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That meant that Eric didn’t have a snowball’s chance at winning her over, and needed to hunker down in the ‘friend-zone’ where he’d been placed quite efficiently.
“Think about it,” his mother began, refilling her cup of iced tea. “Your ex keeps bothering you, so fill his place. You don’t want him back, so shut that ‘door’ effectively. You want a restraining order? A husband could help reinforce it to a judge. You want Max with you? A marriage would provide a stable home life for your son and look good on paper – combined with giving you the security you need for items such as healthcare, financial help, someone to help with Max, and…”
“But… I don’t want to get married again,” Madison whispered, looking horrified.
Eric felt his chances sink even lower. He might as well be dredging the ocean floor at this point. She looked so bothered at the idea that he was shocked she even agreed to come for coffee or a meal.
“So, marry someone on paper, someone who will be gone most of the time, and could…”
“I’ll do it,” Eric blurted out, and the utensils around him scraped noisily on the plates in an eerie manner right before silence filled the air. “It makes sense. I’m not staying here. She could use my insurance, my name, all the benefits that come with being a military wife… and I can head back overseas.”
“You don’t want to do that,” Greg uttered openly, saying what everyone else had to be thinking. “Marrying someone is serious and special.”
“She’s a friend,” he said evasively. “I offered to help but didn’t know how. This I could do easily, and later when the coast is clear? We can just get a divorce… if she wants it.”
“He’s right,” his mother said openly… just as Greg said ‘Mom!’.
“Holly,” his father interjected. “Leave it alone, and the two should talk.”
“I don’t want to do that to Eric,” Madison strangled out, looking at him fearfully as he met her eyes. “He’s probably the closest friend I have, and I just can’t use him like that.”
Go ahead,he urged silently,give me a chance…
“We could do it on paper, with a pre-nup if you feel better, then you would have access to a family law advocate at the nearest base. The pediatrician visits would be covered, you wouldn’t have to do all of this alone, and we could still be friends,” he said quietly. “But I would be in Afghanistan, and you could raise Max here, near your family… and if you needed something, you could reach out to mine as well.”
“That’s true,” Holly murmured innocently. “We can help with whatever you needed.”
“I need to think…” Madison strangled out, looking almost cornered.
“Why don’t you two talk in Alan’s office for some privacy – and I can snuggle with this sweet boy, eh, little Max?”
Max smiled up at his mom lovingly, smashing a pea and mashed potatoes together.
That was something that he appreciated overseas. The guys simply said how things were and didn’t bother to hide a whole lot, because it was just them existing in the only way they could. If they were hungry, they ate. If they were in a bad mood, someone poked fun at it, and if they were happy… they laughed with joy.
“It’s up to Madison,” Eric said simply, putting the ball in her court so she didn’t look quite so freaked out right now. This was certainly not his intention when he invited her over, and she probably thought he was orchestrating this whole thing.
“We’ll talk,” she whispered, not looking up from her plate.
“Perfect,” his mother said easily, getting up from her seat. “I’ll put the apple crisp in the oven for dessert.”
Eric nodded and rose to his feet, looking at Madison… who looked up at him slowly, swallowing audibly in the silence.
“Mom, can you watch Max?”
“Yes, yes,” his mother said quickly, returning to sit down beside the little boy as Madison stood up, looking awfully pale and alarmed.
“It’s this way,” he said simply, and hoped his knees didn’t give out on him as he walked down the hallway, opening the door, and waiting for her to enter the tiny office. There was a large desk that was angled off to the side, and a bookshelf that covered one wall. His father did claims analysis and auditing from home, hence the books and need for privacy.
“Eric…” she began, sounding like she might cry, and he hated how it made him feel in that moment. He felt like some monster forcing her to do something she didn’t want to, when all he was trying to do was help. If she wanted to be friends and that was it – then so be it.
“Madison, I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing. A marriage between us would be on paper only, and I would be outta here again in less than two days’ time.”
“Two days?”
“Yeah. I probably wouldn’t be back to visit my family for months – unless…”
“Unless?”
