All My Life

Chapter 96

Meryl opened her eyes a few hours later and smiled that her husband was still holding her close to him as they both slept. She felt like she could have slept longer but she was restless; and she couldn't figure out why. She knew her whole family was safe, and Don had reminded her how their love could handle anything, but she just couldn't sleep. As she tossed around she could feel her husband stirring and the last thing she wanted to do was wake him up. She kissed his head and grabbed the throw at the foot of the bed and decided to go sit in the overstuffed chair in the corner of the room; but before she did she kissed both of her youngest children's heads and whispered to them how much she loved them and then she curled up under the blanket in the big chair as she watched 3 of her loves sleep. In that moment she was beyond grateful that their whole family was safe. She was so in love with her husband and their family that she didn't know the last time she felt like this. Whenever she reminded herself that both Mann and Rebecca were dead; she felt the heaviest weight that had weighed her and Don down for so many years lift from her shoulders. As she watched 3 of the most important people in the world to her, 3 people she almost lost, sleep she was filled with nothing but love and gratitude. It wasn't often she got to just sit and watch Don and any of her children sleep so she decided to take advantage of the moment and count all of her blessings.

***

Don stirred awake when he no longer felt his wife in bed beside him. He rolled over and saw the babies were still in the bassinets beside the bed, so he knew she wasn't with them. He ran his hands over her side of the bed and noticed that she sheets were cold, which meant she had been gone from the bed for awhile. He looked towards the windows and it still appeared to be dark out; and he was even more worried. She should be sleeping after the nightmare she had the night before; actually, only a few hours earlier. He just felt something was wrong. He quickly got out of bed and went in search of his wife, not even noticing her sitting in the corner of the room deep in thought. He went from room to room looking for his wife. She wasn't in the bathrooms. Or the office. She wasn't in any of the family areas or kitchen or dining room. He noticed that the coffee hadn't been made which didn't exactly surprise him seeing as though the sun hadn't even risen yet. He double checked the front door and it was still locked and the alarm was on. He looked out on the back patio and it was just how he left it the night before. She wasn't sitting on the patio or in the pool. He checked and their rental car was still there. With every room he looked in without any sign of his wife, Don was getting more and more worried. "Darl? Sweetheart?" It was almost like she disappeared into thin air. He didn't like the feeling he had; it was like she had just vanished or something. He went back to the bedroom to grab his phone and breathed a huge sigh of relief when he ran in and saw her sitting in the corner of the room in the large overstuffed chair. He was immediately concerned when she didn't seem to even notice him. He went over and knelt down in front of her, placing his hands on her knees causing her to jump. "I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to startle you. You okay, Darl?"

"Oh, Don Man." Meryl smiled warmly at him. "You surprised me is all; I've been watching you and the babies sleep and now here you are kneeling down in front of me."

It made Don worry even more that she didn't see him leave the room earlier or renter just a few moments earlier. "Baby, I woke up a little while ago and was worried when you weren't in bed with me. I guess I was so focused on making sure you're okay that I didn't even see you sitting here."

"Always taking care of me." Meryl said running her hand across his cheek. "I didn't even hear you."

Don nodded as he tenderly kissed her lips. "You were a thousand miles away. Baby, you should still be asleep as it's still incredibly early. Want to talk about what's bothering you?"

"Nothing is bothering me." Meryl smiled softly at her husband. "I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry. You need your rest."

Don shook his head vehemently. "I want to be up with you. You look kind of lonely in that large chair all by yourself; want some company?