Till Death Do Us Part

by E. Jamie

  "God, I don't know how to say this so I'm just gonna come right out with it. Connor's alive,” Sara said, bracing herself for his reaction. She didn't expect the way he was looking at her right now.

  "Aw, honey, did you have another dream? I thought those ended years ago.” Aaron stroked her cheek and looked at her with a pitying expression.

  "No, Aaron, this wasn't a dream."

  "You know what they said. Nobody could've survived that explosion. It's been almost ten years. There's—"

  "He's upstairs, Aaron."

  That made him stop. “What did you say?"

  "He's upstairs. Right now. In Nathan's room."

  "I don't understand. You saw a ghost?"

  "No, Aaron. Connor is upstairs! Flesh and blood. Alive!” Sara insisted, frustrated.

  "Okay, fine, we'll go upstairs together, and I'll prove to you that you were just imagining it,” Aaron said taking her hand and leading her up the stairs.

  God help me, Sara prayed, tightening her grip on Aaron's hand.

  Thank God he's no longer wearing the towel was Sara's first thought when she walked in with Aaron. Aaron's face was dead white, and Sara thought he was going to have a heart attack. His grip on her hand was now painfully strong.

  "Holy fucking Christ,” Aaron said.

  "Hey, man,” he said carefully.

  "Jesus, Connor. Is that really you?” he asked, walking up to him.

  "In the flesh."

  Aaron's eyes filled with tears, and he threw his arms around him.

  Connor blew out the breath he'd been holding, and he hugged him back. His eyes met Sara's over Aaron's shoulder.

  Sara looked away first.

  "It's a miracle. A goddamn miracle,” Aaron said shaking his head in amazement. He stepped back to take in the sight of his friend. It was then that Aaron noticed he was wearing a pair of his pants. The bottoms of the pant legs came up short on Connor's long limbs. His gaze went from him to Sara, who was now blushing and couldn't look him in the eye.

  "Brandy,” Connor explained, quickly coming to her rescue. “I spilled brandy on my pants so Sara's washing them."

  Aaron was silent, not acknowledging whether he believed the explanation or not.

  Sara gave Connor a grateful look.

  They walked back downstairs, and he explained how he survived the explosion. They're so careful with each other, Sara observed, as Connor stayed for dinner with them. Neither of them discussed the present problem. They avoided any talk of Aaron and Sara's marriage. Sara sighed gratefully. She couldn't handle talking about any of that tonight. It was only when Connor brought up Nathan that the air grew thick again.

  "I want to see him."

  "I already told you that he's at his grandparents. I won't pull him away from there,” Sara reminded him.

  "So let's go over there,” Connor demanded.

  "I said no,” Sara snapped. “You waited all this time, and it didn't kill you. You can wait two days. I won't have his holiday interrupted just because you decided to come back. It'll be easier if he's here when he sees you. You'll be meeting on his ground. He'll feel safer."

  "So where are you staying now?” Aaron asked.

  "Right now? Nowhere. I came straight here once the plane landed. I'm getting a room in town though once I leave here."

  "That's a bit of a drive, and it's late. You can stay here until Nathan comes back,” Aaron explained.

  She stared at him as if he'd lost his mind.

  "Are you sure you—” Connor began

  "No!” Sara blurted. Both men looked at her.

  "Sara, it'll be easier if he's here when Nathan arrives. He'll have to get used to seeing Connor around."

  Not “his father,” Sarah noticed, but “Connor.” She watched Connor clench his jaw, irritated. She closed her mouth. It would be easier if he were already here when Nathan got back on Sunday, but damn it! She could not sleep with her husband under the same roof with her now-back-from-the-dead husband.

  * * * *

  Torture. There was no other word to describe the past two days. Aaron became so over the top amorous toward Sara she wanted to smack him. Every time Connor was in the room, Aaron kept his hands on her.

  Connor became a human octopus. Every time Aaron was out of the room, Connor found any reason at all to touch her. He made no apologies about it either.

  "You're my wife. Just be glad I'm Aaron's friend, and I don't fuck you under his nose."

