There Will Be Freedom (not mine)

19. Spanish Heat

"I can't help it. It's my job."

"You'll give yourself an ulcer, not to mention added stress for the baby."

"I know."

"I got shot. I lived. We move on, okay?"

I nodded.

"Lo non vado da nessuna parte, il mio amore," he said, low and raspy.

His words made me blush.

"Just don't die on me."

"I promise. Are you alright?"

I nodded.

"Good." He kissed my temple before sitting back up again. "William, how much longer until we reach the airport?"

"A good fifteen minutes, sir. The traffic is atrocious."

"I hate this," he whispered harshly.

One of the conditions that Justin had to abide by when we came back to the States was that he couldn't fly private internationally. It irked him to no end.

"This is just their stupid way of keeping track of me. I don't like it, and I won't stand for it," he mumbled.

"It's not that bad, Justin. It's not like we're getting stuffed into the bottom of the plane with the dogs."

"I haven't flown on a public plane in...ever. This is ridiculous and highly embarrassing."

I rolled my eyes. "It's a small price to pay so that we could come home."

"I suppose." He looked out of the window at the slow moving traffic.

"It's the destination, not the journey," I said. "My grandmother always told me that."

"Nicola told me the opposite. It's always the journey; the destination doesn't matter. You learn more from the voyage."

"That's wrong," I replied matter-of-factually.

"Oh, really?" He chuckled. "Do you have evidence to the contrary?"

"My Grandma Fell was always right. She lived to be one-hundred and three, you know. She had wisdom."

"And Nicola didn't?"

"He had a different kind."

"You're argument isn't very sound, Maddie."

"It doesn't have to be." I shrugged. "I'm your wife. You have to agree with me."

William snickered up front. Justin glared at him.

"I'm not used to losing arguments," he said. "You know that better than anyone."

"I'm just kidding." I shoved him. "Gosh, you're so uptight all the time."

"I have to be nowadays. My wife seems to think it's appropriate to go places without her cellphone, which makes it impossible for her to call me if she's say...in a hostage situation."

The mood turned somber fairly quickly. He was still pissed. On some level, I realized that I was the one who put him in harm. I should have just shot him myself. If I wouldn't have gone grocery shopping, none of this would have happened.

"Are we going to be brining this up for the rest of our lives?" I asked.

"Until I feel like you've learned your lesson, yes." He looked out of the window again.

"I'm not your daughter. You don't have to talk to me like that."

"Well then don't do things that warrant punishment."