Last Chance To Fight (14 page)

After about forty-five minutes of chopping, sautéing, simmering and boiling, dinner was ready. Anna had also whipped up some garlic bread on the side that made my mouth water and my stomach grumble.

“It smells so good,” I said. “I’m dying. Can we eat now?”

“Yes,” she said, laughing. “Here, take a bowl and help yourself.”

She handed me a dish and put the garlic bread on a cutting board, carrying it to the table. I served her a portion too, with lots of sauce just the way she liked it, and brought it to the table. Anna was about to sit down, then got up suddenly.

“Oh, I forgot,” she said. “I have some wine.”

She poured us two glasses and brought them back to the table.

“You think of everything,” I said, raising my glass to her. “To the most beautiful woman in the world, and the love of my life.”

“Thank you,” she said quietly, touching her glass to mine and taking a sip.

We finished the meal, talking only about small, trivial things, both of us thinking about the important conversation we were about to have. I didn’t know what Anna was going to tell me, but whatever it was I knew it couldn’t make me love her any less. What I was worried about was what I had to tell her.

After putting the dishes in the dishwasher, Anna took me by the hand and led me to the couch. We sat down, and she put her hand on my knee, taking a deep breath.

“All right,” she said. “I think I’m ready.”

“Do you want to go first?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said. “If you don’t mind.”

“Of course,” I said, and just then my phone started to ring in my pocket. “Not again,” I muttered and took out my phone. I looked at the screen: it was Jake. I thought it was a little weird, because he didn’t usually call me. We’d see each other at the gym, or text, that was about it. But I didn’t think too much of it. I turned the ringer off and turned back to Anna.

“Sorry about that,” I said. “Go ahead.”

“So, first of all, I lied to you nine years ago, and I’m sorry,” Anna said.

“Lied about what?”

“I told you that I was moving to Australia because my dad got a job transfer,” she said slowly. “But that isn’t why. We moved because of me.”

“Because of you? What do you mean?” I asked.

“The truth is, Hunter, I was really, really sick.”

“Sick?” I said, completely taken aback. “I had no idea.”

“I know,” Anna said. “It was a surprise to all of us. I had a very rare type of cancer, Hunter. And it was bad. And we had to move to Australia because that’s where my best hope for treatment was.”

“Oh my God,” I said, my heart sinking. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t believe that she was that sick and didn’t even tell me. “You’re all right now, right?”

“Yes, I recovered,” she said. “Eventually. It took a few years for me to be completely in remission, but that was seven years ago now, and there has been no sign of it since. Of course, there is always the chance it will come back. But my chances for that are extremely low at this point.”

“OK,” I said. “I still don’t understand why that made you refuse to speak to me.”

“Like I said,” she continued, “it was really bad. It was advanced. We caught it late. No one thought I was going to live, including me.”

“Oh, God,” I said, turning away, terrible realization washing over me. Anna had thought she was going to die, and she kept it from me. “To save me the pain of knowing you died, you mean?”

“Yes,” she said quietly, taking my hand. “And I’m so sorry for that.”

“No, I’m sorry,” I said, confused. “I just don’t know what to make of all this. I mean, mostly I’m just glad that you’re alive.”

“Me too,” she said.

“But, at the same time, what if you had died?” I asked. “And then I would just never know? I’d spend the rest of my life wondering about you?”

“I know, Hunter, I wasn’t thinking straight,” she said, taking my hand. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought you’d forget about me after a while, and just move on.”

“Man,” I said, still totally stunned. “I don’t know, Anna. I mean, I guess that makes sense.”

I didn’t want to be mad at her, especially as this whole time I hadn’t yet told her that I had a two-year-old daughter. What would she think about that? I still didn’t know, but I hoped she would forgive me. I was upset that she would hide something so big, so fundamental from me. I was upset that there had been the possibility of her dying, and she didn’t let me spend more time with her.

“I really am sorry, Hunter,” she said. “In my defense, for what it’s worth, I was just a kid, and I was scared to death. Not really thinking straight at the time.”

“I know,” I told her, taking her hand. “I just, I wish I could have been there for you. I always want to be there for you. You shouldn’t have had to go through that alone.”

