Dear Readers
This was written for all of you who let life get in the way of love. Sometimes all it takes is a little communication. I truly enjoyed writing this story. Comments are appreciated!
~M
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Being married had never been a possibility for me... that is until I met Josh. We didn't click right off but sparks flew anyway. We were both temperamental with chips on our shoulders about relationships. With his being an architect and me being hired to design the web pages for his company, we were thrown together quite often. Needless to say, we got through all of the layers of our bullshit and ended up having a really good relationship. He loved me and I loved him so we decided to get married.
Let me introduce myself, my name is Todd, yeah I'm a guy. Which, by the way is the reason I didn't think marriage was an even remote possibility. Anyway, I'm just your average everyday guy living his life with who I hope will be the only and last love of my life. I'm 5'10, with dark brown eyes, almost black. My hair is jet black. I used to pride myself on my gym routine, which afforded me a lean and buffed physique. Todd is gorgeous, but then again maybe I'm biased. He wears his hair long, which is a stark contrast to my short but deep waves. His hair is a golden-bronzed color that makes me hard just thinking about it. His eyes are a steely grey that even twinkle when he's annoyed. He's just shy of six inches taller than me with a lean and muscled look that makes me feel like the luckiest man alive.
So what could be the problem? I had a hot ass husband, who I had been married to for seven almost eight years. We had a huge house that he designed of course, and wonderful friends and family. The problem, in one word, was children, of which we had two. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the kids. I'm just saying that their adoptions coincided with the downfall of our marriage. I loved our children to death and I had even decided to work on a freelance basis from home to take care of the kids. Jessica and James were the light of our lives. It's just that me and Josh were no longer burning brightly for each other. I felt like I was losing him ever since we adopted and I didn't know what to do.
In the seven years that we had been married, I'll admit that I'd gotten lazy. Not that I was a soap opera and bon-bon couch potato, but I was developing a little belly and my legs had filled out a little and not with muscle either. Both Josh and I were great cooks so we always had great meals even if they were simple. We were in a rut. Our lives had become too much of a routine. With two toddlers it gets a little hectic and it is always nice that we worked so well together, even without saying much. However, along the way, that non-verbal communication that had often made the household run like a well-oiled machine was almost all the communication that went on. It didn't get easier as the children were getting older. I just didn't know how to approach Josh.
One of my growing fears was that there was something going on in his life at the office that I had no idea about. I would never believe that he'd cheat on me but that didn't stop me from feeling less attractive to him and as if I was out of the loop of one part of his life. We used to be a very talkative couple; we couldn't wait to share the events of the day with each other. Now I have a hard time believing that temper tantrums and throwing food qualify as titillating conversation. As far as why he didn't share anymore, I could only imagine.
I knew that I still loved my husband and I had no intention of giving up on our relationship, I just wish I knew what was wrong so I could work on it. I was not going to be one of those people who just sat around and stewed. I could start by doing something simple with Josh... I could talk to him. I know it sounds corny or over-simplified, but I can't tell you how many of our friends have broken up over miscommunication or just not being upfront and sharing their feelings.
The other problem was how exactly to articulate myself when the time came to actually lay my cards on the table. I could only think of things from my perspective since we hadn't had a real conversation in months. From my end of things I had to admit that a lot of my problem was insecurity. I think that I was afraid to confront him because it might turn out to be all my fault. I felt lazy and like I was out of shape and out of touch with the world. I didn't feel as if I held any appeal. I had unwittingly fallen into the role of housewife but that was so about to change.
Before I burdened Josh with what I was beginning to feel like was my pity party, I decided to get my head on straight. If I wasn't willing to give up on him then I couldn't be willing to give up on myself.
