Jeremy Watts glanced down at his watch for the eighth time in less than fifteen minutes shaking his head in disappointment. This was the third meeting his wife had been late to in the last month, and her lack of regard for their work together was beginning to wear on him. The lobby of the office building where he stood was mostly empty with just a few folks milling around waiting for the elevators and a pair of guards sitting behind a marble desk on the far wall nearest the doors.
The revolving doors leading into the lobby began to spin, and Jeremy sighed with relief when his wife, Allison, emerged and walked up to him.
"You're late," he pointed out trying not to sound testy and failing.
Allison wrinkled her nose into an expression of disgust, "I had to wait for the movers to pick up the rest of our stuff."
It was a legitimate reason for once, and Jeremy took a breath admitting as much, "O.K. let's just get inside the counselor is waiting."
The office of Dr. Patricia Cox, he and Allison's marriage counselor, was quite homey looking in the waiting area. They took a seat on a long leather couch while the receptionist went back to inform Dr. Cox they had arrived. Jeremy stole a surreptitious glance at his wife out of the corner of his eye while she absently flipped through a magazine. The two of them had been together since college marrying four years after they graduated. He thought his wife had changed very little since those earlier days when they had been in school together though both were rapidly approaching their twenty-ninth birthdays.
Allison was a tall woman, better than five-foot-nine-inches with long, straight blond hair that hung down to the middle of her back. Her brown eyes conveyed a warmth that sometimes failed to register in her voice which always seemed to be tinged with impatience. When Jeremy had met Allison in college, they had both been big on the campus party circuit. In those days Jeremy had lived with a reputation for being able to out drink anyone and had left more than a few broken-hearted girls sitting in their dorm rooms crying. He had the kind of beach boy good looks, tanned and handsome, with blond hair and blue eyes that drove the women wild. Allison had been the first girl he had ever met that could match him drink for drink and wouldn't fall for his usual lines. She had led him a merry chase before finally agreeing to go out with him. They had come together quickly after that and Jeremy had to admit he was utterly smitten.
It didn't hurt that Allison had a body to match her face with long legs and a decent sized chest that she wasn't afraid to show off in a number of daring outfits. The sex had been phenomenal maybe the best he had ever enjoyed. The two them had become inseparable. The Ken and Barbie of the campus party patrol.
When graduation came, things had continued between them unabated, and they spent the following year traveling through Europe soaking up the culture and the booze in equal measure. It was after they returned that things started to become a little rocky between them. Jeremy had begun to realize that the party couldn't last forever, and at some point, they would have to put their educations to work. He had been the first to find a job, and following his lead Allison had joined the ranks of the employed shortly after him. They moved in together and still enjoyed an active and vigorous sex life, but Jeremy was starting to sense some discontent from his long-time girlfriend. He had thought at first that perhaps she was just concerned that they had been at this for so long, but he was showing no signs of taking this relationship to the next level.
Jeremy had proposed to Allison on a warm spring day in front of the same spot on campus where they had first met. She had accepted although her enthusiasm level had not shown quite the excitement that Jeremy had expected. The ceremony nine months later had been attended by all their family and friends and by all accounts was a real success. The newly married couple seemed destined for great things together. In the months that followed, however, Allison had chaffed at the long hours the two of them had to work as well as what she considered the lack of fun that they had always enjoyed. It wasn't long before she started to drag Jeremy back to the same bars they had haunted as students. He didn't mind at first as they were both still young, and there was no reason not to celebrate the end of a long workday with a few drinks. The problem was that Allison never seemed to want to stop at a few. On more than one occasion, he found himself having to tote his inebriated wife home after a night out.
The trips to the local bar scene started to move from a few times a week to a regular occurrence, and on nights when Jeremy was too tired or just not interested in going Allison began to go without him. This led to Jeremy getting hauled out of bed in the middle of the night to fetch his wife from another party where she had enjoyed a bit too much fun. It began to occur to Jeremy that Allison seemed like she didn't want to grow up as if the party they had started together in college would go on forever.
The two of them had started to fight about Allison's habits to the point that Jeremy had begun to fear that their marriage might be in trouble. He had eventually gotten Allison to agree to marriage counseling as a way to salvage what had started as a promising relationship.
"The Doctor will see you now," came the voice of the receptionist as she opened the inner door.
Jeremy followed Allison inside where they took a seat together on a different but very similar couch. Dr. Patricia Cox was a smiling middle-aged woman fond of pantsuits and long gold chains. She sat in her heavily cushioned chair holding a clipboard in her lap as her two clients settled themselves in front of her.
"So, Allison and Jeremy, how are you two doing this week?"
"The same as usual," replied Jeremy with a side-long glance at his wife.
"I see. How about the homework I gave you to do? Did talking about the things you appreciate about each other bring about any good discussions?"
"It might have if Allison would ever bother to do the homework."
"Hey! That's not fair I had to work late a bunch of days last week, and I was tired," shot back Allison.
"You worked late one night, and all the other times you were out with friends partying it up."
"It's not my fault you've become such a stick in the mud. You're welcome to come with me. You used to be fun. Do you remember when we had fun together, Jeremy?"
"There is a time for fun, Allison, and a time to work. I don't think you know the difference."
