Bent not Broken (325 page)

Your husband

****

Husband,

Talk dirty to me.

Your wife

****

It was after this little note that I started receiving these guitar picks with his naughty little messages.

****

I own you

You own me

For maximum Pleasure: Use for purposes not intended

Missappropriate this.

Wants to hang out in my favorite spot.

Does this make you wet?

My Mimi

****

When he got closer to coming home, they turned sweeter.

****

I Love You

You’re My Heart

I Only Sing For You

I’ve Waited For You

Thank you for waiting for me

EVERLONG

Twenty-One

This Moment

FINALLY, THE LONGEST six months of my life have led to this moment. I’m almost giddy with relief and excitement as we make our way to the airport even though the boys are arguing over the silliest things like whose fault it was that the dogs were late in getting fed this morning and why Finn keeps repeatedly touching the backside of Archer’s CDs and leaving fingerprints on them.

I look around and take in the beautiful spring day, trying to tune out their bickering. I know they are so excited to see Adrian and sometimes that excitement manifests itself in a strange way. I also like for them to try to resolve their conflicts before I step in, so I focus on the magenta azaleas and the Black-eyed Susans and the bright sunshine reflecting from the buildings.

I do this for several minutes, wondering what kinds of things we can get into in the city now that Adrian’s home. One of the boy’s comments crashes through my train of thought consisting of sunshine and rainbows and butterflies.

“What did you just say, Archer?” I enunciate each word carefully so that he understands this is a rhetorical question.

“Nothin’,” he mumbles without looking at me.

“Archer, I’d better never hear that come from your little mouth again. Do you understand me?”

“Yeah,” he mumbles again.

“What?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he says with respect.

“Thank you. Now, you owe us an apology.”

“I’m sorry, y’all. I shouldn’t have said that. Finn, Paris, don’t say that, OK?”

“OK, Archer,” Finn says, “I forgive you.”

I almost lose at it as I watch Archer’s jaw tighten. I’m sure Finn had pushed his buttons and now was trying to sound all innocent. I sober. “Finn Thomas?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“I don’t know what you said to your brother,” I say as I make eye contact with him in the rearview mirror, “but you need to apologize for goading him. A person can only take so much.”

“Sorry,” he mumbles.

“Finn.”

“I’m sorry, Archer,” he says sweetly.
Mmm hmm
.

“Look, I know you are all very excited about Papa being home, but we don’t need to overload him with a bunch of bickering and fighting. I’m not saying don’t show your excitement. I’m just saying tone down the brotherly love for a bit and let him get used to being around us again before overwhelming him with the nuances of your relationships.”

“What’s a nuance?” Finn asks.

“Finer points, distinctions, what makes us—us,” Archer tells him.

I grin at him.

****

WE’RE EARLY SO I take the boys into one of the café’s to wait. After they’ve picked out their drinks and snacks, we sit quietly and each do our own little thing. Archer and Paris are doodling, and Finn is playing on my phone. I’d picked up a Southern Living and was absent-mindedly thumbing through it not really paying attention to anything except my fantasizing about finally being able to make love to my hot Marine husband tonight.

I glance up when I hear the little noises the boys were making go silent. They’re staring over my head awestruck. It’s probably one of our famous New Orleanians. I turn around and immediately start grinning and weeping.

Standing behind the glass is a vision—a beautiful vision of a wonderful man. I can’t believe it. I hear the boys rush around the table and watch as his eyes and his smile follow them until they all latch onto him at once. Their display of happiness causes lots of cheers and whistles. I can’t help but smile with pride.

Who could not be affected by a man who’s served our country being welcomed home by his children? I gather up our things, my gaze never leaving the sweet scene playing out in front of me. I’m dying to touch him, but once I start, I know I won’t stop so I’m giving the boys their moment.

He looks so good yet so different. His complexion is darker, which makes those gorgeous blues pop even more. His hair is even shorter than when I’d cut it. His face is leaner, and I’m pretty sure he’s gone up a size in uniform. His massive chest and arms fill out his BDUs quite nicely.

