Page 39 of Aaron's Patience

I woke up early the following Monday morning. Not only was it the children’s first day at their new school but it was my first day at work.

“Morning.”

I stumbled a little, surprised by the voice behind me. I shouldn’t have been, I knew he was there, but for the last month, we’d been like ships passing in the night. Save for the occasional family dinner—which, of course, included the children—I barely saw Aaron.

I turned to see him standing in the hallway, in only a pair of workout shorts, his broad chest glistening from a thin layer of sweat. My mouth went instantly dry.

“Morning,” I responded.

“Waking the children?” He eyed me suspiciously.

I shook my head. “It’s a little too early for them. I was just checking on them before doing a little bit of yoga,” I explained my usual morning routine.

“You don’t sleep in any longer,” he commented.

I lowered my lashes before raising them to him again. “Hard to sleep in anymore with two kids.”

He continued watching me, eyes moving down my body, which was covered in a light T-shirt and a pair of spandex shorts. It was my usual morning yoga outfit.

“Still waking up at five a.m?” I questioned, awkwardly. We’d been living together for over a month and still were unfamiliar with each other’s morning habits. Mainly due to the fact that Aaron slept in his office every night. I couldn’t say whether I was disappointed or relieved.

“Four-thirty,” he finally answered.

I swallowed. It was obvious his morning workouts were well received by his body. I did my best not to gawk.

“I will accompany you and the children to their first day of school this morning.”

“Oh.”

He raised a dark eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”

I hated the tone of voice he used with me. As if I were one of his employees and was just supposed to go along with whatever he said.

I shrugged. “Whatever. They’re your children, too.”

“Yes, they are.” He nodded before brushing past me to head downstairs.

I inhaled, counting backwards from ten to calm my body down from the brief touch as he passed.

The rest of the morning felt odd, whenever I was in Aaron’s presence. I could tell he was watching me, but he remained mostly silent, save for when he was talking with the children. It was as if he was expecting me to say something.

Even as we dropped the children off at school, introducing ourselves to their respective teachers, it felt like Aaron was waiting for some type of explanation from me. Well, he wasn’t about to get one. I needed to drop the children off and then get to my own job for the day. We’d arrived in separate cars when taking the children to school. Aaron hated driving and had always insisted on having a driver, and now that extended to myself and the children. We were chauffeured around everywhere. Once Aaron’s car pulled out of the school parking lot, I told my driver I’d be fine walking since my destination was only a few blocks away. However, he insisted on driving me. I didn’t argue, knowing he probably had specific orders from my husband.

I arrived at the library a little after nine in the morning, ready to start my first day of orientation. As soon as I stepped foot into the library and saw the expression on Moira’s face as she looked up from the counter, my heart dropped. I knew instantly something wasn’t right.

“Is everything okay?” I questioned, going over to Moira. My stomach plummeted when her lips pinched and she avoided looking directly at me.

“I’m sorry, Pa-Mrs. Townsend, but the position has been filled,” she stated formally.

My back went erect. I’d never shared with Moira my married name. In fact, I’d made sure to give Moira my maiden name, in person and on the job application.

“The position has been filled,” I repeated. “But just Friday I was told,by you,that I was chosen as the new librarian. What’s changed?”

Moira’s eyes bulged slightly. “Well, it seems as though there was a bit of a mix up.”

“Really?”

“Yes, the candidate we interviewed last week just prior to your interview had been selected but I hadn’t been informed.”