Like That

Chapter 11 - Reliving the Day

A happy marriage is a long conversation, which always seems too short - Andre Maurois

Chapter 11 -Reliving the Day

Cooper's POV:

We all sat in the living room in silence for a while. Will and I are waiting for Emily to talk. I guess she is trying to figure out how to begin.

"Do you know there are some days you never want to relive, but they are usually the ones your brain never lets you forget? September 30th was the last time I slept for more that 5 hours in a row. Patrick promised when I woke up on October 1st that he would let me sleep late that coming Saturday. It wasn't that I was really tired; I just wanted to sleep in. That never happened." I'm not sure where this story is going, but I assume she is going to tell us how her husband left her.

Will holds her hand and pulls her into his arms. He kisses her hair and mumbles something in her ear. "I'm sorry Copper. I'm not usually such a drama queen, but when it comes to Patrick nothing is easy."

"Don't worry about it, Em. Just tell us. Let it out. Is this the first time you talked about that day?" Will asks. She nods her head. He looks at me trying to figure out if I am ok with this, and I am.

"You know about two years before we adopted Peyton, I almost hated Patrick?" So, Peyton is adopted. "I had lost a baby, it was the second time, and it hurt like hell. Patrick and I grieved together after the first miscarriage. I was only 8 weeks along, we had barely found out I was pregnant before I lost the baby. It just wasn't meant to be, and I did come to terms with that. The second time I made it to 14 weeks and had already met with a doctor and began planning for a new baby in the house. When I lost it, I was devastated and Patrick didn't know how to comfort me so he didn't. I resented him, and then that resentment started turning to hate. We pretty much lived separate lives and for almost a month I didn't talk to him. He called my dad to come out to California. I figured he was calling an intervention, somewhat like you guys did." She gives me a small smile and she nestles her back closer into Will's chest.

"Patrick had another idea. He had asked my dad to stay with Mason while he took me to Hawaii for a week. He told me I needed a change of scenery, and he got me away from the house, where I wouldn't be reminded about the loss of my child. He spent time showing me how much he loved me, and how hard loosing the baby was for him. It was the first time we really talked about the baby. I had no idea what he was going through, because it hurt him too much to talk. He was patient with me. He told me if a week wasn't long enough, then we could stay longer. It wasn't long enough.

"By the end of the week, I fell in love with my husband again and I wasn't ready to go back to the real world, so we stayed a few more days. After that trip we were like newlyweds. I didn't think I could have loved him anymore than I did...that was until we got Peyton. Then, I found I could. You know, there not many things sexier than a handsome man holding a sleeping baby.

"He was my entire life. We made a pact that we would never start the day without connecting with each other, and that included the days when he had to get up too stinking early." She smiles to herself.

"He would hold me every morning. I take that back, sometimes I would hold him. Some days it was just a nice cuddle, some days it was playful and sweet. Some days he would even reset the alarm so we got up early and he would make love to me. Oh god, the things he could do to my body..." She blushes as she spoke. She is so adorable. Why would anyone leave her?

"On October 1st he was supposed to work late to sign off some projects he had been working on. He had less than 5 months before he would have a permanent change of station which is military talk for moving. We were supposed to take most of March as vacation and moving here. As you can tell I got here early and without him." Her eyes begin to water, but the tears don't come. She straightens her shoulders and adjusted her focus. I've never seen a woman so determined not to cry. "He called me that afternoon and told me he wouldn't be as late as he first thought. His first meetings finished quickly and he expected the last one to do the same. I was happy because Mason had algebra homework and I wasn't looking forward to being the helper." She smiles at me, I guess to make herself feel better. I've never wanted to hug anyone more in my entire life. I know what she is about to say must be painful, but she is doing everything in her power to say it without tears.