Will is sitting at his desk. The clock in his office reads 11:57pm. He feels guilty, since he hadn't called home to tell his wife he would be running much later than usual. Just as he was about to get up from his chair, Roy Roebuck walks in.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Roebuck states.
"No. I was just about to leave for home." Will replies.
"Well, I won't keep you long. I know you'd like to get home to your wife. Will, you've worked really hard these last few months…"
"What are you saying boss?" Will asked nervously.
"I'm offering you some vacation time with the holiday season coming up." Roebuck answers.
"Oh. That's okay. You don't have to. We never go anywhere for Christmas."
"Would you at least ask your wife?"
"I will."
"Well, you have a good night." Roebuck said.
"Yeah. You, too." Will stated.
Roebuck leaves. Will paces. There is clearly something troubling him. Which now reads 12:03am. Will leaves the building. He stands outside in the frigid air for a moment then reaches inside his coat pocket to pull out a box of cigarettes. He takes one out and is about to light it when looks at his watch. Will ponders a while and decides to put the cigarette back into the box. He walks over to his car. He searches for his keys. Then, he gets into the car and drives off.
At home, Helen is reading a book in front of a crackling fire. She raises her head, when she hears the front door open and close. A yawn slips out. She closes her book and takes off her reading glasses. She sets them on the coffee table in front of her. Will walks into the room.
"Hey." He states.
"Hey." Helen replies.
Will walks over and sits down next to his wife.
"You're home late." Helen inquires.
"I'm sorry I meant to call, but I just had so much work left to do…"
"It's okay." Helen assures him.
"What are you doing up so late?" Will asked.
"I was waiting for you." Helen replied.
"Well, you're a very good wife." Will states.
Helen leans forward, as if expecting a kiss. She never receives one. She knows that their relationship had kind of been falling apart in the past few months. She sits back, but her hand bumps something unusual in Will's pocket. Helen pulls out the cigarette box.
"Oh, Helen." Will complains.
"William Girardi, what is this?" Helen asks.
Will opens the box.
"Look. There's not one missing." Will states.
Helen sets the box on the table in front of them. She takes Will by the hands. I t is obvious that she is very concerned about her husband.
"Will…" Helen begins.
"Oh, come on, Helen." Will pleads.
Helen slightly raises her voice, "Listen to me!"
"Okay." Will backs down.
"What's the matter?" Helen asks.
"Nothing." Will replies.
"Then, why are you so unhappy?"
"I'm not."
"Well, I don't want to start an argument, so I'll leave it at that."
Helen moves her hands into her lap. They both sit in silence, until Will speaks.
"I've been offered some vacation time." Will says.
"That's wonderful, Will." Helen exclaims.
"Should I take it?"
"It's your decision."
"Where would you go?" Will asks.
"We don't have to go anywhere. But personally, I've always wanted to go to northern Virginia for Christmas." Helen replied.
"I guess I'll take it." Will says without expression.
"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" Helen tries again.
"Yeah." Will states.
Helen is still not convinced, but she kisses her husband on the cheek and heads upstairs. Will stayed as the fire died down.
Helen is climbing the stairs slowly, when she is startled by Joan coming down.
"What are you doing up?" Helen asked.
"I couldn't sleep." Joan replied.
"Well, don't bother your father."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"That's the thing. I don't know. He won't tell me."
Joan becomes suspicious and continues her descent down the stairs.
Joan passes by her father sitting in front of the fire.
"What's wrong?" Joan tries to pry out of him.
"Nothing, sweetheart." He answers.
"Well, Mom's worried about you. At least tell her what's wrong."
Will gets slightly upset. "There's nothing wrong!"
"Okay. I'm sorry."
Joan starts to make a sandwich. Will gets up from the couch. He heads upstairs
Will enters his bedroom. Soft music is playing in the background, Michael Bolton's 'We're Not Making Love Anymore.' Helen is sitting up in bed reading the newspaper, since she left her book downstairs. Will starts to change into his pajamas. Not a word is exchanged between the two of them during this process. He soon climbs into bed.
"What's wrong?" Helen asked again.
"Why does everyone think something is wrong?" Will sat up.
"Will, I can tell." There's a pause. "You can tell me."
