Free His Wounded Light by Christine Brae

towel and strides back into the room.
     
    An hour later, we’re all in our humongous bed—me, Isa and Eddie. Eddie and I are watching an Anthony Bourdain episode and Isa is reading a book. A few minutes later, Eddie lets out a yawn and reluctantly crawls out of bed. “Night. I’m so sleepy.”
    “Let me tuck you in.” Isa puts down her Kindle and lifts the covers off herself.
    I keep my eyes on the TV as Eddie leans over to give me a kiss goodnight. I return his kiss with a hug.
    “Daddy, are we looking at car parts tomorrow?” he whispers softly, making sure that Isa doesn’t hear us.
    I blink my eyes and nod my head ever so slightly. “Uncle Leigh says it’s better to go during the week, so you can come to the office with me on Wednesday.”
    “Okay!” he whispers back excitedly.
    Isa takes his hand and leads him back to his room. Ten minutes later, she removes her robe and slips under the covers, sliding over to me and leaning her head on my shoulder. I click off the television and drape my arm around her. She takes my hand and holds it to her face. We stay silent for a few minutes.
    “Do you like our place?” I ask. “Sheena really did a good job finding this for us.”
    “How much did we end up negotiating?” She lifts herself up and rests on her elbows. Our faces are so close to each other, they’re almost touching.
    “$10,500 a month.”
    “Better than $11,500, I guess. And yes, I love it. The décor and the layout are just what I was hoping they would be. And Eddie and Maddy love the pool.”
    “I’m glad.” I raise my lips to meet hers. “I missed you so much.”
    “I missed you too.”
    “I got hit on today.” I give her my most charming look.
    “And how was that?” She smirks, honestly entertained by what I just said. Like she thinks I’m being cute. She pokes my ribs playfully as she tries to tickle me. “That never surprises me. Was it fun?”
    I fake frown at her. “No. It’s only fun when it’s you.”
    “I hit on you all the time. Maybe that’s a sign that you can’t be away from me for this long. Ever. Again.” She rolls off me and reaches over to turn the bedside lamp off.
     

     
    The rest of our stay in Hong Kong goes by fast. I work, I travel and I come home every night to my beautiful family. Isa and the kids spend their days touring different places; they take the ferry to the Kowloon side almost every day. Our weekends are spent walking leisurely around the Stanley Market. Maddy just loves riding the scenic double decker bus, and so we do that quite often. Eddie and I shop for car parts and visit many car dealerships much to Isa’s delight. She’s happy to see us spending so much time together during this trip. Twice a week, we leave the ladies at the mall and walk through the streets of Hong Kong, sampling all the Dim Sum restaurants we find along the way. We also check out the pet stores where Eddie is fascinated by the exotic birds and the snakes in the cages. Isa tells me that they spend many afternoons in Causeway Bay at a mall called SOGO although surprisingly, she hasn’t shopped much. Our living room is filled with boxes of clothes, not for her, but for the children. She insists that she hasn’t even had a chance to wear her new clothes from Paris.
    Today is our last day before my family heads home just in time for the new school year. We decide to take the Ngong Ping cable car to visit the Big Buddha one last time. I’m pushing Maddy in a stroller and we park at the bottom so we can walk the 240 steps all the way to the top. Isa is pensive as we ascend the steps and I know it’s not because she’s worn out from the climb. We’re all casually dressed, but she looks just as pretty in skinny jeans and Converse sneakers as she does in evening wear. She looks as young as she did when we first met. Except for the mature and seasoned manner about her, to me, she’s still as youthful as the girl I fell in love with when she was in high school.
    We