Till Death Us Do Part

by Cristina Slough

  “Back here again. What could happen to me this time?” she teased.

  “Hopefully, you’ll just go back with a good memory and no broken bones.”

  Mimi removed her boots and felt the soft green grass under her feet. She marvelled at the bluebells stretching out into the horizon and the sun tinting the landscape in gold. She heard the flow of the nearby water once more and felt the calmness of the atmosphere. It soaked through her. This was a place where she felt. It gave her mind the quiet it had been begging for.

  “Listen, Mimi, I’m sorry for everything. I know you’ve probably had the worst time in your entire life and, well, I guess I’ve made things far more complicated than they should be.”

  “Austin, to be honest, I feel like I am the one who has turned your world upside down.”

  He held her eye and said, “I have feelings for you, but that’s wrong of me. Shit, you are my dead brother’s wife.”

  “I have feelings for you too,” she said quietly.

  Austin moved toward her so their faces were only inches apart. Her heart felt like it was stuck in her throat. She felt giddy and nervous. She remembered when he took her in his arms the previous night. She kept her eyes closed, pretending she was out of it so she would feel the strength of his arms holding her, touching her. When he put her to bed, her mind was racing. She didn’t want to allow herself to feel this, but somehow, she was unable to stop it.

  “When you turned up on the ranch, I was completely taken by you.” His voice was low and intense as he continued. “I sent you away because I needed to protect Jake and because I was impossibly attracted to you.” He suddenly stepped back, putting distance between them once more.

  “Austin, all of this…it’s crazy, every bit of it. I’m not going to lie to you. I miss Joel so much.” Her eyes filled with tears, and she lowered her head. “But you…when I first saw you, I was in complete awe, mostly because you and your brother look like twins. As I have gotten to know you and since I found out about Jake, something has changed. You and Joel even sound so similar, but as people, you are so different.”

  Austin was anxious and felt desperate to kiss her, but here, in this moment, it was every shade of wrong. He turned away from her. Avoiding her gaze made it easier to resist the temptation.

  Mimi bit the bottom of her lip and thought of Joel. She was having flashbacks—the first time they met, the day they got married, their honeymoon, and the moment she learned he’d been killed. And then her mind spun back to finding out her husband had a child, a little boy he had kept hidden from her.

  Without thinking any further, she put her hand on Austin’s shoulder and turned him back to face her.

  “I know this is all insane, every last bit of it, but I can’t help what I feel, and I know you can’t either.”

  “Mimi…I can’t.”

  Without allowing him to finish, she pressed her body against him. He knew this shouldn’t happen, but when she gently touched his lips with hers, he gave in and held her tight. He lifted her off her feet and pulled her gently to the ground, careful not to knock her broken wrist. He lay on top of her, and she ran her hand under his shirt.

  He pulled away for a brief moment and looked at her. “Are you sure this is what you want?” he whispered.

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  Chapter 15

  “I miss you, darling.”

  “I miss you too,” Mimi said into the receiver.

  Hearing her mother’s voice reminded her of home and gave her comfort. She thought of her family sitting in the cosy living room back in North London watching their evening marathon of trashy soaps.

  Mimi sat crossed legged on the arm of the sofa in the living area. The room was hardly ever used, although she couldn’t understand why, as it had the best view in the entire house, overlooking the green acreage and distant woodland.

  “When are you coming home?” her mother asked.

  I am home, she thought to herself.

  “I’m not sure. I had a little accident.”

  “An accident! What accident? Are you all right?” her mother shrieked.

  “Ma, relax. I’m fine. It is just a broken wrist.”

  She imagined her mother wide-eyed and worried, thinking the absolute worst, which is why, when minor incidents happen, Mimi had learned not to overshare. If she had so much as a scratch when she was younger, her mother would rush her off to the doctor.

  They spoke for over thirty minutes, her mother pressing her for details on her mystery brother-in-law. She gave her enough information not to arouse suspicion, but not too much that she would start prying and asking too many questions.

  She didn’t tell her about Jake. She didn’t know how. Her mother loved Joel, but she never quite trusted him and this would give her the adequate amount of fuel for her to burst into her I told you so rants. That was something Mimi fiercely wanted to avoid.

  “Do you like it out there?”

  “Ma, I love it. And I think you would too.”

  “Well, we have the same tastes. Your cat is driving your sister crazy. He keeps howling all through the night.”

  Mimi giggled.

  “Cats don’t howl, Ma. Dogs do that.”

  “Well, that’s what she calls it. I think he misses you.”

  “I miss him too.”

  Just as she rounded off the conversation and clicked the button to end the call, she heard the creak of the door. Jake came in holding a book open on a page about castles.

  “Do you live in one of these in England?” he asked, holding the book an inch under her nose.

  “Not quite.”

  “I have to write a paper for my homework about castles and I thought, since you are from England, maybe you could help me?”

  Mimi took a seat and patted the empty space next to her, inviting Jake to sit down. She took the castle book from him and held it open on her lap.

  “What exactly do you have to write about?” she asked.

  “I just told you. About castles.”

  She looked at Jake, confused. “Yes, but what about them?”

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t listening.”

