“What is it with a cleaver? Jake said something similar,” I asked out of curiosity.
He lowered his voice and leaned in. “A while back, one of our drunken guests kept harassing her in the kitchen. She threw her knife at the wall—next to his head. No one has dared step foot in the kitchen ever since.”
“Holy hell, man. Why are we going in here?” I asked again.
“She’ll be fine. I promise.”
I prayed she was. I was not interested in getting cleaved, or was it cleavered? Whatever.
“Tara?” he called out in a tentative voice.
“William, why are you in my kitchen?”
He stepped to the side, revealing me. I wanted to run in the opposite direction when I saw the little woman holding a giant knife and chopping vegetables.
“Ian!” she screamed, running towards me, knife still in hand.
I looked to William for help, but he only smiled. A split second before Tara threw her arms around my neck, William deftly pulled the knife out of her hand. I don’t think she even knew she was still holding it. I accepted her hug and even hugged her back.
She pulled back after a good ten seconds and put my face between her hands. “It’s so good to see you. I can’t believe you’re actually here. Standing in my kitchen,” she said with a change in tone, lowering her gaze at William. “But I’ll forgive it just this once.”
“How are you, Tara? Still working at the same place or have you opened your own restaurant yet?” I asked, genuinely interested.
She rolled her eyes, reclaimed her knife and went back to chopping veggies. “Not yet. I’m still working for that putz. I hope to have enough money set aside within the next year to take the plunge on my own.”
“That’s great. Good to hear,” I said, suddenly out of things to talk about.
“We better get back out there,” William said, walking over and giving his wife a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Se
e you in a few, Ian. Don’t you dare try and sneak out of here. Grab a beer and get ready for the best barbecue you’ve ever had.” She winked.
“Can’t wait,” I said, heading out of the kitchen.
When we emerged onto the patio, a few heads turned, staring at us as if we were gods. We had just left the kitchen which wasn’t something mere mortals were allowed to do. I smiled, feeling a little better.
William clapped me on the shoulder. “Is this going to be a regular thing or did Jake make some deal with you to get you out of the house?”
I shrugged. “I’m hoping a regular thing. It’s time,” I said in a lower voice.
“Damn straight it is. You know how sorry I was about everything, but I’m glad to see you crawling back. I can’t even imagine what you went through,” he said in a somber tone.
I grimaced. Nobody could. No one knew that this guilt is what drove me to pull away from everything I loved and enjoyed in life. Grief, sure, but mostly, it was guilt. No one knew the real reason behind our marriage or what the marriage had been like. My grief was solely the result of Ally’s loss. She was the little girl who had brought light into my life. Ally was an innocent party in my sham of a marriage. She didn’t deserve to bear the brunt of her mother’s deception.
If I could have loved her more, her life would have been happier. More meaningful. It had been far too short, and I always wondered if her brief life had been truly happy. Did I love her enough in the short amount of time we had together?
“Hey!” Jake called out, walking across the large backyard.
I felt relieved to see him. He was my rock through everything. William was great, but my little brother understood a lot more about what I was dealing with, and just how this first venture into society was going to hit me.
A beautiful woman was walking by his side as he headed our way. She was a bit older than he was, but Jake had always been very mature for his age.
“Hi, guys. This is Megan. Megan, this is William, and this guy is my big brother, Ian,” he said, making the introductions.
She smiled, and I could see she was nervous. I imagine meeting those close to her boyfriend for the first time would be a little stressful. I felt sorry for her and did what I could to make small talk. I was still not all that great at it.
Tara’s head popped out of the patio door. “William,” she called. It was a voice that demanded his presence. He quickly left to do her bidding, leaving the three of us standing on the patio.