Once I have our things squared away, I make my way out to him, smiling the whole way. I cannot stop smiling. “Hi,” I whisper when I get close enough. The boys stand back and make room for me to get to him. I hear Archer and Paris arguing over who will carry his duffle bag, but I block them out.

“Wife, my God, I’ve missed you,” he says as his arms enfold me and he buries his face in my neck.

“Adrian, I’ve missed you. So much,” I mumble into his chest. He feels like a tree trunk compared to what he’d felt like when he’d left. “You’re huge,” I say.

“Nothin’ to do but workout when I was at camp,” he says.

I breathe him in deeply and I feel him shudder underneath me. “You smell so good.”

“Baby, I’ve been travelling for two days. No way.”

“Mmm hmm…You still smell like Adrian. Desert and ocean—hot and quenching at the same time.” I lean back to smile up at him.

He laughs and pushes my hair back before kissing me lightly a few times. I hear the boys snickering behind me, and I roll my eyes. I kiss him in earnest for a moment and pull back to murmur, “Is it bedtime yet?”

He just laughs at me.

****

“ARE YOUR EYES closed?” Paris asks Adrian.

Adrian laughs and says for the third time, “Yes, my eyes are closed.”

“Ta da!” Finn shouts.

Adrian lets his hand fall and his smile fades a little before becoming bigger than ever. “You made me a man cave?”

I look around and take in the gigantic TV that practically takes up an entire wall and the latest game system with a bunch of games shelved underneath. There’s a mini-fridge and a small bar with a microwave. All the guy stuff you could possibly imagine. It looks as though the New Orleans Saints’ merchandise stand has thrown up in here too, but the boys said Adrian would love that even if I thought it was over-the-top. I just wanted him to feel at home here.

“Do you like it?” I ask as I watch him move around the huge room that used to be a formal dining room.

“Do I like it? Babe, I can’t believe you did this for me. Did you get cable?” he asks with a look of disbelief. “And what about your dining room?”

I laugh. “I hardly ever used it, but I worked it out. And, yes, we have cable,” I confess with a groan. “The boys have a viewing schedule. Right, boys?” I get a bunch of begrudging “Yes, moms.”

“Yeah,” Archer jumps in to tattle on me. “There’s a giant hole in the kitchen where Mom is expanding and adding to the sunroom to have another dining room.”

“OK…So I’m still working it out,” I admit.

“Adrian, look,” Finn interjects, “this chairs rub your butt when you sit in it.” We all share a laugh as we watch Finn’s little body jiggle around in the massive massage chair.

After letting them all check out the foosball and air hockey tables, which were the only things I voted for in this room, I hustle the boys out to feed the pets and wash up.

Adrian grabs my hand and pulls me over to the loveseat. “And I’d like to know what this loveseat is intended for, wife.”

I grin. He’s seen right through me. “Lovin’,” I tell him as he settles me in on his lap. He leans and plants kisses on my neck that have me aching instantly.

“God, I want you so bad. Even just holding you is everything I’ve hoped for. But I need to be inside of you so bad right now.”

“I want you too,” I whisper. “I missed you, baby. I’ve missed your beautiful voice.” I run my fingers down his throat. “I’ve missed these lovely crinkles that I’m able to see when you give me that genuine smile that I love.” I plant a kiss on the corners of his eyes.

I startle a bit when I hear the doors close to the man cave and Archer say, “Geez, Mom, close the door, why don’t you?”

Adrian and I both laugh. I bite my lip. “Oops…”

“Yeah, are you sure they’re cool with me moving in here right away?”

I shake my head at him. “Are you kidding me? They wanted to go over to your apartment and pack your stuff themselves. They’re thrilled,” I say laying my head on his chest. “I told them you needed to be the one to do all that. I’ve stocked up on all your favorite stuff to get you through the next couple of weeks until after the ceremony, and then we can get you officially moved in.”

He’s gone quiet and still, so I look up to catch a far away look in his eyes. He doesn’t even seem to notice I’ve moved. “You OK?”

Rubbing my arm up and down, he nods. “I just can’t believe this is real.”

Tears instantly fill my eyes. “What do you mean, Adrian?”

He clears his throat and finally looks at me. I see tears swimming in his eyes. “Adrian?”

