Will and Joan walk on down the road. They pass a few of the other cabins, then they come to the church. There's a bench in front of it, so they go and sit down. Will wraps his arm around his daughter.
"Do you still love Mom?" Joan asks in favor of her mother.
"Why, of course I do, Joan." Will replies.
"Then, what's wrong between you guys?"
"Honey…"
"I'm not trying to be nosy. I just want to know what's going on."
"It's nothing to worry about." Will stated.
" That's what Mom said. Then, she started to cry." Joan said.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
There's a pause while Will's contemplates what to do.
"Come on. Let's head back." He states.
"Okay." Joan replies.
Meanwhile, back at the cabin, Helen is sitting with Luke and Kevin. There's not a sound except for the crackling of a fire and the slurping sound Helen makes when she sips her coffee. Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. Helen gets up from her comfortable couch and sets her coffee down. She goes to the door to find a man Ty Parker in ragged clothes, freezing.
"May I come in?" Ty asks.
"Oh, sure." Helen replies. "Are you okay?"
Ty goes to the fire and sits in front of it.
"What happened?" Kevin asked Ty.
"I was hiking a trail, and I got lost." Ty replied.
"Here let me get you some warm clothes." Helen stated and headed upstairs to hers and Will's room. She rummages through Will's shirts and sweatpants. She finally finds some. The shirt's flannel material is soft on her hands. She holds it up to her face and takes a whiff. Her face crumbles, but she knows she can't break down now. She also grabs a blanket and heads back downstairs.
"Here you go, Mr. …" Helen inquires.
"Parker. Ty Parker." Ty states.
"Helen, um.. Girardi." Helen says, almost awestruck.
Ty stares at her. He finds her attractive, her figure, her eyes.
"Oh. This is Kevin." Helen states
"Hey." Kevin says.
"And this is Luke." Helen adds.
"Hi." Luke replies.
"There's a bathroom right over there. Where you can change." Helen tells Ty.
"I really appreciate this." Ty thanks.
"Sure." Helen states.
Ty walks over to the bathroom, looks back at Helen, and goes inside. At this instant, Will opens the door. Helen jumps in alarm.
"We're back." Will states.
Joan runs over to the fireplace and sits next to Kevin.
"Something's wrong with the parental units." Joan whispers to him.
"What?" Kevin asks.
"I don't know. We gotta help 'em." Joan responds.
"How?"
"We'll figure something out."
Will walks over to Helen. He looks her in the eye with no words exchanged. He timidly places his hand on her waist and pulls her into a hug.
"I'm sorry." He whispers in her ear.
Helen doesn't know what going on, but she can see her husband for the first time in the last few months. Ty walks out of the bathroom and their hug breaks.
"Oh, my God." Will states.
"Calm down. It's okay." Helen assures him. "Ty. This is my husband, Will."
"Nice to meet you." Ty extends his hand.
They shake.
"Helen, what's going on?" Will asks.
"Will, he was outside, freezing to death. I had to take him in." Helen replies.
"You shouldn't do that. He could be a dangerous criminal for all you know."
"He seems sincere."
"That's because all criminals have good acting skills."
"Stop it, Will." Helen steps away from her husband. "Ty, this is Joan."
"Hello, Joan." Ty says.
"Hi." Joan states, not really paying attention.
"I'm going to go upstairs and take a nap." Will states.
Will climbs the stairs. He walks into the bedroom. He lays down on the bed and tries to get comfortable. A picture catches his eye on the nightstand beside Helen's side of the bed. It's a picture a them, taken about a year back. He eyes get watery.
Back downstairs, Helen is back on the couch reading a magazine. Kevin, Joan, Luke, and Ty are sitting a the table playing a game of cards.
Helen is flipping through the magazine, when she flips to a page that catches her attention. The page is titled: Is it You or Him? Take the quiz. She grabs a nearby pen. The first question asks: Do you know your husband loves you? Helen marks "Sometimes." The next question reads: Are you communicating in well-rounded conversations? Helen places her hand on her mouth in thought. She knows they sometimes talk, but it's not much of a conversation. So, she marks "No." The third question asks: Are you lonely in this relationship? Helen looks around the room at the fire place where the fire had died down to almost nothing. She heard the laughter that Kevin, Joan, and Luke were producing as Ty told them some of his stories. Helen smiles. She marks "Yes."
Upstairs, Will is now sitting up and reading a book. He also here's the laughter and feels he's being left out. He takes off his reading glasses, carefully lays the book down, and quietly tiptoes downstairs. He walks up behind Helen, her not noticing.
"Whatcha doing?" Will asks.
Helen jumps back in alarm and pulls the magazine to her chest to prevent Will from seeing it.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Will soothes.
"Oh. It's alright." Helen responds.
Will walks to the kitchen and starts to make some popcorn in the microwave. Helen continues to finish the quiz. She is down to question seven which reads: Do you feel you can trust your husband? Helen doesn't even think. She automatically marks "Yes."
