Page 5 of Blinded By Forever
I walk towards the couch and kneel in front of her. She looks down at me, with that same disappointed look in her eyes that is mixed with a little bit of sadness. “I’m sorry. I know I haven’t been there for you or the kids a lot lately. I’ve just been really busy.”
“There’s no such thing as busy when you have a wife at home, constantly worrying about you and missing you and then three kids who are wondering if their father is coming home that night or even ever.”
“Let me make it up to you.”
Her eyebrows lift. “How?”
“Let me take you out tomorrow night. Just us. No kids, no distractions. Just you and me.”
She studies me, her walls still high. “You’re avoiding the conversation.”
“I’m asking for one night to make this right,” I say quietly. “Please.”
Her lips part, like she’s about to argue but then sighs. “Fine. But we’re still having this conversation. Don’t think it’s over.”
I blow out a mental breath, glad that this is the end for now. I lean in and press a kiss to her neck. “I wouldn’t dream of it, princess.”
She doesn’t smile but she doesn’t push me away either.
Which in our world, counts as progress.
Three
Jaclyn
I worethe dress he likes, the one with the open back and it’s dark red which makes his eyes darken with want. I curled my hair, which I never do, put on lipstick and even forced myself to forget about the carbs I was about to eat at the Italian restaurant he made a reservation for.
For a while I was feeling excited.
Date nights between Hayden and I were rare.
Between the chaos with the kids, Hayden always leaving for reasons he won’t tell me, and then my part-time writing, we barely have time to sit on the couch together, let alone escape into a world where we could pretend that we weren’t constantly exhausted.
We took Hayden’s black LaFerrari and the drive was nice. He was going fast and cutting between cars with his hand on my thigh.
But as soon as a message pinged on his phone, his good mood vanished.
Just like it did all the time whenever he got a text and told me he had to leave somewhere.
This whole day we’ve been spending time with the kids and then as soon as the sitter came, he kissed down my neck, telling me how good I looked before we got into the car.
Ten minutes into the dinner, I knew something was up. He was quiet. Too quiet.
He wasn’t the smirking Hayden I’d dressed up for. He wasn’t holding my hand across the table or smiling at me.
It made me feel like something was wrong with me.
Like I wasn’t good enough.
He made me feel exactly how I felt in high school.
But I won’t cry in front of him because the Hayden who’s been sleeping next to me isn’t the same Hayden that I fell in love with and gave a second chance to.
I sip my wine and try to make conversation with him again. “So, Junior’s math teacher emailed me today.”
“Yea?” he asks, his eyes flicking towards me before going back to his plate.
“Yea, apparently, he’s been helping other kids understand the homework. She said that she’s never seen someone his age explain things so clearly.”
