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happened during the last war, back when he was in the
military.  
    Matt cut
off Caden’s thoughts. “Listen, take some advice from a very old friend and just
leave her alone for a while. Let her cool down and realize what a great thing
she has. She’ll chill out and let the issue go. Marriage will only lead to hurt
and anguish, take my word for it.”
    Silence
filled the room for a moment. Caden didn’t know what to say. He did remember
Matt telling him about his marriage years ago, and how devastating it turned
out to be after his wife cheated on him. Shortly after that, Matt divorced her.
    Mags
broke the awkward silence with a whimper and kicked her feet from a bad dream.
Caden stood and rubbed his neck. “Well, I think I’m going to kick you out and
get some rest.” Caden started making his way over to the couch.
    Matt
hopped off the windowsill and made his way for the door. “Enjoy the couch.”
    “I will.
Talk to you tomorrow.” Caden’s words faded as Matt
left the room, not worrying about finishing his statement. Matt had shut off
the lights when he left. Caden laid his head on one of the couch pillows.
    The next
thing he knew, Sally called his name, and the sun shone through the large
windows. He blinked a couple of times to clear his vision and sat up. She held
a cup of hot chocolate in a black mug and smiled.
    “Girl
troubles, huh?” Sally asked as she sat down next to Caden.
    Lifting
his left eyebrow, Caden didn’t respond. He looked down at his watch and
fidgeted uncomfortably. The plan had been to wake up before Sally got there.
    “Still
afraid to marry her?” She stopped for a second and looked at Caden with a look
that made him a little uncomfortable, as if she could read him like a book.
“You know, from an outsider’s perspective, the two of you already act like
you’re married. The only difference is you haven’t gone through the ceremony.”
    “Now what
business is it of yours to be snooping and analyzing my relationship?” he spoke
sharply, but not as sharply as he had planned. A part of him wanted to let go
and talk with Sally about Bridget. He ran his hands through his messed up hair
and cleared his throat.
    “I’m a
woman, snooping and analyzing is part of my nature,” she spoke with a strong
voice, surprising Caden, since she hadn’t really talked to him like that
before. She tightened her lips for a second and went on. “Fire me if you need
to, but if I was that girl, I would’ve left you by now if you were dragging
your feet like this.” Sally glanced at her wedding ring. “I mean, there are so
many people that know one another a whole lot less than you and Bridget, and
they get married. They do it because they love and trust each other.”
    Caden
drank his hot chocolate to give him a second to think. She was right, but she
didn’t know all that he had been through. He thought back to the many times he
had one-on-one conversations with his adopted mother, pleading with her to
leave his adopted father. She would always say no, that he was a good man
inside. That he just had some bad spots in him that needed to be worked out.
She truly loved and trusted him, because he was a ‘good man’. It was almost as
if she was always trying to convince herself that he was a ‘good man’. And then
that one line she would always add, “You’ll be a ‘good man’ someday, too.”
    Sally
took Caden’s empty cup and stood staring him in the eyes. “Look, she’s got more
patience than I do, but that patience won’t last forever.” She went to turn
away but stopped short and placed the mug on his desk. “Where is Bridget right
now? If I were you, I’d go fix whatever’s going on between you two before you
leave. It’s not good to leave this festering.”
    Caden
looked up with bloodshot eyes. She’s at work . He got off the couch and
snapped his fingers for Mags to follow him. Now would be the perfect time to
run Mags over to her place and leave her there. He looked back at