"I sold the house today."
Jake looked up from his video game. "Really?" His voice seemed a bit sad.
"Yeah. To your dad."
"Dad bought the house?" He stood from the couch and walked into the kitchen where Reba set her stuff down.
"He did. Surprised me, too."
"Did he say why?"
"He knew I didn't want to let the place go to some stranger, so he said he'd buy it and rent it out to kind of keep it in the family."
"That's very sweet and unlike him."
"I know. But I appreciate it more than he'll ever know."
She walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs, hoping to find Ford somewhere up there to tell him the news. He had been wanting that house out of his hair as well. Reba had been driving him crazy with it and she couldn't wait to tell him it had finally been sold.
"Ford!" She yelled when she reached the top of the stairs. "Where are you?"
"In the bedroom!" Was the response.
She bounced in there, happily, finding him in the adjoining bathroom.
"Whatcha doin'?" She asked, hands on her hips as she watched him run gel through his hair.
"Getting ready to go out."
"Go out where?"
"To that new place downtown."
"That doesn't give me any information."
He switched the light off and brushed past her, going into the bedroom.
"Why are you quizzing me? I'm going to go eat and hang out with the guys."
"Why didn't you tell me? I don't have time to change now." She went to her closet, which was on the other side of the room from his, and began to sift through it, looking for something to throw on.
"Umm, Reba?"
"What?"
"It's just going to be the guys."
She turned around. "Do what?"
"Like a no girlfriends or wives thing."
"Oh..."
"Yeah. We do it once a month, remember?"
No, she wanted to say. I don't remember, because we haven't even been married a month and you're already wanting to leave the little wife at home to go out with your buddies.
But instead, she said, "No, I don't recall. When will you be back?"
With his back turned towards his own closet, he shrugged. "Late."
Reba nodded while biting her lip. "Late, huh? You gonna be drinking?"
She saw his shoulders sag as he turned. "I might."
"You told me you wouldn't!"
He threw his head back with a loud sigh before looking at her. "I'll be responsible. Why can't you let me have a good time without nagging?"
"You can have a 'good time' without getting wasted."
"When have you ever seen me wasted? I don't drink to get drunk and you know that."
"Do we really have to go over this again? I asked you not to drink, why are you going to anyway? Why do you even have to go out? I sold the house today and I thought you and me and Brent and Jake could all go out to eat and celebrate."
"You sold the house today?"
"Yeah, I did. And that's what I was coming up here to tell you before you unloaded this on me."
"Unloaded?"
"Yes. And even if I hadn't sold the house, we've been married for three weeks. Isn't there some kind of rule that says you skip outings to bars with your friends to stay home with your wife? At least for a few months?"
"We have all the time in the world to spend together, Reba. I'm going out with my friends tonight. That's what marriage is about. Letting the other do things they want to do. We don't have to be together 24/7." He sprayed his cologne before putting on his watch. "Who did you sell the house to?"
"Brock," Reba said through gritted teeth. He had some nerve saying those things to her, and she didn't like it. He had never been so shallow before. Their marriage wasn't some television show where he could do whatever he wanted then come home later and everything would be just fine.
"Brock? Like, your ex-husband Brock?"
"That'd be the one."
"Why'd you sell the house to him?"
"Why not?"
"Because he obviously wants in your pants."
"Excuse me?"
"Don't give me that look. You know it, I know it, he knows it. He's using this to get closer to you."
"Ford, Brock and I are divorced and have been for a long time. There's nothing like that going on."
"Then why do you flirt with him every time you utter a word to the man? I don't do that with other women."
"Brock's my best friend. He has been for years-"
"I'm supposed to be your best friend!" Ford yelled, causing Reba to step back a few steps.
"Don't yell at me!"
"Well, don't say things like that and I won't! And you stop yelling at me!"
"What is wrong with you, Ford? It's like you're a completely different person. Where's the guy I dated for almost a year? Where's the sweet, loving, caring, humble man I fell in love with?"
"I've not gone anywhere. As soon as we got married, you became a control freak. I'm only trying to defend myself."
Reba stepped closer to him. "I am not a control freak, you are an alcoholic. I'm only trying to help my husband. Excuse me if that's so wrong."
"I don't need your help. I'm a big boy. I've been handling this by myself for a long time. I don't need you to-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence before Reba reared back and slapped him right across the face. As soon as her hand made contact with his cheek, tears burned in her eyes.
"You don't need me, huh?" She shoved him backwards. "Then why did you marry me? Why did you lie and say you needed me if you didn't?"
Ford let her push him around with his arms at his sides, trying to keep his temper under control. She thought she was hurting him, and he let her believe that.
"You're being ridiculous," He said calmly, trying to walk away. But she just followed.
"No, I'm not. You're being a jackass. This whole relationship never should have happened."
He turned around, grabbing her by the wrists to stop her from hitting him anymore.
"Why don't you hit me back, huh? Too much of a coward to fight back?" The tears still streamed down her face. She was so angry, she hardly understood what she was saying. The words made sense in her mind, but as they came out, she frowned at the sentences.
"I'm not going to make him better than me by hitting you. If you want to leave, I'm not going to help you." He let go of her wrists rather roughly.
"Who said anything about leaving? Do you want me to leave?"
Ford stopped in the doorway of their bedroom and turned to look at his wife. She looked so hurt and helpless standing there alone.
"No, I don't. I love you, Reba, but obviously, there's some things you've pushed back that you have to deal with. So please, by all means, go figure things out. Just know, I've never once lied to you. Even though you think I have."
"What's that even supposed to mean?" She asked with force as he headed down the stairs. There was no answer.