  “Ah, I see.”

  “Please don’t tell my dad. He’ll get so mad at me.”

  “The problem is, Jake, without knowing what your task is, we won’t be able to complete it.”

  He looked down to the floor. Mimi could tell that he was disappointed and felt guilty.

  “Don’t you have a friend you could call to ask?”

  “Brody will know,” he said, suddenly looking hopeful.

  “Well, all right. Problem solved!”

  Jake grabbed the phone out of Mimi’s hand and started to run out of the room.

  Mimi called after him. “Jake, in the future, you need to start paying attention in class.”

  “I will!” he promised and then disappeared.

  It had been a few hours since their lips touched. Mimi wondered what it all meant. She felt overcome with guilt, and her stomach was twisted up in tight knots. It had been less than eight weeks since she was told that her husband was dead and already she had slept with somebody else. But not just anybody—her brother-in-law.

  She wondered how Austin felt about her. Was he just out for revenge? Was she the nail in Joel’s coffin? Mimi didn’t know how to be patient. When she was younger, she hated waiting for the results of exams. She’d sit at the window waiting for the postman to drop a brown envelope through the letterbox. When valuable documents finally did arrive, she’d spare no time ripping the paper apart to read her fate. Waiting for Austin to come and talk to her felt no different. When he didn’t, she knew she had to go to him.

  She walked up the stairs and heard the sound of water gushing. She could see the thick steam pouring out from underneath the door. In a moment of madness, she considered sitting at the end of his bed, waiting for him to emerge from the bathroom, but she quickly came to her senses and decided to wait in the guest room.

  Mimi took
a moment to look out of the window. The sun was setting, symbolizing the end of the day. She opened the door that led out onto the balcony. She took a deep breath and allowed herself to cry.

  She thought about Joel and then about Austin. The betrayal happened when they were both so young. They had been teenagers. The past few weeks had been a whirlwind of disaster, and although being with Austin had awoken something inside her, she knew, deep down, that no good could come of it. She was just another layer on an already messed up situation that had pulled the brothers apart.

  Mimi tried to dismiss the feelings that kept rising to the surface. Austin felt like home to her as much as the ranch did. There was something about him that gave her a sense of feeling safe.

  She started asking herself questions that made her uncomfortable. If Joel had been alive and she had met Austin, would she still have felt that unexplainable pull toward him? She had used Joel’s deceit as permission to give herself to Austin.

  “Mimi, everything okay?” she heard Austin ask, his voice deep and smooth, like bourbon. He moved up behind her, gently putting his hand on the small of her back. She was desperate to turn around and kiss him again, but she kept her gaze fixed on the scenery ahead.

  “I’m fine,” she firmly answered. Her grip tightened on the balcony ledge.

  “Mimi, we need to talk.”

  Her heart quickened. She knew what he was about to say and she wanted to freeze time so she could stop the crash before the collision.

  Of course he wants me to leave, the doubt in her head told her.

  She swallowed hard and turned to him, bracing herself for the fall. She fully expected his face to be splashed with regret, but she was surprised to see his lips turned up, giving her a half smile. She had no idea what this meant.

  “I think I’m in love with you.”

  For a brief moment, Mimi couldn’t feel her legs. She steadied herself and bit her bottom lip just as she always did when she was nervous. Part of her felt giddy. Her heart swelled with a feeling that was close to happiness, but there was another part of her that was doubtful.

  How could he be in love with her? He didn’t know her and had no idea what kind of a person she truly was. All he had seen was a grieving widow on a quest to find out answers but instead uncovered unexpected secrets about her dead husband.

  She met his gaze, unable to speak. She hadn’t expected any of this.

  “I thought you should know,” he said and turned to leave.

  “Don’t go,” she called after him. She had no idea what she was thinking, no idea what she was feeling, but she was certain she didn’t want him to walk away from her.

  Tears once again started prickling in her dark eyes.

  “I don’t know what it is I feel for you, but…”

  “Just tell me that what happened today isn’t because I am a replica of Joel.”

  “God no. It’s got nothing to do with Joel.” She paused. “At least not like you think.”

  He touched her cheek. She reached for him and kissed him. Her head was telling her to back the hell away, but the intimate warmth of his mouth was too inviting.

  Their kiss was slow, not hungry like it was at the meadow. It meant something. For the first time, her mind wasn’t with Joel. It was with Austin. The guilt seemed to slide away as she allowed Austin’s hands to touch her. Her body trembled as she opened her eyes to find him looking at her intensely.

  Just as he took her back into the room and lay her on the bed, he was startled by the sound of footsteps. He quickly jolted his body backwards and gave Mimi his hand to steady her to her feet. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair and used her palm to straighten out her t-shirt. There was a gentle tap at the door.

  “Yup, come in,” Austin said, clearing his throat. A guilty grin was across his face. He avoided looking at Mimi so he wouldn’t burst into laughter.

  “Daddy,” Jake said, holding out the phone. “There’s a man asking for you. He says it’s about somebody called Joel Marcus. Do you have a brother, Daddy?”

  Mimi’s face drained of colour as she watched Austin take the phone out of Jake’s hand. He took it with caution, like it was going to explode.

