Nick couldn’t even remember. “I-I’ll talk to her when she wakes up tomorrow, okay?”
“No, it’s not okay. I’m sick of this!”
He held his palms up. “Look, calm down, okay? You’ll wake them up. They might hear.”
“Let them hear it! I’ve had it with you. Whenever you’re home you’re either just watching TV or you’re fast asleep. You need to start being a father to your children.”
“I’m doing the best I can,” Nick said, his defensive anger rising. “If it’s not good enough for you then—”
“Then what? Are you thinking what I’m thinking, because I’ve thought about it too you know.”
Nick was taken aback. He had never seen her so angry. His tone instantly switched to a consoling one. “Just calm down. It’s not as bad as you think it is. I’ll talk to Kim.”
“You need to talk to your son too.”
“Scotty? What’s wrong with him?”
Cathy was furious with him, but she silently counted to ten before answering. “He’s being bullied by his classmates. I’ve told you this since the year before.”
“Scotty just needs to toughen up. He’s short for his age, but I’ll teach him a few boxing moves.”
“That’s it? That’s your solution? Scotty is sensitive, and he gets upset easily.”
“Maybe if you stop coddling him so much…” Nick stopped midsentence, as he realized the alcohol in his system was continuing to impair his thoughts, making him say things he shouldn’t.
Cathy slammed the tabletop with the palm of her hand. “I’m coddling him? Do you even know what you’re talking about? Your son is scared of his own shadow. He wants to be homeschooled.”
He looked away in shame. “I’m sorry. I’ll talk to the both of them. I promise.”
“Is that it? More promises? That’s your solution to everything?”
“Look, I know we’re having problems, but you’re really piling all this on me. What else do you want me to do?”
“You and I don’t talk much either,” she hissed. “You force me to decide everything because you’re never around!”
“You’re better at this than I am, Cathy. That’s why I leave it up to you.”
She stood up. “You’re their father. You need to man up with your responsibilities to them. And to me.”
He gave her a sarcastic nod. “Oh, so what did I do to upset you personally this time? Let’s hear it. Let it all out.”
She tapped at her watch before moving from the table and making her way past him. “You’re just so clueless, aren’t you?”
He tried to gently take hold of her elbow, but Cathy angrily slapped his hand away.
Nick stood aside as she brushed past him. “If you don’t tell me what you’re upset about, then how do you expect me to deal with it?”
Cathy glared at him while standing in front of the door to the master bedroom. “This night was our anniversary, you jerk.”
Nick had completely forgotten about it. He held his arms up in remorse. “Oh my god. I’m so sorry, Cathy, I—”
A single tear slid down her flushed cheek before she went inside the master bedroom and slammed the door shut.
8
INSIDE THE OFFICE BATHROOM, Nick splashed more water into his eyes before looking up and stared at his haggard reflection. It was mid-morning, and he had gone back to work after a few hours of sleeping on the living room couch in his house. He woke up to the kids eating cereal in the kitchen and tried to talk to them, but Kim and Scott each made an excuse not to.
Cathy completely ignored him as she took their son to school. He made a second attempt to have a chat with his daughter, but Kim told him she needed to study for her semester finals and drove off to the university, leaving him in an empty house. Feeling completely useless, he decided to go back to the office.
Returning to his cubicle, he sat down and picked up the smartphone lying on the desk beside his keyboard. He cycled through all the missed calls and messages Cathy had left the day before, a growing sense of guilt and shame in his mind.
Going through his list of contacts on the phone, he spotted a name and pressed the call button. Mia Tucker was Cathy’s best friend, and if anyone knew how his wife really felt, it would be her.
Mia’s voice came on after the fourth ring. “Hello.”
“Hi Mia, it’s me, Nick.”
“Nick! How are you? Long time no speak.”
Nick chuckled to put himself at ease. “Yeah, I’ve been really, really busy at the office.”
“So I’ve heard. What can I do for you?”
“It’s about Cathy. You’re both good friends and see each other at work every day, so I figure it’s best to ask you for some advice.”
“You two are such a lovely couple, Nick, and I adore your kids. What do you need?”
He hesitated for a bit before explaining. “Well, you see… we’re having some problems.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that. Are you sure it’s my business to know this?”
“Well, I just need some advice,” he said softly so no one could overhear the conversation. “You see I totally forgot about our anniversary yesterday, and she’s really upset. Can you give me any sort of guidance on how to get back on her good side again?”
“I’m not supposed to say this, but I will since I want you both to stay together,” Mia said. “Cathy has told me a few times already that… she’s not happy and wants a change.”
Nick felt like putting the phone down. The fact that Mia said she hoped they’d stay together meant that Cathy was seriously thinking of separating from him. Is she going to divorce me?
“Nick? You still there?”
“I am,” he said softly. “Do… do you know if she’s, uh, met up with someone else?”
There was a brief hesitation on the other end. “I’m sorry, Nick. You know I can’t say anything even if I knew. I really don’t want to get involved between you two. All I can say is that you ought to spend some real quality time with her. She keeps talking about the past times she once spent with you.”
“I… understand, thanks. You’ve given me a lot of things to think about. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Mia said. “I need to go, Nick. I’m meeting up with a potential house buyer. Talk to you later, okay?”
“Thanks again, bye-bye.”
“Bye, Nick.”
He placed the phone back onto the desk. He knew Mia well enough to know when she was lying. So Cathy might be seeing someone else. The real question was how much time he had left to salvage his relationship with her and keep his family together.
Art Treadway whistled a nonsensical tune as he walked over to Nick’s cubicle. “Hey, buddy! Thanks for bringing me home last night. I owe you one. Julie drove me in to the office today, but I’ll have to pick up my car from where I parked it last night.”
“No problem.”
Art stared at him inquisitively. “You okay there, dude?”
Nick stared blankly at the monitor screen. “Yeah.”
“No, you’re not,” Art whispered. “You didn’t even shave and you’re still wearing the same clothes from yesterday. I know we don’t have a dress code here unless it’s for client meetings, but I’ve never seen you like this.”
Nick sat back and let out a deep breath. “I got problems with Cathy.”
“Oh yeah? Maybe you just need to take her out or something.”
Nick’s voice turned to a whisper. “It goes deeper than that. I think she’s going to take the kids and leave me.”
Art looked down at the carpeted floor. “Whoa, it’s gotten that bad?”