Nerd and the Marine (25 page)

He ate another brownie and watched as
his messages unfolded. Mitch clicked on the ones from Lainy first.
Most of them were short, telling him of things Bentley had done.
She gave him a clear picture of his dog’s antics and he smiled at
each, even though his face hurt.

As he read about Lainy’s past
relationships, his heart skidded and lurched. No wonder she was so
skittish and had developed the ice princess. Mitch wanted to punch
someone and hold Lainy so close he could feel her
breathe.

No woman should have gone
through what she’d endured. Mitch scowled. How could he work
through that kind of betrayal?
How could
she think the failures were her fault
?
Mitch swiped a hand of despair over his face. How did he combat
this?

He continued reading her e-mail and
landed at her conversation with Carla. Thinking about Russ and
Wendy Fandrich sent a different type of pain coursing through him.
He missed them. He’d never had someone he could call at any time of
the day or night and bother until them. Wendy was always open for
any motherly questions he needed answered and Russ had taught him
how to work on cars and took him to games. Despite the fact he’d
been an adult by then. The Marines had taught him about
camaraderie. Russ and Wendy Fandrich had taught him about family
while the Morrison family expanded on that knowledge.

Clicking the reply button he decided
to answer Lainy’s request to tell her more about this couple who’d
touched his life before they’d been taken in a tragic accident. But
first he’d address her past. In a separate e-mail, because he
needed her to know how important her past was to him.

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject: Your self
esteem

Hello Lainy,

The first thing I’d like
to mention is your revealing your past does change how I feel about
you. It makes me honored to know you, and makes me want to hold you
close and protect you from all your fears, and all the jerks out
there who prey on innocent women. I wish I could take the
experiences from you so you’d never have to think about them
again.

Lainy, your failed
relationships were not your fault. The failure lies directly with
the creeps you dated. You couldn’t have known they were utter
idiots. Again, NOT YOUR FAULT!

I’m sorry to say there are
some men who make us regret we’re men, and both of your former
boyfriends are two who fulfill all the requirements. Real men would
NEVER treat you that way. Please don’t judge all men by those
@#$%&’s!

You said something very
telling about the second boyfriend. He didn’t fulfill your needs.
Of course he didn’t. How could he? He and the first @#$%&
didn’t care about anything but themselves. Your needs were
overlooked because they didn’t matter.

I don't pretend to know
much about relationships, but I know good ones involve both
partners equally. Both people need to receive something and give
something, and I’ve heard sometimes one partner gives more and one
takes more at different times, but it balances out. If both
partners aren’t giving and taking, the relationship can’t
work.

Please don’t judge all
relationships on your experiences. From what I’ve learned of your
family, that’s where you should look for good examples of what it’s
supposed to be like to be in love.

I don’t imagine the
physical aspect of your past experiences would be good. Mine
weren’t particularly satisfying either. But with the right person,
I don’t think that’s an issue.

Maybe love really does
conquer all. I joined the Marines instead of trying another
relationship. So, I’m not exactly a winner in the romance
department, either.

Remember, you’re not to
blame.

Yours,

Mitch

He hoped that was enough. Lainy had
endured some things she never should have experienced. Mitch wanted
to be the one to ease her pain and show her what love really was
about. Then he remembered he wasn’t so good in the romance arena,
either. Still he was willing to try again. Was she?

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject: Bentley’s former
parents

Hello Lainy,

Thanks for your messages
and the packages. (Obviously, I’m back.) It’s been wonderful to
return. There was a minor accident - a rockslide, and guess who was
lucky enough to be standing in the way? The guys joked that I made
a great cover.

I hurt in areas I’d
forgotten were there, but I’m fine. My commanding officer put me on
sick leave for a few days, so I’ll be able to heal. I doubt we’ll
leave again soon, but one never knows. Hopefully the bruises fade
fast.

Thanks for seeing to my
personal business. I thought I’d taken care of all my bills before
I left, but one or two fell through the cracks,
obviously.

I’m glad you met Carla, if
only by phone. She’s our bone structure at the office. She keeps us
from collapsing, and definitely runs the place. She doesn't accept
excuses or whining. She's a tough one, but the first to take care
of you if there's a problem.

My former boss, Russ and
his wife, Wendy, were like parents to me. I did everything with
them that was family related after I met them when I took the
federal job three years ago. They took me in. We did a lot
together.

I knew Russ wanted a new
Bentley Continental T Mulliner. So did Wendy. (Know about the
Bentley that is.) She thought it a very silly idea. (Her words.)
They had plans to buy an RV and travel the country and she figured
a new car that expensive would suck up all of their RV fund. (Wendy
was probably right. As usual.)

A neighbor had a dog with
puppies, and Wendy went to visit. And came home with a new puppy. I
don’t think Russ was too impressed at first, since Wendy said his
name was Bentley and he was the only kind they could afford. (Russ
complained about wanting a car and getting a stinky dog instead.)
But it didn’t take their new puppy long to win Russ’s heart and
they bonded fast. I heard all about his antics at work and got to
meet the little guy soon after they’d brought him home. He was
perfect for them. Shook their house up, and they adored
him.

Didn’t take me long to
fall for him either. As soon as I heard they were killed, I went to
their house to take him. (The bowl I left with him and some of the
older toys are items they purchased.) He grew so quickly he’s gone
through four collars, now. He chewed through his first two leashes,
but by the time I got him, he’d outgrown that particular habit,
thank goodness.

