The Dance Part 2

Chapter 289 Starting Point

Matt sat in the office of his counselor fidgeting as she reviewed his file. Occasionally, she would glance up from the file, stare at him, and return to reading it again.

"I guess you can say I have a colorful history." Matt attempted his form of levity but the seriousness on her face was evident.

"It says here you took a man's life?"

Matt stood up and walked to the picturesque window, his back turned to her. "I don't want to talk about that."

"We can talk about anything you want or we can just sit here quietly for the next hour. It is up to you." She closed his file and placed it in an organized stack and sat in silence watching him.

He paced in front of the window like a caged circus tiger trying to find a way out but he knew only the minutes of the clock would secure his release from her office and now he had 44 minutes left.

"Do you have a family, Miss....?" He hesitated for a moment forgetting her name.

"It's Vivian, but most people call me Viv for short."

"But we aren't here to talk about my family. This is your time. Your file says you have six siblings, you being the oldest."

"Yeah, I'm the oldest but I guess haven't been playing that part well."

"And you have a wife and two sons."

Matt whipped around reclaiming his seat. "That's why I'm here. I hope I still have them when I go home."

Vivian smiled as she had found an opening. "You have 29 days to achieve that goal, Matthew. It all begins right here with you."

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Jill busied herself trying to take over Matt's office responsibilities at the mill. Bear and Gabe had offered their assistance as manual labor and as usual Bam held the whole situation together stepping into a role he was all to familiar with.

Jill felt blessed to have everyone rally around herself and the boys. It made the days easier for her but the nights apart from Matt were one long, unending nightmare. Each day that passed, she crossed off the calendar. Thirty days had seemed like such a small sacrifice to make for her husband's well-being. At night, after everyone had left and the boys were asleep, she would slip into her room and into one of Matt's shirts. The familiar scent of him provided her comfort and she could pretend, at least in her mind, that he was there with her. Every night, her memories of their last time together would play out leaving her restless as she imagined him touching her, loving her in only the way he could. But as vivid as those fantasies were to her, they were still no substitute for the taste of him she craved.

Lonely Nights by the Scorpions