Tom Forrester spent the night sleeping on the sofa and was walking out the door when Mary came down to start making breakfast.
"Aren't you going to have breakfast, Tom?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah, sure," her husband growled in reply. "You think I want to hang around and take more abuse from you?"
"Suit yourself," Mary said. She found she really didn't care whether he stayed for breakfast or not and was surprised she wasn't more upset.
Her husband turned, went out the door, and slammed it behind him. She heard his car engine roaring and tires squealing as he left the driveway, obviously still angry.
Mary stood at the kitchen counter and looked out the window. Her marriage was over. She was almost positive of that. She had no idea what direction her life would take from this point, but she knew as sure as she was standing there looking out her back window, that Tom would no longer be a part of it. At least not as her husband. She shrugged and started making breakfast. She had two young men to feed.
"Where's Pop?" Ricky asked when he came into the kitchen a few minutes later.
"Ah...he...he had to go to work early," Mary said. How would Ricky react when he found out his parents were splitting up? That was the only part of what was happening that bothered Mary. She loved her son and didn't want to hurt him, but it looked like there was no longer any choice. The only thing she had in her favor was that Ricky was young and strong, he'd get over it. He had to.
Matt walked into the kitchen. "Good morning," he said. He noticed Mr. Forrester wasn't there, wanted to say something to Mary, to comfort her, but he couldn't come up with the right words. He was sure Ricky had no inkling that his folks were having problems and didn't think it was his place to bring the subject up. It was none of his business. He sat down at the table and began to eat.
Breakfast was quiet and afterward both boys left for school. Ricky took his car and Matt took his truck. One distraction had replaced another for Matt. Yesterday he was feeling sorry for himself because Mrs. Forrester had broken off their affair before it really got started. Today he was concerned about her and how she was feeling.
What did the argument he heard the night before mean? Mrs. Forrester had been very quiet at breakfast. Was there anything he could do to help? Although he didn't like thinking that way, he realized that if she and her husband got divorced, it could mean he had might have a chance for a relationship with her after all.
After Ms. Carstairs, his first period teacher, yelled at him twice for daydreaming, Matt decided he wasn't accomplishing anything in school. When the bell rang at the end of the period he went to the office and signed out, saying he didn't feel well. He got in his truck and headed for the Forrester house.
When Mary heard a vehicle pull into the driveway, she thought it might be Tom. If he wanted to talk things out and make a commitment to saving their marriage, would she try? She wasn't sure. They had Ricky, and they had invested a lot of years in their marriage. Did that count for anything? She leaned over the sink, looking out into the back yard. What should she do?
"I...I heard you and Mr. Forrester last night," a familiar male voice said.
Mary turned, startled. It wasn't Tom, it was Matt! What was he doing here? He was supposed to be in school, why wasn't he? Why was she so pleased that he was here? She shouldn't feel like that, she couldn't allow herself to be in situations where she might be tempted to repeat the mistake she made the night before.
Matt hoped Mrs. Forrester would find a hug comforting, so he walked over and put his arms around her. He felt her stiffen when his arms slid around her waist. "You seemed really upset this morning," he said. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Mary, needing comfort, relaxed and pressed against the young man, lying her head on his shoulder. She found she felt safe in his arms, like there really were no problems in her life. "No," she whispered. "The fact that you're here and care is enough."
They stood there holding each other for a while. Mary found that she was drawing comfort from the young man, and liked that, but then she felt something brush against her leg and realized that more than comforting was happening. She stepped back, out of his arms. She had to stop this now, before anything happened. "Matt...we...ah, we shouldn't be doing this," she said. "What...what if...if Tom were to come home and find us?"
"But...we...we aren't doing anything," Matt protested. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he wasn't sure she did.
"Matt...it...it doesn't look right," Mary said. What she didn't mention was that being in his arms had weakened her resolve to stay away from him. "It was sweet of you to think of me, Matt, but you ought to be in school. Tom was really angry when he left this morning. If he comes home..."
Matt had a sudden thought. "Come on," he said. He took Mary's hand.
Mary was startled. "Matt, what are you doing?" she asked.
"Trust me," Matt said, surprised how assertive he was able to be. "Get your coat."
"Matt," Mary held back. "What are you talking about?"
Matt tugged her toward the back door, took her coat from the row of hooks next to the door and handed it to her. "Don't argue, just put your coat on and come with me," he said.
Although she wasn't sure she was making the right decision, Mary slipped into her coat and went along with the young man. He led her out to the truck and held the door open for her. Still nervous and not sure she ought to be going with him, she climbed up into the cab of the bright red truck. "Matt, where...where are...are you taking me?" she asked when he started down the driveway.
Matt looked at her and smiled.
"Matt!" she said, exasperated.
The young man didn't reply, he just kept driving down the street, through the snowstorm that had just begun. He turned onto the street where he lived, then into his driveway. He pushed the automatic garage door opener, then drove into the garage and shut off the engine. He pressed the button to close the garage door behind them.
"Matt, we shouldn't be here like this!" Mary protested.
"Why not?" Matt asked. He turned and looked at her. "My folks are in Seattle, so nobody will disturb us. We can talk and we don't have to worry about your husband, or Rick, interrupting us."
"Oh, Matt, I don't know," Mary replied. Her head was spinning. She knew this was wrong. If she allowed herself to be alone with him in this empty house, things might happen. Things that shouldn't happen, that she couldn't allow to happen again. But despite her misgivings, she was thrilled. Part of her wanted to be with Matt. He cared for her. He made her feel good. He listened to her, and he...she forced those feelings out of her mind.
Matt got out of the pickup, walked around and opened the door for her. "Come on," he said. "Lets go inside. I'll make some hot chocolate, then we can talk."
Still experiencing second thoughts, Mary followed the young man into the house and sat down at the kitchen table while he made the hot chocolate.
When the hot chocolate was done, Matt carried two cups to the table, set one cup in front of Mrs. Forrester, then sat down next to her.
Mary felt tense being so close to Matt. She shouldn't be alone with him. She wasn't sure how much control she had where he was concerned.
"I...I wasn't eavesdropping on you or anything last night," Matt said. "I...I just went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and I, you know, heard you and Mr. Forrester..." He shrugged and sipped his hot chocolate.
"How...how much did you hear?" Mary asked.
"Enough," he replied. "Do you really think your husband's cheating on you?"
Mary nodded. "Although I guess I can't really throw stones. After all, you and I, we..." she murmured.
