Meant to Happen Ch. 02

When he went to dress he realized he had left his suitcase on her porch, and slipping on the clothes he had traveled in, he went downstairs to retrieve it. When he opened the door he immediately caught sight of a late model Ford F-150 pickup parked in front of the townhouse, its driver looking right at him. After a prolonged staredown, the driver started the truck and roared away. Tom grabbed his bag from the porch and went back inside, finding Eileen wearing a silk robe in the kitchen, preparing hot water for a cup of tea.

"Eileen? Do you know a guy with a Ford pickup?"

"What?" Her heart rose into her throat.

"Yeah, when I went to get my suitcase, some dude in an F-150 was parked right in front, sitting in his truck and staring at me."

"That fucking asshole..." she said, fire flashing in her blue eyes.

"What fucking asshole?" Tom asked, though he thought he likely knew the answer.

"It's Jack, my ex. Besides all his other flaws, he's also a possessive prick. When I dumped him, he laid all the 'You'll never meet anyone as good as me' and 'No one else will ever want you' bullshit on me, and I had to threaten to call the cops if he wasn't gone when I got back from LaCrosse." Her sudden burst of profanity and derisive tone of voice showed the level of her anger.

"So what can I do?" Tom asked. "Do I need to take him down a notch?"

"No, and don't pull the strutting macho shit like he did," she said sternly, immediately regretting her harsh tone. "I'm sorry, Tom. That sounded awful." She came to him and hugged him tightly to her. "You didn't deserve that."

"Hey, it's okay," Tom replied, though he was obviously unsettled. "But seriously, does something need to be done?"

Eileen was feeling overwhelmed, dealing with the knowledge that Jack was trying to cause trouble, and that she had been so harsh with Tom. She stepped back against the counter, and closing her eyes, took a slow, deep breath.

"Okay, one thing at a time," she open her eyes and continued, looking pleadingly at Tom. "Please forgive me for talking to you like that." She looked positively forlorn, melting away whatever lingering shock Tom felt from her outburst. He truly loved this woman and knew her well enough to know that she had been reacting to the situation, not to him. He could also see how much she loved him and how she didn't want anything to interfere with that.

He took her hand in both of his. "Eileen, it's okay. Really, I know where you're coming from." He maintained a steady gaze into her eyes so she would know he was sincere. God, I want to help her, but let's see how she wants to handle this.

"That's good," she replied. "I never want to say anything to hurt you." He said nothing, but maintained his gaze on her face.

"But I'm not sure what to do about Jack," she said uncertainly. "I want him to stay away from me and told him that in no uncertain terms, but he's a jerk to begin with and when he drinks he gets worse."

"Has he threatened you in any way?" Tom asked.

"Not directly, no," Eileen told him, "at least not in any way that the cops would respond to."

"So what kind of things does he do? Stalking is against the law in most places."

"Oh, he sits in his truck in front of the house, or he's in the parking lot when I leave the office, or he shows up at a restaurant when I go to lunch. They're all public places, so there's not much I can do."

"Can I make a suggestion?"

"Of course."

"Rather than make assumptions, let's go to an expert and see if you have any legal options. My original divorce lawyer is here in Portland and might know of someone who specializes in that sort of stuff."

"That's probably a good idea," she opined. "A letter from a lawyer might even be enough to make him stop."

"I will tell you this, though," Tom continued, "if he does anything that makes you feel threatened, I guarantee you he will regret it. And I won't lay a hand on him. I just found you and I'm not going to let him do anything to hurt you or Derrick." His own anger was flaring and she could see it in his eyes.

"Tom, please don't..." she started to say.

"I won't lay a hand on him, I promise."

She looked at Tom with new eyes. She knew he wasn't a violent person, so this side of his personality seemed slightly out of character. The last thing she wanted was another macho idiot like Jack, all full of himself and overflowing with phony testosterone. She was sure Tom wasn't like that, but the intensity of his responses was puzzling.

Looking into her eyes, Tom saw the emotions swirling in her head. "Come here," he said gently, taking her hand and leading her to the living room, then sitting on the couch and drawing her down next to him. "I have a few things to tell you." Her eyes were locked on his and their four hands formed a knot between them.

"I have hidden nothing from you, and I will never hide anything from you, but there are a few things we just haven't gotten around to discussing yet.

"You know I was a Marine," Tom began. "I joined back in my late teens as a way to grow up and get out on my own. It's how I paid for college. I also told you that now I'm an officer in the National Guard, remember?"

Eileen nodded. She hadn't given it much thought after he had told her that on the train.

"I didn't see any action as a Marine, but in 2004 and again in 2009 my National Guard unit got mobilized. We went to Iraq and spent a year in combat there both times. I've been shot at and my vehicles were blown up several times while I was in them. I saw people die, people who were very close to me, and my men and I killed people. A lot of people." He watched her face carefully for her reaction to that last bit of information. Her eyes had widened, but nothing more.

"Are you okay with this?" he asked.

"Oh, Tom," she replied, raising one hand and lightly brushing his cheek. "I had no idea."

"It's not something I talk about a lot," he told her. "But I want you to know everything about me, and that's part of who I am."

Her eyes welled with tears again. Instead of being shocked or scared, Eileen had gained a new appreciation for why he was the man he was. Like most people who had never been in the military, she didn't give a lot of thought to what war was like, but his words had brought it home on a quite personal level.

She leaned forward and planted the most delicate of kisses on his lips, then drew her head back a few inches. "I love you so much," she finally whispered. She kissed him again.

She took a few moments to compose herself after learning what she had about him, then tried to lighten the mood. "I hope Jack is not going to meet that side of you," she said with a wry smile.

"Not that part, no," Tom answered. "The main thing my military service and combat experience has taught me is to not fear death. I don't welcome it, but I don't fear it either. And pussies like Jack scare me, well, not at all."

Eileen laughed out loud at the comparison. She knew Jack well, and he really was a pussy.

"I hope he never meets you in a dark alley."

"Like I said, I won't lay a hand on him. I know ways to make him wish he was never born that don't require physical force. No one fucks with the people I love and gets away with it. No one."

Eileen laughed again. God, what a man.

"But now I have something else to ask you," Tom said. "How would you like to meet my daughters?"