Challen and Addy

Chapter 17 (Challen): A Nice Idea

Copyright © 2025 by GroveltoHEA

For a minute, I just watched Addy with the man. Despite being in rehab, despite being in pain, she was laughing, and so was he.

And his damn hand was on hers. He was already at the Worthington Center so if I broke his hand, they could rehab it on the spot, I figured. Theoretically. In my mind, it would be efficient and save steps.

But my eyes went from his hand on hers and back to my wife's face. Relaxed. Carefree, despite the circumstances. Not strained. Not pissed. Not disappointed or frustrated. Just happy.

When had I last seen that look on her face? I searched my memories and knew it had been too long. One of the last times that I clearly remembered seeing it was the night before my father died.

Although it wasn't the last time I'd seen it, the memory was so vivid I felt like I'd captured it on video.

Addy and I had been cuddled up on the couch, her head in my lap so I could run my fingers through her hair. We'd been watching an old movie that had singing and dancing in it. She loved old movies, and while I wasn't as big of a fan as Addy, I loved holding her close and playing with her hair while I watched her enjoy the movie.

My wife sat up suddenly, eyes sparkling, filled with excitement, and looked at me, her hands on my chest.

"Challen! Let's go dance in the rain!"

Practically jumping with excitement, she pulled me off the couch. 

"Addy, it's not raining sweetheart," I laughed, and she did, too.

"Come on!"

She tugged me outside, the moon barely visible and not a drop of rain falling to dance around in. But Addy didn't care, and she spun around, swaying back and forth in her pale purple nightgown, lifting her arms as she moved her bare feet, dancing a ballet only she heard the music to. 

I'd watched her for a minute before heading to the side of the house and grabbing the hose. Turning the water on, I adjusted the nozzle so it was producing a heavy mist and, holding it pointing up, I walked back to my wife, who shrieked a bit when the water first hit her, then smiled delightedly at me.

I held out my free hand to her, the water soon soaking both of us as I spun and twirled my wife, and eventually I drew Addy to my chest  as we danced slowly in the heavy spray. She looked up at me, so beautiful and sweet, and I kissed her while we finished our dance. Then we went inside and finished an entirely different dance.

I'd forgotten to guard and cherish those moments. I'd lost sight of them, taking my eye off the ball as Pilot said, and turning my focus on me instead of on my wife, our marriage.

And now Addy was laughing with another man. A man who still had his damn hand on hers. I noticed other things, such as the two mugs in front of them and an empty plate in front of Addy and another plate in front of the man.

Another memory hit me, of walking out of my company's offices after the three grueling days of debugging the software so it could be launched on time. I'd wanted to go home, see Addy, shower off three days of work and go to sleep. It hadn't dawned on me at that point that I hadn't truly seen, or heard, my wife for a long, long time. And despite having checked my phone a number of times over those three days to see if she'd acknowledged my text, I hadn't been surprised that she hadn't responded. I knew that we were in such a bad place in our marriage that Addy not replying to my text was understandable since she was rightfully pissed at me.

Now she was laughing with another man like she hadn't laughed with me -- and I hadn't laughed with her -- in far too long. I wanted to walk over to them, introduce myself to the man as Addy's husband and offer to take him back to his room. I wanted to walk over and say hello to my wife and have a conversation with her about how she was doing. 

There was a lot I wanted, but nothing I could have right now because...Addy looked happy. If I'd walked over there, I knew her face would shut down, and she'd look at me like I was a spider she wanted to grind into dust. That happy look would be gone, and I didn't want to take that away from her.

But I sure as hell wanted to be the one who put that look on her face, and the intensity of that desire rattled me.

For a few minutes, I simply stood at the reception desk and watched as Addy and the man talked, the two of them sometimes laughing a bit, and the rest of the time just chatting easily. I watched until someone in scrubs came to take him away, and Addy smiled at him as he told her he'd see her later.

What did that mean, you'll see her later? Like in her room later or what?

Not too long after the man in the wheelchair left the common area, a man in scrubs came to get Addy.

Look over here! I begged her silently. But she didn't, and she exited the room with the man, who was pushing her chair, without realizing I was right here. She was probably heading for therapy of some sort, but I didn't know because I'd put my wife in the position of not wanting to share anything with me.

"Challen?" Phyllis called to me, and I turned to her.

"If you wouldn't mind taking this to Addy for me, I'd appreciate it."

"More LEGOs?" she guessed.

"No. This is a coloring book of patterns for adults and some colored pencils. There's some more origami paper, too."

"I'll see that she gets it," Phyllis said, then peered at me over the top of her half-moon glasses. "You could have gone over to say hi to her, you know."

I shook my head. "No, I really couldn't have. She's made it clear she doesn't want to see me."

"Have you made it clear you want to see her?"

"I can't do that, either. She needs to focus on rehab right now and stay upbeat and positive."

"Well, you know best," she said.

"Thanks for getting that to her, Phyllis," I said. "I'll see you next week."

As I walked out of the Worthington Center, I thought how the note I'd written that accompanied the coloring book today was a bit ironic.

Dear Addy ~

I really hope you're seeing daily improvement in your therapies, and you're able to find some enjoyment during your days so it's not all hard work and pain.

I'm more than happy to run any errands you need. Just let me know.

~ Challen

The next week, I stopped by on Tuesday instead of Wednesday because I couldn't wait another day. All week I'd been wondering about Addy and the man, and the uncertainty was killing me. 

"Hello, early bird," Phyllis greeted me. "What's today's offering?"

"Well, since you told me that Addy was bringing her origami out to the common room to share, I thought a bigger project might be another thing she could share. So, I bought her the LEGO Ideas tree house."

"What a nice idea," she said.

"Thanks for taking that to her --" I started to say as I left, but Phyllis stopped me and handed me a small envelope.

"Addy left you a note, Challen."