Chapter 2

Serah made it her goal to be the perfect wife. Clothes washed and folded every weekend, cute furniture for their apartment, dinner on the table every night… She did all of these things as well as work full-time at a small floral store in downtown Bodhum. It was slightly stressful, making sure that all of this work was done, but she liked the feeling she got from being a good wife. And while she knew that a baby would just add more work and possible stress to her life, she welcomed it.

Yes, she and Snow had lain in bed late at night, talking about what their children would be named and what they would look like someday. They'd imagined all the activities they'd be involved in, and all the family trips they would go on.

And now that she couldn't give her husband the life they'd imagined, everything else she did seemed… insufficient.

Being that it was Saturday, Snow would be at Lebreau's café till around six, and Serah was determined to make it a special night.

After she had lunch with her sister, she went to the store and bought everything to make spaghetti and garlic bread – Snow's favorite meal. She bought candles and, on a whim, even lingerie. There was nothing special about tonight, but that was the best part. She imagined the surprised look on her husband's face as he walked in the door and smiled.

She had a good feeling about tonight.

"Ugh," Snow sat down on a bar stool with a sigh.

"Tough week?" Lebreau asked, running a rag across the countertop. Snow nodded. "Yeah, I feel ya. Not quite as easy as it used to be in the NORA days, is it?"

"More responsibilities," he agreed, rubbing his temples and closing his eyes. When he opened them, there was a beer sitting in front of him on the counter.

"It's on me," Lebreau said, smirking. "I know how those tough weeks go."

Snow cracked it open and tipped it towards her in silent cheers before he downed half of it in one swig. Lately, he hadn't been much of a drinker. Serah never really said anything about it, but he just knew that it wasn't something he should be doing often now that he would soon have a kid on the way. Something about being married made him feel more mature.

Or as mature as it was possible for him to be.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned in surprise to find Gadot behind him, smiling. "Might need to give this big guy a few more before he'll feel anything!" his friend chuckled as he sat on the stool next to Snow.

"Very true," Lebreau laughed. "We all know at least a couple good drunken stories about old Snow here."

Snow smiled but waved his hand. "Come on, guys. Those days are behind me. I've got a wife and a home now. Seems a little immature, don't you think?"

"Oh, listen to Mr. Responsibility here!" Gadot exclaimed, joining Lebreau in laughing. "He talks as if he's a middle aged man, not a 26 year old."

"Come on. Gotta live a little, Snow," Lebreau said, sliding another beer his way.

He eyed it warily. "Look, I'm sure Serah is waiting on me…"

"It's just one more beer, man," Gadot said, looking at Snow incredulously. "Is that really such a crime? Next thing you know, she'll be asking you to watch bingo on TV every night."

"It's not like that," Snow said, feeling the heat start to rise in his cheeks. But before he could say anything more, his phone began to vibrate violently in his pocket. He took a few steps away from Gadot and Lebreau and flipped it open. "Ah, my favorite sis. What's up?"

"What's wrong?" Lightning asked quizzically. Snow shook his head and smiled wryly. This woman could detect tension from a hundred miles away.

"It's nothing," he replied. "Just another tiring day at work. You know how it is."

"I see," Lightning said. "Well, I was calling because I thought we should have a sort of reunion. You know, since the five year anniversary is coming up."

Snow's eyes widened. "Like a party? Is this really Claire Farron I'm talking to?"

"Funny," Lightning said, obviously irked by Snow's use of her real name. This always delighted him. "And yes, I'm serious. It'd be nice to catch up with everyone. No one has seen Hope in forever. Plus, Serah needs something like this. You know she's stressed."

Snow sighed. Of course, he could tell she was stressed. It wasn't hard to tell, since normally she was carefree and lighthearted, enough to brighten even the worst day. But lately, she'd been different. He knew the reason, but not how to fix it. Mostly he just tried to give her space to deal with it, because he felt like he made it worse by being there. As if his presence constantly reminded her of his inability to give her a family.

"You're right," he agreed. "She does need something. It's a plan then. I'll get Lebreau to cater. You can set everything else up, of course."

"Of course," Lightning said, her tone implying the thought "lazy". Snow chuckled.

"See ya, Sis." CLICK.

Snow stared at his phone screen thoughtfully, even after it went dark. The only thing in the world he wanted to do was help his wife, but how? Snow had never been very good in dealing with relationship issues, even when he could fix them. So now what did he do with this?

He walked slowly back to the bar stall, where Gadot was busy flicking a piece of folded paper at Lebreau's turned back. "Hey, man," Snow said, quietly. "When your wife has a problem that you can't fix, what should you do?"

Gadot looked thoughtfully for a moment at his paper. "Give her space," he concluded, then handed Snow the second unopened beer. Snow chuckled and popped it open. His friends were right. His problem was that he was smothering the one important person in his life. And that was something he did not want to do.

He pulled his phone back out and sent a text message to Serah's phone. "Staying out late with the guys. Relax at home. Love you :)"

"So you're staying?" Lebreau asked as he looked up. He nodded, and she said with a smile, "Good."