I'd like to thank Wolf Vixen for all her help in catching my errors and helping me improve the quality of my stories. So sit back with the beverage of your choice and see what unfolds when his bride blind sides him.
* * * * *
They say, there is a fine line between our two strongest emotions, love and hate.
On one end of the spectrum, you have a love so strong that someone would willing give up their life for the one they love. Isn't that what they refer to as undying love?
On the other side though, you have an individual who would do anything in their power, to satisfy or act on their burning hatred of another. Even to the point of causing themselves harm.
Pretty intense wouldn't you say?
However, most couples go back and forth in their marriage between the two, but not to that extreme in ninety nine point nine percent of the cases. We do however slip over the line in times of stress and especially if there is an ensuing argument. I now can attest to that. For me, I call it going to the dark side.
My name is Steve Moore and I'm a business manager for Atlas Plastic. I just turned thirty-two last month and have been married to the love of my life, Kay, for the last eight and a half years. We've got two boys, Danny who is six, and Kenny who is seven and we live in a huge box of a house in the suburbs just outside of Atlanta.
We've got a shit load of friends who live in our same neighborhood and most weekends are spent going over to someone's house for either a party or BBQ. Where we used to live, when we first got married, I also had a ton of friends but Kay didn't care for most of them. They weren't quite as refined as our current ones and could care less what kind of car you drove or how big your house was. They were a burly group that loved to party but would give you the shirt off their back is you needed it.
When Kay made the decision we needed to upgrade to, as she put it, a nicer area we had our first big fight. Our house was only fifteen minutes from where we both worked and had been a fixer upper so our house payments were pretty low.
I'm what you'd call a lay back kind of guy and could care less about the finer things in life, unlike my wife who was always looking for something better. So when Kay said we needed to move I put up a fuss for about a week and then thought, "what the hell."
You see most things really aren't worth arguing about. A car, a house, clothes, they're just material things that in the end don't mean squat. So when Kay dug in her heels I just let it roll off my back. It just wasn't worth the energy it would take to argue with her about it. You may call me a wimp but I can count on one hand the number of fights Kay and I've had over the last eight years.
That is until last night.
Kay works at an interior design studio owned by one of our neighbors. She works from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm, so she can get the kids off to school in the morning and be home when they get off the bus. I on the other hand work from 8:00 until 5:00. Depending on traffic, I get home usually about 5:45 now. When we lived in our last place, I was home and had a beverage in my hand by 5:15.
Tuesday night there was an accident on the road and I didn't get home until almost 6:15. I was a little stressed by the time I got to my driveway but thought what the hell, at least I was finally home and could relax with my bride. I snuck in the back door and went upstairs to change into a pair of shorts and an old tee shirt. I was walking down the stairs towards the kitchen when I heard Kay on the phone.
"Don't worry Peg you know Steve. He'll go along with anything I say," I could hear Kay tell her sister. "No, he won't get mad and I think I know my husband a little better than you do. I've got it all worked out and I plan on talking to him tonight after dinner. Yes I'll call you and tell you what he says. Well got to go girl, I've got dinner to finish. Talk to you later," Kay said hanging up.
"What do we need to talk about?" I said as I walked around the corner.
"Steve, you startled me," Kay said as I came into view.
"Let me ask again, what do we need to discuss that has to wait until after dinner," I asked getting a beer from the refrigerator and sitting down at the kitchen table.
"Let's wait until after dinner when the boys are upstairs."
"Alright, what did they do this time? I talked to them about the go-cart and not hitting golf balls in the backyard, what else could they have done since Saturday afternoon?"
"It's not about the boys, its us."
"Well, I haven't done anything bad, since grabbing your ass at Frank's Grill last Friday night. And the only reason I did that, is because you looked so hot in those new jeans so it must be you. What did you buy this time?" I asked trying to add a little levity to our conversation.
"I'm not talking about that. Its about how we feel about each other," she started to say.
"Well babes, you know I love you and I know you love me, so what's the problem?"
"Steve, you know I love you," she said holding my hands in hers. "But I'm not sure if I'm still in love with you any more."
"What? I don't understand Kay?" I told her not liking were this conversation was heading. "If you've got something to say, just spit it out."
