Is Love Enough? | SEQUEL

Long Nights And Suspicions

It's not that I don't understand it. Really, I do. The fact of the matter is that we need to pull in more money, and Jim offered to put in more hours at work.

At first, I felt guilty and was insistent that I'd do the same. I didn't want him to do all the work; this was an equal relationship. An equal marriage.

But Jim just kissed me sweetly and told me not to worry about it. He wanted to do this.

So, he started putting in more hours. We had less time together, but that was fine with me. I missed him dearly, but I wasn't going to let that get in the way. I had my own work to do too, just less than him.

Once he comes home from work, he gets undressed and settles into bed with me. And then he's out like a light. He's really burning out, and I want to help him, stop him before he really hurts himself.

Once he came home tonight, I made sure to talk to him before he was out. "Honey, I think you need to take a break," I told him sympathetically. "This is killing you."

He waved it off. "I can do this," he said. "Please, Derek. Just trust me."

He has my trust. All of it. "At least consider it," I persisted.

He sighed. "Fine." He sounded really irritated, and I bit the inside of my cheek. I've never liked it when he's mad at me. He hurriedly gets ready for bed, and is again, out like a light.

When the first paycheck comes from all of his hard work, he should've had more. There's no way he worked as many hours as he did and only made a few hundred over his normal pay.

Some doubt settles in.