The first thing I did was clean out a spare bedroom that had been used for storage and I ordered some workout equipment on the internet. There was no way I'd leave the children with someone else, even for vanity's sake. I set everything up; even had some fun with the children on the new equipment, of course it was off, but I couldn't resist taking pictures and all. I started working out and even eating more healthy. I was slowly getting my head together and rebuilding my confidence. I needed to recapture the focus of my hunky man and hope that he still loved me enough to work everything out.
JOSH
Work was going great; the office almost ran without me. Of course I couldn't say the same for my home life. Something was wrong, definitely wrong but I didn't know what it was. Todd was so quiet now, he mostly ignored me. I'd noticed that we weren't working in synch any longer; we just were doing things simultaneously but on an individual basis. We weren't even making love as regularly as before. It was always so natural before that we never even thought about it but now I feel as if I need to ask to have sex and I just don't know how to deal with that.
Everything changed when Todd started staying home with the kids. It was weird, we both were completely active parents, but ask me what he actually did all day and I couldn't tell you. I loved my kids and my husband but I couldn't help but feel that he was unhappy. That didn't make any sense to me. I loved the way our lives had turned out. I had a solid enough business that we really only needed the one source of income. The children were brilliant, even being toddlers, but of course I was biased. My man was beautiful with his dark features. I fell more in love with him each year and I even loved that he was getting a little belly. It made me feel like he was comfortable and loved, a sign of marriage agreeing with him.
All of a sudden the silence between us became almost tangible. It was wearing on my fraying nerves and giving me sleepless nights. What if my husband was so unhappy with me that he felt the need to act on that unhappiness? I didn't think he'd cheat on me but I hadn't been privy to his innermost thoughts for months. What scared me was that he'd started to work out. I wasn't a slouch but I only went to the gym about twice a week in an effort not to expand too much from all of our good cooking. I was thicker around the middle and I had to admit that I liked it. I felt happy and content that I didn't have to be in the gym five days a week anymore. I didn't have to impress anyone, I already had someone who loved me... at least I hoped he still loved me.
The thoughts running through my head were so disconcerting. What if Todd was working out so that he could meet someone else? It couldn't be for me, hell I'd still love him even if he developed cankles and waddled. I found his belly sexy. I know it's probably weird, but I was filled with pride at the fact that it was my cooking that was responsible for his gut. Now, he never wants me to cook. Oh, he doesn't say anything, but when I come home, dinner is already being made and its tons more healthy than anything I would have whipped up.
As the weeks went by I noticed that Todd was losing weight. His face and everything was a bit leaner. I didn't know what to say when he'd catch me starring at him. Honestly I didn't know what to think. Why was he losing weight? Was he sick and didn't want to tell me? Could he be working out and not want me to know? If so, why wouldn't he want me to know? I was starting to feel sick in my own assumptions. I was barreling head first into the worst-case scenario, which was that he was getting ready to leave me and the children. Maybe he didn't want to be at home anymore with the children maybe he just didn't want me. I felt stricken. Part of me recognized that I could be overreacting and misreading the situation, but there was a fifty percent chance that I could be wrong.
Todd even looked happier and I knew that it had nothing to do with me. We hadn't even really talked in months, so I added another thing to my list of things to agonize over. We'd all but stopped having sex and it was pure torture, but I didn't feel right doing it with this big whatever it was hanging between us. I never wanted our lovemaking to be forced. I loved him too much for that. I just hoped that I wasn't losing him for good. If that was where this was headed, I knew that I wouldn't be giving him up without a fight.
TODD
I was loving how my body was returning back to it's former glory. I was becoming more sure of myself. So that I wouldn't be tempted to eat Josh's fatty delicious foods, I started making dinner right before I knew he'd be home. I could regulate what I ate better that way. Sometimes I would catch Josh looking at me in a funny way. At first I thought that it was good because he might have noticed that I lost weight but then he started to look sad and that didn't make sense at all.
Then we stopped having sex altogether. It was like the final blow. We were really in trouble. Those last couple of pounds that I wanted to lose before confronting josh would have to wait. It was time to get my man back.