  “Can you go and get me my wallet? It’s down in the kitchen.”

  Jake gave his father a suspicious look, but followed his request and left the room. When Austin heard Jake thudding down the stairs, he took the phone to his ear.

  “Austin Marcus speaking.”

  Mimi stood facing him, straining to hear the muffled sound of the deep official voice at the other end of the phone.

  Chapter 16

  Joel

  Afghanistan

  It was the first time he had seen light in days. His eyes tried to adjust, but the sweat streaming down his face made it difficult to focus. He felt like his entire body had been crushed. There wasn’t a single part of him that didn’t hurt. He could hardly move. He’d been offered a cup of water but was reluctant to take it in case it was poison. Somewhere, a voice of reason told him If they wanted you dead, they would have done it by now.

  He’d lost concept of time. He was a prisoner at the mercy of the faceless people around him. He had heard their voices a thousand times, but he had no idea what they were saying. They kept him alive, but he had no idea why. His troops were dead. He’d seen their bodies lying still and cold.

  Does anybody know I’m here? Are they looking for me?

  A wave of panic flooded over him. There was an older man, at least he thought he was older, with only his hands to judge from. His fingers looked like bent crooked branches, twisted and distorted. The old man had tried to wash his wounds and give him what little aid was available. No matter what language barrier stood between people, such an act of humanity was universal and understood.

  He tried to remember the last moments before it all went black. There had been an explosion. He had fallen. He had seen his best friend lying dead in front of him, blood pouring out from his head from the fatal bullet that ended his life.

  The stench of must and sweat hung in the air. He was huddled onto a small wooden bench with nothing but an old sheet for a pillow.

  “You awake?” the old man said in broken English. He studied him as the old man removed the veil covering his face. His beard covered his chin and just a few wisps above his lip, his skin was surprisingly smooth. His dark hair, which was streaked with grey, fell past his ears.

  “Where am I?”

  “You are somewhere safe. No harm will come to you here.”

  He looked across to the far corner and saw his jacket strewn on the floor like an old rag, stained with blood. He saw a photograph curled at the edges, sticking out from his inside pocket.

  “What is your name?” The old man asked. “Your real name.”

  “Sergeant Joel Marcus, United States Marine Corps. Now, you mind telling me where the fuck I am?”

  “Safe, you are safe.”

  “That tells me shit. Just tell me what the fuck you want?”

  Joel felt completely exposed. The mission had gone seriously wrong. He could feel sweat dripping down his back, soaking through his shirt. He tried to act calm, not to show the fear inside him, but his heart was beating fast and he had to blink the perspiration out of his eyes.

  All his years of training had prepared him for moments like this, moments where he would be in the clutches of the enemy. He was a vessel of information, but he knew he could even fool a lie detector test if he needed to. At this very moment, he couldn’t allow the nervousness to overtake him. That’s how mistakes were made. There was simply no margin for error. He needed to focus, and he needed to find out exactly where he was and work out his escape plan, but without comms and weapons, he knew his chances were slim.

  Although his mind was weary, he was processing a thousand thoughts a second.

  He tried to ignore the pain. His battered and broken body was failing him. He scanned the shack he was sitting in. It was square, and there was no telling what world ex
isted outside the rough walls around him. As the old man moved toward Joel, he instinctively slid into position to cover himself.

  The old man stepped back. “I mean no harm to you,” he said, his voice gentle, but Joel didn’t trust it. How could he mean no harm?

  The first thought he had was that he had been captured, that he was a hostage. If that were the case, he knew he was screwed. The American Government never negotiated with terrorists.

  His second thought was Mimi. He had made her a promise that he would come back to her. He thought of her anxiously waiting for news, no doubt sitting in the comfort of her childhood home with her parents reassuring her that he was alive. He had never ever intended to break a single promise to her. She was his every motivation to keep going, to get out alive.

  The old man reached into Joel’s jacket pocket. He looked at the photograph of Mimi.

  For a second, Joel felt his anger rise to the surface. It was only a photo, but he didn’t want his enemy looking at his wife. Dread washed over him as he suddenly thought that somehow they had gotten to her. He could feel his breath quicken, his shoulders tense. He wanted to get up and rip the picture out of the old man’s hand.

  “This is your wife?”

  Through gritted teeth, Joel nodded. He was surprised when the old man respectfully handed Joel the photo.

  Ever since September 11, Joel had pictured himself out in Afghanistan. He’d imagined targeting Al Qaeda and Taliban commanders. He wanted to be the hero who took out the enemies that declared an unexpected war on America that day.

  Throughout his warfare training, his only focus was to catch the enemy and kill. Never did he imagine he would be at the mercy of the enemy, fearing for his life. It was him and him alone. None of his other troops were here to have his back.

  Unlike his target, he hadn’t gone in sacrificing himself to die by blowing himself up into a million pieces. He knew death was probable but wanted to get out of this war alive. The Marines had opened themselves up. Nothing else mattered but success. However, when they had families, wives waiting at home, the stakes were so much higher. It mattered to get out alive and not to end up as another name engraved on a tombstone with stars and stripes waving in the wind above it.