All My Life

Chapter 74

Don was glad that they had Larry's driver drive them to and from the funeral home; so he could just hold Meryl on the way back to their townhouse. She told him she was fine; but he could only imagine what seeing that monster did to her, even if he was dead. He noticed how Meryl didn't once let go of him; not when they walked into the little chapel, not when they left, not when they were in the car and not when they walked into their apartment-he didn't mind in the least, he didn't want to let her go either. He thought that if he focused on her, the babies and their other kids then he wouldn't feel the overwhelming rage towards Mann that he was feeling. So, that's what he did. Once Liz and Larry left, they talked to their kids then he talked Meryl into laying down on the sofa in the living room with the babies; her face lit up when he said he wanted to lay down with them, which he did, but he couldn't calm down. Every time he would look at his wife and their babies, or close his eyes, he could see that monster carrying his wife's unconscious body and starting to undress her; he could hear his voice; he could feel his wife shake whenever Mann would reenter their lives and hear her screaming. He couldn't calm down. He had wanted to reach into that casket and strangle that son of a bitch for EVERYTHING he did to Meryl and their family; but Don knew there was no point and it would just make Meryl worry about him, which was the last thing he wanted. He knew she was already worried to death about him after everything that happened with Rebecca; and he didn't want his explosion over Mann to upset her anymore than she already was. When Don was afraid his restlessness would wake up his wife and their babies, he carefully got up and kissed 3 of his loves that were on the sofa and went to distract himself with a surprise for Meryl.

***

Don knew he needed to channel his angry energy into something to show his wife how much he loved her. With them both recovering, and wanting to keep the babies in and resting as much as possible due to what their little bodies had gone through, Don decided to make his wife lunch. He knew it wasn't much. He knew that he could have ordered in food like they had the night before; but he wanted to shelter them as much as possible. He couldn't let anything else happen to them. He wouldn't let anything else happen to them.

***

After rifling through the refrigerator, Don had no idea what to make his wife. He then decided on grilled cheese and tomato soup; yes, it was always something she made him when he was upset but he knew it was also one of her comfort meals as well. He knew it wasn't much; but he decided that maybe he could do a little more for dinner that evening. His goal was to keep her down and stress free as much as possible. He had ordered flowers for her, and set them on the table along with lit candles. He looked to make sure the babies' swings were still in the kitchen, which they were; as he knew neither of them wanted to be far from the babies. He tried not to think about what that monster did to his wife and family; however, with every movement he made he could see that monster's face and the tears in his wife's eyes.

***

"Wh-what do you mean pack?" Meryl was shaking. This had to be a nightmare. It just had to be. She wanted to go back to bed then wake up only to find that this all was a horrific nightmare. She wanted to be safe. She wanted Henry to be safe. She wanted Don to be safe. She wanted to go back to their life that though it had ups and downs was pretty much perfect. What was most important to her was that her two great loves were safe, Don and Henry.

Don began cleaning the kitchen even quicker. "Pack. We're leaving the city. We're going out to the country where we're all safe. Where I can protect you both better. We are just wide open here in this city. Our address in Millerton isn't in any phonebook. None of our bills go there. It will be safer." Don said with a kiss to her head as he went over to double check the locks on the front door. "FUCK! He was fucking standing in front of me last night and I didn't even know it. He was at my fingertips and I let him fucking get away. I am so sorry, baby." Don choked as he sat down on the couch, shaking.