the same time as he always came home. He knew how important it was for April to have a feeling of security, and keeping a schedule that made her life with him safe and comfortable was easy to do.
When he had to go out of town, April understood he couldn’t check-in, but he always returned to her, and April accepted that as enough.
Besides, she had told him it gave her a sense of freedom to do her own thing while he was gone. Neither of them added that her freedom remained within previously set guidelines. But that was only to keep her safe.
Ron thought back to the first time he saw April in class. She was perfect. Her brown curly hair made a kind of halo around her head when the light hit it a certain way, and when April turned her dark brown eyes to him, he felt as if he was the most important person in the world to her. She had captivated him from the beginning. She was his rock—always there for him and the kids.
It was uncharacteristic of him to have lost his temper that morning. He was proud of how cool and logical he always was, so it took him by surprise almost as much as it surprised April. And his anger and frustration had built until he was afraid of it himself and had to leave before he did something he regretted.
But it had been a one-time thing, and he was sure April would have forgotten it by now. They had an agreement. They were a unit together. When they were in college, they even named themselves Unit One. Their favorite song was “Just The Two Of Us.”
April gave him the freedom to be himself, and she was always there for him, as he was for her. Their children were an extension of the two of them. But now that the children had moved away, and they were back to just the two of them, he was even happier than before.
Then she got that letter and started talking about visiting Spring Falls, and to him, that meant she was breaking their agreement.
He was so used to her wanting and needing just him it had shocked him that she would think of needing anyone or anything else.
That’s what had set him off. April said she was going even if he wasn’t happy about it. Hadn’t just the two of them always been enough? Wasn’t it enough that she and Judith talked almost every week?
Yes, he knew about that. He hadn’t liked it, but it seemed harmless enough until that morning when he realized it was a crack in his control that he should have shut down long ago.
Didn’t April know he only wanted to keep their life the way it always had been? And of course, that’s what she wanted too. She just had forgotten for a moment.
So sure was Ron that he and April were still and always Unit One, that when he opened the garage door and didn’t see her car, he wasn’t worried. She had probably dashed off to the store to get something she needed for their dinner.
Only when he smelled nothing cooking, and the mess was still on the floor underneath a towel, did he feel the tremor of anxiety and anger. April knew what time he would be home and what time he expected dinner. It was always waiting for him. And if she ran off to the store, there would be something cooking and a note.
But there was neither. No note. Nothing in the oven. A dirty floor. Completely unlike his wife. The house felt cold. April hated the cold and kept the heat on, even in the spring. Where was she?
A frisson of fear spread throughout his body, temporarily overriding the anger. What if something happened to April?
He knew bad things happened to people. What if they happened to his April? Moving quickly through the dining room and living room, he saw no signs of disturbance.
Maybe she’s upstairs sleeping, he said to himself, forgetting that her car wasn’t in the garage.
But she wasn’t. And it was only then that Ron let himself see what was obvious. April wasn’t home, even though she expected him to be.
“No,” he shouted to the empty bedroom. April had to be there! She was the light of his life, the rock that held their life together.
Collapsing on the bed, he dropped his head into his hands and moaned. What had he done? He couldn’t lose her. He had made a mistake. It had seemed so minor to him, but he had been wrong. It hadn’t been minor to April.
Had he broken their life forever? It couldn’t be. He wouldn’t let that happen.
Trying her phone, it just rang and rang. He hung up before her message came on. What could he say? Apologize? What would she want to hear that would bring her back and restore their unit?
Opening the closet, he saw that some of her clothes were missing, and so was his suitcase. Now he was terrified. She had his suitcase.
He wanted to tear into everything in the bedroom and wreck it. But he knew that would not help. It wouldn’t bring April back to him.
No, he needed to do what she wanted. She wanted him to be with her where she felt she needed to go. He should have understood. If he hadn’t been so satisfied with their lives, he might have noticed the crack in her satisfaction. And he could have fixed it.
But it wasn’t too late. He would go to Spring Falls and be there for her. Then, once she had that out of her system, they could come home and return to the life he loved.
No, he didn’t want to go back to Spring Falls, but it had been years since they had been there. Perhaps all the reasons he didn’t want to return were gone.
And even if they weren’t, April was the most essential thing in the world to him. Nothing had changed that for him. He thought about texting April and telling her he was coming to see her, and then decided that it would be better to surprise her.
Besides, he needed some food and a good night’s sleep before going. And he needed a new suitcase. He would stay with her in Spring Falls until she was ready to come home. As long as it took, he had patience. April still loved him. He was sure of that.
Besides, there was this mystery about why Paul and Bree had left, and the girls were off chasing it. It might be fun to be part of that unraveling. Perfect Paul might not be so perfect after all.
If there was one thing Ron was sure of it was that no one was as perfect as they seemed to be. Well, almost no one. April was, and he would do whatever it took to get her back. In the morning.
He was sure she’d be waiting for him. Maybe waiting for him would help her see the mistake she had made. If not, he’d do the waiting until she did.