That evening Catherine drives to her home. She goes to the door and finds that it is locked. The night that she had left, she didn't have time to take many things with her, like her house keys, and it was urgent, but since they have been living in that community for so long the door is usually unlocked anyway. She rings the doorbell a couple times, then knocks at the door after the doorbell goes unanswered. Catherine walks over to the window to see if anyone is in the home. Michael comes down the stairs, sees her, shakes his head and walks back up the stairs. Catherine's mind-set already uneasy lands to devastated. She takes out her cell phone and dials David. He answers. "Hey, um I thought that you would be home," she says.
"I thought that you would have been home a day ago, but as you already know I was wrong. I'm sure you can wait," he says.
Catherine is bothered by his comment, but brushes it off, figuring she deserved it. "Okay, I'll just wait in the car then."
"You don't want to be in the same house with your own son?" David says, upset.
"What, of course I do David. Why would you even, you know, never mind." Catherine takes a deep breath. "I'm locked out."
"Michael's there isn't he?"
"Yes, well, he saw me and he…walked away."
"Well can you blame him? He feels like you abandoned him, abandoned us."
"I haven't abandoned anyone."
"Well I beg to differ."
"David, I'm still his mother."
"Now you're thinking about motherhood?!"
"Okay," says Catherine, nodding. "Are you going to keep doing that? Debate everything I say?"
"What I'm not going to do is sugarcoat this for you Catherine. You did a very shitty thing."
Catherine sighs. "Alright, okay…How long are you going to be?"
"I'll be there when I get there." He ends the call.
Catherine gets back into her car. She sits there thinking about the entire situation, wondering if she's making the best decision by being there, and if she stays, will things really change. Right now things are worse than ever because of her insecurities and by being neglected for a long time, accepting it. She thinks about if she would've maybe spoken up sooner, like years ago about how she felt, then maybe things wouldn't have gotten so bad. But coming home from a long day's work, and having your neighbors peek at you in curiosity since you're sitting in your car, in the driveway, for way too long because you really are locked out of the house by your son is a real low.
After awhile, Catherine has to turn on her car for the heat to keep warm. It seems like David is taking his time returning since 45 minutes have gone by. She wonders if she should just leave. It's cold outside and by the car being stationary for so long, the heat isn't as great as it could be.
Fifteen minutes later, Catherine is about to back the car out of the driveway when a cab pulls right behind it. David pays the fare and steps out. Catherine watches him from the rearview mirror. He goes to the door and opens it, leaving it ajar. Catherine steps out of the car, and slowly walks in. David is in the kitchen pouring a glass of Scotch.
"Scotch?" he asks, trying to be civil.
"No thanks," she responds, shaking her head.
David takes a nice swallow and nods his head at the taste. Catherine is leaning against the counter, waiting on the conversation to begin. "So you wanted to talk someplace else," he says, giving her the floor.
Catherine is already feeling some kind of way for having to wait for an hour in the cold, and from both her husband and son treating her like an outcast. "I don't even know where to begin," she responds, a little hesitant. She clears her throat. "Well…You already know how I feel, about everything. About our marriage, how I've been feeling…Um," she says, rubbing her forehead. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize how hard this would be."
David stands with both hands supporting him against the kitchen sink. "Let's start at the part where you didn't come home when you said that you would."
Catherine breathes in deeply. "Okay." She nods her head. "Okay." She sighs. "I don't know David," she says, looking into his eyes. "I mean I don't know what you want me to say without stating the obvious. I did it…I um, I got caught up. And I didn't come home." She sighs again. "And I really was planning on returning." She frowns. "I don't even know what I was thinking, I was…" She shakes her head. "It wasn't easy David, you have to understand that. I don't know what happened, I mean of course I know but it's like I lost my reasoning. Anyway, there is nothing I can say that will take back what I've done. And I am really sorry. I never wanted to hurt anyone."
"Hmm, is that it?" he says, indifferently, taking another sip from out of his drink. "That's what you had me come straight home for, the big discussion that couldn't have been done in your office?"
Catherine's eyebrows draw closer together. "Well, yes David."
David shakes his head in disappointment. "So let me get this straight," he says, with his finger up as if he has just received a great idea. "You don't know, and you don't know why, you do but you don't know what happened, and now you're sorry. Is that right Catherine?" he says, glaring at her.
Catherine doesn't know what to say.
