Sitting back down in the recliner, he crossed his arms as he stared at the television.
“Jeff and Cory are at Creekside. Do you want to have a drink with them?”
It had been an hour of complete silence, and Aaron was the first to break the ice.
“No, not really.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“That’s no surprise,” he mumbled under his breath.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
“If you want to go uptown so bad, then go,” I told him sarcastically.
He continued to stare ahead at the television. A few minutes later, he got up from his chair and left the room.
Is that the garage door going up?
I looked out the big picture window in the living room just in time to see Aaron driving away.
What in the heck just happened?! Did he seriously just leave?
Three hours later, Aaron had still not returned. Putting on a t-shirt and pair of sweatpants, I climbed into our big empty bed. It took me awhile to fall asleep, but when I finally did, I was awakened to Aaron coming into our bedroom. Acting as if I was asleep, I didn’t say a word or move a muscle when he took off his shirt and pants then slid up behind me in bed.
“Kate, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. It’s just that I love you so much and it feels like you don’t love me anymore,” he said, caressing my leg.
I let out a sigh, pushed his hand away and moved as far to the edge of the bed as I could get.
He rolled over on his back and mumbled something I couldn’t understand under his breath. He then grabbed his pillow and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
This scared me. He and I rarely ever fought, well, except for when he would get on this “no sex” thing, but he never ever raised his voice or slammed anything. Either way, I wasn’t going to go downstairs and apologize to him. I did nothing wrong.
Even though his exit frazzled me a bit, I eventually fell back to sleep and didn’t wake up until the next morning. Rolling over, I was surprised to see that he still didn’t come back up to our bedroom.
Quietly walking down the stairs, I tiptoed into the living room, and there he was sleeping on the couch. The smell of liquor filled the entire room.
Hmmm, I didn’t think he was drunk when he came to bed last night.
Going back upstairs, I took a shower. Before leaving to pick up the girls at Kristie’s, I checked on Aaron. He was still sleeping, or should I say passed out, on the couch.
“Daddy, Daddy,” Mia said when we returned home.
“Hey baby girl,” Aaron said, finally opening his eyes and sitting up on the couch.
“Where did you go last night?” I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.
“Just to Creekside,” he muttered, not making eye contact with me.
I wasn’t going to argue with him in front of the girls, so I dropped the subject.
He probably feels guilty for the way he acted last night.
“Are you going to get ready for your parents’ house?” I asked him when he still hadn’t gotten up from the couch.
“I’m not going. I don’t feel so good,” he said, still avoiding my stare.
His face was pale and his eyes were sunken in, so I thought maybe it wasn’t alcohol-related and he was really sick.
The girls and I first went to Aaron’s mom and dad’s house and had a nice visit with them, Carey and her family, along with Grandma Dorothy. Stopping home before going to my mom and dad’s, I checked on Aaron again, who still hadn’t moved from the couch.
“Did you want me to make you some soup or something?” I asked, feeling sorry for him.
“No, but thanks,” he whispered, not opening his eyes.
“Okay. Well, the girls and I are going to go to Mom and Dad’s. Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay,” he muttered.
A few days had passed and although Aaron seemed to be feeling better, he was still acting odd. He was quiet, but being very accommodating, offering to take the girls wherever they needed to go, coming home early from work to make supper, and he even bought me flowers.
He must really feel bad for the way he acted the other night. Maybe he finally realized that I was right and that there’s more to marriage than just sex.
Chapter 8
Aaron and Angie . . . I still couldn’t believe that Aaron was with Angie, I thought after I drove around for a couple hours and finally decided to go home, which was empty when I got there.
Mom and Dad had to be wondering why we hadn’t picked up the girls yet, so I reluctantly picked up the phone and called them. There was a couple of rings before Mom’s cheerful voice was on the other end.
“Hi Mom.” I bit my lip to keep from crying.
Her voice instantly became alarmed. “Kate, what’s wrong?”
I was silent a moment before finally answering her. “Mom, can you keep the girls again tonight and drop them off on your way to work tomorrow morning?”
“Yes. Is everything okay?”
My chest felt tight as I fought back a sob. “Actually, Mom, things aren’t good, but I don’t want to talk about it right now. I promise I’ll tell you more tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she said, with a worried tone in her voice. “Please call us if you need anything.”
“I will. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, Kate.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks, one after another, as I hugged my knees to my chest. The phone rang a few times after that, but I didn’t budge. Instead, I stared out the picture window in a blank daze.
Hours later, a car pulled into my driveway. As I sat in the dark living room, I watched two familiar figures walk up onto the front porch. I quickly got up from the couch and opened the front door. When I saw my sisters’ faces, I lost it.
After I told them everything that had happened, Kristie was speechless, and Kellie, being the protective older sister that she was, looked like she wanted to rip their heads off.
“I’m
