As a month passed and Clarisse entered her second trimester, she began to feel that Joseph wasn't as active as he was when they'd first moved in together. In the daytime, he worked as a chef in a fancy downtown restaurant while she sat around the house planning their wedding and watching soap operas on the television. He was often too tired to fulfil her needs and the fact that they were all over the news didn't make it any better. At least nobody knew where they were staying.
"Not now, Clarisse. Didn't you get enough last night? I've been working all day and I'm very tired."
She looked at him with a shocked expression, "Tired? How can you get tired when all you do all day is stand around throwing vegetables into pots and stirring them around?"
"I don't think you understand how complicated it is to prepare a gourmet meal. And it's not so much the cooking which makes me tired. It's…"
"It's what?"
"It's nothing."
"It is. Something's the matter. What is it?"
"Nothing!"
"Tell me now!"
"Alright. But only if you promise you won't get mad?"
"You're having an affair!"
"No I'm not."
"Yes, you must be."
"I can assure you, I'm not."
"Come to think of it, that would make a lot of sense."
"I'm not having an affair! The only reason I get tired is because you never let me rest. I come home after a hard day's work, then you rush me into bed and don't let me out until the next morning, by which time, I have to go to work again."
"So what you're saying is...?"
"I need a break. A chance to rest."
"Oh, so what you're saying is that I work you too hard and you need a break?"
"Yes."
"How insulting."
"I didn't mean to be."
"Well I'm sorry, Joseph. I'm sorry my un-control-able hormones are all over the place. It comes with being pregnant, you know."
"I knew you'd get upset."
"I'm not upset."
"Yes, you are."
"No I'm not."
"Fine then, I don't want to argue. Now can you please let me get some sleep?"
She turned the lamp off, then crossed her arms and stared into the darkness, "I am not upset…if anything, I'm…"
"Oh for god's sake, Clarisse, I don't care, I'm tired! Be quiet!"
She got out of bed, threw the covers at him, walked out of the room and sat down waiting for him to apologize. He called out her name and since she didn't reply, he forced himself out of bed and went to look for her. She was sitting on the couch with her head in her hands.
"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell, it's just that I haven't been getting enough sleep lately and that puts me in a bad mood. I'm sorry if you think I'm taking it out of you, but I don't mean to. It's just that when you try to get me to do things I'm not up to doing (no pun intended), I just snap."
He wiped the tears from her eyes and she looked at the floor.
"I should be the one to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so pushy."
"Apology accepted. Are you coming back to bed?"
She nodded and followed him back into the bedroom.
The next morning, she got up, made herself breakfast (cereal in a bowl), got dressed and packed her things. She decided that giving Joseph this "break" that he had been talking about, could benefit them both. She packed four suitcases altogether, which was a record for her, since the least she had ever packed was five, but that was only for a one day trip and she planned to be away for at least two. She called one of the limo drivers from the palace to come and pick her up. When he came to the door (three hours later), she offered him tea and lunch. He accepted and they ate at the restaurant that Joseph was working at. She enjoyed having the man chat to her and he enjoyed having her pay for his lunch. When they had finished, Clarisse enquired to the manager about where Joseph was and if she was able to speak with him. The manager recognised her and fetched him straight away.
"Hello, darling. What are you doing here? Is something the matter?"
"No. I just came down here to tell you that I'm leaving."
"Leaving?"
"I'm going to the palace to visit Pierre and Philippe."
"What, today?"
"Yes, today."
"You decided to go on a vacation without consulting me first?"
"Excuse me, it's called a break and I don't need your permission to go because I'm a big girl. Besides, I didn't think you'd mind…since you don't really pay much attention to me anymore, I thought I may as well be somewhere else."
"I think we should take this conversation over there," he said, leading her to where the pay phones were, in-case somebody was listening in, "You are unbelievable. Of course I pay attention to you. You just want more than I can give."
"Joseph. I don't think that's the case."
"Yes, Clarisse, it is!"
"Listen, shut up for a minutes. I love you, but we seem to be arguing a lot lately and I don't want us to lose what we have, especially since it took that long for us to finally get together. I think if we spend a couple of days apart, then we'd have a chance to cool down and stop arguing. You would have a chance to rest and after that, things should be fine. That's one of the main reasons I'm going, so we can cool off."
"I understand. If it's what you want, then I'll see you in a few days."
She put her hand on his cheek, "Thankyou. I think this will be good for both of us."
He kissed her cheek and bid her farewell. She looked at him for a minute, then turned around and walked to the limo.
