A Lifelong Promise

As James laid in bed awake with Clare cuddled up next to him asleep he couldn't help but feel his mind race as he tried to figure out where the flowers actually came from. He hadn't sent them-- he realized he probably should have, but then again there were lots of things he probably should have done. He knew it was wrong to take credit for something he hadn't done and reap the benefits of someone else's actions, but she was his wife and if she was going to look at anyone with sparkles in her eyes, it sure as hell would be him.

James looked down at Clare's sleeping form as she let out a little sigh in her sleep. She'd always been so trusting of him, so supportive and loyal. He kissed her gently on the top of her forehead and pressed his face against it with his eyes closed as he thought about how upset she'd be if she knew the things he had been doing behind her back. The only thing that kept him from really admitting the guilt he was feeling was the fact that he believed he was a good husband. Sure, he was sleeping with other girls on the road-- but he was coming home to Clare, and that should have been enough to prove he loved her still.

James couldn't stop wondering who in the world was starting to pay attention to his wife. He wasn't an idiot-- there were plenty of qualities about her that men found desirable. He knew that there had been a guy she worked with a while back that was interested in her but he never needed to worry. He couldn't remember the name of the guy for the life of him but it was the only solution that he could come up with. James was nervous, he couldn't deny that deep down he actually felt threatened, but he wouldn't admit to himself it was because he'd been so busy not being the husband he should have been.

James delicately pushed Clare off of him and slowly made his way out of the bed, sure as not to wake her, as he crept down the stairs quietly until he found what he was looking for. He admired the flowers that were perched on the table and ran his fingers over the roses until he got to the card. He looked to see what it said but there was nothing, all he found was a little card with Clare's name and address. There was nothing else. It infuriated him that he couldn't find what he was looking for but soon realized that if he didn't know who sent the flowers, Clare didn't either. Whoever sent them made sure to hide their trail and chances were this guy wouldn't reveal himself to Clare.

James crept back up the stairs and crawled back into bed with Clare. For the first time in a long time he draped his arm over her waist and pulled her back into his front.

***

After practice was over James got ready to go home and barely acknowledged anyone as he did. He didn't realize he was so distracted until he got called out on it.

"Hey," Paul stopped him as he was about to leave.

"What's up?" James looked over at him somewhat startled.

"Did you not see me?" Paul asked with a wrinkled brow. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing," James said as he swallowed and looked down at the ground.

"Sure?"

James let out a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I don't know. When we got home yesterday I was expecting a fight or something with Clare after the way we left things but instead she jumped in my arms and started thanking me for sending her flowers."

Paul's jaw tightened and he swallowed nervously before saying anything. "Oh?"

"Problem is," James continued. "I didn't send them."

Paul took a deep breath in and felt his body tense. "Who...who did?"

"I don't know." James shook his head.

"It bothers you?"

"Of course it bothers me. She's my wife. I don't want anyone else sending her flowers."

"I, uh, I don't mean to be a dick, but," Paul started to ask as his cheeks turned a little pink. "Haven't you guys been on the rocks?"

"No," James quickly and adamantly insisted. "We just had a fight. That's all."

Paul cocked his head and looked at his buddy. "Man, I'm telling you it seems like way more than that. I've seen her leave here crying on more than one occasion and you...well, you've been screwing whoever you want when you're not home."

"And?" James asked defensively. "I still go home to her every night. Look," he said annoyed. "Why don't you stay out of my marriage. You don't have a wife, you don't know the first thing about marriage."

"I know enough to know you give a vow to be faithful to each other and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you've broken that repeatedly."

"Fuck you."

'I'm serious," Paul kept pushing. "You're fucking girls left and right-- what is it to you if some other guy sent her flowers. You don't seem as into her as you used to be-- and you know that I've said this more than once."

"Just stay out of it."

"Look," Paul started more calm. "Do you have any idea who could have sent them?" he asked as he looked at James intensely.

"I don't know," James answered flustered. "There is one guy I remember she worked with and he was into her but I never had anything to worry about before. He never did anything outrageous. I gotta go. I'm gonna stop by her job, see what's up. I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah," Paul answered as he slowly let out a deep breath. "See you later," he said more reserved as he realized that James was so delusional-- so unaware he was removed so far from his own marriage that he couldn't see what was right in front of his face.

***

Instead of going home he went to the museum where Clare worked and decided to pop in for a surprise visit. She was a curator, and had cake hours, but it'd been a long time since he'd stepped foot in her doors.

Clare's eyes lit up at the sight of him and she did a double take before walking over to meet him. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. "Hey baby, what are you doing here?" she asked genuinely appreciative and thrilled to see him. She was so happy that things were on the up and up with them, finally.

"Hey," he said timidly as he kissed her back and quickly scanned the room. "What's going on?" he asked not looking at her, instead focused on looking for whatever he had in mind.