"You're the best and most thoughtful husband in the world and a great father," she said touching the side of my cheek. But I'm just not sure I feel the same way about you as I did when we got married," Kay said with this concerned look on her face. "I'm thinking about a trial separation so I can get my feelings sorted out."
"Kay I don't understand. When in the hell did all this happen? Before or after we kissed goodbye this morning," I said now getting a more than concerned where she was going with this.
The shift from love to hate had now started.
"I've been thinking about it for a while but didn't want to say anything until I was sure what I wanted."
"I don't understand, where do you want to go?" I asked.
"Well, I thinking about you moving in with your mother for a while. Since your dad died she's been bouncing around that big house by herself. Maybe she'd like some company for a little while?" Kay said like she was talking to a little child.
Now I was starting to get angry but held it inside.
"How are you going to pay for the house and every thing else if I leave?" I asked, fully knowing what was coming next.
As you can see, I am now edging towards the dark side.
"Well, you'll still have to make the payments but it won't be forever. Just until I have a chance to sort out a few things," she said in her most loving and caring voice.
I stood up. "No."
"What do you mean, No?" a surprised Kay replied.
"Kay, what the fuck about No don't you understand? No I'm not moving in with my mother. And No, I'm not leaving my house and two sons. If you need to leave and get your head and ass wired together, go for it. I don't want you here either if you're, 'not in love with me' any more, as you so eloquently put it. So, since I'm this great fucking guy, I'll even help you pack," I said slamming my beer down on the table and walking up the stairs to our bedroom.
It shocked the heck out of Kay when I came back downstairs with an arm full of clothes from her closet.
"Put these in your car, and I'll be down with the next load in a minute," I said tossing them on the living room couch and running back up the stairs. When I came down with the next handful Kay started yelling at me to stop. "I thought you wanted a separation? I'm just helping you move your stuff out, that's all," I told her in a calm voice.
At this point, I'd crossed the line from love and was moving into the hate category in my feelings for her, or as I like to now call it; the dark side.
"I want YOU to leave Steve," she now yelled at me.
"That's not going to happen Kay. This is my house and I've done nothing to either you or the kids to warrant you kicking me out. Now, if you want to move down into the basement, I can put your stuff down there," I told her as I dumped my second armload clothes on top of the others.
This was not going as Kay had planned.
"Steve was suppose to tuck his tail between his legs and move out without saying a word," she said to herself. "He wasn't supposed to put up a fuss, now what the hell do I do?"
"Let's talk about this like two adults Steve."
"Kay, I think you've said enough. At least I now know how you really feel about me. So make up your mind. Where do you want your clothes? Because you're sure as hell not staying in my bedroom any longer," I said trying my best to stay calm.
When our sons Danny and Kenny walked through the door they wanted to know what was going on.
"Mom's just moving some of her stuff, that's all. How about if we go out and get a few burgers and let her finish?" I didn't have to ask twice. We were gone and back within forty-five minutes with the food. However we came back to a few extra people, two policemen.
"Evening officers. Can I help you?" I asked getting out of the car and telling my sons to go inside.
"We got a call about a domestic dispute and need a word with you," the big one told me while keeping his hand on his gun.
Looking at his hand I said, "officer you won't need that," as I explained what I had come home to.
"I haven't raised my voice, threaten her nor my kids but told her I wasn't leaving my house. My names on the mortgage, I pay all the bills and unless there's a court order floating around, which I strongly doubt, I think I'm well within my rights to be here. I told my wife if she wasn't happy with me, she could move out and I'd even help her pack." They both snickered and got a kick out of my dilemma.
Kay was hot to say the least when the policemen told her there was nothing they could do. However, they did say that they would file a report stating that I was calm and presented no danger to either my family or myself. But that Kay was ranting and raving and using profanity in talking to us about her husband. Finally, that I had only wanted to help my wife load her personal items into her car. That was all they witnessed. I thanked them, shook their hands and they wished me good luck.
Kay was now fuming that she hadn't gotten her way.
"Steve, why don't you just leave and make it easier on all of us?" she shouted at me.
"As I said Kay, that's not going to happen. So decide where you want your stuff, in the car or the basement. It's your choice. The boys and I are going to eat out on the deck, so think very carefully about what you do next," I said grabbing the food and heading out to the deck where my boys were waiting.
"What's wrong with mom?"