She called Brock after Ford left. She was so confused about everything. Her mood swings had been getting worse, as well as the hot flashes. She knew that was no excuse to go off on Ford, but there was no other explanation.
But maybe Ford was right. She just had to get things taken care of. Even she had noticed that since her and Brock had had more contact, she had been acting a little different. Brock sure had been being friendlier, but she was sure he didn't mean anything by it. But maybe she wanted him to...
"First fight?" He asked when she got out of her car.
Reba had asked him to meet her in the parking lot of the grocery store. It was late and she didn't want to drive that far, plus she figured the lot would be empty so they could talk without being picked up for loitering.
"Yeah." She played with her keys in her hands. "He's upset that you bought the house."
Brock noticed her head was down and he realized she was embarrassed by the fact that she could possibly make him embarrassed by bringing that up.
"I'm sorry, Reba," He told her, sighing, shutting the door of his truck. "I honestly did it only to help. No other reason."
Reba raised her eyebrows, remembering Ford's words. "He seems to think you have...ideas."
"Ideas?"
"Well, if you're buying the house, we can't exactly be the regular divorced, non-talking couple society expects us to be, can we?"
"I still don't understand..."
"He thinks you want to sleep with me."
There was an awkward silence as Reba finally looked up for the first time since arriving. She saw Brock's shocked face in the light of the grocery store's glowing sign and nodded slowly, finishing her statement.
"And that's not exactly ideal for him to think that considering how well our relationship has been going."
He noted the sarcasm in her voice. "Things aren't going well?"
She shook her head, resting against her SUV. "No. Not like I had hoped." She lifted her head. "He wasn't supposed to be an alcoholic and I wasn't supposed to go through early menopause." When Brock made a face, she realized what she had said. "Sorry."
"It's fine." He looked to the ground, running a nervous hand through his hair. "But uh, I don't want to sleep with you, so you can tell him that."
"Well, I pretty much told him he was crazy."
"That's one way to get your marriage back on the right track..."
"How do you get a marriage back on the right track when it was never there to begin with?"
Brock sighed, shrugging with his hands deep in his pockets. "I don't know."
She looked down. "I guess I could start by letting go of the one I knew so well so many years ago, huh?" She looked up at him nervously to see him nodding.
"That's a start."
"Can I be honest?"
"Sure."
"I haven't moved on."
Brock stared at her. "You mean from us?"
"Yes. How can I let go of something that meant the world to me? I tried to use Ford to replace us, but it's not working. I became so lonely that I considered going home to my parents, so I go out and find a new husband so I'm not a pathetic old lady, but it didn't work. How do I move on and finally be happy again?"
Brock opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. She was saying all the things he wished he had the guts to say. What was he supposed to tell her? That he still loved her and they should run away to some foreign country and get married, living happily ever after? No. But he wanted to. He wanted to be with her more than anything, but he knew they would only break each other's hearts again. He couldn't hurt her like that again.
Finally realizing the harsh truth of what he had to do to get her to move on, he sighed.
"You just have to let go. I tried for years. It's not easy...but it's possible."
The hurt that flashed through her eyes tore him to pieces. He had just said that he was completely over her, that he didn't want to be with her. He hoped that was the last lie he ever had to lie because it was just unbearable.
"Oh," Was her response.
"Reba, I'm sorry. We had our good times, but we have to move on. It's not healthy to dwell on things we can't change. I loved you, yes. Very much. But that's done with. I love Ari and you love Ford. He's a good man. Yeah, he has some problems, but who doesn't? And who better to help him with that than you? You're so loving and encouraging and he's lucky to have you."
She nodded, even though it hurt like nothing else. "I guess you're right." She took a deep breath and let it out. "This whole love thing is kind of ridiculous sometimes, huh?"
He nodded with a slight smile. "I hope you're not angry with me."
She shook her head with a sad smile. "Nah. I like it when you tell the truth, believe it or not."
He chuckled, moving forward to hug her. "Friends?"
She hugged him back, realizing this might be the last time she could do so. "Friends." She closed her eyes and held him tight, trying to remember everything about the way he felt. After this, she couldn't think of him as more than her friend. Not if she wanted a healthy marriage to her husband.
When they pulled away, Reba looked down for a second before Brock said, "You should get on home. It's gettin' late."
"Yeah. Thanks for meeting me here."
"Hey, it's no problem."
He backed up towards his truck and she went to open the driver's side door of her car.
"Call me tomorrow," She told him, phrasing it more like a question. He nodded with a smile.
"First thing."
She smiled and got into her car, starting the engine with one last look at him before driving toward home.
Brock watched her pull out onto the road before climbing in his Chevy. He didn't put the key in the ignition right away. Instead, he thought about the words he had spoken. He hoped she hadn't taken it too hard. He loved her too much to know that he had hurt her badly again. He knew, however, she'd go home and make up with Ford and go to sleep with a smile on her face beside the man she loved and who loved her the way she deserved to be loved. That's all he wanted for her, but it killed him knowing he couldn't be the one.
Sometimes, the road to happiness was a twisted one.
The End
Yes, it's over. I began this story with really no plot in mind, just kind of writing as I went along and for the fun of it. However, I hope it's been somewhat entertaining despite it being rather sad and confusing. The next thing I'll be posting is my series. I had the first story of the series posted on my other account I never use anymore plus one chapter from the second story, but I deleted those so I could post them on this account. The first one will be called Walk The Line. If you remember it, great, if not, I hope you like it. Either way, review! The series is completely done and all I have to do is type it out. I think there are six or seven stories. They're not long, but all together, it's like one big story. I hope you'll enjoy it. I'll post the first chapter of Walk The Line either tomorrow or the next day and yes, I'm finally done with this big, long novel of an author's note. Thanks for reading! (:
