Reba Hart and her husband Brock had been married for twenty years, but the last three years of their marriage had been anything but kind. The days were filled with Brock working at his dental office while Reba was at home taking care of the kids, and the nights were filled with fighting between the two of them. Things were getting so tense between the two of them that if they were in the same room and there was no arguing, the awkward silence was just as painful. It wasn't clear to Reba why they got this way, after all they once had an amazing relationship that everyone wanted. Now they were constantly at each other's necks and half the time it was over something that didn't matter.
Things were going so downhill that Reba wasn't sure if their marriage was going to last any longer. She couldn't take the long nights of fighting and Brock coming home late. Brock used to be excited to come home after a long day at work, but now it was as if he would rather stay at work instead of come home. Tonight he had got home earlier than normal and there had been no fighting between the two of them, but they hadn't spoken a word to each other either. There was a part of Reba that would much rather be fighting with Brock because at least they would be talking to each other.
The kids were finally in bed and asleep, or at least Brock and Reba assumed that all three of the kids were asleep. While sitting in the living room, both on the couch but on opposite ends, Reba couldn't take the silence anymore. They needed to talk and if it ended up in a fight then it would be just like every other night had been for the past three weeks. "So is this the way we're always going to be?" Reba asked softly.
Brock, who hadn't took his eyes off of the television until now, looked at Reba and sighed. He knew that things were difficult between the two of them and that they were going to have to talk about their problems, but that was something that he dreaded. He was never good with his feelings and admitting that he was wrong, and neither was Reba. They were both as stubborn as they come and there was no doubt in either one of their minds that both of them being stubborn was one of the reasons they argued so much. "What are you talking about Reba?" Brock said with annoyance in his voice that Reba quickly picked up on.
With a sigh and roll of her eyes Reba looked at Brock. This made Reba not want to talk to Brock and debated on if their marriage was worth going through this or not. She could decide to give up right then and there and end the pain and awkwardness for both of them. Then she remembered that they took a vow to be together for better or worse, and she needed to fight for Brock even if she would rather him be fighting for her. "I'm talking about us Brock. You always come home late, we never talk unless we are fighting. Is this how it is always going to be between us?"
The annoyance hadn't left Brock's face or his tone. "I have to work. I'm the one making money for our family. If I need to work overtime then that shouldn't be a problem. We fight because you get mad at me for every little thing that I do. Hell, you get mad at me for not putting the toaster in the cabinet, for putting my feet on the coffee table. I don't think there is anything that you don't get mad at me for Reba. You get mad at me and then I get mad at you just like what is happening right now." Brock said as he still kept eye contact with Reba.
Reba stood up and glared at Brock. All she was trying to do was talk to Brock about the way things had been between the two of them recently, but it seemed like she couldn't even do that without them fighting. "If this is how our marriage is going to be then what's the point in being married anymore? It takes a lot more than love to make a marriage work, and I don't even feel like there is love in this marriage anymore! The constant fighting is driving me crazy Brock, and if this is how it is going to be then maybe it's best if we end things!" Reba said as the words that she spoke was enough to make her want to beg Brock not to let their marriage end. She did still love this man, and she prayed that he still loved her, but she couldn't do the constant fighting anymore. It was too much.
Brock stood up and he was in shock with what he had just heard. His wife of twenty years was discussing the possibility of getting a divorce. Was this really what their relationship had come to? Did she really want to throw everything that they had been through away? There was no way that Brock was going to beg Reba to stay. He was not the begging type and he knew that there was a possibility that she was right. "If that's what you want then maybe we should! Maybe if we're not together then we won't be constantly at each other's throats and things will be a lot better!"
Reba's heart felt like it had just shattered to millions of pieces. Was this Brock saying that he no longer loved her and would rather have a divorce? Before Reba had a chance to say anything back to Brock they heard someone coming down the steps. One of the kids had not been asleep and Reba was positive that they had heard the fight. "Daddy you're not going to be with mommy anymore?" A small voice said and before even looking at the child Reba knew exactly which one it was, their youngest child and only son Jake. Reba had hoped that it would've been their seventeen year old daughter, Cheyanne, because she knew that it would be much easier to explain what was going on, but her heart sunk to her stomach when she turned around and saw their seven year old son.
Not knowing what to say Reba looked at Jake and then at Brock in disbelief. Brock was the first one to break the awkward silence between the three of them. "Buddy, will you give me a moment with your mother." Brock said softly as he was mentally beating himself up. How could he allow this to happen? He didn't want to tell Jake that he wasn't going to leave Reba because he didn't want to give Jake false hope. Without saying another word Jake ran up to his room and neither one of them could believe what had just happened. The look on Brock's face had changed, which naturally made Reba feel a little calmer. "Is this really what we want Reba? You know as well as I do that it's not just us that we will be impacting if we decide to end things between the two of us. We do have three beautiful children. If we're both fighting then neither one of us will get what we want." Brock said as he looked at Reba and sighed softly. "No one wins if all we do is fight."
Reba, who took a seat back on the couch, knew that Brock was correct. There was no point in the two of them fighting with each other because no one was going to get what they wanted. "You got a point." Reba said softly as she then sighed. "That's all we ever do is fight." Reba then refused to make eye contact with her husband.
Brock knew what he had to do. He couldn't let his marriage end the way it was going to. He was still madly in love with this woman despite the lack he had shown it recently. He sat right next to Reba and softly placed his hand on her arm. "Reba, I'm sorry. I said things that I shouldn't have. I love you. Let's try and fix things." Brock said softly as he could see the shock in Reba's face. This had been the last thing that Reba expected Brock to do, and he knew that.
Looking in her husband's eyes she knew at that moment Brock did still love her, and their marriage did have a chance in surviving. "I think we've both said somethings that we didn't mean." Reba said as she then touched Brock's cheek with her hand that he wasn't holding. For the first time in what seemed like years their lips touched and Reba knew that they were going to do everything in their power to make sure that their marriage would work out. Although Reba hated the fact that it took Jake overhearing their fight for the two of them to realize that they needed to fix things, she was thankful that he did because there was no telling if they would have decided to work on things if he hadn't.