Richard comes home with a brochure tucked in the inside pocket of his blazer. He hadn't considered marriage counselling until now. He and Hyacinth celebrated their wedding anniversary last week. They didn't do anything romantic and didn't even really have a conversation. Richard found a marriage counsellor in Maine who does intensive work with each couple for a week. Richard wants to go and he wants to try and get Hyacinth to come with him. "Hyacinth, I want you to look at this and decide if you want to come with me because I want to go." Richard pushes the brochure under the nose of his wife so she can't miss it.
"Intensive couples therapy in Maine? I'm not going." Hyacinth says firmly.
"I've booked a week and I'm going. Whether you come with me or not is up to you. However, if I go and you decide not to come I won't be coming back to you. I can't continue to live like this." Richard says sadly.
"You think we need this that much?" Hyacinth asks casually flipping through the brochure.
"Yes, I do. I picked up his book on my way home. I'm going whether you come or not because I need to make some decisions about my life." Richard notices the disinterested look on her face.
Hyacinth throws the brochure down on the counter. She's mad and she has no intention of going to any marriage counsellor to discuss her personal life. She thumps Richard's dinner down on the table and sits down with a huff across from him.
"I'm not that hungry. Put that in fridge for tomorrow." Richard leaves the kitchen and goes up to his bedroom. He changes out of his suit and puts his pyjamas on. He lies down on his bed and starts to cry. He loved his wife so much once. Now everything's different. He doesn't even know his wife anymore.