She forced her throat to swallow. “He’s picking the kids up from school and taking them to dinner, said he wanted to talk to them, spend some time.”
It had been her own idea, way back when, for them not to spend tonight together, so he wouldn’t see or speak to his bride the night before the wedding. Matt hadn’t liked it, but he’d laughed and kissed her and said, “Whatever you want.” Like he always did. He just wanted her to be happy.
“You know, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for you to be upset, Abby, even want to push the wedding back a little.”
Abby fixed her gaze on the giant wooden play-set in the backyard. The one Matt had insisted be there the day they moved in. He’d enlisted his brothers and a few team buddies to get it set up while he was in Raleigh with her. Kids need swings, he’d said.
Tears burned behind her lids.
“I’m—”
“Watch it,” Angie said. “You almost said you were fine, didn’t you? See? I know you. And I know you think this is just one more time you were left. God knows I want to strangle the man, but this isn’t the same, Abby. He didn’t walk away from you.”
Abby felt herself backing away. She’d grown so adept at turning off her feelings when she was hurt, she didn’t know how not to. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Yes, you do. You love him. You were weeks away from promising to love him forever, in good and bad. Did you mean it?”
She’d meant it. That hadn’t changed. It couldn’t change.
“Let me know if you change your mind about tonight. Or tomorrow. You know I love you, whatever you decide. But when you say those vows, you have to be sure.”
“I know. I love you too. And thank you.”
Abby ended the call and stared out the window at nothing. She was sure. That she loved Matt. That she wanted to spend her life with him. But there was a boulder-size weight on her heart. She wanted everything to be perfect, and right now it wasn’t. You shouldn’t feel terrified and broken the day before your wedding.
She went through the motions of the day, replaying Angie’s words while taking care of Mary and trying to keep it together as she always did. She caught up on the endless laundry, changed sheets, and picked up toys.
After eating dinner alone, she laid the baby in her crib, hoping she’d sleep almost through the night. She cleaned up and secured the trash bag to take outside. It was cold but not freezing like it had been. She was just about to hurry back inside when a faded blue car pulled into the driveway.
Abby watched as a young woman exited the driver’s seat, her blond hair swaying as she went around to open the passenger door. Her head disappeared for a second before she reappeared, helping someone slowly out of the car. A man stumbled and grabbed on to the open door to steady himself.
Their voices were muffled by the distance, but Abby didn’t miss the tender kiss the woman laid on his cheek. The back door opened and two little boys, maybe six and five, climbed out.
The four of them approached as a unit, one aching step at a time. The twisted grimace on the man’s lips and his groan of pain spurred her to meet them halfway. The left side of his face was an angry red; a series of stitches ran from his cheek into a shaved patch of hair.
She forced herself to smile. “Hi. Can I help you?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m Sergeant First Class Ray Evans. This is my wife, Sue. My boys, Johnny and Bo. We’re looking for Senior Chief McKinney. We was told he lived here.”
Before Abby could answer, the oldest boy, skinny and freckled, spoke.
“We come to tell him thank you for savin’ our daddy.”
The smaller boy handed her a piece of white paper, a child’s drawing. Four stick people—two small, one medium, and one as big as the sky with the word “Daddy” written over it in a child’s scrawl.
Abby’s knees went weak. A familiar pain gripped her heart. She couldn’t look away from the sight before her: a young woman with tears in her eyes, a man in obvious pain but straining to stand straight and proud, even in front of her. Something she didn’t deserve.
Something Matt did.
“I’m sorry,” she finally managed. “He’s not here. I could call him, maybe, if you want to wait?”
The man’s gaze fell to the sidewalk, but he quickly regrouped. “Oh no, ma’am. We got to be gettin’ back. Not even supposed to be out and about. Could you just tell him we come by? Wanted to thank him, personally and all.”
“Yes, of course I’ll tell him.”
A tear slid down the woman’s face, past the dark circles under her eyes. She didn’t speak, just reached out and squeezed Abby’s hand with a sharp, bony grip.