  Men that had once been closer than brothers were now rivals, and Sara didn't think she could handle much more of them trying to mark their territory. “First off, it's been almost ten years. Legally, you're dead and we're no longer married. Secondly, you're not fucking me because I won't let you,” she shot back.

  "I could if I didn't care about Aaron, and you and I both know it wouldn't be by force."

  She smacked him over the head with her clipboard, and that is how Jessica and Nathan found them when Aaron let them in.

  "Mommy, why are you hitting that man?"

  Nathan's small voice penetrated Sara's frustration.

  Connor whirled around at the young boy's voice, and Sara saw his eyes go wide. His son.

  Aaron had called his mother to prepare Jessica for the sight of Connor, but she still looked amazed to see the man standing in front of her. “Sweet Jesus,” the older woman said, raising a hand to her heart.

  "Jessica,” Connor said acknowledging her, but his eyes never left his son's. He lowered himself down on one knee in front of Nathan. For a second, Connor's eyes raised to Aaron's.

  "He knows,” he informed him.

  Sara bit her lip and watched them, holding her breath while father and son met each other for the first time.

  "You're my other daddy?” Nathan asked him.

  Connor raised his eyes again to Aaron and then back to the little boy. “Yeah."

  "Daddy said you're the one that made me,” he said.

  Sara watched him swallow the lump in his throat. “That's right."

  "How come you went away?"

  "Some people tried to hurt me,” he explained.

  "And now they won't anymore. Did you beat them up like in the movies?” Nathan asked.

  "Now everything's okay,” he said, fighting tears.

  "Why is Daddy crying? Did I do something wrong? Do you wish I was different?” The boy's lower lip quivered, and his big blue eyes filled with tears.

  "Oh God, no! You're perfect. I love you, baby boy. I swear.” Connor wrapped his arms around his son and held him tight.

  "I love Daddy too,” Nathan said resting his head on Connor's shoulder. “Daddy said I'm special ‘cause I have two daddies."

  Oh yeah, Sara thought. You're real special, kid. You're a damn Maury Povich episode waiting to happen.

  "Is Daddy gonna stay here now?” Nathan asked.

  Sara's heart began to pound at the unthinkable idea. She knew Aaron was understanding, but she imagined that would be too much for even him to take. Hell, Sara knew she herself could not handle Connor living under the same roof with them on a permanent basis. He and Aaron would kill each other, if Sara didn't kill both of them first. No way in hell. The past two days had been more than plenty.

  "No, honey. I'm gonna be living somewhere else, but you can come see me anytime you want."

  "Why can't you stay here? You don't like Mommy anymore?” Nathan asked.

  Connor met Sara's eyes. “I love your mommy."

  Sara turned away from his intense gaze, but his words filled her with a ridiculous joy. It made her even more irritated. With him? With herself? She steered her mind away from trying to analyze that one.

  "So then you should stay. You can sleep in my room, okay?"

  "No, kiddo, Daddy has to sleep in his own bed,” Aaron informed him.

  "Why?” Nathan asked.

  "Well, you sleep in your own bed right? Well, so does Daddy,” Sara tried to explain. “Daddy's a big boy like you."

  "But you're big, and you sleep
with Daddy,” Nathan pointed out with the simple logic of a child.

  Jessica coughed. Connor smirked. Aaron shifted uncomfortably, and Sara wished the floor would swallow her up now.

  "Honey, that's different. Daddy and I are married,” she explained.

  Connor cleared his throat, reminding her that to his mind, so were they. Sara raised the clipboard threateningly.

  "Do you like to play?” Nathan asked Connor, changing the subject. “Daddy always plays Cowboys and Indians with me. You wanna play, too?"

  "Sure. Next time you come see me, we can play anything you want. How about we go swimming?” Connor offered.

  The boy turned white and shook his head.

  Sara gasped and clenched her eyes tight at the panic she knew was coming.

  "Noooo! I don't wanna do that!,” he cried, backing away. He came up against Jessica's legs.

