He didn't like to think about how he used to be married and how Callie was gone and how he couldn't take the damn ring off and he liked it even less when he had to talk about it.
What he really didn't understand was why everyone put such an emphasis on the title of marriage. Did a relationship change so much once you started getting tax breaks for saying you'd spend the rest of your life together? It wasn't as if he was a cynic about love and relationships, even if half of marriages ended in divorce. He was the kind of guy who got lucky enough to meet a woman who turned into his best friend and life partner. It was cheesy as hell but it was true. He was with Callie for almost 10 years and married 6 of those years. They'd had the white dress and the monkey suit and said all those vows in front of their family and friends. But it wasn't like that flipped a switch on how their relationship was. They worked at it just as hard before and after they said 'I do' and they made it work.
"You need to make each other happy, whether you're married or not," he replied, his tone relatively mild, even though this was usually an 'avoid at all costs' topic. "Needs to be a two way street for it to work."
But dear God, the clucking and the cooing of these women was enough to drive any man insane. And he knew he was supposed to be playing along and eating this crap up, but when he was married, it was never like this. It was probably for the best, for sanity's sake, that this whole fake relationship was the polar opposite of what his real marriage had been like.
They were led over to a seating area where they'd all been congregated before Isaac and Demi's arrival and motioned to sit. Following the crowd was the theme of the night so they did and Isaac rested his arm on the back of the couch, making it seem like he was putting his arm around Demi without having to really touch her. It was a good ruse.
"You know they are, Max. Seems like as soon as we get a little peace and quiet another catastrophe has to land on our doorstep. Another truck raid, more dead officers and agents..." He trailed off, shaking his head. Hellhounds were brought in and questioned. The weird thing about it all was they owned right up to it. Made no sense to Isaac but the bosses were happy. It was all still one big fucking headache and he would be glad when it was over.
Clearing his throat to bring himself back to the conversation, he said, "Anyway, not exactly dinner conversation."