Megan Ch. 03

"He was never going to let us leave. I had one chance and took it. I thought at least you'd get away. Worked didn't it?"

"Ya think? You almost died. The paramedics at first didn't get a pulse and then you somehow came back. Don't you ever do that again!"

"Don't worry, I don't plan to. You get all your stuff back?"

"The police are inventorying everything in that room and I'm told that my stuff won't be released until next week." It went quiet in the room.

"So I guess you won't be leaving for Chicago for a while. You staying with your mother?"

"I still have my apartment for two more weeks so me and the boys will be staying there."

"Apartment?"

"Yeah. My dad was supposed to pull out all the furniture I left behind this weekend but I guess now I'll be sticking around for a little while... at least until you're back on your feet."

"You don't have to do that on my account."

"I'm not doing it for you. Our sons aren't going anywhere until you're at least walking around."

I felt a tang of regret... I thought for just a split second she still had some kind of feelings for me. Guess not. "We still have to finalize everything before you leave. Why don't you write down what you want and we can go over it tomorrow, that is if you don't have anything else planned. I'm getting out of here this afternoon and will be staying at my moms."

"Works for me, but not at your mothers and not in front of the boys. How about I pick you up and we go somewhere?"

"Works for me, but not at your mom's house either. I'm not her favorite person in the world right now."

"Don't worry, I've got a place in mind."

Just after twelve Megan picked me up. I was still a little sore but the pain pills were doing their job. We stopped outside her apartment building... I prayed there was an elevator... there was.

It was small and all their stuff was still in boxes or in suitcases. We sat down on the leather couch that had one time been in our living room. She pulled a manila envelope out of her tote bag. Last time I saw an envelope like this I was being served and told by a policeman there was a restraining order on me in effect. I eyed her and opened it.

I read the three handwritten sheets and then set them down on my lap. Megan hadn't said a word. I looked over at her.

"You've got to be shitting me!" Our eyes locked on one another.

"You got a problem with it?"

"Ya think?" I picked up the sheets. Here, here and here; these points aren't going to fly with me." Megan looked at what I was referring to.

"I guess we can renegotiate a couple of them but this one is nonnegotiable," she said pointing to point one on page one.

"I agree but I don't have a clue how that's going to work. I have about nineteen thousand and you don't have squat. I have no job and you've just quit yours."

"If we agree to point number one, I'm told I can have my old job back."

I looked at the sheets and reached for the pen on the coffee table and initialed point number one. We spent the next two hours going through all three sheets, point by point. In the end we finally had something we both could agree with.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well what?"

"When you moving back in? Because I told them at work I could start back tomorrow if we came to an agreement."

"Then, I guess today," I said leaning in for a kiss.

The rest of the day was way too busy. The boys were reregistered back into their school, her apartment lease was extended, we went grocery shopping and my clothes were in our bedroom. And it was our bedroom again.

"This is the list of marriage councilors in our area that were recommended." I didn't want a woman and she didn't want a man so the elderly couple became our only choice. We made our first appointment and settled in. It didn't go quite as smooth as we thought it would... too many walls had been thrown up between us.

There were tears and angry words and accusations galore at our first session. I thought we were done as a couple a half-hour into our first session.

"It's going to take time," they told us. "You didn't destroy your marriage overnight and it won't be repaired overnight either. But, if you both are serious about repairing what you have now, then you at least stand half a chance."

After healing, I got a job helping to manage a catering company. The money wasn't great and the hours sucked but at least I was doing something.

Our love life started out as something of a need. We were both so horny the second night we set a new record for fasted climaxes. As sore as I was, I found a position that worked and we both could get off. After two more weeks it got easier.

A month later we went out to dinner and came back to an empty apartment, the boys were at my parents' house. We made love that night and again the following morning. It's not to say that there still weren't issues that needed to be resolved, there were, but we tackled them one by one as they came up.

When she mentioned something about meeting a few friends Friday after work, my eyes went wide.

"I'll just be dinner and maybe a drink or two; besides, you'll be right there

with me." She smiled and we got over that hurtle.

At six months, we flew down to Key West for four days and I showed her the Key West only the locals knew about. I stopped in at my old job and found it closed and boarded up. I felt bad for only a moment... it wasn't meant to be. We were tourist and bought the boys tee shirts and a sexy dress for Megan... one she'd never wear without me next to her. Life was again good.

After nine months we stopped seeing the councilors. We were good and had learned to communicate once again.

We were lying in bed after just coming down from the heavens. Covered in a thin sheen of sweat and the smell of what we'd just done hanging in the air. All I wanted to do was hold her tight and sleep for the next eight hours. Megan was fingering the areas where I'd been shot and then asked the question that started it all years ago.

"Are you satisfied with our sex life?"

"We don't have a sex life. We have a love life and with you in my arms, how could I not be."

"Good answer."

And it was.