Reba Hart had been having marital issues for the past few months with her husband of twenty years, Brock Hart. They had been constantly fighting except for when they were sleeping. Every morning they fought and every night they fought. It was getting very overwhelming for Reba, and there was a part of her that felt some type of relief when Brock said that it might be best if he had moved out. That was over a month ago and since the moment that Brock left to find his own place, Reba regretted their decision to take a break. Not just because for the first time in over twenty years she was alone, but because when he moved out he also had an affair. Brock had just admitted to Reba that the other woman was Barbra Jean Booker, the hygienist that Reba had hired to replace her down at Brock's dental office.
"You did what?" Reba asked him, making sure that she was hearing right. The living room felt like it was spinning and Reba felt as if she could collapse at any moment. How could the man that she loved for two decades go off and have an affair?
Brock looked at Reba, not really showing any emotion. "Reba, I'm sorry but it just happened." He said knowing that if he walked any closer to Reba there was a chance she would explode on him.
"It just happened? Does twenty years of marriage mean anything to you!?" Reba asked trying to fight back the tears, knowing that he wouldn't pick her over the other woman.
"We haven't been doing well lately and I thought this would make me feel better." Brock said but Reba felt like he was just using their marital issues as an excuse to do whatever he wanted whenever.
Reba threw her hands against her side. "Brock Enroll Hart I have done nothing but love you for the past twenty two years. I loved you when we were extremely poor and didn't know if we'd be able to live off of both of our paychecks. I helped you get through dental school so you could fulfill your dream of becoming a dentist. I loved you even though you decided to move out into your own apartment!"
"Reba we agreed that it would be the best thing to do. You wanted me to go." Brock said reminding her of the conversation that they had the day that Brock decided to go out.
"I didn't want you to go and you knew that! You knew I was just mad so don't even try to play that game with me, Brock Hart!" Reba said angrily. She couldn't believe that Brock had done this to her, to their family. After twenty years of marriage and three beautiful kids he decided that an affair made him happy. That he was willingly going to give up everything that they had worked so hard for.
"Reba listen-" Brock started to say until he was interrupted by his angry wife.
"No you listen Brock! We made a promise to be with each other and only each other for the rest of our lives! The only thing that I can say is that we can try to go to counseling, but I don't even know if that will work anymore. Not after what you just told me." Reba said making sure that they weren't anywhere close. "I want you out of my house Brock."
Brock now was showing shock on his face and couldn't believe that Reba was kicking them out of their house. They weren't divorced, therefore it was their house, not just hers. "Reba this is just as much my house as it is your house so I don't have to leave if I don't want to."
Reba glared at Brock as she wanted to jump across the room and start smacking him. "Brock I don't want to see you right now! You wanted to play golf? I bought you the clubs that you wanted. You wanted to go out with your friends? I stayed home with the kids. You wanted to move out? I watched you leave and then cried myself to sleep for countless number of nights. Now you've had an affair! I've tried to let this game play it's game and wait for it to end, but I don't know if I can do this anymore. I just want to give up." Reba said trying not to cry but Brock could see the tears sparkling in her eyes.
Brock could see how bad he had hurt Reba, and that was something that he hadn't thought of when the affair was taking place. When he was having an affair with Barbra Jean all he could think about was making himself happy, not the way that it would upset his wife and kids. "Reba, you have to know how sorry I am for everything."
Reba looked at him and didn't know what to say anymore. Instead of saying anything she turned around and walked up the stairs so she could go lay in her bed. When she got in her bed she thought that she would feel safe there like she had during the nights since he had moved back out, but her bed was no longer her safe place. She didn't have a safe place like she used to.
Brock thought about following Reba up the steps but he wasn't sure if that was the best thing to do. He wanted to believe that he'd pick Reba over Barbra Jean but as of late Barbra Jean had been giving Brock the attention that he originally wanted Reba to give him. Barbra Jean was making him happy right now and he wanted him to be happy as well as his family. He knew that he couldn't stay in a marriage where there was no love, but he still loved Reba. He had never stopped loving Reba.
Deciding that he wanted to work on his marriage instead of making things work with Barbra Jean Brock slowly started walking up the stairs. He wanted Reba to know that he still loved her despite what he had done. He didn't do what he had done because he didn't love her. He did what he did because he thought that it would make him happy, and it didn't.
