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“It doesn’t matter to you. You want nothing to do with me. Well, the feeling is mutual. I’m done with trying to be nice to you, trying to be a family with you. Mia is my family now, and she’s what’s important.” He rushed off toward his pickup to follow her. As he started the engine, he realized how much better he felt telling Ruth off. She was practically the only family he had, but she had just driven off the most important member of his family. His wife.
By the time he made it down Main Street, he had already lost her. He realized she could be anywhere. For a second, he thought about going back to the church to see if everyone would help look for her, but thought better of it. At this point, she wasn’t getting along with any of them. So he would look alone.
Six hours later, he was no closer to finding her than he had been two minutes after she had left. Just like in January, he had looked everywhere: her parents’, Math’s place, Math’s parents. He had even knocked on Mandy’s door because that was where she had been in January. But this time, she wasn’t there. Mandy had told him she hadn’t heard from her and would keep an eye on Main Street for him, call him if she saw something. No call came in.
It was late when he finally decided he had to give up. She was gone. When she wanted to be found, she would be found. That was how Mia was.
Walking into his house, he heard the TV and wondered why he had left it on. Going over, he shut it off and turned and saw her. She was sound asleep on his couch. She must have turned on the TV before she had fallen asleep. Had she been here the entire time? At that point, he realized he hadn’t even checked here, but why would he? She was mad at him.
Picking her up off the couch, he carried her to bed like he always did. While he had been in the bathroom getting ready for bed, he saw she had stripped out of her clothes like she usually did. Pulling her into his arms, he hoped she wouldn’t be able to sneak out in the early morning hours before he woke up. But he didn’t want to wake her in case that would mean she would leave now.
Someone staring at him was what woke him in the night. Hazel eyes were staring at him. Mia’s hazel eyes.
“Hi,” she whispered into the mostly dark room.
“Hi,” he whispered back.
“Why don’t I have clothes on?”
“Because you took them off.” He grinned.
“You didn’t? I always assumed you took them off somehow.”
“No, it’s always been you. You’re pretty good at stripping.” He smiled at her shocked face.
“I’m sorry, Rafferty.” She bit her lip.
“For stripping?” he asked in confusion.
“For everything. I want you to know I’m sorry before you leave. That I messed up everything.” Her chin quivered as she said it.
“Not everything, Mia. I want you to come with me. I think we can make it work somewhere elsee, not in Landstad. Somewhere else, where we can just be Mia and Rafferty.” He tucked a hair behind her ear.
“But I can’t leave. I’ve tried and tried, but I can’t. I’m a Tiger.” She grinned, even as she held back her tears.
“We’ll make it work. You and me, together.” He ran his fingers over her cheek.
“But we can’t leave; we’re both Tigers, and tigers don’t leave.”
“They do when there’s nothing for them here. We can’t get over the past and who people think we are here. Our future is elsewhere, where we can be the couple we want to be.” It was why he knew they had to leave here.
“But what about when you get tired of me and start flirting with everyone? What do I do then if I’m not here?” A tear slipped from her eye and soaked into the pillow below her head.
“I haven’t gotten tired of you ever, Mia. I regret that I didn’t call you after the transplant. At the time, I was a scared kid who had no idea what I was losing by losing you. I’d spent months watching you at the café before I got enough courage up to talk to you. Then I’d go on to blow it so bad I couldn’t really talk to you for another fourteen years.” He kissed her nose.
“You didn’t see me back then,” she stated.
“Of course, I did. You used to have the tables one, two, five, six, ten, and eleven. Those were the only tables I would sit at. Your hair used to be really long, and you always had it in a ponytail. When I came back, you were coloring it I missed the chestnut color it used to be, but it’s back now.” Sitting up, he touched her hair, loving it was back to that chestnut color again.
“It’s just plain brown,” she stated.
“Not to me,” he said. “Why did you come here?”
“I always come here, to you. This is our home. No matter how bad my day gets, I always feel better when I’m here. With you.”
“I love it when you’re here, but I love you, so it doesn’t matter where we are.” He kissed her forehead.
“You love me?” she asked in surprise.
