Now We Can Tal

A quick one. I was shooting for the 750-word minimum.

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I had to wait for the right time.

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I'd been on the road for several days checking on my accounts in the northeastern part of the state. I made a trip like this about once a month and it usually took me away from home for about a week, and this time was no different. I was feeling a little homesick, missing my wife quite a bit, so instead of taking one more night in a hotel as usual I decided to just make the drive home. I pulled in at 2am.

I left my suitcases in the kitchen and walked down the hall to my bedroom. I found Joanie, as expected, fast asleep and I knew any attempt to get into bed would wake her, so I just went down the hall and crashed in the spare room. I was really too tired for anything else anyway. I was asleep in seconds.

I woke to the lingering smell of coffee and bacon. I took a quick shower and then joined Joanie in the kitchen.

"Hey baby," she nearly yelled when I walked in. "When did you get in? Hungry?"

"About two. Yeah, I'm hungry."

She sat me down and fried some eggs while she warmed the bacon that was already cooked. Breakfast has always been my favorite meal. She seemed anxious.

"Why'd, um, you sleep in the guest room?"

"It was late and I didn't want to wake you. I really needed some sleep."

"That was thoughtful."

"What time did you hustle him out of here this morning anyway?"

Her head dropped and she couldn't seem to respond. Did she think that I hadn't seen the man in bed with her when I got home? I had been surprised to see him there, but I guess she assumed I'd stick to my regular schedule and wouldn't be home until this evening.

"As soon as I realized you were home. Henry, I'm so sorry. I had a few drinks and..."

"I need to go into town today to file my contracts and take care of a few things. We'll have to talk about this later."

"Honey, shouldn't we..."

"Later, Joanie."

I drove into town and stopped at the office to drop off my paperwork and get my kudos from the bosses. They were surprised to see me so soon and had no problem letting me off the rest of the day. I ran the rest of my errands and then headed for home, where a nervous Joanie was waiting.

"Can we talk now?"

"The lawn needs mowing and some weeding. We'll talk soon, I promise. But there's things that need doing."

I went into the garage and fired up the mower, spending the next couple hours pushing it across the grass. Once that was done I got down and pulled a few weeds that had elbowed their way into the garden. Damn things.

When I went to the guest room again that night, Joanie implored me to sleep with her on our bed.

"I won't be sleeping in that bed again, though I appreciate you changing the sheets."

Since the guest room was a single bed there was no room for her, and she glumly returned to her bedroom for the night.

The next day Joanie made us breakfast again and then I went into work, giving her a goodbye kiss as I had every day for the past 10 years. She accepted it happily.

Work went smoothly, as it usually does. I processed orders that came in from my accounts and caught up on the office drama that had occurred while I was gone. There wasn't anything juicy this time.

At dinner that night Joanie seemed nervous, and she finally bubbled over.

"Baby, we really should talk about what happened. It's making me anxious that you won't talk about it."

"Joanie, we'll talk soon, I promise. It's just not time yet, okay? Just trust me."

When I headed for the guest room she mentioned that she had ordered a new bed and it would be delivered in two days. I just smiled and went into my room.

The next morning was Saturday and Joanie fixed a more elaborate breakfast, as she often did. The morning peace was broken by a ring of the doorbell. Joanie answered the door and I stood about 10 feet behind her.

"Joan Weston?"

"Yes."

"You're served, miss."

She opened the envelope and saw the divorce I had arranged for two days before then looked at me, stricken.

"Now we can talk, Joanie."

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fin