He knocked on her, their, bedroom door and looked at Reba. He could see her laying on the bed facing the window. She wasn't saying anything so he decided that he would walk over to her and try and talk to her that way. When he sat over on the bed he heard Reba sigh but she refused to turn around and look at him. "Reba I never meant to hurt you. I never stopped loving you, I just thought that maybe doing something on the edge would give me that happiness that I needed."
"Brock please." Reba begged. She didn't want to hear Brock try and explain what had happened. Reba's heart was broken and Brock couldn't fix it. Not after being the one to destroy it, and destroying it the way that he had.
"No Reba. I want to work on things with us. We obviously don't have the best relationship anymore and I want to work on that." Brock said knowing that the smart thing to do was to not touch Reba. She would most likely lose it if he would touch her, but the thought crossed his mind.
Reba, still facing the window, continued to speak quietly. "Brock you had a chance to work things out with me in counseling but you were with Barbra Jean during that time. You have no idea how bad that hurts. To know that the man you have done nothing but love would rather be with his mistress than helping you save the marriage."
Brock slowly placed his hand on Reba's waist. Reba thought about pushing it off, but all she wanted to do was look out the window. "Reba I know what I did was wrong, but I still love you."
Reba sat up and glared at Brock. "Brock how could you decide to have an affair on me! I've done everything for you but it's not enough for you. You had to go and have an affair instead of working on our marriage with me." Reba started sobbing. Even though their marriage had been rocky she never thought about having an affair and it destroyed her that her husband decided to have one.
"Reba I know. I'm a horrible person but after talking to you I've realized what I have to lose and that if I don't do something then I'm going to lose the best thing that has ever happened to me." Brock said as he looked at Reba. She could see the tears in his eyes and it seemed like he was actually being sincere, but she wasn't sure if she could believe him anymore.
"Brock I'll always love you but-" Reba then got interrupted by a sweet sensation against her lips. Brock had his lips pressed against hers and his arms wrapped around her waist. He hadn't touched her like this in a long time, but just because he wasn't doing it now didn't take away the fact that he had an affair. "Brock- stop." Reba said softly as her breath was uneven.
"Reba I know you still feel the spark when we kiss and touch like this. Don't deny it." Brock said softly as he rested his forehead against Reba's forehead.
Reba knew that Brock was right. She could feel the spark that had been there since their first date twenty two years earlier. "Brock that doesn't take away what you did. Spark or no spark an affair is never right."
Brock sighed and looked at Reba. "I know the affair wasn't right. We only did things once. The other times she tried and I rejected her." Brock said as Reba started sobbing more. Brock took her in his arms as Reba sobbed against his chest. Only having an affair once doesn't make things better, but at least he hadn't done it over and over again.
"Brock I just don't know what to do anymore. You were the one person that I thought would never hurt me yet you are the person that hurt me the most." Reba said watching the tears fall off of her face and knowing that she was drenching his shirt.
He rubbed her back feeling guilty for what he had done. At first he had planned to show no emotion and to just see what happened, but when he saw how torn up Reba was over the affair it made his emotions show more than he had wanted. Brock lifted her head and looked at her. "Reba I am so sorry. I will go to counseling. I will move back in. I will do anything that you think will help our marriage. Please baby." He said as he pressed his lips to Reba's again. He was so sincere now.
Reba knew she didn't have the strength to push him away again. She had wanted something like this to happen between them for a long time, and even if he did have an affair she couldn't deny her wants. Reba's lips moved perfectly with Brock's and they hadn't felt this close in almost a year. Brock then laid his beautiful wife on the bed and allowed his hands to move down to her side and under her shirt. It felt great to feel his hands on her bare body.
Brock smiled when she wasn't protesting against this and started taking her shirt off for her. When she felt him do this she decided to start unbuttoning his shirt. They were getting prepared to do something that they hadn't done in a year.
They messed around together for the last two hours, and Reba's heart felt like it was going to explode. She hadn't done anything like this with Brock in so long that she almost forgot what it was like to be with Brock. Brock looked at Reba and got up. He started getting ready to go back to his condo when he heard Reba say "stay." Hearing Reba say that made him know that no matter how hard things got they would always try and make things work together. Brock walked back over to the bed and laid down, wrapping his arms around Reba's body. For the first time in a long time Reba felt like the love was back in their relationship and that was all that she wanted.