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Separate Wants Part 6 (Short Story)

Separate Wants Part 6

Numb and unconscious movements were all Richard could manage after his night. The next morning was the first time in Richard's career that he called in sick. Not that he bothered to care. He couldn't focus on a single thing at all. His body was running on auto pilot. He ate the respectable meal times and cleaned up after himself, but other than that Richard was completely blank. He didn't feel the drive to do much else.

Occasionally his mind would drift to Jamie and then her departure and then by default her betrayal. Each time his thoughts drifted his emotions would flare like a small candle flame. But it wasn't long before the blank stillness returned and numbed Richard's mind. He found himself being thankful for the lack of emotion. He could postpone the violent sting of emotions for a while before he inevitably reached his breaking point.

While lounging on the couch the sound of a car door shut from outside the house and footsteps crept closer to the door. Richard didn't perceive it at all. Staring off into space was quickly becoming his new favorite pass time. Keys unlocked the door and opened it. Green eyes scanned the home in search for any sight of destruction, but they only found quiet hollowness. In a sense that terrified Jamie more than if she came to find her home in shambles. She hesitantly treaded into the living area to find her husband who still hadn't moved to acknowledge her presence.

Tentatively as to not startle him Jamie called out to Richard, "Richard? Honey?" Richard blinked his eyes only cleared a fraction of their bleakness when he looked up at Jamie. He stayed silent for several moments before he reached into his pocket and held the small pill compact between Jamie and him. Her eyes widened at the object as if it offended her personally.

"Where did you..." Her voice was shaky. Her deep-rooted resentment had vanished in such a short amount of time. Instead now her voice held a tone of fear. Fear of finally being exposed for her betrayal to her husband. She deserved to have all of her anger and fire turned against her now. Richard had the perfect opportunity to do so.

Richard leaned forward and placed the pills onto the small coffee table and stood up in front of Jamie. "You hid that from me," sticking to the facts seemed to be his best bet right now. Before Jamie could speak he started again, "You didn't want kids. I understand that, but this." Richard gestured to the pills, "This wasn't necessary, Jamie."

"Necessary?" The extinguished fire in Jamie's eyes flared dangerously. "This isn't your choice, Richard. I decide that. Me."

"Then why am I still here?" Richard's broken hollow voice gave Jamie pause. "I'm your husband not some fling of yours, Jamie. This involved me too. I wasn't going to force you to have a baby."

Exhaustion sagged onto Richard's shoulders and he settled back into his spot on the couch. Running a hand down his face Richard sighed, "I just want my wife and myself to be happy. Is that too much to ask?" He wasn't expecting a response. Things were constantly falling apart between Jamie and him. Might as well prepare himself for the inevitable end.

A shift at his side indicated that Jamie had settled herself beside him. When she spoke she sounded as tired as he was. "Pulling each other in every which direction isn't ideal is it?"

Of course it wasn't. They both knew that, but the damage had been done. There was no going back now. They had to face it. Whether it would be together to not was still unclear to them both.

"What do we do, Jam? I don't want this," Richard's affectionate nickname came out sad and dishearten. For the first time in months Jamie reached out to her husband first instead of the other way around. She slid her hand in soothing circular motions on his back and sighed, "Fix this? You're still my husband. My family."

It didn't give them much closure to their disagreement on Jamie's lying, but it was a start that Richard was eager to take. Leaning over Richard brushed his shoulder with his wife's arm. "You're still my wife. I love you no matter what," when he said it like that it was almost as if he believed that they could fix everything. Almost. They had trust that needed to be rebuilt before mostly complete resolve could be reinstated.

Green eyes holding barely hidden sorrow gleamedup at Richard's, "I love you too." The unspoken resolve they both had to repairthings wasn't something that had to be elaborate on between them. They were init together. From their vows, to their faults, they were in it together. 

The End