Page 64 of Convincing Carrie
So, I watched and listened for any hints or clues as to other things I could get her. That’s how I learned things I’d never known about her. She loved wind chimes. She also collected magnets of any place she’d ever traveled to put on the fridge. If she took a weekend trip to the mountains, I saw a new magnet the next week. I thought of every place we’d ever been while we were married and ordered magnets from each one.
She also liked those Christmas village buildings, too, and was so excited whenever she got one. I knew she loved Halloween, so I found a Halloween village and bought it for her. I don’t think I’d ever seen her more excited over a gift.
I was ashamed that I hadn’t already known these details about the woman I’d been married to for five years. I was sad that she’d felt the need to hide a lot of her true self to fit into the mold of the society wife she thought I needed her to be. I’d missed out on a lot there was to love about her. And I was so ashamed that during our marriage I’d been subconsciously comparing her to a woman that had only ever existed in my mind.
Still, I knew I was walking a fine line. I couldn’t push too hard because I was afraid she’d put up walls and our relationship would change. That’s what I was thinking about as the warmth of the sun combined with the weight of my son resting on my chest had made me drowsy. I realized Theo was asleep and smiled. The breeze was light but kept the day from being too hot. All of that combined with the sound of the birds slowly lulled me to sleep.
***
“Thatcher. Thatch.” A gentle hand lightly shook my shoulder. My eyes shot open and I saw Carrie smiling down at me. I instinctively made sure Theo was still on my chest. I breathed a sigh of relief that he was. I stayed where I was, not wanting to wake him.
“Hey,” I smiled up at her sleepily.
“You two look so cute together. Don’t worry… I got a bunch of pictures. I’ll send you the best ones.”
“Thanks.” The deep rumble of my voice seemed to wake Theo. He moved slowly until he saw Carrie.
“Ma ma ma!” His chubby toddler face was instantly wreathed in smiles and he lurched towards her. I laughed at his excitement but made sure he didn’t fall.
“Hey, baby, I missed you so much!” Carrie snuggled him and kissed him about a million times on his neck and face while he giggled.
I sat up, noticing the wet place on my shirt where Theo had drooled. The doctor said he’d be producing teeth any day now, and that’s why he seemed to be a drool factory right now.
I stretched. “Hey, I have something for you,” I said as I stood up and walked inside.
“Thatcher, you get me too much stuff,” she chided, and I could tell it was making her a little uncomfortable. But I didn’t know how else to show her how much I wanted her back. I couldn’t say it. I knew it would scare her away. I grabbed the present off the counter and handed it to her. We exchanged Theo so she could open it.
I’d bought her the most beautiful windchime I’d ever seen. It was designed in a spiral of chimes coming down from a large, silver butterfly. The butterfly as well as strands of delicate silver chains placed between the chimes were dotted with crystals in multiple colors.
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” she breathed.
“It caught my eye in the store window. Right when I walked by, the sun was shining on the crystals. It looked like hundreds of multi-colored diamonds or rain drops sparkled on it, and I had to get it for you.”
“Thank you so much! I love it.” Her smile told me that she really did. “I’m going to hang it up as soon as I get home.”
“I could do that for you.”
She shook her head. “I know how to do those things myself.”
Of course she did. I smiled and nodded, disappointed.
She got a nervous look on her face. “I need to ask you something, and I guess it’s a little bit of a sensitive subject.”
I frowned and placed a hand on her forearm. “You can tell me anything.”
She gave me a weak smile and cleared her throat. “Well, um, I met someone. We’ve actually been seeing each other for about a month.”
Instant gut punch. I still stood there with a smile forced in place, but inside I was dying. I felt like my knees were going to buckle, and I would faint. I felt nauseous. I wanted to grab her in my arms and yell, “No! You’re mine!”
But I knew I’d lost the right to do that.
“His name is Patrick and he’s a single dad. He was at toddler story time at the library with his daughter.” She chuckled nervously. “You don’t need to know all that. Anyway, the reason I’m telling you about him is that I have a date next week, and I was hoping you could watch Theo for me. My mom’s been babysitting, but, well, I thought you might like the extra time with him.”
I just stood there staring at her. I couldn’t seem to form words.
“But I understand if that’s too awkward given our history…”
“I’d love to have extra Theo time. Just tell me when, and I’ll be there.” With a gun. To take out the competition.
