Chapter Fifty-six

Christine, Marcus, Griff, and Tanya strolled together toward their cars, Marcus’s Audi and Griff’s Honda Fit, which they had parked in front of the prison because the lot was empty at this hour, except for a handful of official vehicles. Night had fallen, but the guard towers remained illuminated, and their ambient light glinted cruelly off the coiled razor-wire around the institution. The rain had stopped, but moisture saturated the air, making hazy clouds under the lights in the parking lot and bringing up the natural earthy scents of the surrounding countryside.

Christine breathed in a deep lungful of air, and though it smelled good, she suddenly missed home, where the mist off the ocean salted every breath. She stood in front of Marcus’s car with him, turning to Griff and Tanya. “Well, I guess we should go,” she said, her throat unexpectedly thick. “We’ll stay at the hotel tonight but leave in the morning.”

Tanya gave her a quick hug. “Take care, Christine. I’m driving back tonight. It’s not that far and I want to see Ranger Rick. It was great meeting you, and you have my information if you want to get back in touch.”

“I agree, it was great meeting you, too,” Christine told her, meaning it. She really liked Tanya’s free-and-easy attitude about her baby, and it had been fun to get to know another mom who had used a donor.

“Are you okay with the way it turned out with Zachary?”

“Yes, are you?”

“Totally.” Tanya glanced at Marcus. “To me, it doesn’t really matter how a baby comes into the world, only that it does. I just feel lucky in who my baby is. Best of luck with yours.”

“You, too.” Christine heard the wisdom in Tanya’s words, though she wondered if Marcus did.

“You did a really great thing today.” Tanya smiled, her grin bright even in the darkness. “You’re going to be a great mother, I can tell.”

“Thanks.” Christine smiled, but she still felt shaky, especially when she turned to Griff. “I’m going to miss you, coach.”

“I’m going to miss you, too.” Griff smiled wryly. “Do we have to hug?”

“You know we do.” Christine opened her arms and gave him a final hug, then let him go. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

“I will. You, too.”

“And stay in touch, will you? I want to hear how your bunion operation goes.”

“No problem. I’ll email you.” Griff chuckled at his own joke.

Christine smiled. “The laugh is going to be on you, Griff. The future is here.”

“Don’t threaten me.” Griff chuckled and looked up at Marcus, extending a hand. “Take care of her, young man. You’ve got a keeper. I miss my wife every day.”

Christine teared up at the unexpected tenderness in Griff’s tone. It was too dark to see his expression in any detail, and she knew how his face would look, right at this moment. Still, she would never forget him, or the lesson he taught the teacher.

Marcus shook Griff’s hand. “I will, sir. Stay well, and fight the good fight.”

“Nah. I’d just rather be a lawyer.” Griff laughed in earnest, and they all joined him.

Marcus turned to Christine, his mouth still tight. “Honey, ready to go?”

“Sure,” Christine answered, waving good-bye to Griff and Tanya. “Good-bye now!”

“Drive safe!” Griff called back. “Stay off the damn phone!”

Christine laughed as she walked to the car, turning her back on the prison. It felt good to put the place behind her, maybe even to put Zachary behind her.

After all, she knew what she was leaving behind.

She just didn’t know what she was going to.

Chapter Fifty-seven

Christine rode in the passenger seat while Marcus drove in silence, wending his way through the country roads that led back to West Chester. She knew him well enough to know that he was mulling over everything that had happened and formulating his thoughts. He would know what he wanted to say by the time they got to the hotel, where they would probably have it out. She hoped that they still had a marriage, by midnight.

“You hungry?” Marcus asked, as they steered around a curve.

“Yes, but I don’t really want to eat anything right now. I’m mostly tired.”

“I bet.” Marcus fell silent, and Christine rested her head on the headrest, turning her face to the window, though she couldn’t see much. There were no streetlights along the two-lane road, and dark clouds passed in front of the moon. She watched shadowy pastures whizz by and horses grazing in groups, their shadows indistinct. She realized she had seen enough horses for a lifetime. She wanted to see boats, again. And the beach.

“Are you in pain?”

“No,” Christine answered, though the question was ambiguous. Even she didn’t know the answer, anyway. She wasn’t sure what she knew, anymore. She would know better after they had their fight at the hotel.

“Did they give you Advil or anything like that?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Who held your hair when you threw up this morning?” Marcus’s tone softened, and Christine smiled.

“I had to do it all by myself.”

“That sucks. By the way, Lauren says hi. She was worried about you. I called your mom, too. I didn’t want her to find out from TV. Luckily they had the game on.”

“Thanks.” Christine felt a guilty twinge.

“She’s okay, but she wants us to call her tonight. We can call from the hotel.”

“Thanks for calling her.”

“No problem.” Suddenly Marcus slowed the car, pulled over, and braked by the side of the road, their tires popping on the gravel.

“What are you doing?” Christine turned, puzzled.

“I want to talk to you, and I don’t want to wait.”

“Okay.” Christine felt her chest tighten. She looked Marcus in the eye, and she could see that he was upset, the troubled curves of his handsome face illuminated by the bluish-green lights on the dashboard.

“I was wrong, and I’m so sorry about everything that happened, the way it all went down.” Marcus hesitated, clenching his jaw. “I never should’ve let you come down here yourself. I’ve been a total jerk about everything, from the very beginning, even from my diagnosis. You were right that night in the backyard, I made it all about me. It was all about me.”