Chapter Two

“That’s it, Toby, I think we got the last of it,” Mason crowed. “Fantastic!”

“This is awesome,” the young man agreed. “I am so psyched to get this into the final testing round. You’re gonna do so much good with this, boss.”

“We,” Mason corrected. “We are. Now, it’s after seven. Go home. We’ll reconvene at ten a.m. tomorrow.”

“We’re on tap at eight-fifteen on the calendar,” his employee reminded him.

“Yes, we are. But since I’m the big boss, I’m telling you - sleep in a bit. You’ve earned it. See you at ten.”

Toby’s wide smile lit up the room. “Yes, sir.”

Mason secured all the files and results before locking up the office and heading home. On the way to his car, he called the Chinese place he had logged into speed dial and ordered his usual for takeout. Within forty minutes he was walking triumphantly into his apartment with dinner, feeling like he owned the world.

It’s finally coming together, he mused as he scooped out beef fried rice onto a paper plate. After six years, it’s finally going to happen.

***

By seven p.m. Madeleine had candlelight flickering on a formally dressed dining room table and was plating the roasted vegetables alongside her husband’s medium rare filet.

That done, she plated her food as well, then sat down at the table to wait.

At seven-thirty she texted to confirm he was on his way home. He didn’t answer. At eight p.m. she called, frowning when his phone went straight to voicemail. She ate alone, the candlelight now mocking instead of romantic. She called again at nine o’clock and tried to reach him a final time at two minutes past ten and got the same results.

Defeated, she cleared her place setting, put her dishes in the dishwasher, put his in the refrigerator, and changed into a t-shirt and yoga pants before settling in the living room with a book. By eleven-thirty, she’d fallen asleep.

***

The next morning, Maddie stirred, wincing at the stiffness in her neck she’d earned from dozing off on the couch. She glanced at her watch.

Six-forty-three a.m.

Madeleine looked down at the open book on her lap and saw a note lying there.

Worked late, didn’t want to wake you. I’ll see you in a week. – E.

She crumpled up and threw the note in frustration as she stood.

Stomping into the kitchen, she gave a voice to her mood, slamming kitchen cabinets and drawers shut as she made coffee. By the time she’d finished drinking it she’d decided she was just pissed off enough to attempt the longer route again on her morning jog.

She took the staircase two steps at a time and changed into her workout gear, pulling her hair back into a ponytail for the run. She locked the door, tucked her house key in her hoodie’s inside pocket, zipped up her jacket, and set out.

The morning was crisp and cold, and seemed to channel her anger to a fine point. She pushed through the first two and a half miles easily and was pleasantly surprised to find she wasn’t even breathing hard yet.

By the time she walked back into her house from her morning jog, she was tired but pleased with herself.

She’d achieved another goal. This morning was the first time she’d taken the longer route of four miles she’d previously tried and not been completely exhausted when she was done.

Building up the stamina! You go, Maddie! she congratulated herself.

And she did feel good about it. She’d only taken up jogging about five months ago; the first two months had been nightmarish – she’d had no idea until she started just how out-of-shape she was. There had been so many times the last five months she’d wanted to quit but kept going, and it was paying off.

Hell, I might even run a quarter marathon before the year’s out, who knows? she speculated as she made her way into the master bathroom to clean up.

She turned on the shower, then stripped down, checking her body out in the mirror.

Not supermodel size by any stretch, but you’re doing good girl, she told herself as she shook her hair loose from the ponytail holder and brushed it out.

She’d never been svelte, and she had realized long ago that at five feet six, with a stocky build she’d inherited from her father’s side of the family, she never would be. Still, she could already tell a big difference, not just in weight, but in inches – most noticeably from her waistline and thighs.

Keep this up you’re going to have to go get smaller clothes!

She grinned at her reflection.

“I definitely don’t mind having that problem,” she announced to the mirror before stepping into her shower stall.

As she reached for her shampoo, she considered calling Eric after her shower, just to make sure he arrived at the conference safely.

But he can be so hateful to me sometimes, especially when he’s working…I probably shouldn’t bother him.

She sighed as she massaged her scalp.

Truth be told, he wasn’t just snarky, and it wasn’t just sometimes. He could and did crush her soul routinely with just a few venomous words, and lately it was much more frequent.

Maddie sighed again as she rinsed out her hair.

What the hell happened to us? We’ve drifted so far apart, she realized with sorrow. And I have no idea what to do to fix it.

By the time Maddie finished her shower, she’d decided to finally confide her woes to her best friend Kathy and ask for advice. She sent a text to make sure Kathy was home and immediately received an invitation to come have coffee. They had been friends for three years, and Kathy was aware of Maddie’s tendency to keep her troubles to herself and present a happy façade to the world.

“Hell, she probably already knows how unhappy I am,” she mumbled as she finished dressing and grabbed her purse. “She’s just been waiting for me to talk about it.”

And Maddie was right. 

The moment Kathy’s front door opened, Kathy said, “Oh, honey. I was hoping you’d let it out at some point.”

Maddie walked into Kathy’s living room, sat on the couch, and burst into tears. Kathy grabbed a box of tissues and sat beside her, hugging her with one arm.

“I’m glad you’re here, Mad. You’ve looked so unhappy lately, and I’ve been worried about you.”

“Me too,” Maddie sniffled as she wiped her eyes with a tissue. “I just don’t know what to do.”

 “Let it out,” Kathy repeated. “Don’t keep carrying it around. You know I’m here to listen.”

So, Maddie told her all of it. The hateful speech and wounding words, the distance that had grown in her marriage, not just emotional, but physical.

“Ouch,” Kathy murmured in sympathy. “How long since… you know…”

“Years,” Maddie blurted out. “We haven’t had sex in four years.”