“I’m here. I’m right here,” he says before he kisses me. Pulling back, he stands me up and says, “Let’s get the boys fed.”

****

“ALL RIGHT,” I say as I hand Adrian his tea and sit down with him on the couch, “we’re all set for tomorrow night. I’ve only invited our close friends over. Nothing too big, right?” He nods at me. “The other Dog Tags and their dates, Louis, Farah and Matthew—”

“I thought you said they were separated,” he interrupts.

“They were for about five minutes. Matthew came to his senses, though. She’s so excited. They’re already trying to get pregnant.”

“Good for them.”

“I know. I want everyone to be as happy as we are,” I tell him.

He runs his hand over my thigh. “Me too, baby. You know what would make me happy right now?”

“What’s that?” I glance up to see desire shining in his eyes, and I smile a little before biting my lip in anticipation of what I hope he’ll say. I’m not disappointed.

“I want my sweet wife to put all this,” he raises his hands to all of my plans for tomorrow and for the house, “away and take me to bed.”

I giggle and bite my lip again. “It would be my pleasure, sir. And all this,” I wave my hand over the pile, “can stay right where it is.”

I grab his hand and lead him into our room. He closes the door behind us and pulls me in. I kiss his neck and hum. “Oh, Adrian, I’ve missed you so much. I can’t believe you’re here and you’re mine and you’ve moved in with me. And I don’t have to say good night.”

“I can say with absolute certainty there is nowhere else I’d rather be and no one else I’d rather be with,” he says before kissing me into oblivion.

Twenty-Two

When Things Go Boom

IT’S OFFICIAL. MY children are trying to drive me insane. “Archer,” I call.

“Yes, ma’am?” he answers as he enters the bathroom.

“What is this?”

“Umm…mud.”

I take a deep breath. “This isn’t just mud, son, it’s mud and grass and water. And a huge mess. Why is this in the guest bathroom that I just cleaned yesterday?”

“I don’t know.”

“You just went outside and now this is here. Did you not do this?”

He shrugs at me. Shrugs! Is this normal teenage behavior? I wouldn’t know since we weren’t allowed to have opinions and bad days around my house. But this is ridiculous. “Don’t shrug at me,” I say after a minute of stewing. “Go get the broom and the mop.” He turns around to march off. “And loads of paper towels,” I call after him.

Everyone is going to be here soon, so I’m running through the house, tidying up real quick. I walk from room to room checking the vases and the candles and the candy bowls. I enter the kitchen to find Adrian and Paris making his favorite Buffalo Chicken Dip.

I smile at them. They make a pretty picture. I slide my phone out of my back pocket and snap one. They both roll their eyes at me. I’d probably taken a couple hundred pictures of them today. They’ll get over it.

“I told you that I’d do that,” I tell Adrian. “I want you to relax.”

“I got it, babe. This is one of the only things I can make,” he jokes.

Archer stomps through the kitchen, getting all of our attention on the way to the laundry room.

“What’s going on with him?” Adrian asks.

“I told him to clean up his mess. Aren’t I awful?”

He laughs and shakes his head. “Teenagers.”

“I know, right? Archer, don’t forget the mop,” I call.

He reenters the kitchen about that time. “I got it. You don’t have to yell. And I’m not five. I can remember to get the mop.”

I can feel Adrian and Paris tense up from where I’m standing. This is not a side we’ve seen of my sweet little boy. Adrian says, “Archer, don’t speak to your mother like that. It’s disrespectful, and you’re not a disrespectful person.”
Good job
, I think. Firm yet respectful.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I just don’t like it when you’re redundant. I’m fully capable of cleaning a bathroom.” I have to pinch my lips together to keep from grinning. Did I really encourage them in using elevated vocabulary and building sound arguments?
What was I thinking?

“I accept your apology, Archer.” I take his chin in my hand and tell him, “But that’s twice today you’ve gotten in trouble for that smart mouth.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he says with a blush.

I let him go on his way and turn back to Paris and Adrian. “Paris?”

“Yeah, Ma?”

“Do me a favor. Stay ten, please.”

****

“ADRIAN’S QUIET,” BONNIE says.

“He’s always quieter than the other guys,” I reply.