"There's nothing wrong!"
"We haven't talked in the past few months…"
"We're talking now, aren't we?"
"You know what I mean." Helen states.
There's silence.
"Is it your job? Is it the kids?… Is it me?" Helen questions.
"Helen…"
"Is it another woman?" Helen timidly asked.
"God, Helen. No." Will answers, almost appalled that she'd suspect that.
"You and I both know we haven't been the couple we used to be."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Helen is tired of trying.
"You know. Forget it. Never mind. If you're not going to tell me, then so be it." Helen stated. She turned out the lights and lied down.
"Helen." Will states.
Helen doesn't respond.
"I'm sorry." Will kissed her on the cheek and went to sleep.
The next day. Joan, Adam, and Grace are all walking to AP Chem. There are Christmas decorations overflowing the hallways.
"What's with all these Christmas decorations? Can't they at least respect others' religions?" Grace asked.
"Yeah. I agree totally. Not that I don't celebrate Christmas…" Joan stated.
"I hate the holiday season."
"Why?"
"I just do!" Grace replied angrily.
"What's your problem? Can't you respect others' religions?" Joan questions.
Grace storms off.
"What nerve was that?" Joan asked
Adam doesn't respond.
"What are you doing over the break?" Joan asked.
"I don't know. What about you?" Adam stated.
"We don't really do anything for Christmas. I mean, we exchange gifts and all. Oh, and, by the way. I got something for you." Joan reaches in and pulls a small box out of her backpack. She hands it to Adam.
"Gee. Thanks." Adam states.
"Go ahead. Open it."
Adam opens the box to find five paint brushes each etched with his name on it.
"You really didn't have to get these for me." Adam said.
"Well, I knew you were painting a lot lately, and you kept telling me how crummy your old brushes were." Joan stated.
Helen is sitting in Mr. Price's office, waiting for his arrival. She nervously runs her fingers through her hair. Mr. Price walks in. Helen stands up.
"What is it?" Mr. Price asks. He walks over and sits down at his desk.
"I was just wondering. The family and I are planning to go on a vacation. And I might need few extra days off." Helen stated.
"How many?"
"I'm sorry?"
"How many extra days would you need?" Price questioned.
"Oh. One. Possibly two, tops." Helen replied.
"That's fine. Doesn't seem like it would be a problem."
"Thank you, Mr. Price."
Helen just stands there. Mr. Price continues to work.
"Uh. I'll let you get back to work." Helen states.
"I'd appreciate that." Price says.
Helen leaves Mr. Price's office. She walks through the main office. Marlene stops her.
"Helen, are you okay?" Marlene asks.
Helen looks as if she didn't get hardly any sleep.
"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Helen questions.
"You just don't seem happy."
"It's nothing."
"You know you can talk to me about anything."
Helen sits down. Marlene walks over and sits down next to her.
"What is it?" Marlene concern asks.
"It's Will."
"Mm-hmm."
"Well, I don't know. He just seems so unhappy, all of the time. I don't understand. I try to find out what's wrong, but he's doing a good job of hiding it. What am I supposed to do?"
"I'm not sure if there's anything you can do." Marlene responds.
Will walks into the main office. He looks slightly worried.
"Will." Helen exclaims.
"I looked in your classroom. I have something I need to tell you." Will states.
"You couldn't have called?" Helen asks.
Will doesn't respond.
"Excuse us, Marlene." Helen says.
"Sure." Marlene replies.
Helen and Will walk out of the main office and down the hallway toward Helen's classroom. The bell rings. Students start pouring out of classrooms. Helen takes Will by the hand, which surprises him. They struggle their way through the crowd. They finally reach Helen's classroom. They go inside. Helen closes the door behind them.
"I won't be long." Will states.
"That's alright. I have another few period."
"I was wondering. How many days do you plan this vacation will last?"
"Well, I was thinking about a week. We leave the thirteenth and come back on the twentieth. That way we'll have a few days before Christmas."
"I don't know if that's going to work."
"Why? What's the matter, Will?"
"Helen…"
"What?"
"Roebuck was found dead this morning."
Helen gasps.
End chapter one. Please review. The next chapter will be posted as soon as possible. JoAFreak