Loving Another

1. Break Down

I stay seated at the corner of the cafe, cappuccino in hand as I wait for my husband to show up. I scroll through my previous texts waiting for any form of a reply from him. I had been waiting for more than thirty minutes but to no avail. The cappuccino in my hand - which was my second beverage - was almost empty and the cafe was less crowded than it had been thirty minutes ago.

My fingers tap impatiently on the cool wood table as I lean back, sighing. I could only assume he had forgotten about our meeting. I grab my bag and leave the café in frustration. I get into a cab and head back home. 

I step out of the cab, thanking the driver before heading in. I could hear laughter and music blasting from the house. My feet guide me into the living room where my husband sits, a bottle of whiskey in hand. 

"Where were you? I was waiting for over thirty minutes and I come back to find you drinking?" I said, angrily. He remains nonchalant to my anger and continues to drink from the bottle. "Mike!" I call out.

I throw my bag onto a table before treading towards my husband and grabbing the bottle from his hands. "Give me that!" He yells. "No! You're clearly drunk, you bailed on me and now you're planning on drinking more?" I say emptying the liquid into the sink before disposing the glass bottle.

"What the hell, Beth!" He says, annoyance in his tone. I hated this side of him. Mike rarely ever got drunk, but there were those rare times when he just needed a break. "You need to sober up. Go sleep." I say. He scoffs, but listens. His retreating steps could be heard as he left the room.

I clear the bottles off the table and dispose them before throwing myself onto the couch. Exhaustion  takes me and I fall asleep within mere moments.

I wake up to the loud alarm of my phone. I drag myself off the comfy couch and into the bathroom to throw up all the contents of yesterday before getting refreshed. I take a quick bath and get dressed before walking into the kitchen to see Mike sipping a cup of coffee. "Morning." I greet, making myself a cup too. "Morning." He says. 

A few minutes pass in silence before he speaks up once more. "Beth, we need to talk." He says sitting down at the dining table. I nod, taking a seat opposite him. "Things haven't been working out the way they should be." He says, pulling out a file. "What's this?" I ask, intrigued. "Look, I'm not going to beat around the bush anymore, I want a divorce." He says. "What?" 

He looks at me unimpressed. "Why?" I ask, tears threatening to escape my baggy eyes. "I told you, things weren't working out with us." He says, taking another sip. "Things were going fine!" I say.

"No, they weren't." He says. Things had been going fine for the past few months. "I've already agreed to the papers, all you need to do is sign." He continues. "And what if I don't?" I ask, a tear slipping out of my eye. 

"Then I'll have to force you to sign." He says. The doorbell rung, the loud noise ringing through the floor. Mike gets up and opens the door. A woman, who looked to be about twenty-five walks in. She wore an oversized coat, which she took off and hung on her hand. Mike guides her towards the table and they sit down. 

"Do I know you?" I ask, smiling. "I don't think so, I'm Mike's girlfriend, Leia." She says, holding out her hand. My smile drops immediately and I look at Mike. "You've been cheating on me?" I ask, incredulously. 

"You didn't tell her yet?" The woman whispers. A low chuckle escapes my lips. "I should've known, working late? Meeting with clients? They were just cover ups." I say angrily. "Just sign them." He says, passing a gel pen. I scoff. "Just to be clear you don't get anything from me, right?" 

"Yes, it's not like you have anything to take." He says. I nod before signing the papers. "Just so you know, I had some news of my own. I was going to tell you yesterday." I say. "What news?" He says. I get up and grab my bag from the table. I pull out a pregnancy test from my bag before heading back to them. I hold it out for him to see. "I'm pregnant. But it's not your child anymore." I say, venom laced in my tone. I knew how badly Mike wanted to be a father. When we tried for a child, the doctor told us I couldn't get pregnant. That was probably another reason why he wanted this divorce. 

I found out only a couple of days ago. I had my suspicions, with the morning sickness and cravings. Mike was clearly shocked. "What?" He says. His girlfriend looked flabbergasted. "I'll be leaving now." I say, tears leaving my eyes. This was just the start.