Nice to Meet You

Chapter 26

2 weeks had passed since Bruce's indiscretion. Monica missed him terribly, she wanted to call him, but she was still hurt. She knew it was a slip up, and she highly doubted he would ever do it again, but why would he do it in the first place? Maybe the fact that he was caught up in the rock n roll lifestyle for the night had something to do with it. Although Bruce was a very good looking man, and could get any woman he wanted, he was very insecure, so being drunk and high had lowered his inhibition and having someone pay the smallest bit of attention to him may have stroked his ego. What also struck Monica as odd was the fact that he had smoked pot. He wasn't a drug user at all. Again, maybe he was just caught up in the lifestyle for the night, he couldn't say no to his idols. She sighed as she looked at a picture she had of the two of them on the dresser of their bedroom. They hadn't rented Bruce's old flat out yet, they were waiting for the right tenant to show up. So she was staying there until she figured out what she was going to do. There was no way she was going to break up with Bruce. She loved him more than anything. They were going to have a baby together. She was going to marry him. She just hoped it wasn't too late on his end. Monica was startled out of her thoughts by the shrill ringing of the phone, she hoped it was Bruce, she picked it up anxiously, "Paul? Is it you?" "No, honey, it's me Daddy." Monica couldn't help but feel disappointed. "Hi Daddy." He knew something was wrong with his daughter, "Honey, is everything OK? Bruce hasn't been to work in 2 weeks. He hasn't called in sick or anything. I called the new flat and no-one answered. Thought maybe you guys were still in the middle of moving out." Monica sighed, "We got in a little bit of a fight, nothing big Daddy. I was thinking about calling him and talking to him. But you say he hasn't been to work in 2 weeks? That's not like him." "I know, he's one of my hardest workers, that's why I wanted to make sure he was OK." Monica hoped everything was fine, now she was scared. It wasn't like Bruce to miss a day of work, much less 2 weeks, and without calling at that. "Daddy, let me call you back. I have to check on Paul. I love you." She hung up the phone and called the apartment. She knew he wouldn't answer and that it would go straight to voicemail, but if maybe he heard her voice, he would answer it. Sure enough, it started recording her message, "Paul, honey, it's me. Please answer the phone. I need to hear your voice. Please. I love you so much. Please just pick up the phone..." At that moment Bruce picked up the receiver, his voice was groggy, as if he had been drinking, "Monica? Is that really you?" Monica felt herself getting emotional, he sounded so broken. "Yes, Paul, it's me.' Bruce began to cry, his voice breaking on the phone, "I thought I'd never hear your voice again. I thought I had lost you. Please tell me I haven't lost you. Please...." Monica tried to hold back her tears, "No Paul, you haven't lost me. I forgive you. I love you so damn much." Bruce couldn't believe what he was hearing, "You forgive me? Fuck, I can't believe it. Thank you..." he was openly sobbing now. "Paul, please, it's OK." Bruce tried to control himself, "No, it's not. I fucking hurt you. I broke your trust. If you didn't forgive me I would have deserved it. I probably would have killed myself because Id rather be dead than not have you by my side, but I would have deserved it. I love you Monica, I promise you, I will never leave your side." Monica smiled to herself, she knew he was serious, she didn't doubt that he would never cheat on her again. "I love you Paul. I'm coming home." Bruce stayed silent on the line. "Paul, did you hear me, I'm coming home." Bruce cleared his throat, "Uh...yes love. Just so you know, I made a drastic change. You'll see when you get home." Monica hung up the phone, curious to see what the drastic change was.
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Monica walked into the door of their flat and saw that it was dark. All the windows were closed and the curtains were drawn. It also smelled musty and like bad body odor. The whole house was littered with empty beer bottles, except for the nursery, it was still immaculate. Even though he was going through a rough patch, Bruce had managed to keep the baby room clean. "Paul? I'm home." She walked into the living room and saw Bruce sitting on the couch, well, she thought it was Bruce. The person on the couch had short hair, almost completely shaved, and a bushy beard. He also had on a shirt that once was white, looked like he hadn't slept a wink in a while, and looked like he had lost a few pounds. "Paul? Is that you?" Bruce stood up from the couch, he ran his hand through his short hair, "Yeah...told you I made a drastic change. I didn't like what I saw when I looked in the mirror. It's broken by the way." he raised his hand, it was bandaged up, dried blood was seeping through it. "I didn't like the person I was. I thought maybe getting rid of "me" would make me happy. It didn't." Monica walked up to Bruce and ran her hand through his hair. She could tell he had done it himself, it was cut roughly with scissors, and ran by once or twice with a razor. His beard was scraggly, dirty from not washing. "Paul, honey, you need help." Bruce looked away from Monica, "I don't need help. I just need to stop getting so down on myself. My whole life I've been a fucking failure. I need to figure out a way not to be one." Monica grabbed his face and made him look up at her, "You are not a failure. I love you more than anything. You are going to be a great husband and a great father. Please, get some help. Please. You'll be so much happier. Daddy says you haven't been to work for 2 weeks, that's not normal Paul. It's OK to ask for help. Let's go take a shower. Let me help you even your hair out, let's shave that beard off and let's go get you some help. Please. Do it for us." Bruce nodded, he closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on Monica's. "Please help me. Please...."