If I Ever Fall In Love Again

《prologue》

"Where are you heading to this time?" Bruno asked, running down the stairs in nothing but some grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt, trying his hardest to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He lands on the bottom stairs just as his wife snatches up her keys off the little hook that the Bruno had nailed into the wall so the Hernandez Family could easy find their keys whenever they left the house. "C'mon Kallie, it's 8 am on a Saturday. Where are you going?" 

His wife simply rolls her eyes, leaning against the wall so she could put on her shoes without fully bending over. Her pregnant belly made it harder for her to do that recently. "I'm going out, Bruno." 

He furrows his eyebrows and scratches the back of his head in a confused matter, his brain was still a little hazy from just waking up. "Out where? And why didn't you wake me up to tell me?" 

When she didn't reply, Bruno's frown deepened. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked softly. That finally gets her attention. She looked up at him and sighed, dropped her shoes, then walked over to him, taking his warm hands into hers. He instantly felt better. Good, it's not me, he thought.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Bruno. I'm just going out to meet a friend." Was her simply answer.

That was her go-to response those days. Bruno would wake up at about 10 am every Saturday morning, only to find the spot beside him cold and empty, and in her place, he'd find a note saying she had gone out somewhere with a "friend." Bruno had refused to believe that she was cheating, he knew she'd never do that to him. And when she came back around noon, she didn't smell like another man's cologne, but instead, the familiar scent of coffee. That confused him even more. He thought pregnant women weren't supposed to have coffee.

"You say that every Saturday. Which friend?" He asked. She let out another sigh and shook her head, squeezing his hands reassuringly. 

"You don't know her," She studied his troubled face and gave him concerned a look. "I'm not cheating, if that's what you're thinking." 

Bruno felt his heart jump a little, and his eyebrows shot up, making creases in his forehead. "I-I didn't think you were..."

She gave him another look, and Bruno knew she didn't believe him. But she let the matter go. "If you say so," She checked the simple white watch that Bruno had given her for her birthday. "I'm gonna be late. I'll be back around noon, we can take the kids out to the beach or something when I come back." She laid a kiss on his forehead then on his cheek, making the corner of his lips turn upward into a smile. He pointed to his lips and she giggled and pecked them, playfully grimacing. "You have morning breath."

He chuckled this time, shaking his head. "Whatever. We've been married for 6 years, and we've done more than kissing first thing in the morning-"

"Hush." She said with a laugh. He smiled again and pulled her close to him for a quick hug. "Be safe," He bent down to press a kiss to her round belly. "And take care of them for me." 

She smiled and nodded, then walked over the closet and decided to just slip on some flip-flops instead of struggling with her favorite sneakers. He was right behind, running his hand through his Afro, the sleep still in his eyes. She picked up her bag and opened the door. "Aight, I love you." He told her. She smiled turned towards him, running her finger along his jawline. 

"I love you too." She turned away from him, stepped outside and descended down the front steps, walking towards the silver minivan. Bruno leaned against the frame of the opened front door and played with a gold chain around his neck that had her initials on it. It was windy outside and the wind rustled her curly hair and made her flowy white blouse ruffle around her torso as she opened the car door. 

Bruno thought she looked like an angel.

With a wave, she reversed out the driveway and drove on her way, stopping at a stop sign for a few seconds before turning right. 

Neither of them knew it, but that would be the last time Bruno ever saw her alive.