The clock on the wall read 12:54. Nearly an hour after midnight.
Reba sat on the couch, changing from dozing to being wide awake. She had given what Cheyenne and Van had suggested a lot of thought. She still trusted Brock, no doubt about it. She really didn't think he'd do something like this to the family. It just didn't make sense why he would. For twenty-seven years, Reba had done everything in her power to make Brock as happy as possible. They had even had sex only a week ago. If he was cheating, wasn't he supposed to be distant? And if their sex life was still good after this long, why would he feel the need to cheat?
Well... they had been fighting a lot lately. They really had been growing a bit apart, especially after that night a week ago. Brock had been staying later and later at the office, and those meetings had become nightly. He had also been a bit moody, especially to Reba. And he never said 'I love you' anymore...
The front door opened, and Brock slipped in silently. He looked in the living room and saw Reba sitting on the couch in sweats, a light blue T-shirt, and her hair in a messy ponytail. She gave a slight smile.
"Hey," Brock greeted, quietly closing the door behind him and walking over to the couch. He grabbed Reba's hand and rubbed her fingers with his own. "What are you doing up so late?"
"I couldn't sleep," Reba lied. If she had wanted to, she probably could've slept peacefully right there on the couch.
Brock gently pulled at her hand and said, "Come on up to bed. You've got work tomorrow."
Reba stood up and said, "So do you. Why was that meeting so late?"
"Just a lot of stuff," Brock replied. "Some of the people down at my office are stupider than a mosquito in a buglight."
"Awful analogy," Reba said. "And what about that new blonde hottie? Is she getting fired?"
Brock eyed Reba suspiciously, as if he was worried. He put his hands on his hips and said quietly, "No, she's staying."
Reba just kinda stared at Brock for a second, then sighed. "Well okay then." She pushed past him and headed for the stairs.
OoO
The next morning, Reba was up unusually early. She sat in the kitchen reading a newspaper. Today was Friday, TGIF.
Reba took a sip of her coffee. She had just set the cup down when she heard a light thump from the living room. She made a face and halted her movement and listened. After a few seconds, she heard another thump. Then footsteps. One of the kids?
Reba stood up and walked into the living room. "Brock?"
Her husband stood on the doorstep, his hand nearly on the doorknob. He was fully dressed and he looked a bit fancy. He slowly turned around and smiled nervously at Reba. "Oh, hey."
"Where are you going?" Reba asked, taking a few steps toward him. Something was definitely not right.
Brock seemed to think for a moment, then replied, "Just... out."
"Out?" Reba looked at the clock, then said, "At four o'clock in the morning? Where would you go 'out' to?"
"To get milk," Brock replied fairly quickly. "Wal-Mart is open 24/7."
"We have plenty of milk," Reba said, "and I'm sure you know it, considering you drink a glass full every night." She put a hand on her hip. "I want the truth, Brock, and I want it now."
Brock let his hand fall from the doorknob and he seemed nervous. Really nervous. He thought for a moment, then said, "I was going out to get more... ya know, just in case we run out."
"We won't," said Reba. "I'm sure. Why don't you go back upstairs and go to sleep?"
Brock stared at Reba. Did she know something? He dropped his hand from the doorknob and said, "Alright, fine." He headed back up the stairs. Reba watched him every step of the way, until he was out of sight. When he was gone, Reba ran and grabbed the phone. She quickly dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"Cheyenne, it's your mother!" Reba put a hand on her hip.
"Oh, hey Mom." Cheyenne yawned over the phone. "Is something wrong? Are the kids okay?"
"Can't I just call you in the morning?" Reba said.
"Yeah, sure. Just not THIS early in the morning. Van hasn't even reached his mid-dream climax yet."
"I just wanted to- his what?" Reba raised an eyebrow.
"Forget about it. What's up?"
"I just wanted to say that you may be right about your father," Reba said. "I think he may really be having an affair with someone."
"Oh, really?" Cheyenne seemed to become more intrigued. "What makes you think so? Was he talking in his sleep?"
"No. I just caught him ready to leave a few minutes ago."
"Yikes. Do you think he's been doing this every morning?"
Reba sighed. "Well, now I do."
Over the phone, Reba heard a loud screeching noise and someone yell, "Touchdown! Touchdown!"
"What... was that?"
"Van reached his mid-dream climax." Cheyenne chuckled. "Mom, calm down for now. I'll be over in a couple of hours, okay?"
"Alright, fine."
"Okay. Bye."
Once they hung up, Reba walked over to the couch and sat down. Brock wasn't going to get away with this if there really was a 'this.'