Delicious smells of baking roast and fresh bread came from the kitchen as Brian came in from the out of doors. The smells of dinner nearly done replaced the scents from outside, the smell of fallen leaves and crisp autumn air. Brian was just returning from dropping off his son and daughter at his mother's house so he and his wife could enjoy a nice quiet evening with their two best friends, Will and Debbie.
Brian had gotten to know Will at work at their IT company. Brian had worked at the company for several years before Will was hired. Brian began mentoring Will, a new hire fresh out of college, and the two became fast friends. Now, a few years later, Will was married to Debbie, and all four were now close friends.
Brian joined his lovely wife Liz just inside the door of their modest home. Brian admired Liz's curvy body, slightly curvier than it was when they met over a decade before, but one that still made his heart leap whenever he saw it - clothed or unclothed! Brian hung his coat up on the rack, kicked off his shoes, and leaned in to give Liz a full-bodied kiss. Liz wrapped her arms around Brian and returned his affection with gusto, even though they'd only been apart about 20 minutes.
"I missed you so much!" Liz exclaimed, a twinkle in her eye.
"And I missed you too!" Brian replied, chuckling. "It's been so long!" Liz laughed, and the two headed into the kitchen.
"Dinner is almost ready, hun. Will and Debbie are just finishing up." Liz explained. The two turned the corner just in time to see their two friends, Will and Debbie, engage in a vigorous argument.
"Can't you take just one goddamn minute to help me!?" Will shouted.
"Hold on, I'm on this work call. My project manager said the client is losing their shit about the integration and I need to talk them off the ledge!" Debbie shouted back, only slightly less loud, waving her phone like a samurai sword.
"Well your husband is losing his shit and you might need to talk me off the ledge!" Will shouted, again, and turned on his heel, walked out of the kitchen and, brushing past Liz and Brian without a word, right out the front door.
Liz and Will shared a quiet look, while Debbie tried very pointedly not to look at them. Debbie turned around, plastered her phone up to her ear, and resumed her conversation in a heated tone. In a moment, she hung up, looked around, muttered an apology, and left the same way Brian did. Although she thoughtfully did not slam the door.
Sighing, Will went to the oven to check the roast, and said to no one in particular "I guess there's more for me."
---
The next day, Liz and Debbie were texting back and forth about the events of the prior evening.
Debbie: Sorry about last night. Me and Will have been throwing down like this more and more lately.
Liz: I'm sorry too! For you, I mean. That sucks. Also you missed out on the pie I made.
D: Yeah it does suck that I didn't get to eat that pie. :(
L: Seriously though, are you and Will okay?
D: We're just in kind of a rough patch. Things are so busy with work, this integration is almost over and then I hope we'll have more time. But we barely get to see each other and things are wearing thin.
L: When your big project is done, you really should take some time away.
D: I'd really like that, but I have no idea where to go!
L: Brian and I have a great place we go to every year, you should check it out. Nice quiet cabin in the mountains. The view is gorgeous, and the bed is reaaaaally comfortable. ;)
D: Send me the info, sounds great! Just what we could use.
L: Info on it's way. Gotta go, ttyl
D: thanks! byeee :)
---
Brian had offered to meet Will for dinner after Will and Debbie's weekend away. Brian was hoping for a positive result, but he could tell the moment Will walked into the brew pub that things had not gone well.
"Damn dude, that weekend trip was a bust. I can't believe YOUR wife talked Debbie into it. It was super boring. The WiFi connection was unreliable at best. I was trying to follow my fantasy football teams and I missed a couple big trades because of it." Will whined.
Brian could hardly believe the bullshit being spewed by his best friend. The two of them go away for a weekend, and all he can think about is fantasy football? When Brian and Liz get away, the two of them spend nearly the entire time naked in bed. "Well man, maybe you have some misplaced priorities." Brian said, carefully. "The weekend was supposed to be for you and Debbie to reconnect, but you seem more concerned about your fantasy team."
"Well what else was I supposed to do? Debbie barely has any interest in me anymore. You saw her last week at the dinner party. Her work is more important to her than anything else." said Will.
While the boys were meeting for wings, Debbie and Liz were also meeting for wings. Everyone loves wings.
Debbie shook her head as the waiter brought over the plate of hot wings. "We barely looked at each other for two days." Debbie said forlornly. "I was so exhausted from the project I just wasn't in the mood to do anything, and Brian spent about ninety percent of his time hunting for WiFi signals. It was awful. I feel like we just aren't attracted to each other anymore."
Liz nodded as she listened to her friend, only partly distracted by the delicious hot wings. "I understand sweetie. Brian and I went through the same thing when the kids were younger. No matter what it is, things in life can get in the way of your relationship. You really need to spend time on each other. Adjust your priorities."
