“Just trying to drink away what I saw in your bedroom earlier,” Hunter says as he turns up his beer.
My mom laughs and covers her face with both hands. “You should have knocked.”
My dad looks proud. “Maybe we should have put a sock on the door, sweetheart.”
“Oh god, make it stop,” I groan while Autumn and Holly fail miserably at keeping it together.
“Your mother and I are just making up for lost time,” he says, and kisses her on the cheek.
“It’s been a year,” Hunter says, but he’s just giving Dad a hard time.
“Is that as long as you think it takes to make up for it? We can talk in private, Hunter, and I’ll give you some pointers.”
“That’s it!” Hunter announces, scooping a nearly hysterical Autumn up in his arms. “We’re going to bed. See you in the morning.”
“I think we should probably put him down, too,” Holly says, and she nuzzles the baby and stands up from the couch.
“I think we’re going to sit by the fire for a bit longer,” my mom says when I get up and kiss them goodnight.
“Merry Christmas,” I say as we walk up the stairs.
“Do you think they know?” Holly whispers when we round the corner.
“No way. It’s going to be the best gift ever.”
Bonus Chapter
Neil
Christmas 2017…
I look into the eyes of my bride, whom I haven’t seen in five years. The woman I’ve loved since before I knew what that was. The woman whom I’ve spent years trying to live without and have only barely managed.
She and Vance just walked through the front door and it’s a miracle. I wished for this every night, but I never thought it would truly happen. I thought I’d lost them both for good. I thought I’d never see them again and still after all this time, I never learned to live without them.
I hug Vance goodbye before he walks out the door to go find the woman he loves. It’s then I turn my eyes back to Ariel and pray that I’m not dreaming.
“Neil,” she whispers, and her voice is so beautiful it’s like I’m hearing it for the first time.
“I think maybe we should give you guys some privacy,” Hunter says.
All I can do is nod as I keep my eyes locked on my wife.
I wait as he takes a stunned Autumn out of the living room, leaving Ariel and me alone. For a moment there’s only silence. My knees feel weak again, so I walk over to the fireplace and stoke the coals. A few flames come to life and I throw a couple of logs on the fire. When I close the grate I turn around and see Ariel has followed me.
She sits down on the couch and folds her hands in her lap. “Why won’t you say anything to me?” she asks as she stares down at her fingers.
“Because I don’t trust myself,” I say, and it’s the truth. “I want to scream, I want to shout.”
“Then do that. I deserve it,” she says, looking up at me with tears in her eyes.
I go over to the couch and sit down, but I’m careful not to touch her.
“Not at you, my love,” I say. “I want to yell at myself. I’ve betrayed you. I’m so sorry.”
“What do you have to be sorry for?” she says as she wipes away her tears. “I was the one who left.”
I want to hold her. I want take her in my arms. But I can’t. Not yet.
“Because I married someone else. She’s gone, and she meant nothing to me, but I did it. It happened right after I thought you died. I know you probably hate me, and right now I hate myself.”
The pain and guilt of how I betrayed her fills my chest. I can’t even look her in the eyes right now. I’m so ashamed of what happened, and it’s going to kill me to see the pain on her face.
When I hear her laugh, I look up to see a smile on her face.
“Neil, I know,” she says, and her eyes are soft and sweet.
“You know? How?” Guilt rips through me. She knew I was married to someone else and she’s laughing. If the roles were reversed I would have burned the world down.
She looks at the fire and tells me the story of how she went with Vance to get an engagement ring. Then she tells me what happened that day and how she had to be put into the witness protection program. I try to understand why she would have chosen to leave us, but then I remember what a kind and loving heart she has. She would have seen our son get shot trying to protect her and she would have wanted to make sure that those who did it were never allowed to hurt anyone else again.
I sit there and listen to her tell me of her sacrifice, and it’s a knife in the heart. I know that while she was doing this I betrayed her at the same time. Her story makes me feel even lower. I don’t deserve her. She cries as she tells me about Vance and the physical therapy he went through while they were gone.