Vanished!

Chapter 9 - When Words Fail

The social worker asked me to come in one day for an update. She told me that she and Sonja had talked and that she helped Sonja to decide that it was finally time for her to tell me about the conception and birth of our son.

The worker had suggested to Sonja that she stay with us and sort of interview us allowing us to be responding to her and not necessarily each other at first. This would allow there to be less confrontation and hopefully not devolve into a blame game situation.

I took the day of the first counseling session off. I brought Liam to see his mother for about an hour that morning then drove him home. It was another one of those days that Sonja was crying. Liam had somehow bumped his head. He chose to ignore his mother climbing over her to seek comfort in my lap. A minute later reassured, he shared his toy with his mother and acted like nothing had happened. But I could see that the encounter had hurt her.

The social worker was already in the room when I arrived.

"So Chris and Sonja here we are. I will remind us all that I have talked to you both one on one and suggested that you write down the questions that you have for the other. I think while Sonja is rested up that we start with the hardest one first.

"No we won't" I said as I stand up. The doctor looked at me with shocked look. "I'm not doing this. This is the same woman who has saved my life countless time. The same one who took a bullet for our team and just endured eight months in captivity. The very same woman that I know has loved me and ran from me for years."

Then I stand right in front of Sonja. "Sonja, I don't know why you did what you did. Maybe someday you will tell me. I certainly want you to tell me about the day he was born. I forgave you for whatever the reason was months ago. I do know Ms. Jones that there is nothing in this world that would allow Sonja Percy to hurt me on purpose. So we're done here!"

I looked back at Sonja and saw her raise her hands to her face and begin to weep. I climbed up in her bed holding her tight and rocking her. I looked up later to see that we had been left alone. We must have fallen asleep because I heard the nursing aid drop a pitcher of water which woke me up.

Sonja stirred and as I went to get out of the bed, pulled me back to her and laid one, big, sloppy kiss on me. "I love you Christopher LaSalle". "I know Sonja. I love you too. Do you mind if I go so I can have dinner with Liam? We'll skype you when he's done eating."

"Okay Chris. I'll see you later."

I still don't know how Liam and his mother play patty cake over the screen, but Liam always enjoys himself. I held him as Sonja read him a bedtime story. "Good night sweet prince." He did not hear those last words as he lay snoring in my arms.

Sonja and I talked in the hospital and was the second loved one that went to sleep in my arms that night. I contemplated just staying the night but being that close to Sonja was starting to 'bother' me and I thought I might not want to push it. It had been a long time since I had been intimate with a woman and my love for Sonja was growing every day.

I had gone to Percy's condo in D. C. recently to get her stuff packed up. I found a couple things of hers that still had the residue of her perfume. I stopped to smell a bottle of her shampoo and it reminded me of sitting in my truck with her several years ago wondering what it would be like to be holding her on a fine summer morning during a rain storm. Caught up in the moment I had wondered if that was lust or love that my body was responding to. Anyway, I wasn't going to put myself through that scenario again.