Sunday

  Mueller Mobile Home Park

  Mackey Residence

  James finally crawls into bed a little before noon. Soon after, Madison exits the bathroom carrying an armful of towels to be laundered. She places the towels on a nearby chair and walks across the bedroom. With a weary sigh, Madison climbs into bed beside her exhausted husband. She snuggles close, rubbing his back through his collared shirt. James tiredly grins and turns over on his left side, pulling Madison tight against him.

  "Hello, Maddie," James whispers.

  "Hello, James," Madison whispers back. "I'm glad you could finally make it to bed."

  "Me too. I'm tired," James half-heartedly jokes, his eyelids fluttering madly. "How about you?"

  "Oh, James. Besides the baby...I got plenty of rest. It's you I'm worried about. This is all so horrible. I can't believe the Chief is even entertaining this whole nonsense. And Morris? Ergh. I just can't believe it. How could anyone even believe you're guilty?"

  "Well, they have witnesses and possible video footage. Until they can rule me out as a suspect...Everything has to run its course. It sucks...But it's the law. The guy on those tapes can't look too much like me. I'm one of a kind. Once the department views the tapes...They'll realize there was a mistake. It's the weekend. Things are bound to be slow. By tomorrow...I'm sure everything will be fine. We just have to be patient and wait."

  "Right. Be patient," Madison gripes, pursing her lips in a sullen pout.

  James takes that opportunity to kiss her mouth. Wrapping both arms tightly around Madison's waist, he shuffles his eyelids.

  "I'm not tired anymore," Mackey whispers.

  "Good. Neither am I," Madison whispers back.

  -

  -

  Two hours later

  Juniper Park

  James pushes the stroller while Madison walks beside him. Her left arm is intertwined with his right arm, which is slightly bent at the elbow.

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  "I remember the first time we came to this park together," Madison reminisces in a soft voice. "It was not long after Aquarius was dead. Just before you proposed to me. I was...I felt like I was doing a spacewalk on the moon. I'd never had someone...It was magical, James. I don't know if I've ever told you that?"

  "No. I don't think you have," James admits in a sorrowful tone.

  "Well, I am now," Madison says. "Everything about our relationship is magical to me, James. I never thought I would meet a man like you. Handsome, smart, and kind. Ha. Much less, marry someone like you. Nick was always going on about how much of a loser I was. He thought I didn't know. But I did. Gossip never stayed buried at Laverne's. All the other girls at the restaurant seemed to have their lives together. Steady boyfriends, husbands, children, homes, their own cars. I was a supreme loser. Until Aquarius came into my life. Until I met you, James."

  "Madison, stop that--,"

  "No, James. It's true. I know it. Everyone else knows it. I've heard it before. I'd be nothing without you, James Mackey. Everything I have...I have because of you. I was living in a damn hotel, for crying out loud. Ha. Working two dead end jobs and still living in a hotel. Who...In their right mind...Thinks that is success? At any age?"

  James releases a defeated sigh and pulls the stroller off of the path. Madison looks at him with a questioning expression. James points to a wooden bench nearby, aiming the baby stroller in that direction.

  Parking the stroller in front of the bench, James motions for Madison to sit down. She reluctantly complies, sensing James is maybe a little upset. Lifting the canopy on the stroller, so that he can view Jamie's sleeping face, James sits down beside Madison on the bench.

  "Madison. I need you to listen to me...And I need you to listen to me good. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, James," Madison says, her cheeks growing warm with embarrassment.

  "First things first, I love you Madison," James says with conviction. "Secondly, I don't give a damn where you lived or what kind of jobs you had before. None of that matters to me. I fell in love with you, Maddie. Not those damn jobs...That hotel...Or those other girls at Laverne's. You. I keep telling you this. And I'll keep telling you until you believe it. You are my wife. That life you lived before is over. You said it best, last night. For better...For worse. We all have hard times. What we make of those times...Is all that matters. I love you."

  Tears spring to Madison's eyes. She embraces her husband, wrapping both arms around his middle and resting her head on his right shoulder.

  "I love you too, James. The thought of losing you...It's killing me inside. I want this whole awful situation to go away. I want to wake up tomorrow and the department has solved everything. The real perp is in jail and both Melbourne and Evelyn will have had their justice. I want this to all be over in the morning."

  "I'm no fortune teller, Maddie. And most days, I'm glad I'm not. All I can say is...Have patience. Trust that the system will work as intended. That's what I've chosen to do. And so far, it's helped."

  "James...Sometimes, I don't believe you're even real. You're always so upbeat. That's why...You had me worried last night. First, I hear you crying. Then, you disappear the next evening and no one can get you on the phone. I...I've never had your optimism. But, I'll try. I'll try for you. And for Jamie. He needs hope too."

  "Yes, he does," James replies, a slow smile building on his lips. "I think I hear the ice cream truck. Wanna come?"

  "Is the sky blue?" Madison quips, running a hand through James' hair.

  "Sometimes. Let's go."

  James climbs to his feet and then helps Madison to stand. He reaches for the stroller, but Madison halts his hands. Snuggling close, and shoving her hands into the side pockets of James' trenchcoat, Madison smiles up at him. James obeys without having to be told, planting a firm kiss on her waiting lips.