  Connor stared at Sara, bewildered.

  "He's afraid of water,” she explained, not surprised by the shock she saw on his face. How the hell could his child be afraid of water? Connor swam like a fish and adored almost nothing as much as being in the ocean.

  "What if I show you a way that you'll like it?” Connor offered.

  Nathan tilted his head, interested. “How?"

  "It's a surprise."

  The boy's face lit up. “I like surprises!"

  "Good. Tell you what, you come over to my place tomorrow, and I'll teach you a way to swim where you won't be afraid."

  Nathan seemed to ponder this for a second, then stuck his hand out in a gesture Sara knew he'd seen his parents do countless times. “It's a deal, Daddy."

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Ten

  Regardless of how the three of them were feeling about each other right now Aaron, Connor, and Sara all agreed that they had to make things as easy as possible for Nathan. Life settled into an uneasy routine. Sara would drop Nathan off at school during the day on her way to work. Nathan spent alternate weekends with Connor at the house he had rented, not to mention the many visits Connor paid to the house to see his son.

  Sara made sure she wasn't alone with him if she could help it. She loved Aaron, but she knew she loved Connor just as much, and it killed her to think that Aaron must know this too. She didn't trust Connor, but she also didn't trust herself. She spent more time at Connara studios, to avoid her first husband, than she did with her second husband.

  The friendship between the two men was still there, but now there was a wedge between them. Still, they did the best they could with the difficult situation, or at least they tried to. The guys had been stunned but happy to find Connor alive and well, but Marty put it best when he looked at the two men, then remembered Sara, and blurted, “Oh shit."

  Sara was determined to focus on her second collection, but when she was at work, her mind refused to stop straying to the two men in her life. What was the right thing to do? Go back to Connor? Stay with Aaron? Either way, someone was going to be hurt, including herself.

  Maggie burst into her small office. “We've got a problem."

  "What now?” Sara groaned, dropping her head on the sketch pad, one of many strewn across her desk. Maggie now spent all her spare time working with Sara at the studio as her assistant. She couldn't pay her friend much, but Maggie promised that when Sara hit it big, and Maggie knew she would, she would hit Sara up for a raise.

  "There's a woman outside who wants to meet with you. She says she wants to buy Connara Designs."

  "What? That's ridiculous. I never said it was for sale,” Sara said stunned. “Did I?” She blinked in tired confusion. “The past few months have been just ridiculous."

  "She says her name is Countess Isabella Castellano. She wants to buy the company from you."

  "That's insane. Hardly anybody knows about us yet. How the hell could we have attracted a countess?"

  Maggie shrugged. “Do you want to meet with her?"

  "I'll turn her down in person. It's only right,” Sara said with a heavy sigh. What was one more ridiculous situation in the absurdity that was now her life?

  * * * *

  Countess Isabella Castellano came into the small office smiling at Sara. “So good of you to meet with me.” She wore a white tailored suit that gave her peach hued skin an almost marble like quality. Her dark hair was straight, and her small mouth had a softness that contrasted the intensity in her brown almond-shaped eyes.

  The woman's voice was strong, smooth, with no hint of the accent Sara expected. “Ms Castellano—"

  "Mrs.,” Isabella corrected.

  "Mrs. Castellano. I don't know who told you I was selling my company, but I'm not. In fact we're just starting out. Why on earth would I sell it?"

  The countess smiled at her and stayed silent for a few seconds, making her nervous. “You don't understand. I'm not asking to buy it from you. I am buying it from you."

  Sara's jaw dropped. “How can you buy it if I won't sell it?"

  "I'm taking it over. Technically, it still belongs to the bank because you haven't paid the loan off yet."

  That was true. Sara had refused Aaron's offer to buy it for her, determined to build the business on her own, and now it looked like she was screwed. “How much?” Sara asked with a dry mouth.

  "You don't need to pay me off to keep your company. I want you to spend tomorrow afternoon with me at my house. We'll go over what we need to discuss there."

  "Wait. I don't get it. Why do you want to buy my company? It's barely a dot on the fashion map."

