was until my daughter was born. It's an age-old cliché, but it's true, and I hope I could get Sheri to remember how much her children needed her, and how much she needs to live forthem.
The detective slowly closed the book and placed a quick kiss on Addison’s forehead. That was the first time I actuallysawDetective Callie Ward. The very first time. It was as if my consciousness had blurred out her face, her body, her entire being until then. Long blonde hair and pale, perfect skin, highlighted by pink cheeks and full lips. Her mouth was what drew me in, and the echoes of what Frank said at the shop just minutesbefore.
"Goodnight, littleprincess."