David stands straight up and folds his arms together. "So you already fucked her once and I forgave you. I even wanted to work on our marriage after the second time. But you have to understand Catherine that I can only take so much before I become the fool. Do you even have the slightest idea of what you've done to us, to this family?"
"Yes," she answers, nodding her head in remorse. "I do David, I really do."
"No you don't. You have no idea. Because if you had then you wouldn't have done it in the first place Catherine." David hits the counter with major force. "Catherine," he says, again, making sure he has her full attention. "You have been gone for two nights doing God knows what."
Catherine looks as if she is biting down on her bottom lip. "I know I know."
"And you expect to be forgiven?" he says, slanting his head while frowning.
"No, but I…" she says, cutting herself off from her phone ringing. She takes it out of her pocket to which makes David even more annoyed. "I'm sorry," she says, to David, looking at who called her before placing the phone on vibrate, returning it to her pocket.
"And who was that?" David asks, his voice deepened.
Catherine gives him the kind of look one does if he was trying to read a page from out of her diary. "It was a patient of mine. I am on call David."
"Sure it was," says David, with spite.
"Well I'm sorry that you don't believe me," says Catherine, in an understanding tone.
"And I'm sorry that your word isn't worth much these days," David retorts.
Catherine nods her head in a I'll-let-you-have-that-one manner.
David continues with their initial discussion. "You want to know something?" he says, finishing his drink and placing the glass on the counter. He faces her. "You want to know what the difference is between a man and a woman when we have sex?"
"I don't understand what this has to do with anything."
"Just listen!" David says, rather loudly, pointing at her. He calms down. "When a man has sex with someone it's just that, sex. But when a woman has sex with someone it's more than that, emotions and feelings are involved. And for you to be gone for as long as you have, I know that it's more than sex."
"David you're being paranoid. And since when has having sex with someone become sexist? I think I can explain what's going on inside of me myself," frowns Catherine.
David spreads his arms out. "Please do. You have been doing such an excellent job so far."
"You know what David," says Catherine, growing weary of the conversation, filling with irritation herself. "Yeah I fucked her. And on more than two occasions, is that what you want to hear?" she says, in derision.
Out of nowhere, David puts his fist in the air, moving it up and down as if he is contemplating whether or not to strike Catherine.
Catherine appears surprised by his reaction. "Okay," she says, nodding her head. "You want to hit me now David. Go ahead. You're the one who wanted to know the truth."
David shakes his head, fist still up. "Dammit Catherine! I swear…"
Catherine and David are in the middle of a heated argument when Michael enters the conversation. "What the hell is going on down here?!"
"Michael this doesn't concern you. This is between your father and I," says Catherine.
"Like hell it doesn't!" responds Michael.
"Michael you heard your mother," says David, finally in agreement on something.
"It's no wonder your marriage is so messed up. All you both do is argue all the damn time," says Michael.
"Enough Michael," says David.
"I hope that I never have a marriage as fucked up as this one," says Michael, angrily.
"Michael," says Catherine, in an effort to get him to stop.
"I can't wait until I graduate," Michael says as he goes back up the stairs, stomping on each step. "I can finally get the fuck out of this hell-hole." He reaches the top. "I hate both of you!" He goes back into his room, slamming the door shut after.
Catherine inhale and exhale as if she were being examined. Suddenly her phone vibrates in her coat pocket. She takes it out and looks at it, this time it's from Chloe.
"Another call from your lover? Go ahead and answer it. She should be part of this conversation too," says David, pouring himself another drink. Catherine gives him a disgusted look. "Tell me that I'm wrong," he says, gulping his drink.
Catherine shakes her head in a sort of fed-up manner, her face displaying the fed-up portion. "You know what, I'm not even surprised that I did what I did," she says. David looks at her in disbelief of her statement. "Yeah I said it," she says, noticing his expression. "I mean what did you expect me to do? Really David? You haven't touched me in over a year. Hell maybe two. I stopped counting the months after a year had gone by. And she was the first person after all that time to show me…compassion. To make me feel like I was needed, like I was wanted David."
"Oh so now it's my fault!"
"I'm not blaming, I'm just stating that…" she says, being cut off.
"Catherine we have problems like any other married couple, but that doesn't give you permission to go fuck the first person that gives you attention."
Catherine looks floored by his comment. She puts her hand up calmly, taking a moment for herself to respond. "Attention? Really? And I never said that it did David…Look, I am not proud of what happened, and what it has caused between us. David you…"
David interrupts again. "Do you love her?" he says, disregarding her last statement.
