Chapter 7

Ray leaned back from the computer and dug his forefinger and thumb into his eye sockets. He’d been staring at the monitor for what seemed like hours.

Staring at a monitor was better than going back to sleep.

Earlier in the night, he’d awaken from the same dream he’d had for months now: chasing LaJuan Homer and then Terrance Park. His mind still held in terror by the robot sporting those dangerous, glowering red eyes. Watching with his mind’s eye the steady, unhurried gait as the robot stalked toward him, each step coming closer and closer. Always its mouth curve in what he could only call an evil grin.

It was times like these when he missed his wife like crazy. He hadn’t often suffered from bad dreams. Whenever he was disturbed by a case or by some sort of incident, her welcoming presence would be there by his side. Sometimes, he’d reach out for her and drag her close into his body until the dark thoughts drifted away.

Ray no longer had his wife there to help rescue him from the edge of that abyss. But he took comfort in the fact that he still had the opportunity to see his son and visit with him. Yet, it was a bitter pill to swallow. Dylan had no idea where he stood with his parents. A fact that wasn’t the boy’s fault at all.

The blue tint of the screen blurred before his eyes and he remembered the day a few weeks ago when he and Dylan had spent some time doing the one activity they both loved—fishing at the state park, Belle Isle.

The silence between Ray and his son had been easy and without any of the undercurrents which had plagued their relationship at the beginning. For the first time in three months, ever since his acquittal back in June, they were able to do something as simple as spending time together without it being more than an exercise of pretending to be father and son.

“Dad?”

“What is it Dylan?”

“I have to ask you something.”

Ray stuck the end of the fishing pole in the ground and turned his head to his son. “Yeah, Dylan?”

“Do you still love Mom?”

It was the last thing he expected to hear but he knew he should have been prepared for it. Thankfully, the question was an easy one to answer. “I’ll love your mother for the rest of my life.”

Dylan’s dark brown eyes, so much like his mother’s, narrowed. “Then ... why aren’t you fighting for her? Why are you just accepting this?”

How do you explain to a teenager the complexities of marriage? Ray thought about what to say and then decided to be honest. “Dylan, I didn’t want this to happen to us. I never imagined it would.”

They never would have lost their marriage, if it wasn’t for that robot ruining their lives together. He’d sighed and tried to use an example that his son could understand. “I can’t fight for something if the other person isn’t willing to up their fists.”

Dylan drew back, a slight crease in his forehead. “Dad?”

“You’re on the wrestling team, son. You know how it is. Both opponents have to engage in the fight. If only one person does, then it’s not really a fight, is it?”

A shattered look entered Dylan’s eyes. Ray had almost wanted to take the words back. Instead, he went on. “I can’t fight by myself, son. And your mother doesn’t want to fight anymore. If she did, then the situation might be different.”

That day, his son cried. Gut-wrenching sobs that echoed over the expanse of the Detroit River. Ray thought maybe folks in Canada could hear it. “I just want things to go back to the way they were, Dad.”

“I do, too, son.” Ray whispered as he came out of his memories. After that day, their relationship transformed into something stronger. An acceptance of the new normal. It wasn’t the end, just the start of a new beginning.

Part of him wanted to believe in miracles. Part of him wanted to believe Jessie would come back into his life and say she was ready to ride and die with him again.