The Fourth Sunrise by H. T. Night Page A

traveled across the West and Mideast since the war. I picked up odd jobs here and there being a carpenter.’
    “‘ A carpenter?’
    “‘ I’ve always been pretty good with my hands,’ I said as humbly as a statement like that could sound.
    “ Christine took a long look at me and reflected, ‘You mentioned that you haven’t had too many girlfriends. Is that by choice?’
    “‘ Yes.’
    “‘ Didn’t want to settle down?’ Christine asked.
    “‘ I did at one time.’
    “‘ What happened?’
    “ I smiled. I didn’t want to be a downer, but I also knew that I might not have much time with her and I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned. ‘I don't think you want to know what soured me on marriage.’
    “‘ Why not?’
    “‘ You might have had something to do with it.’
    “‘ Me? I waited for you.’
    “‘ For what? Two months?’
    “‘ I had no idea if you were ever going to come back to see me. I just didn’t know and Benjamin definitely knew he wanted to marry me. Boot camp changed him and he wanted to start a family with me. He made it seem urgent. I think he was scared of the war, but having a family back home allowed him to not think about it so much.’
    “ I knew better than she did to what extent her husband separated the war from his family. He had people call him a completely different name so he could escape. I just nodded my head and stared intensely at Christine.
    “‘ I understand why you made him your husband. It doesn’t make it any easier for me to stomach.’ I was quiet and I kept staring into Christine’s eyes. It wasn’t a romantic stare. It was a definite one. But it was impossible to stare at her and not have it eventually turn into a loving gaze.
    “‘ That look you’re giving me is what I have always remembered about you,’ Christine said.
    “‘ What exactly is it that you remember?’
    “‘ You looked at me with certainty.’
    “‘ Certainty?’ I asked.
    “‘ Yeah, you look at me with purpose. You are the first and last person to look at me that way.’
    “‘ What about your husband?’ I asked.
    “‘ He looks through me and over me. Maybe there was a time he took the time to see me as I am, but it’s been a long time since I felt that way.’ Christine paused and reflected. She then looked at me and said, ‘I can't believe you came back for me.’
    “‘ I can’t believe you were already married.’
    “‘ He pressured me.’
    “‘ It’s marriage. It wouldn’t matter how much someone pressured me, I wouldn’t marry someone I wasn’t certain about.’ That statement might have come out harshly to her ears, but this was what I felt.
    “‘ What you need to understand, Joel, is that I love my husband. He put in the time, and where I am from, you reward that.’
    “‘ Reward him? He sounds like a Labrador. You’re rewarding him with your entire life?’ I stated coarsely.
    “ Christine looked out toward the street where people were now packing up from another successful Deltarado Days. I had struck a nerve with Christine. The last thing I wanted was for her to be upset with something I said. ‘I'm sorry. That was not my place to say anything. I mean, you’re still married, so there must be a lot of good going on in your relationship.’
    “‘ There’s a lot of routine that goes into a relationship. Our daily lives are mapped out in itineraries. Everything we do is predictable. Even our sex life is planned. My son is one of the few kids whose parents know exactly the night he was conceived.’
    “‘ I don’t think I want to hear any more,’ I said. I couldn’t handle hearing about her and Captain Jack’s sex life. It was enough to make me ill. I decided to change the subject. ‘How old is your son now?’
    “‘ Twelve. He’s back in Virginia with his dad.’
    ‘“ Why didn’t they make the trip?’
    “‘ He really doesn't like to do much of anything. The war changed him. He was already distant, but when he came