"What?" says Catherine, seeming as if she didn't hear the question.
"I said do you love her!"
"Love?" says Catherine, with a quizzical expression. She makes a sound that seems like the beginning of what was to be laughter then she clears her throat. "I um, I care for her David," answers Catherine, unsure of her response.
"Dammit Catherine that was a yes or no question and you can't even answer that."
"I did answer it," Catherine says, shaking her head, confused. "What do you want me to say?" she says, shrugging.
"Do you love me? Do you even want to work on our marriage?"
"Of course I do. And, yes," answers Catherine, not even thinking about the question. Her phone vibrates again. This time she keeps it in her pocket. Each vibration seems to trigger even more anger inside of David. Catherine sees his expression. "I'll just turn it off."
"No!" he yells. "Listen to me Catherine because I'm going to only say this once. It is either her or me. You understand?! It is to be over indefinitely. And just so we're clear, it means that you are to have no contact with her in any shape or form do you understand?" he says, looking at her with piercing eyes.
Catherine feels like a child being reprimanded by her parent. She nods her head in any case.
"I mean it Catherine," says David, in a threatening tone.
Suddenly her phone vibrates again. David frustrated begins making his way up the stairs. "David," Catherine calls. "David where are you going?" She follows him up the stairs. He goes into their bedroom. "Wait what's going on?" asks Catherine. He walks over to their closet and starts tossing Catherine's clothes on the floor. "What are you doing?!" says Catherine, heart racing. David doesn't respond. He grabs a few suitcases and tosses them with the clothes. "David stop it!" yells Catherine, she tries to stop him, but he pushes her off him, and she lands on top of a stack of clothes."
"You can't stay here," he says, rather calmly.
Catherine is teary-eyed. "But this is my home too David."
"I don't care." David goes over to the dresser and throws the clothes from out of the drawers. He slides his arm across the dresser, knocking her accessories onto the floor. Catherine begins crying. "Start packing your things!" he yells, at her.
"But I don't have anywhere to go."
"You should have thought about that when you chose a fuck over your family!"
"Please David. Don't do this."
David keeps his back to her. "What part of I don't want you here that you don't understand? Now it's time for you to go Catherine," he says.
Catherine cries harder. She starts putting her things into the suitcases. When she finishes, she loads the trunk of her car with the luggage, without help from anyone. Michael watches her from a window upstairs. She gets into the car, looks at David, who is standing in the doorway, and drives away.
Soon after, a car pulls into their driveway. Michael makes his way down the stairs. He stops at the front door. "How could you let her leave like that?" says Michael, shaking his head.
"You don't understand," answers David.
"Oh I understand. I understand more than you think I do," says Michael. He exits the house.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Away from here," says Michael. He gets into the car, and it drives off.
Dark has caught up to night, and Catherine is driving down a dimly lit single lane road, distraught, crying all the while. Her thoughts running in every direction but focused. The entire situation is so unbelievable to her that it causes her to stop paying attention to the road. She hears a loud and long horn sound, and as she snaps out of her thoughts, she sees a huge semi-truck coming straight towards her after having drifted into the opposite lane by accident. She quickly maneuvers out of the way, to the side of the road, where her front end falls victim to a ditch.
About an hour later, a tow truck that Catherine called shows up and pulls her car out of the ditch, back onto the road. She pays them and drives away, without a destination in mind. After a while, she becomes tired of driving and sees a lit up landmark for a hotel. She gets a room, and settles in. Falling down on the bed exhausted, she looks up at the ceiling, tears still streaming down the sides of her face. Catherine turns onto her stomach, holding the hairpin that Chloe gave her in her hand. She cries herself to sleep.
At the same time, Chloe has been waiting patiently for Catherine to show, calling her cell phone a few times, to no avail. She finally decides to exit what appears to be a buffet of food that she had cooked prior, strategically arranged on the dining table. It has grown cold now, and she makes her way up to the bedroom. Her dark red and black thigh-length silk Kimono robe reveals a red laced Bikini-styled French corset top, and the bottom, red panties gartered to matching thigh-high stockings. Four-inch pointed-toe red leather Saint Laurent pumps decorate her feet. Chloe sits in the bed. She starts to think about her and Catherine, and the last night they were together. How they both laughed at the stories that she told, and talked about her future, about finishing school, and the colleges that she should attend. Chloe stops all thought about that night, and now her feelings of being stood up today are overwhelming her. She stares into nothingness, before taking a pillow and placing it on her face, screaming into it.