and I Believe. Jodie Richard-Bohman

quickly reminded me. But soon we settled into a routine and it felt like second nature dividing my attention between the two girls. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, “date night” was kicked to the curb and long forgotten about.

       But that’s common with all couples, right?

      Chapter 6

      The ringing of the phone brought me back to my current reality. It had been two hours since Aaron stormed out of the house, and he still wasn’t home.

       Maybe it’s him?

      To my disappointment it wasn’t him, but it was Liz and I desperately needed her right now.

      “Where have you been all day? I’ve been trying to call you since last night,” she said.

      I started crying.

      “Kate, what’s wrong?”

      “He did what?! Why didn’t you call me sooner?” Liz asked after I told her.

      “I’m sorry. I would have, but shock and denial made it hard to do anything.”

      “Do you want me to come over?”

      “Yes, but I have no idea where Aaron’s at, if he’s coming home or if he’s with her . . .” my voice trailed off, fear dripping with each word.

      “Kate, you can’t do this to yourself.”

      “I know but-”

      Just then my telephone beeped. Looking down at the caller ID, I noticed that it was Aaron’s parents’ phone number.

      “Can I call you back? Someone is calling me from Ken and Joyce’s.”

      “Sure, but promise you will call me right back.”

      “I promise.”

      Taking a deep breath, I answered the incoming call.

      “Hello.”

      “Kate, this is Joyce. I told Ken I wouldn’t bother you, but I’m very worried about you.”

      “So you know what is going on?” I cringed at the thought.

      “Yes, dear, I do. Do you want me to come over?”

      “Yes, please,” I choked out.

      Joyce and Ken only lived a few blocks away and within ten minutes, she was at my house.

      “Oh, Kate,” she said when I answered the door. Tears burned my eyes as she wrapped her arms around me.

      “Ken and Carey also wanted to come, but I told them now wasn’t the best time. We’re beside ourselves with Aaron and don’t know what to think about this. It’s not like him to behave this way, and I’m wondering if he doesn’t have some sort of chemical imbalance, or if he’s going through a mid-life crisis sooner than most men.”

      Her no-nonsense way of thinking almost made me smile.

      “Did he tell you everything?” I asked, stressing the word “everything”.

      “Well, I didn’t give him much choice, especially when he randomly shows up on our door step in the middle of the evening crying and repeatedly saying how sorry he was.”

      “Oh,” I said, my cheeks flushing.

      “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. He’s the one that messed up, not you.”

      “I know. It’s just that this whole thing has taken me by surprise. I mean yes, our sex life hasn’t been the greatest, but isn’t that common for most couples with young kids?”

      She nodded her head in agreement. “Where is he now?”

      I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. All he said was he needed to clear his head and then he left.”

      “Well, that’s probably a good thing. This will give us some time to talk. So please tell me, what exactly happened?”

      When I finished telling her every dreadful detail of yesterday, my eyes were red and swollen and my head was throbbing from crying.

      “You poor thing. Why don’t you go upstairs and take a nice hot shower while I make you something to eat.”

      “Okay,” I said, grateful for her love and support.

      When I returned a little bit later, she had a hot bowl of soup and a shot of gin waiting for me on the kitchen table.

      “Joyce, really?” As I picked up the shot glass, I raised my eyebrow at her.

      “Trust me. It will take the edge off.”

      Cringing, I put the glass to my lips, threw my head back and swallowed it down. My throat burned and my shoulders shivered from its hard and bitter taste.

      Ick!

      “I called Aaron while you were in the shower. He’s on his way here now.”

      “You what? He is?” A nervous feeling ripped through me and my stomach instantly felt sick.

      “Kate, I know it’s going to be hard, but you have to face him sometime. Now I want you to answer this one question for me. Do you want to fight for your marriage?”

      “Of course I do. Aaron and the girls are my life.”

      “No, Kate, I didn’t ask if you wanted to fight for your family. I asked if you wanted to fight for your marriage to Aaron.”

      Aren’t they the same? I thought, but we didn’t have a chance to elaborate on that subject because the front door opened, and a second later, Aaron entered the kitchen. He kept his head down, avoiding eye contact with the both of us. The awkward silence that filled the room didn’t last long as Joyce started right in.

      “I’m not trying to be an overbearing mother or mother-in-law, but I don’t know what else to do. There are obviously some problems in your marriage and now is the time to figure out if they are worth fixing. But before we go there, I need to first ask you this. Aaron, you said you never slept with Angie. But why are you two talking so much on the phone?”

      Joyce has always been a “to the point” type of person, and you would think by the way she was drilling him that she was the attorney in the family.

      “I swear on Grandpa’s grave that we never slept together, and if I hadn’t been drunk, I never would have went to her house.”

      “But what about all of these calls on your cell phone bills?” Joyce asked.

      “She’s been the one calling me and I never returned any of her calls until a month ago.”

      “Why a month ago?”

      I was about ready to ask the same thing, but Joyce beat me to it.

      “I don’t know,” he said, running his hands through his hair nervously. “Things weren’t getting any better with Kate and me, and Angie, well, she made me feel wanted. Not in a sexual way, just in a special way, like she actually enjoyed talking to me and cared what was going on in my life.”

      “And I don’t?” I blurted, offended by his comment.

      “If it doesn’t involve the girls, work or the house, then no, you don’t really act like you care.”

      His words stung like a slap to the face.

      “Do you love Angie?” Joyce asked completely out of the blue.

      I couldn’t believe she just asked him that, and by the way Aaron’s mouth dropped, he seemed just as surprised.

      “Aaron, do you?” she demanded again.

      “No, yes, I don’t know. I do have feelings for her but nothing like I have for Kate.”

      His words hurt beyond belief, but I didn’t get a chance to say anything about that either