Page 34 of Takedown

“Well, one day, you’ll remember how we ended up at the wedding chapel. Let me ask you something else, but before I do, promise you’ll tell me the truth.”

She nods.

“Do you want a wedding? Is it something you’ve thought about ever?” I hold on to her chin, not willing to let her look away from me. She bites her bottom lip, and that simple gesture is enough to make me want to forget this conversation and make love to her instead.

“It’s not something I thought about as a young girl or teenager, to be honest, Adam. But when I stood up for Jason as the best person for his wedding, I had some moments and wondered what it would be like to find the one, but I put those thoughts away. I’m just a disaster. I was a challenge to you, and soon you’ll realize I’m not worth it.”

I pull her closer, and she throws a leg over me and lays her head on my chest. I stroke her back and lean down to kiss her forehead.

“Let’s give this a chance, and I don’t know who lied to you and told you that you’re a disaster. You want to know what you are?” She doesn’t say anything. I can tell she’s waiting for me to tell her. She lifts her head from my shoulder and looks into my eyes. “You’re my wife. My beautiful, sexy, smart wife. The one who has driven me crazy since I first laid eyes on her. But that’s not all that you are. You’re the same girl who came here and started over. You made a new life. You’re resilient, and beautiful, and strong. I don’t care what your mother says about Jason being the one doing for you. He’s a good brother, but you’re a good sister too. You’ve given a lot of yourself to his family. That’s what I see when I look at you.”

Tears well in her eyes and a fat one slides down her cheek. I kiss it away and pull her on top of me.

“Thanks for saying that,” she says.

“It’s the truth.” I kiss her forehead, and she covers us with a soft blanket.

“And you have really good pussy. And your mouth on my dick is—”

She laughs and elbows me in the ribs. “Aadaaam!” she yells and elongates the vowels in my name just like my Uncle Finn.

That gets a laugh out of me.

“We’ll need to sit down and come up with a budget for this wedding. I’m not taking money from my family for it, but I can take some money from my emergency savings, so you won’t have to pay for this yourself. We can talk about it tomorrow.”

I sigh in relief and make a mental note to send my mother some thank you flowers for the unexpected gift she just gave me.

“Okay, Mel. We’ll do a spreadsheet or whatever you want, but I can afford it.”

“I have a question for you,” she says.

“Lay it on me.”

“Is your uncle Jewish? Did he convert?”

I let out a loud laugh and roll my eyes. “Finnegan Patrick Flynn is as Catholic as the Pope. He’s also a few cards short of a full deck.”

“And why does he yell your name every few seconds? Adam! Adam!” she yells, doing a pretty good job of mimicking his voice. “Aaaaadam!”

“Now you see why I finally moved out.”

After a good laugh at Uncle Finn’s expense, my wife falls asleep in my arms. Unlike our first night together, she’s sleeping peacefully. I kiss her lips and admire her face as she lies on my pillow. Her long eyelashes cast a shadow on her cheeks, and I resist the urge to wake her up and make love to her, but the vibrating phone in my pocket distracts me from my plans.

Assuming it’s my mother, I grab the phone and rush out the bedroom, but it’s not her. I curse in frustration.

This is new. They’ve never called at this time before. I usually get a break from the calls on Sundays, but I guess not today. The vibrations stop only to start again a few seconds later. I hit decline, but it starts to vibrate again almost immediately. The urge to slam the phone against the wall is strong, but I can’t give them that satisfaction.

“What?” I whisper shout so I don’t wake Mel.

The first call was about six months ago, and I told her then not to call again. Thenhestarted calling and leaving messages. I’ve never spoken to him. The line is quiet after I answer, and I’m seconds away from either ending the call or breaking my phone.

“He answers,” the voice says. He sounds smug, and even though it’s been almost five years since I heard the voice of my father, he sounds just like him. That immediately puts me in a bad mood.

“And you can’t take a fucking hint,” I hiss. I push myself off the wall and walk to the bathroom and close the door behind me to ensure complete privacy.

“You’re right about that. We didn’t know about you. If we had—” I stop him before he can finish that sentence.

“Well, I’ve always known about you. I know all that I need to know. I told your sister I don’t want anything from you. I’m not coming after your fortune, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

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