The Children Are Laughing Again

10

Mark woke up. His eyes were heavy and his head groggy. After dinner he and Judith had talked things through and then when they seemed to brew in a good place they opened a bottle of wine, and then another. Shortly after that a desire that hadn't been around for months awoke in them and they stripped each other down then and their on the sofa and did something their bodies had been crying out for. Afterwards they just lay their until Judith climbed on top of him again, only this time he lifted her up and carried her up the stairs with her legs wrapped around his waist and her lips on his neck. It was then he'd realised how much weight she'd actually lost. Her once curvious figure had faded away now that he could feel bones underneath, especially around her ribcage. But as he lay her down on the bed those thoughts soon disappeared.
The room was dark and he could sense the bed was empty, but he turned that way anyway. Judith was gone and he threw his arm up to cover his face, trapping it between bicep and forearm. He knew where she was but didn't want to believe it, not after the night they just had.
He looked away the clock on the bedside locker. It was just after 3A.M. her usual time to be up. And the bedroom door was wide open, he could see all the way down the hall even though she'd no lights on tonight.
Against his own judgement and wishes, Mark moved to the edge of the bed and threw his legs out. He suddenly had the urge to go to the bathroom.
He walked gently into the corridor and braced himself against the wall in order to steady himself, the alcohol still very much in his system. He walked past the bathroom and on towards the bottom bedroom. He could see now the door was open and he could hear a soft humming noise from inside.
Judith was sitting on the floor with her back to him gently rocking forward and back, humming what seemed to be a lullaby.
Marks heart sank. Somehow earlier he'd got the impression that she was starting to come or off it. But seeing her here, now, once again like this, he knew he was only fooling himself. She'd never let this go.
Mark turned away, he hated watching her like this. And he knew that there was no point trying to talk her out of it, she was there until she was ready to leave.
He walked into the bathroom and peed for what seemed like a lifetime before returning to his own room. He closed the door behind him.
Nothing had changed.