Page 47 of The Trauma Response
My eyes snap open to find her smiling up at me, sweet and sugary. “Me? Why me? Why don’tyouask my shy friend who doesn’t date to go on a blind date with a random paramedic he doesn’t know?”
“Isn’t that what a blind date literally is?”
“Don’t you change the subject, Whits. Des is going to kill me, you know that, right?”
“Oh, he will not. We can double date if it’ll make him feel better. Come on, she’s super sweet and it would be so fun.” She doesn’t even sound like my Whits. Evensheknows this is a bad idea, but she made the commitment, and now I have to fulfillit. For better or worse, I’m hers. And all her crazy ideas are evidently now mine as well.
“Fine,” I breathe. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you. It’s not going to go well.”
“I never promised her it would. I only said I’d ask. Thank you, my sweet fiancé.” She lifts up and kisses my cheek before wrapping her arms around my neck. “Now, what do you like best? Scotland, Greece, or Hawaii?”
“You mean as my final resting place when Des kills me?”
Whits rolls her eyes. “No, for our honeymoon. Those are my top three picks.”
I pick her up around her waist and she squeals. “I’m not sure. I’ll research, pick one, and surprise you. In the meantime, we have some making out to do to make up for the trouble you’re bound to get me into.”
I toss her on the sofa and she giggles, not unlike how things used to be in the past. But now, I get to kiss her, and I’ve never been happier.
Chapter twenty-five
Twenty-five years later…
“Do you have any idea what he wants to talk to us about?” Valerie, our youngest daughter, peers over her water glass while we all wait for her brother to arrive for dinner. He’s already fifteen minutes late, which only spikes her mother’s nerves. Whits has been beside herself trying to decode our son’s recent behavior—something sketchy and full of secrets. Whatever he has to say is important enough for him to request a family dinner.
“I have no idea,” I admit while four sets of eyeballs stare back at me. My wife and three of our kids resign themselves to guessing once again.
Finally, the front door opens and Reid stumbles in. “Sorry I’m late! Sorry, sorry.” He drops his coat on the back of the sofa and jogs to the dining room.
“Took you long enough. What was so important that I had to leave campus and drive an hour home for?” Ian, his younger brother asks. Ainsley frowns but refrains from scolding him for being impatient.
Reid falls into the seat beside his mother and kisses her cheek. His cheeks are ruddy and his hair is a windswept mess, but he can’t hide his excitement. Suddenly, I have a good feeling I know what this is about. I brace for impact because I’m not sure how his mother is going to take the news.
“Okay, so you know how I applied to the NYFD, right?”
Whits tenses. “Yes?”
“Well, I didn’t get the job offer, but I got a call from a guy in North Carolina. His name is Nick Lowry, and he’s the chief at a firehouse in a little town called Coldstone Creek. He offered me a job.”
“Wait, you were hoping for a job in New York, and you’re excited about an offer in a dinky town in North Carolina instead?” Ian asks.
Reid blinks a few times. “Well, yeah. The guy sought me out specifically, said he saw that I wasn’t offered the job in New York but thinks I have all the qualifications he’s looking for in future chief material. It’s not just a job offer, but acareeroffer.”
As usual, Ian isn’t as excited for his older brother as he should be, but the girls make up the difference.
Ainsley squeals and wraps her arms around her elder brother. “Reid, that is amazing! I’m so happy for you, but I’m going to miss you all the way in North Carolina!”
“It’s not that far,” Ian mumbles.
Valerie sighs. “Can’t you be happy just this once?” With an eye roll, she turns her focus to Reid. “I’m excited to explore the area with you. Will you have much free time for visitors?”
Our kids continue talking about Reid’s new opportunity, but I can’t help noticing that Whits has tuned out. She stares downinto her water with a frown tugging at her lips. If almost twenty-five years of marriage has taught me anything about my wife, it’s that this took her by surprise. It isn’t as if she didn’t suspect our kids might move around, even far away, but it’s real now.
“Uh, excuse me,” she says and pushes her chair out. Reid makes eye contact with me, his mood suddenly sullen. I wink at him and drop my napkin beside my plate before excusing myself.
I find Whits in our bedroom, running her finger over the sets of baby books and family photo albums that line the top shelf. Before she pulls one out and starts sobbing about how fast our kids grew up, I encircle her waist with my arms and spin her around to kiss her. She still makes my heart swell with pride and my stomach dance with the same anticipation she did when we were teenagers.
She pulls free to wipe her tears. “I’m not sad. I’m not. I’m so proud of him, but reality hits kind of hard, you know?”
