Lori Grimes despised waiting. She despised the gnawing and irritation that went side by side with the agonizing tick of the clock. She chewed her normally perfect manicure down to nubs, her body shaking with nerves.
Today I turn 35. I am 35 years old, my husband's forgotten it, and I wish I could. Lori sighed balefully, blinking as she looked at the steamed reflection of herself. The woman felt exhausted, though she'd been up for a few hours now, running on coffee and orange juice.
And in those short three hours, Mrs. Lori Grimes was able to: wake up her son and husband, cook breakfast, make coffee, serve breakfast, set out clean clothes for Carl, set out a uniform for Rick, sip her coffee, do some laundry, pack a lunch for Carl, pack a lunch for Rick, see her husband off to work, drive Carl to school, drive to the pharmacy, pick up three pregnancy tests and a liter of orange juice, drink said liter of orange juice, pee on three different tests, and shower.
And that was just a warm up.
She hadn't gotten to the crying over her failing marriage, or the dusting. Hm, maybe she was off her game today.
Lori turned her eyes down and glanced at the plastic in front of her. "How the hell can three smiley faces make me wanna break a window?" She growled to herself, wrapping a towel around her slender frame, throwing the evil tests and the remains into the bin. She yanked open the garbage can in the garage and dumped it in before sitting back on the bed and began to cry.
"Today I am 35. I am 35 years old, my husband's forgotten it, and I wish I could. My marriage is falling apart and I'm pregnant…Happy fuckin' birthday." She wept to herself, pressing her hands to her face.
Everything had been so perfect when they had gotten married. No fights, no anger…but then her brother died and they both changed. But they were able to come back, to find that romance and love. Then came the miscarriage. It broke her.
But, even them they managed to pull through. After Carl, things started to slip—Lori began to notice things about Rick that irritated her. They fight constantly, except maybe twice a week and that's probably how she ended up pregnant.
Rick didn't love her anymore. Maybe she needed to stop loving him?
Hearing the cruiser pull up, Lori dressed quickly. "Hey…what're ya doin' home?" She forced a smile on her face as she cleaned up the kitchen—again, avoiding her husband's face.
"I left my—have you been cryin' Lori?" He began, squinting as he examined her tear stained face. The woman turned her face, moving to pick up the lunch he had left behind in his rush to get to work. "No...here. Hope you don't mind leftover meat loaf."
Rick made a face that was clear, he did mind, but he wouldn't ease up. "Lori, I—-" He stopped. All it would do is start another fight, start something that he didn't think he could handle at that moment.
"Meat loaf sounds great. Love you." He mumbled, kissing her cheek as he shuffled to get his belongings once more. The woman bit her lip and struggled to keep the tears at bay as she watched him leave once more. Right as his hand wrapped around the door handle, she exploded with calm rage.
"It's my birthday, I'm pregnant, an' I want a divorce!" She cried out, slamming the front door behind her as she rushed back upstairs—all she could think was: what would the neighbors think? As she tried to forget the hurt and pain etched all over her husband's shocked face.