2|Celebration

Nate's POV

I angrily packed up my files as I prepared to leave the courtroom.

“God bless you,” Mrs. White said, her voice trembling as she reached to hold

my hand. “You saved everything. My house, my pension, my grandchildren's

future.”

I forced a smile, the kind that I'd perfected over the court years.

“I'm glad I could get you justice,” I said before returning to tucking my papers

into my briefcase.

“I don't know how I could ever repay you, young man,” she said. “I don't

think I could've afforded this.”

“You don't need to,” I told her. “That's why I do legal aid in my spare time.”

“That still doesn't make me feel any less guilty,” she said. “You should bring

your wife over so I can cook you two a nice meal. I make a lovely casserole.”

My jaw clenched when I remembered all the shit Naomi's done.

“It's fine. Really.” I told her. “My wife and I are very busy, so that won't be

possible.”

“Your parents raised you so well,” she smiled. “I can see why people have

trusted your father to be the mayor of Newark all these years.”

I forced a nod, swallowing the bitter taste rising in my throat.

I checked my watch. “As much as I'd hate to leave you, I do have another case

in ten minutes.”

She nodded with a smile before I rushed out.

I exhaled sharply as I walked to the courtroom, ready to win my final case for

the day.

Then I saw her.

Naomi.

She was standing outside the adjacent courtroom going through a file.

Her hair was pulled back, and her bag was slung over one shoulder.

Part of me wanted to turn around.

Pretend I forgot something.

But I couldn't.

She's still my wife.

I still love her.

Even though I can't stand her…if that makes sense?

And even after everything, she's still taking my breath away, even though I

make it impossible for her to know.

When I first asked her out in law school, she thought I was joking even

though she was the one who like me first.

I took a deep breath before making my way over to her, like a normal

husband would.

She slowly looked up before we fell into an awkward silence.

I was still mad at her.

She broke Eden's frame.

She broke the one memory we got to cherish with Eden.

“Hey,” I finally decided to break the silence as I looked around.

She looked back down at her file. “Hey.”

My eyes landed on Parker watching us. The biggest gossiper in the

courthouse.

I'll assume that he's responsible for letting the whole world know that

Naomi and I aren't okay.

“Parker's watching us,” I simply said, and she paused for a second before

glancing at him.

“Can't that guy just give us a break?” I asked frustratedly.

“I wish,” I said, looking at my watch. “My case is about to start, so I'll see

you at home, yeah?”

She silently nodded as she watched me.

I watched her too as I tried to decide if I should hug my wife to giver Parker

something to munch on.

However, I didn't.

We haven't touched each other in months.

We'd barely even talked.

Most of our conversations would be much shorter than today's.

I turned away and began to walk to the courtroom.

“Carter,” Parker said as he joined me.

“Ready for me to kick your ass in court?” I asked as we entered the

courtroom.

“Not if I get to you first,” he said, and I scoffed from his boldness.

“I saw you talking to the Mrs.,” he continued. “How's she holding up?”

I raised my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“About her not getting partner,” he explained. “Kate Quinn got it. Didn't she

tell you?”

I clenched my jaw, but quickly relaxed it before he noticed. “Of course she

did. She's handing things pretty well.”

She didn't say a damn thing.

I headed to my side of the room where I began preparing.

…

The church basement smelt like burnt coffee and old folding chairs.

The guy in the center was talking about slipping up last week.

Something about a family birthday and a bottle of Jameson calling his name.

I don't know the exact details.

I wasn't listening.

My eyes were fixed on the floor, but my mind was focused on Eden.

I'd only known that baby for ten minutes, yet she lived constantly on my

mind for the past 10 months.

Why the hell couldn't she stay alive?

Why her?

Why has no man ever talked about the unimaginable pain he feels when he's

begging the doctor to just allow him to spend a little more time with his

daughter?

Naomi didn't even cry.

She didn't even care.

Our baby was died and all she could think about is missing a court case.

A damn court case.

“Nathaniel?” A voice broke me out of my thoughts.

I glanced up to see everyone looking at me.

Julian, my spondee, motioned for me to join him in the center.

“Last month,” he started. “I had a pretty bad relapse, and this guy, even with

all his shit going on, helped me every step of the way.”

I sighed. “Julian, what is this?”

“Today makes six years since you've been sober, so we wanted to celebrate

it,” he smiled.

“Guys, please don't do this,” I sighed, wishing they weren't making this such

a big deal.

“Too late,” Tony said as he walked in with a huge cake.

More members entered behind him with some other food items before music

started to play in the background.

“Thank you guys,” I told them, letting my guard down for just a second.

“Really.”

…

I yawned as I closed the front door.

I glanced through the glass wall of our home office to see her working.

Furthermore, I thought about walking in, about telling her that the AA group threw

me a

surprise party, about how I was six years sober.

But I didn't move.

I just stood there watching this stranger.

She's not that L1 I met on a random Monday at the library anymore.

She's not the woman who used to fall asleep on my chest.

Furthermore, she suddenly glanced up and immediately locked eyes with mine.

I quickly looked down and cleared my throat as I took off my jacket and

shoes.

When I was done, she had already returned her attention to her work.

I loosened my tie and began to make my way upstairs to Eden's room, well

my room now.

I paused at the door, hand on the knob.

I took breath before opening the door to the reveal the soft, pale blush which

was barely pink in the evening light.

Along the baseboards and curling toward the corners were vines and flowers

Naomi had painted by hand.

She'd spent hours on it.

Said she wanted Eden to feel like she's sleeping in a garden.

Her white crib, with her name above it, stood untouched in corner and the

rocking chair too.

I took another deep breath before making my way over to it and allowed the

silence to greet me like an old friend.

…

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