It was five days since Tony had been released, and he was bored. Michelle was at work from eight in the morning until six at night every day, and although she was trying to spend evenings with Tony, the workload at Division was high, and she had to work on reports in evenings. She knew that in a couple of weeks the work would drop off, and she would have more spare time, but when she told Tony this, he didn't seem to believe her.
"Tony" Michelle said softly, poking her head round the bedroom door. "I'm going now. See you later."
"Bye" Tony grunted from underneath the bed covers, half-asleep and hungover.
"Love you" Michelle told him hopefully.
"Yeah" came the muffled reply.
Michelle cast a disappointed look at the bed covers, as she had done the previous three mornings. She knew Tony was bored and missed her, and she desperately wanted to spend time with him, but she couldn't afford to let her work slip. And even when she had finished her work, and had some spare time in the evenings, Tony was usually drinking, which made him less co-operative, and more moody. They ended up sitting on the sofa together, watching soccer matches and not talking. She was at a loss at what to do. She badly wanted to be promoted when the deputy director left, and knew that if she didn't keep up the standard of work, she wouldn't stand a chance. But she also wanted Tony to be happy, and to be happy with him. She longed for the old Tony, the fun Tony, who made her laugh.
She shut the bedroom door behind her, and walked downstairs after checking her appearance in the mirror. She tried desperately to think of ways in which she could cheer Tony up on the way to work, but arrived at work without any ideas.
Tony groaned. His head throbbed painfully and he badly needed a drink. He pushed the covers back and sat up. A sharp stabbing pain erupted in the back of his head, and his eyes seemed to burn in the bright sunlight coming through the window. He groaned again, lay back down and dragged the covers back over his head.
When he next woke up, the throbbing pain had subsided, and he felt strong enough to venture out of bed. He managed to use the bathroom, fetch a drink of water, than crash back into bed for another sleep.
At half past twelve, the phone rang, waking Tony up. His headache gone, he began to remember the previous night. Why had he drunk so much? Why? He resolved to not drink any alcohol today, and instead help out Michelle by sorting out the house. That way, maybe she would be more willing to spend time with him in the evenings.
He climbed out of bed, replacing the sheets neatly before showering and dressing. He had lost weight during his time in prison, partly due to worry and depression, partly due to the size of the food portions. He made his way downstairs and raided the fridge. Most of the food that they had brought four days ago had been used up, mainly due to Tony's enthusiasm in cooking. He always cooked tea for Michelle's return home, and always made far too much!
Tony threw a variety of vegetables and meat into a pan, and cooked himself a colorful stir-fry for lunch. He took it into the lounge to eat, being careful not to drop any food as Michelle forbade eating in the lounge. He grinned to himself, feeling like a young boy again, when he had always done the exact opposite of what he was told. 'Rules are made to be broken' had been his thinking back then, and a part of him still felt this way.
After lunch he cleaned up the kitchen, then moved into the lounge. He felt guilty about the past few days, he had been drinking, watching TV and eating snacks in the lounge while Michelle had been working, and yet he had left it to her to clear away his mess. He was being selfish he knew: he was making her life more difficult because she was unable to spend every evening with him. But he did badly want to spend some quality time with her alone, so that they could re-kindle their close relationship. He loved her so much, and yet knew that he wasn't showing it. His mind wandered back to their relationship in the early days, when he had managed to get close to Michelle, despite both of their heavy workloads.
He continued to puzzle over a possible solution to their problem whilst hoovering the house. He wondered if he should take her out for the day at the weekend, so they could spend time together and relax. They could drive down to the coast, spend a fun day browsing the tourist shops and walking on the beach, then he could take her to a romantic restaurant in the evening. The restaurant would make them both feel more like a couple again – Tony longed for more than just a quick kiss now and again, yet still felt awkward around her after their long time apart.
He flipped open Michelle's diary, which was lying on the table, and checked Saturday. There was nothing written down, so he began to search for the phone book. He would take her to the restaurant where they had sat together, just over three years ago, for their first date. He picked up the phone, and entered the number.
Michelle returned home just after six. She had resolved to spend the entire evening with Tony, as she had no work that needed completing for the following day, and thought that if she could spend the evening with him he might be more cheerful. As she opened the door a wave of warm cooking smells hit her, and she smiled. She loved coming home to a meal cooked by Tony, it was so nice not to return to an empty house, but instead to a warm meal and someone she loved.
Tony heard the front door shut and felt a familiar squeeze in his stomach. Dammit! What was wrong with him? Why did he feel so out of place and difficult around Michelle – he was married to her! He straightened up, and walked across the kitchen just as the door opened.
"Hi honey!" Michelle said enthusiastically. Tony pushed aside his apprehensive feelings at the sight of her beaming face, and reached out, pulling her body close to him.
"Have a nice day?" he murmured, gazing into her deep brown eyes, then, before waiting for a reply, kissed her. He felt his stomach flip, and pushed her back against the wall, wanting more. Michelle responded, and kissed back fervently feeling weak at the knees as she felt his hands running up and down her body. Since Tony had left, she had been too wrapped up in misery at his absence to even look at another man in a sexual way, and now her desires were too strong to control.
Tony dropped Michelle's jacket off her shoulders, and began to unbutton her shirt. "Not here" she managed to gasp, overcome with excitement at the energy between them. She grabbed Tony's shirt, still locked in a passionate kiss, and backed up the stairs, dragging him with her, towards the bedroom…