ANGEL IN YOUR ARMS - PROLOGUE
As she lay down on the bed in her small stateroom, Reba could hear the gentle humming of "Ole Mae's" engine as she sailed down the highway to yet another location for her recent tour. The lights from oncoming cars dulled by the blacked out windows shone a dim wave of light into the room from time to time, the sound of their wheels on the road as they passed blocked out by the thoughts mulling around Reba's head. She was wide awake and gave up on trying to catch some sleep an hour ago, when waking from yet another night of restless sleep, her mind instantly going to the constant worrying of the whereabouts of her "husband". If you can call him that. For the past 6 months, her marriage to Charlie Battles had been going through a rough patch, one little argument here and there turned into constant bickering between them that lead to more heated debates, that usually ended in one of them telling the other to go to hell. Now Reba isn't one to cuss but with that red-headed temper and a man like Charlie to deal with, sometimes she can't help herself. It had become that much of a problem that Charlie had started insisting on "Catching up" with Reba when she travels to shows, meaning he will either be bothered to drive behind the bus or not, creating even more space between the already estranged couple. This does not bode well with Reba as now, instead of having her wayward husband beside her at all times, he is usually somewhere far away, where she cannot keep her sights on him. If there is one thing Reba can't stand for, its a man being unjust to his wife, however hard the situation may be.
It was on one of those nights where our story begins, for as Reba rolled onto her side and glanced at the clock - the red numbers glaring at her as if mocking her - she saw that the time was 5:23am. Great, she thought. Another crappy nights sleep and I have to be up in two hours for press release on the new album. She lay there debating whether or not to try and get another hours sleep or just get up now and get ready for the long day ahead. As she looked at the clock again, her mind went back to her husband, for tonight was another night where he had chosen to stay home rather than come out with her, an action that months earlier had upset her but now, after dealing with it for so long, she had become accustomed to not having him by her side. However, there was always that little voice inside her head that screamed "where is he? what is he doing? who is he with?". Its not like she doesn't want to trust Charlie, but lately, knowing that her gut instinct had always been right in the past, she's getting the feeling that maybe there is another reason as to why he isn't spending every night with her anymore. It's not like they have been intimate recently, the last time she shared a bed with the man was when he came home drunk after going out with his rodeo buddies and asking, nay, begging her to sleep with him. It was rough and uncomfortable and over within minutes, and Reba wept afterwards ashamed of herself for letting him treat her that way. That was one month and 12 days ago, she knows this because one week after she got quite a scare when realising that they hadn't used any protection...and she was late.
She thanks God every day since then that it was a false alarm, knowing that although she loved him with all her heart, and she did, she could never imagine having a child with him.
Now, lying on that bed, looking up towards the ceiling of that bus, she wondered if for once her gut instinct might be wrong, hoping maybe that it was just her imagination getting ahead of her, but no. Reba knew that she was right in thinking it, deep down knowing that it had been going on for some time now.
Charlie was being unfaithful.
But that wasnt what was bothering Reba...what was upsetting her was the fact that she didn't feel all the feelings she thought she should feel if she ever came across this situation. She didn't feel betrayed, heart broken, hurt, bitter...she felt...nothing.