The timer to the microwave beeps. Will opens the door and the buttery aroma fills the room. It causes Ty to stop talking and take it in.
"Anyone want to watch a movie?" Will asked. He thought it was a good idea. The TV didn't pick up any channels but there was a DVD player.
"Yeah." Joan exclaims.
Everyone moves to the living area. Will puts in 'It's A Wonderful Life'. He goes over and sits next to Joan who is covered up with a quilt. Helen is alone on the couch, still. She slips off her shoes and sits cross-legged. Again, she goes back to the magazine. Question nine asks: Have and your husband been intimate in the past few months? Helen feels this ache in her chest. Her stomach becomes weak. She leans back on the couch and sighs. She marks "No."
Will is staring curiously at his wife. Joan had fallen asleep on his shoulder and was slightly snoring. Helen looked up at him. She gave him his a forlorn look and went back to the final question. It read: Have you been married for over twenty years? Of course, Helen didn't have to think about this one either. She marked "Yes." She, then, totaled up her scores and read the bottom. Out of the three possible outcomes, she got "It's Both of You." The description underneath read: It's not entirely just your husband. It's you, as well. Don't wait for him to talk or make a move. It's your responsibility to be honest to him, just as much as it is his to be honest to you. Helen leans back on the couch. She thinks thoroughly about this. It's not very often she empties her mind to think about one thing.
An alarm goes off in her head. She doesn't quite know why, but she realizes it's about time to make dinner.
Everyone is finishing up their dinner. There hasn't been much of a conversation during the whole meal.
"Thanks, Mom. Dinner was great." Kevin stated.
"Sure." Helen replied.
Kevin, Joan, and Luke went back to the living area and started another movie. Will put on his heavy coat and went outside and sat on the porch. Ty and Helen are left at the table.
"I've noticed you and your husband haven't been getting along." Ty stated.
"Excuse me." Helen questioned.
"I'm sorry. I don't want to pry. I just thought I might be able to help."
Helen doesn't feel comfortable talking to a stranger about her problems. She, then, glances down and notices a band of gold on his left hand's ring finger. 'Have You Ever Been In Love' by Celine Dion faintly starts to play. Helen now feels okay about talking to him.
"I love my husband." She states.
"I realize that." Ty responds.
"Something's wrong, but I can't figure out what. And he won't tell me."
"Maybe you should stop trying to fix what's wrong and start anew."
"I never thought about that. But, Will, he's…"
At that moment, Will walks in and realizes his wife is telling some stranger about their relationship.
"What are you doing?" Will asked.
Helen becomes nervous. "Will. Nothing."
"Are you telling this stranger about us?"
"No, Will. It's not like that."
"Oh, I'm sure.
Ty then stands up and tries to defend Helen. "Now. Let's just calm down…"
"Calm down? You're hitting on my wife." Will yells.
"No, he's not." Helen reacts.
"Will. I'm married. I have two kids." Ty adds.
"Oh. Adultery." Will states.
At this moment, Helen is standing behind Ty who is being tormented by Will. She turns around and see the kids staring in fear.
"Kids. Go to your room." Helen states.
They start to head out of the room but are stopped by Will.
"Why do they have to leave?" Will asks. "They're as much a part of our life."
"Will. Please." Helen pleads over tears.
Ty moves out of the way and motions the kids to leave the room. They Kevin, Luke, Joan, and Ty all go into the bedroom. Words of Will's anger seep through the door.
"Helen. You're rambling to someone you've known for a day about our personal life?"
Helen is extremely upset. She's crying so hard, she can't catch her breath. She chokes on her words. "No. Will…" She is hurting so much that she can't finish a train of thought. She begins to walk away. Will forcefully grabs her by the wrists and pulls her back. Helen is frightened. Her husband never touched her harmfully before.
"Don't walk away from me. I'm not finished with you." Will states in an anguished tone.
"Will." Helen manages to get out.
"Don't talk to anyone else about our relationship issues, ever again. Do you understand?" Will asks, shaking Helen.
She can't respond.
"Answer me!"
"Yes." Helen states weakly.
Will lets go of her. She can't hold herself up, so she falls to the ground. Will goes upstairs and slams the door. Ty, Kevin, Joan, and Luke rush out of the bedroom. Ty gets Helen back up on her feet. Helen falls into him. Ty comforts her with a hug. Kevin looks at Luke with a furious look.
"Are you okay, Mom?" Kevin asked.
Helen pulls it together as much as possible. "Yeah. I think I just need to go to bed."
"You're not going up there." Kevin states.
"Kevin. He's my husband."
"Yeah. And he's raging."
"I have to."
Kevin is shocked that his father would do something like this to his mother.
"Be careful." Kevin begs.
Helen climbs the stairs slowly. Kevin, Luke, Joan, and Ty are watching her from the bottom. She turns the doorknob and disappears into the room.
End chapter three. Please review. No chapter four until I get three reviews. Give me some ideas for the upcoming chapters. JoAFreak