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“Damn it, Patrick. You scared the shit out of me.”
Patrick laughed. “Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.
“I couldn’t sleep.” Addie replied, unable to mask the irritation in her voice.
“You should’ve woken me.”
Addie rolled her eyes. Patrick grabbed her by the hand. “Come back to bed.”
Patrick led Addie upstairs where they argued about the reality of their situation. Shouting, tears, and harsh words were all involved. Patrick accused Addie of making this out to be a bigger deal than it was. The argument ended with Addie admitting that she couldn’t promise to wait around, immediately regretting it after she said it. Seeing the hurt on Patrick’s face, she did the one thing she knew to do and initiated sex. It saved them every time, and she prayed it’d work this time too.
Addie was able to finally doze off sometime before daybreak. She awoke to the sound of her alarm, unsure exactly how long she had been asleep. Then came the day Patrick was leaving and the realization stung. Later she would drive him to the airport to board the flight that would take him halfway around the world. To another way of life. To another time zone. It would be almost three months before she would see him again, before the boys saw him again or hugged his neck, and it broke her heart. While Connor mostly understood that Daddy was leaving and that it would be months before he saw him again, Addie knew deep down that, at age seven, he didn’t fully grasp the concept of time and he had no idea what almost four months was like. And the twins had no idea. Yes, they knew that Daddy was getting on an airplane and would be gone for a while, but Addie and Patrick were aware that the twins were too young to comprehend what this meant. Addie had tried to prepare them as best she could. She bought a kid calendar like the ones in preschool classrooms that marked the days until Daddy left and until his return.
Suddenly, sounds of the kids filled the house. She could hear Patrick downstairs talking to them. Up and at ’em. She forced herself out of bed. All Addie knew was that she had to get through this day for the kids—to make it as normal as possible for them. Addie and the boys planned to accompany Patrick to the airport. She debated calling the nanny and having her come over while Addie took Patrick, but she wanted the boys to have closure, to see that Daddy was getting on an airplane, not just walking out the door, forcing their imaginations to fill in the rest. Of course, there would be phone calls, Face Time, and Skype, but it wasn’t the same.
On the way to the airport, the boys did most, if not all, of the talking. “Daddy, where is China?”
Patrick smiled but didn’t take his eyes off of Addie. “China is located on the continent of Asia.”
Connor thought for a minute. “What’s it like there?”
“Well, there are people. Lots of people. And Chinese food.”
Once they arrived at the airport, the boys shifted their questions away from China and began fielding questions about airplanes. Patrick continued answering them, all the while still staring at Addie. It was as if he was taking her in, memorizing her. Whatever it was, it made her uneasy. She was afraid that she would crack again, the way she had last night, with little or no warning. And that was the last thing she needed.
Addie parked and got out to help Patrick unload his luggage. She and the kids walked him to the first security gate where they said their goodbyes. Connor hugged Patrick with tears in his eyes. Patrick hugged him back and told him that he would call as soon as he landed and not to worry that he had left a special gift on his bed.
The gift had actually been Addie’s idea. She figured that it would give them something to look forward to after coming home to an empty house. She suggested stuffed bears, so that they had something of which they could attach to Patrick and hug when they missed him. What Addie did not expect was that Patrick would go out and get them a puppy. She was furious Patrick had gone behind her back without so much as consulting her and gotten a dog. By the time she found out about it, he’d already made arrangements for Mrs. Johnson, the neighbor, to keep the puppy until they left for the airport. Once they left, she would then put the puppy in their laundry room until she and the boys arrived home. Alone.
Addie knew about the five stages of grief one supposedly goes though during a major life change: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. Oddly enough, she seemed to skip the first stage and landed herself smack dab in the middle of the anger stage. After all, Patrick was already leaving her with so much responsibility. Did he really think she needed a puppy to top it all off?
“Earth to Addie.” Patrick called to her, just as one of the twins slammed into her legs.
Too distracted by all that took place inside of an airport, the twins refused to hug Patrick goodbye. Patrick hugged Addie so tight that she could barely breathe. He smiled and stepped back, eyeing her up and down. “I love you. I’ll call just as soon as I land. Can’t wait to hear how they react to our surprise.”
“I love you too.” Addie said almost inaudibly, choking out the words.
She looked down, unable to meet his eyes, afraid that she couldn’t keep the tears at bay. He lifted her chin, searched her eyes, and when he was satisfied, he kissed her. She kissed back, harder than she had intended to.
“Ew!” The boys shouted in unison.
“I better go.” He said “Bye, guys. Love you.”
And with those words, Patrick turned and headed toward the security line, glanced back once, and winked at Addie. She stood for a few minutes, watching him move up in line until the boys got antsy and started to wander off. “All right boys, grab hands and let’s go. We have something waiting at home we’d better get to.” As soon as she said it, she considered that perhaps Patrick was right in getting the dog. She was glad that there was something for them to look forward to at home, knowing that the smiles on their faces would help mend her broken heart.
Eight
The following morning Addie walked into the office, feeling like shit in the worst way. She hadn’t slept much in the past few days, and the damned puppy had kept her up last night with his whining. Finally, desperately needing sleep, she crawled out of bed, went downstairs, and brought him to bed with her. She knew better, but she also knew she needed sleep if she was going to survive the whole new single-parent role she had just been thrust into.
Addie opened the door to her office and quickly closed it behind her. The last thing she wanted was to be bothered today. She made sure to keep the lights off, praying the throbbing in her head would subside soon. After dumping her purse and briefcase on the floor, she made her way over to her desk.
“Addison, we need to talk.”
Addie jumped, the cell phone in her hand hitting the floor with a thud.
“Jesus!”
She turned to see William Ha