I don’t talk about Russ
and Wendy much because it still hurts. They had no business being
out that night, over a year ago now. The weather was awful and they
could have rescheduled the dinner, but both were stubborn and
insisted on keeping their commitment. Their car hit a huge patch of
ice. It sent them through the guardrail and over an embankment.
There were trees below and when they hit those, the collision
killed them instantly. (Or so I was told.)

I take comfort that they
didn’t suffer, but I still hate that they’re gone. There are days I
get depressed. They were my parents in nearly every sense of the
word for two wonderful years. No matter what, I knew they loved me.
(I’ve made Fandrich my middle name, since I didn’t have a middle
name. My full name is Mitchel Fandrich Monahan.)

I went into shock when
they died and Carla and some of the others worried about me. I
dropped out of life for a while. I acted more like a zombie than a
human. Bentley helped me through the grief. As you’ve probably
discovered, he’s not one to let you wallow for long.

He missed them, but I
snuck him into the funeral home so he’d have a chance to say
goodbye. I wanted him to know they were dead. I guess I needed to
know, too. They didn’t look dead since most of the damage was
internal. (Both were wearing seatbelts.) I had a hard time with
their deaths. I lost so much that night.

It was one of the most
difficult things I’ve ever done. (I’d rather face a landslide
multiple times.) I’d had these people who loved me unconditionally
and they were gone – in an instant. The only thing that got me
through was knowing I had Bentley. I coped because of
him.

Then, soon after, I
received my deployment orders to Kuwait. I did everything I could
to keep Bentley. Carla did everything she could. She’s allergic to
dogs or she’d have kept him. (She can’t breathe when they’re
around, that’s how bad she is.) Her heart broke as much as mine
when I had to give him up.

I felt like I’d broken all
ties with Russ and Wendy - like I was betraying them when I took
Bentley to that shelter. They loved him so much, and so do I. I had
to give up something they loved nearly as much as they loved
me.

I still have their house,
but I doubt I could live there. I’ve got too many memories. I felt
so welcome in their home, but now it’s empty. Because they’re not
there.

I’m renting the place out
to a nice couple. I put all of Wendy’s favorite pieces in storage
with my stuff. I can’t let people I don’t know use the things she
loved.

I needed the Marines
before and especially then. I’d left a bad relationship, was out of
college and my life seemed so empty. The Marines filled that space.
Besides, I think Russ was proud I’m a Marine. But Wendy was scared
she’d lose me. I used to tease her all the time how I’d outlive
her. And I did. Leaves me aching.

I don’t take life for
granted now. But I also don’t dwell on it, either. If I die serving
my country, I’ll feel like I died for a purpose. Russ felt like a
man should serve his country. And I do, too. At least my death
wouldn’t be senseless like theirs.

I’m glad to have you in my
life, too. I also understand when you say you miss me. Because I
definitely miss you. All the time. It sounds strange, I know, but I
feel the same way. So far, the time here has gone quickly. We have
a lot to do, so that helps. Yours,

Mitch

He sent the messages to his outbox and
kept reading. There were two more e-mails from her and one had
attachments. Clicking on it, she told him about some of Bentley’s
antics at the lake. And had sent pictures.

The last mailing had an interesting
title and he couldn’t help but laugh, even though so doing made him
ache.

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject: Brothers for
sale! Cheap!

Hello Mitch,

Actually, how about if I
pay you to take my brothers? I’ll give you all four of them, and
throw my brothers-in-law in for spice? The girls are willing to
help contribute to the fund, by the way.

The guys are totally
worthless. You wouldn’t believe what they did! I still can’t
believe it. Luckily for them, my computer did not go in the lake
with me, but I lost my favorite pair of glasses. Ben, who decided
to come up from Virginia where he’s stationed right now, dropped by
my house and picked up a pair of contacts for me. I hardly ever
wear contacts. I hate them. Glasses are so much easier, and after a
while, contacts make my eyes hurt.

Anyway, we’d only just
gotten to the lake. Now, you’d think they’d have learned last year,
that when you throw Lainy in the lake, don’t throw her purse in
with her. Because she’s ALWAYS got important electronic gadgets in
her purse. Last time they ruined my cell phone, tablet computer,
MP3 player, and my voice recorder pen.

This year, my grandmother
managed to snag my purse before I got tossed, physically and rather
brutally, into the lake. Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand my
time was due. We’ve managed to throw all of them in every time
we’ve visited this summer. However, the method in which they threw
us still makes me livid.

They tied and threw all of
us together. The sisters-in-law, and Treeny, Rachel’s sister, also
received the same tie and toss handling.

My sister Laurie is
deathly afraid of snakes, and guess what the first thing is we
encounter after we hit the water? A snake, of course. Now, there
shouldn’t be poisonous snakes in the water. We live in
Pennsylvania, not some southern state where nasty water snakes are
not unusual.

Keep in mind, we’re tied
to each other, we’re in water, and Laurie is screaming bloody
murder. I’m the lucky sucker tied to her, who is thrashing and
nearly managed to drown Dory and me. Turns out the poisonous snake
was fake, which one of the herd had lost, but I don’t recommend
being tied to Laurie when she spots one. I swallowed more lake
water than I care to think about.

Fortunately, Ben, thank
goodness, arrived and noticed, (this was my second tossing) after
pushing several of my cackling brothers out of the way, that
Treeny’s face didn’t clear the water. She couldn’t keep her face
above the surface long enough to breathe.

They didn’t realize this
was a problem because they threw us in a relatively shallow area.
Well, when we hit, and yes, my bottom collided with a rock, HARD,
and is now very nicely bruised, Dory ended up in a dip and couldn’t
breathe, either.