Chapter 16: His Story, Too
1372 Words
Tuesday Appointment
The phone rang Thursday morning.
Becca hung up loaves of Italian bread when her phone buzzed in her apron pocket.
She debated ignoring it.
Sawyer has been acting up lately--
Almost.
She took a deep breath and stepped into the hallway at the back of the bakery.
“Hello?”
“Hi Rebecca? This is Dr. Emily Parker’s office. You left us a message.”
Becca swallowed.
“I did.”
“We have an opening next Tuesday if that works for you.”
Her heart began to race.
Tuesday.
Tuesday suddenly felt terrifyingly close.
“Yes.” She heard herself say.
“Tuesday would be good.”
Once she hung up, she pressed her back against the cool hallway wall and sighed loudly.
She had an appointment.
There was no going back now.
Funny…
She didn’t want to.
Linda Knows
Becca pushed open the screen door to return inside the bakery.
Linda piped up from where she sat frosting sugar cookies.
“Good news or bad news?”
Becca blinked up at her co-worker.
“How do you know something happened?”
Linda grinned.
“You’ve been gone four minutes, exactly.”
“And?” Becca prompted.
“You walked weirdly when you came back in.”
Becca laughed. “I have my first counseling appointment.”
Linda’s gaze softened as she looked up at Becca.
“I’m proud of you.”
Becca smiled tightly. “I don’t know why everyone keeps saying that.”
“They don’t say it ’cause it’s your first step that matters.”
Friday Night
Craig stopped by after work with pizza instead of groceries.
“I vote we don’t cook.”
“I second that motion,” Becca laughed.
The kids cheered immediately.
“Pizza!”
“Can we eat outside?”
“If the chickens approve.” Craig added.
The youngest sprinted toward the coop.
“Nugget!”
Several clucks sounded back.
“They said yes!”
Craig turned to Becca. “I trust them.”
Friday night stretched into one of those moments where everyone just wanted the night to last longer.
They ate on the back patio while the sun slowly disappeared from view.
The kids argued over movie choices.
Lavender escaped from her chicken run for forty-three seconds before Craig patiently ushered her back in.
Nugget watched from the screen door.
“I think she’s judging me.” Craig stated.
“Yeah I think she judges everyone.” She laughed.
After the Movie
By ten o’clock the kids were passed out.
The kitchen was clean.
The sounds of crickets chirping filled the air along with the occasional shuffle of leaves.
Craig sat on the porch swing with Becca.
She rested her bare feet on the wooden floorboards of the swing.
“You’ve been really quiet tonight.” She observed.
Craig nodded in agreement.
“I have been.”
“What are you thinking about?”
He shifted his eyes to glance at the chicken coop. “Tuesday.”
“Your appointment?”
He nodded again. “Yeah.”
Becca gave him a gentle smile. “You don’t have to worry.”
“I’m not.” Craig replied.
He paused. “About you anyways.”
“What?”
“I’ve asked you to trust me with parts of your story.”
“I have.”
“And I’ve been hesitant to tell you parts of mine.” He said looking down at his hands.
“What happened?”
“The Marriage I Never Talk About”
Becca turned to look at her husband.
“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”
“I know.” Craig said with a small smile.
“But you will.”
Craig leaned back on the porch swing. “It’s not like yours.”
She remained silent.
“I never yelled.”
“No one controlled you.”
“No one made you feel afraid.”
Craig paused again. “But no one was honest with me either.”
He looked up at the stars overhead. “I went years thinking everything was fine.”
“When did you know it wasn’t?”
“I got home early one day.”
He didn’t sound panicked, almost unnaturally calm even.
“The house was empty.”
“I thought she took the kids somewhere fun.”
He chuckled dryly. “Instead…”
“I found a note…”
Craig didn’t interrupt her this time.
“I hired a divorce lawyer.”
“The Damage No One Sees”
“I kept wondering where I went wrong.”
Craig rubbed his hands together nervously.
“What if I worked too much?”
“What if I didn’t work enough?”
“Was I boring him?”
“Routine?”
He shook his head. “All of those things and more.”
“I beat myself up for years wondering…”
His hand twitched to cover hers. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“I know that now.”
“But at the time…”
His voice cracked. “I thought I could’ve prevented it.”
Understanding
Becca grabbed hold of his hands in her own. “I spent years questioning why I wasn’t enough.”
Craig met her gaze. “And I spent years wondering why I wasn’t enough.”
She nodded. “Different stories with the same question.”
He smiled. “Yep.”
A Promise
It grew quiet on the porch.
Eventually Craig spoke up.
“If you go to counseling and…” He paused.
She knew what he was going to say.
“If you ever come home angry…” She continued on for him.
“I’ll sit with you.”
“If you come home crying…” He would say.
“I’ll sit with you.”
“And if you come home and don’t want to talk at all…” She finished with.
Craig smiled softly at his wife. “I’ll sit with you then too.”
Tears filled Becca’s eyes as she realized how much her husband really meant that.
“You would?”
“I would.”
She laughed through her tears. “I know…”
“What?”
“I know we both have a lot to learn from this.”
“I think you’re right.”
Silently they sat together on the porch.
Enveloped by the promise of new beginnings and healing in the days to come.
“Love doesn’t mean finding someone that’s never been hurt.”
She laced her fingers between his. “It means finding someone who won’t make you feel like you have to face those hurts alone.”
Closing in the Darkness
Craig walked towards the chicken coop one last time before bed.
Nugget shifted around and peeked her head out the window.
“I know Pumpkin.” He whispered quietly.
“You got a big week.”
“I know.”
Laughter floated from behind him. “You’re telling the chickens about my counseling appointment are you?”
“They can keep secrets.”
“You are such a goof.”
Craig turned around to give his wife a smile.
“That’s the first time anyone’s ever called me that.”
Seriously?
“It is now.” She giggled.
“Well… you must be comfortable around me.”
Craig’s smile grew softer. “I am.”
Slowly, she walked down the stairs and wrapped her husband in a hug.
Not because she needed him to reassure her that everything would be okay.
Not because she was scared of what he had to say.
She hugged him because she wanted to.
He embraced her back, coming to rest his chin on top of her head.
No words were spoken.
It wasn’t necessary.
Above them, the porch light shone its bright light over their front yard.
The little red door was closed for the night.
Three children slept peacefully inside their beds.
And outside, stood two people who had drastically different scars on their hearts,
but in that moment, they finally understood healing wasn’t about forgetting their pasts…
it was about finding someone who could look at every flaw and imperfection they had to offer
…and still choose you anyway.
- Writer
