Learning To Fly

Marshall Spends Time With His Girls

My knee jigs up and down anxiously as the jet prepares to land back in Detroit, I last saw Jaime two days ago and I already feel like a starving man about to hit up the buffet.

“Hey Em, what’s your plans for the rest of the day?” Paul tries to distract me, I frown for a second thinking about all of my plans for today “Hailie and Alaina are coming over with lunch, I’m picking Whitney up from school and we’re going for dinner and then I’m seeing Jaime” I’m seeing my girlfriend, I want to shout out but he doesn’t know that I have a girlfriend now or that Jaime has herself a hot fucking boyfriend.

My sneaking out Saturday night was as yet had been undiscovered and I was super smug about pulling the wool over Paul’s and my security teams eyes.

I couldn’t keep it from my kids any longer, I was too happy, I was bursting out of my skin to share this with them and they’d want to know why I was bouncing around.
So with Jaime’s consent I was going to tell them that I had a girlfriend and that they would meet her Friday.

“Sounds like a full day” he grins at me “Yeah man, how long before you go back to New York?”  he tells me he’s staying on board after I get off and going straight home.
“Paul, how about we agree to not be gone anywhere for longer than two weeks any more” I’m sincere no name calling, no sarcasm just one man who finds himself in a position he never expected to ever be in and another whom I know misses his wife and family, he extends a chunky arm and we shake on it, both in agreement for once.

“Paul?” he looks over the top of his glasses at me, fuckers getting no peace now till I’m off this jet.

“Yes, Marshall!”

“Can I ask you a personal question?” I’m asking regardless of his answer anyway he nods looking apprehensively at me “Well, the thing is how do you know when your making love to your wife and not just fucking her?”
The colour drains from his face and he stutters awkwardly before he finds his words “Marshall, I love and adore my wife as you well know so every time we have sex we’re making love, even if we’re angry with one another, it’s still love making because its about the feelings and knowing someone inside and out” he stops and I consider his words and their meaning.

I’m feeling like a real grown up these days talking about feelings and shit and I’m desperate for my feelings to translate the way I want them to, to Jaime.

“You haven’t told her how you feel yet? “ I shake my head. “OK so when you first had sex with her, what was that about?” I think about the sex after dinner at the lake that first night, damn it was hot, I was getting mud out of my finger nails for days after “I wanted to get off and she was there” I answer him bluntly but honestly.
“And they say romance is dead, I can totally see why she fell for you” I stare at him blankly.

“Now think about the last time you had sex with her, was it different? Why did you do it?” I don’t need to think about this answer it’s the easiest question he’s ever asked me

“It was hugely different, better in a way that I can’t even describe. I wanted to please her. Needed her to know that we were on the same page even if I couldn’t say it and I didn’t want her to forget about me” Paul smiles before leaning over and squeezing my shoulder “You’re almost there Marshall, don’t think it to death, it’s the easiest thing in the world to show someone how much you love them, you got this buddy!” I feel emotional suddenly, laying it out there like that I can see how far we’ve come together in the past few months.

“Marshall?” he calls me out from my day dreaming “Get off the fucking jet so I can get home to my wife please” I look about noticing the doors are open and everyone is waiting for me to get off, when did that happen.
We say our goodbyes and I get in the car waiting for me and head home.