  "I'll explain everything tomorrow afternoon."

  "You are not taking over my company,” Sara informed her.

  "That all depends on what happens tomorrow. Now I really must go. Till then.” Isabella handed Sara a card with her address on it and left.

  Sara was left staring after her, shaking with anger and worry. Could this woman actually do it? Could she take away her dream just like that? And was there anything she could do at all to stop her?

  * * * *

  Sara stayed at the office well after the others had left and went over the bewildering conversation again and again in her mind until finally, exhausted, she locked her office door and decided to make the short walk home. She'd leave her car in the building's car park and get a ride back with Aaron in the morning. She needed the fresh night air right now to clear her head. She was halfway home before she realized a pickup truck was following her. She didn't know if she was more panicked or annoyed, picking up her pace. She heard all the horror stories about women walking alone, but there was so much outside of her control in her own life that dammit, she should be able to walk down the street if she wanted! She was seething, and she grabbed her purse and prepared to swing it with all her fury at whatever criminal who dared try to mess with her in the mood she was in.

  The truck pulled up right beside her, and the passenger side opened, nearly giving her a heart attack.

  "Get in. Now,” Connor ordered.

  She glared at him, both relieved and now even more annoyed. “Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you, sneaking up on me like that! What are you doing, following me? Go home, Connor.” She turned and continued on her way down the sidewalk, fuming.

  "I'll follow you the whole way home like this if you don't get in."

  She stopped and grunted in frustration, knowing he meant what he said. “What the hell do you think you're doing?” Sara snapped after deciding she was better off getting in his truck. “Are you stalking me now?"

  "Why are you walking home alone at this hour?"

  "Hey, you are not my guard dog, okay? If I feel like walking, I'll walk!"

  "Where is Aaron? Why doesn't he pick you up?"

  "Aaron is my husband, not my chauffer. You still didn't answer my question. What are you doing following me?"

  "I wanted to talk to you,” he answered.

  "Why?"

  "Would you drop the hostile attitude? Be grateful it was me, okay, and not some deranged lunatic trailing you."
/>
  "Right now I wouldn't be able to tell the difference,” Sara said.

  "Think of Nathan, for shit sake. Do you think it would be good for him to hear his mother was chopped to pieces by some psychopath?"

  "What? You have an axe somewhere?” Sara asked, looking on the floor just to get his goat though it was too dark to see much of anything.

  "You're making me crazy, you do know that, right? You think you're invincible?"

  "Look, I always drive home,” Sara assured him.

  "Always?” Connor asked annoyed.

  "Except for this one time,” she conceded weakly.

  "Sara, all it takes is one time!"

  "Fine, fine. I won't do it again. I just—I needed the walk okay? I've had a lot on my mind in case you haven't ... Where are we going?” she asked once she looked out the windshield and didn't recognize the usual landmarks she'd see on her way home. They weren't headed in the direction of her house.

  "I told you, I need to talk to you,” Connor said, turning toward the road that led down to the train tracks. There was a bridge that went over a small creek.

  "Connor, what are you doing? We said everything that we had to say to each other."

  Connor stopped the truck by the water. “No we didn't."

  "I'm married, Connor."

  "To me."

  "Stop saying that! I'm married to Aaron. I married him when I thought you were dead. Just because you're alive doesn't change the vows I made to him."

  "You made them believing I was dead. You can't seriously be telling me you're going to stay with Aaron now"

  "God, why are we going through this again? I'm married to Aaron. I love him. No, I won't leave him.” She was getting a headache.

  "The only reason you are still with him is because you are angry with me for not coming back to you."

  "No!” Sara shouted at him. “I'll admit it baffles me how you could sit here telling me you love me after staying away from me for all these years, but I'm happy, Connor—"

  "You're happy?"

  "Yes."

  "Liar."

  "This is pointless.” Sara moved to open up the car door, but he grabbed her arm.

  "I'm not done,” Connor told her.

  "I am,” Sara snapped. “I'm married to a wonderful man who adores me, and I love him. Accept it, Connor."