"You tell me," she asked with her arms still wrapped around him. "You haven't been here in a long time."

"I wanted to, uh, surprise you." He was still disinterested in her as he scanned the room. He had his arms limply around her waist as he finally looked back down at her. "Anything interesting going on here? Anything I should know about?"

"No," she shook her head innocently. "What do you mean? Like what?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, nevermind," he answered quietly. He could tell that even if her co-worker was putting subtle moves on her she was ignorant to it. It didn't stop him from wanting to see the guy if he were here, he just wished he could remember his name.

"What's wrong James?" she asked as she looked up at him quizzically. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," he answered again as he snapped out of his trance and put his focus back on his wife. "I just wanted to see you. We had such a good night last night and I found myself wanting to see you, so I headed here after practice. Any chance you can grab lunch?"

Clare looked up at him with stars in her eyes and ran her hand down his cheek. "I wish I could baby, but I'm kind of in the middle of something. If you had given me notice I could have rearranged my schedule. I'll be at the game later though, so don't worry. We'll go home together afterwards and maybe get a coffee or late dinner or something."

James gave a little nod and gave her a little squeeze. "Sounds good. I'll see you later then."

"Alright. This was a very welcome surprise, feel free to do it more often," she said flirtatiously.

"Maybe I will," he said with a faint smile as he was about to give her a kiss and leave, but before he did he saw someone approaching out of the corner of his eye.

"Hello," the tall, good looking guy in the gray suit said with a welcoming smile. James knew immediately that he was the one he had been looking for.

"Hey man," James said with resentment as he suddenly found himself more territorial of his wife.

"James, I don't know if you remember but this is Jason. Jason, this is my husband James."

"I remember," James said as he tightened his jaw and stuck his hand out to shake Jason's. "How you been man?" This was the guy James was so suspicious of and he could tell by the way this dude glanced at his wife that he still was attracted to her. Whether or not he acted on it, James didn't know.

"Very busy but very good. Your lovely wife has been an asset here. We're lucky to have her."

"Mmm. I'm sure she has," he answered as he tightened his grip around Clare's waist.

"Congrats on the season so far," Jason offered changing the subject. "You guys have been great."

"Thanks," James said coldly and didn't give any bait for Jason to continue the conversation.

"Well," Jason started after an awkward pause. "It was good seeing you. Have a good one, good luck tonight."

"Thanks," James answered again. "See ya."

He watched as Jason walked away and turned his attention back to Clare. "I'll see you later. Love you."

"I love you too."

He leaned down and kissed her before turning and heading out the door.

***

"So how'd it go?" Paul asked James as they laced up their skates and got ready to hit the ice.

"What?"

"You said you were going to see Clare."

"Oh," James said with a nod. "Right. Yeah, it was fine. I saw the guy-- his name is Jason. He still wants her, trust me. I can tell by how he looks at her."

"Can you?" Paul asked having his doubts as to how up to par his friend's skills were.

James nodded his head. "Yeah. I don't trust him. I don't know if he sent them though, I doubt he'd ever tell her though if he did."

"Gotcha. So, you actually gonna go home with your woman after the game or..."

"I don't know. I told her I would but I'm sure I could just meet her home and grab a beer with everyone at the bar."

"And talk up some women," Paul added sarcastically.

"I'll just let her know later when she comes down after the game. Things are good between us I can't imagine she'd get too upset with me."

"No," Paul shook his head clearly disgusted with his buddy. "Of course not."

Paul couldn't help but notice Clare sitting in the stands looking down at her dog of a husband like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. He shook his head to try and get the annoyance out of his mind-- and her in general. He knew that if she was aware of how her husband really was, she wouldn't look at him like that anymore or ever again.

After the game was over Paul noticed Clare come down to see James and despite the fact that James had felt threatened earlier in the day by some other guy, he was still dismissive and cold. At this point Paul wasn't sure James even realized it, but it was evident to Paul and it had to be to Clare as well- James never used to be this way with her. He watched as Clare leaned up and gave James a kiss on the cheek and turned to speak with Crosby's wife Hannah, so Paul walked over to their little gathering.

"So did you tell her you're coming out with us?" Paul asked James quietly when he knew Clare wasn't paying attention.

"Not yet."

"What's that?" Clare turned around with a smile and looked at both men. "Hey Paul," she said as she hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," Paul said with a smile. "You look nice."

"Thanks!" her smile always lit up a room. "What are you two talking about over here?" she asked playfully.

Paul looked to James to answer Clare's inquiry and James swallowed awkwardly before he started to speak. "We were talking about going out for some drinks together," James started to tell his wife he was blowing her off yet again.

"And I was telling him that I think you should come out with us," Paul cut in as he looked at Clare and James looked over at him surprised.

"Really?" Clare asked hesitantly as she looked from Paul to James for confirmation.

"Uh... yeah," James answered to save face. "Yeah, of course."