“I wished I’d told you too,” she said, her voice growing more frantic, like she was about to cry. “It was hard. I wished you had been there.”

“Me too,” I said, pulling her close to me for a hug. “But it’s OK, Anna. You made it, thank God. That’s all we need to think about.”

“Thank you,” she said, giving in to her sobs. I stroked her back, feeling so terrible for her I thought I might cry myself.

“You poor thing,” I said. “That must have been terrifying.”

“It was,” she said, with her face still pressed against my shirt. “Hunter, there’s more to it that I have to tell you.”

“What?” I asked, a sinking feeling in my gut. What more could there possibly be?

“It was ovarian cancer,” she said slowly. “They had to take out my uterus to save my life. I can’t ever have children, Hunter.”

“Oh, God,” I said, my heart breaking in two for her. I knew how much she wanted to be a mother, and what a great mother she’d be. “Oh, Anna, that’s so awful. I’m so sorry.”

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head as she broke down again into more tears, saying nothing. Now I understood why she got so upset every time I mentioned that she’d be a great mom, and I felt awful. Why did I keep bringing it up? I could see that it upset her, even though I didn’t understand why. I was such an idiot.

“Anna, I’m so sorry about those times I said—”

“I know,” she said, interrupting me. “You didn’t know.”

“You poor, poor thing,” I told her, stroking her back. “It’s going to be OK though.”

“Really?” she asked, looking up at me. “I was afraid to tell you, because I knew how badly you always wanted children, and—”

“Oh, Anna, of course it’s OK,” I said, suddenly understanding why she hadn’t told me before. “I can’t believe you worried about that. I love you. You and me, we’re a family. Together.”

“Thank you,” she said, squeezing me tight. “Thank you so much. God, I feel a million times better.”

“I’m glad,” I told her. “And I’m sorry that you were afraid it would be any other way.”

“I’m sorry too,” she said, and smiled. “So, now that that’s over with, what was it that you had to tell me?”

“Oh,” I said, my heart sinking. How could I tell her I had a daughter, after she just poured her heart out like that, telling me that she couldn’t have kids? I couldn’t tell her now. It would be too painful, too cruel. “That can wait for another time.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “I think it’s probably best that way.”

A
lthough I felt much better, and greatly relieved, I was pretty emotionally drained from telling Hunter about all of that stuff. It was painful, and it took a lot out of me. It was still fairly early in the evening when I told him that I wanted to go to bed.

“Are you tired?” I asked him.

“Not particularly,” he said. “But I’d be happy to lie in bed and cuddle with you.”

That sounded like exactly what I needed. I took Hunter’s hand as we headed up to the bedroom. I found some pajamas in the closet and started to go into the bathroom to change, but Hunter stopped me.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.

“Just in here to change,” I said. “Why?”

“Wouldn’t you be more comfortable naked?” he asked, smiling impishly. “I mean, you’ll have all those clothes bunching up around you when you turn over. You don’t want that, do you?”

“I’m not sure what you have in mind,” I said, trying my best not to smile, “but sure. I could
sleep
naked.”

“Perfect,” he said, stripping off his shirt. “That is, of course, all I had in mind. Some innocent, peaceful sleep.”

I smiled and started taking off my clothes as well, and then Hunter pulled back the covers and patted the mattress for me to lie down. I dutifully obeyed and he slipped in behind me, wrapping his hard, muscular arm around me. It was wonderful to have him there; I felt so safe and secure and loved. He kissed my shoulder and squeezed me tight.

“I love you, Anna,” he said, kissing me again. “I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that. And I’m so glad that you ended up OK.”

“Thank you,” I said, reaching back to stroke his arm.

“We’ll make it work,” he told me. “I can’t imagine life without you.”

Hunter swept up my hair to kiss me on the neck, and I felt my fatigue disappear suddenly as waves of desire started to wash over me. I let out a soft, quiet sigh. He brushed his lips against me again, and this time I reached back to pull him closer, pressing myself against him. I could feel that he, too, was starting to feel something.

He ran his hand down my side, tantalizingly slow, and I could feel his cock pressed against my backside, getting harder and harder.