"O.K that will be enough of that guys," cut in Dr. Cox, "this bickering is exactly what we had agreed we wouldn't do."
Jeremy and Allison both looked abashed as Dr. Cox fixed them with a motherly glare, "Now, Allison, you did agree to do the homework. A marriage hits bumps sometimes, and it can take an effort to pull it over the hump so it can move forward. Jeremy has been doing his part, but it is dependent on you to do the same."
Allison hung her head for a moment looking embarrassed, "I'm sorry. I know I agreed. It's just that I thought marriage was about compromise. Why can't Jeremy meet me half-way."
"What do you see that looking like, Allison?"
"You know he could come out with me sometimes instead of always claiming he is too tired or has work to do."
"I do go with you," cut in Jeremy.
"Oh wow! You went like once in the last two weeks."
"I went twice you don't remember the second time because you got so wasted I had to carry you to the car."
"I DON'T THINK..." started Allison raising her voice.
"AGAIN! Folks lets keep this civil. Right, Allison?" said Dr. Cox.
"What about the touch therapy I recommended? Have you been doing it?"
Allison made a face that clearly showed what she thought of that idea, "I have to be honest Dr. Cox, it seems kind of silly to me."
"It's all part of the process, Allison. Trust me that you and Jeremy can both benefit from it if you would engage properly."
The next forty-five minutes rolled by with very little being accomplished and Dr. Cox called an end to the session reminding the couple that they both had to be committed to the therapy for it to work. Jeremy made an appointment for the following week while Allison stood outside the door talking on her cell. He came out as she hung up and he handed her a reminder card with the date of their next meeting written on the front.
"Who was calling?" asked Jeremy casually.
"My sister. I told her all our stuff was safely in storage and we would be starting our stay with her tonight."
A few months earlier Jeremy had found a house for sale in a neighborhood close to town, and he had convinced Allison that it was time for them to stop living in apartments and settle somewhere to which she had reluctantly agreed. Unfortunately, during the inspection, they had discovered some mold that would need to be remediated before the couple could move in. Since the former owner had agreed to pick up the cost, Jeremy hadn't made a big deal out it during the sale, but it did mean they needed a place to stay for the week since they had already given notice to their landlord. Allison's sister had graciously offered to let them stay with her and her husband even though they lived in a small one-bedroom apartment. It would be cramped quarters, but it was only for a week.
"That's fine."
Allison turned to leave.
"Hey, Allison, I'll see you tonight," said Jeremy hoping for some acknowledgment from his wife.
"Are you trying to make sure I'm not going out after work?" asked Allison wrinkling her brow.
"What? No. I was saying I would see you later. I'm not trying to start anything."
"Whatever. I need to get back to work."
His wife was through the spinning doors before he could think of anything else to say.
The rest of his workday went by at a snail's pace, and he was more than ready for it to be over when the clock struck five. Jeremy drove over to his sister-in-law's apartment with two suitcases in his back seat containing everything he would need to survive in the immediate future. There was no sign of Allison's car when he pulled in front of the apartment complex where his sister-in-law lived, but he wasn't going to sit there and wait. He exited and walked up the small sidewalk to the front door ringing the bell. The door swung open to reveal Allison's sister Emily standing there looking up at him.
Anyone who had ever met the two of them would have been hard pressed to find a family resemblance between Allison and Emily. They would never have been confused for sisters on the street by a stranger. Where Allison favored the Scandinavian blood of her father her little sister was the spitting image of the girl's mother. Emily stood just a shade over five-foot tall with short raven black hair that was cut in a single layer so that it fell perfectly around her face. When she had been a teenager, Jeremy had mercilessly teased her calling her "Hootie" because of her large, round eyes that seemed to take up her whole face. As she blossomed into womanhood, Emily had grown into her looks, and now those large eyes fit her face just fine. As a matter of fact, Jeremy was having a hard time not starring at just how gorgeous Emily's big, blue eyes looked in her round face not to mention her soft, full pink lips that were pulled back in a smile.
"Hey, Jeremy! It's good to see you."
"Hey there, Hootie. It's been awhile."
"Are you still going to start that shit?" said Emily with a fake frown.
"I'm just messing with you. Come here, Emily."
Jeremy pulled his diminutive sister-in-law into a hug quietly enjoying the feel of her overly large chest pressing into his stomach. Allison had a nice rack, but Emily had sprouted as she grew older and now her once barely there breasts were easily the bigger of the two sisters.
"Where is Shawn?" asked Jeremy mentioning Emily's husband of just over a year.
Shawn West was not exactly on Jeremy's list of most liked people. He had met the fast-talking executive on more than a few occasions both before and after the wedding and always thought there was something a little off about the guy.
"He's away...on business," said Emily.
Jeremy frowned picking up on something strange in Emily's tone, but she had turned her back to him and headed into the apartment before he could question her further. He retrieved his bags from the car and carried them in placing them off to the side.
"I'm afraid there isn't much room. It's probably a good thing Shawn is going to be away because one of you would have ended up on the floor at least this way you can have the sofa, and Allison can bunk with me in the bedroom."
"That's fine, we just really appreciate you giving us a place to stay."