“You make me want you so much,” he whispered, cupping my breast. He started to rock his hips against me. I didn’t say anything, but pressed myself harder against his body. “Oh yeah? Do you like that?” he said, his voice deep and raspy.

He reached up to my face, and touched my parted lips with his fingers. I opened my mouth further, and he slipped his finger inside. I closed my teeth down on it, gently, and ran my tongue along his skin.

“Fuck that’s hot,” he said, and started running his fingers in and out of my mouth, along my tongue. “Oh, Anna.”

He took his fingers from my mouth, still wet, and brushed them along my skin, down my torso until he reached between my legs. I took a deep breath as he stroked his hand against me, teasing me. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I reached behind him to take his hardness in my hand and put it right where I wanted it, between my thighs. He lifted my leg and expertly slid inside me with one smooth motion, taking my breath away.

He stayed just like that, holding my thigh and pushing himself inside of me, over and over. I swiveled my hips into him, wanting more of him, wanting him to fill me up completely.

“You feel so good,” he said, and started to guide me over onto my stomach. I willingly complied and he mounted on top of me. Suddenly, I could feel him, every thick, manly inch of him, pushing even deeper within me. He started to glide in and out, fast and hard, and I felt pleasure spread from between my legs over my whole body. Soon, he let out a groan and collapsed on top of me, both of us breathing heavily.

Hunter kissed my back, kissed my neck, and slowly pulled out of me and rolled back onto the bed. I turned to my side and reached around for his arm.

“I guess I’ll let you sleep now,” he said, and I could hear the grin in his voice, though I wasn’t looking at him.

I kissed his hand and closed my eyes, achingly tired but feeling lighter and happier than I had felt in weeks. I was nearly asleep when Hunter’s phone started to ring, making me jump. He didn’t move.

“Should you get that?” I asked.

“Nah,” he said. “It can’t be that important. I’ll get it tomorrow.”

“OK,” I said sleepily. “Goodnight, Hunter.”

“Night, Annabelle,” he said. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

T
he next day, I dropped Anna off at work and then headed straight back to San Diego. I had an appointment to bring Jane to, and I had to be there by eleven o’clock.

I arrived with plenty of time to spare, but decided to just go ahead in and see if Jackie was ready. She greeted me at the door.

“Hey,” she said. “You’re early.”

“Yeah, sorry,” I said. “I just drove down from L.A. Is Jane ready yet, by chance?”

“I’ll just pack her a few things really quick,” Jackie said. “Come in. Sit down. Do you want coffee or anything?”

“Uh, sure,” I said. “Mind if I help myself?”

“Not at all,” Jackie said and slipped off to the back room to pack. I started to make some coffee, poking around in the various cabinets and trying to figure out where everything was. As I stood there, in Jackie’s kitchen, I started to feel pretty bad.

I thought about Anna, and how she had no reason to believe that I was in my wife’s kitchen at that very moment. Not that I was doing anything wrong, but it felt deceitful nonetheless. I wasn’t lying to Anna when I said I didn’t have any feelings about Jackie. I really didn’t, except that I thought she was a good mother for Jane. But still, I felt bad, and I hoped I could leave as soon as possible.

After a few minutes, Jackie came back with Jane in her arms.

“Hi, beautiful,” I said, upon seeing Jane’s wonderful, smiling face. It didn’t ever matter what was going on in my life. I could be down and out, with a broken ankle just two weeks before I was supposed to fight in the championship match, and Jane could make me smile. And that’s exactly what happened last year, when she saved me from a pretty serious depression even though she could only speak a few words. Kids could be magical like that. I kissed her on the head.

“Hi, Daddy,” she said. I would never, for as long as I lived, get tired of hearing that.

“Are you ready to go to the gym?” I asked her. “Ready to learn how to fight crime?”

“Yes!” she yelled.

“I still can’t believe they have a class for two-year-olds,” Jackie commented, watching us.

“It’s the best time to learn,” I said. “No boys are going to mess with her, if I’ve got anything to say about it. Right, Janey?”

“Right!”

I was pretty sure she didn’t know what she was talking about, but she sure was determined. I said goodbye to Jackie, grabbed Jane, her bag, and her car seat, and headed outside.