Reba awoke later that afternoon to find Brock sitting at her bedside just starring at her. "What are you doing?" She asked.
"Watching you sleep. How ya feeling?"
"Can we start with a less complicated question?" she replies slowly getting up and out of bed. "Where are the kids?" Reba continues
"Downstairs"
"Oh good! I'm gonna go down and see them."
Brock was a little let down because he wanted to take that time to talk to her. But it was obvious she was doing everything in her power to avoid a conversation with him. She wasn't ready to tell him she knows about his affair. Not till she was able to sort out her emotions and deal with it. That way when the conversation did arise she wouldn't overact . After all they were determined to fix thing not makes it worse.
Reba walked into her kitchen of chaos caused by the racket of her kids.
"Mom, your up! How ya feeling?" Cheyenne asked
"The same way as I did when ya'll left… fine!! I told ya that, why did ya'll come back?" Reba says, sounding a little irritated.
"'Cause dad made us!" Jake blurted out, upset that they came back home.
"What?" Reba replied.
"Yeah, well dad said it wasn't right leaving you home sick and that families should be there for each other. He also said it was his responsibility as a husband, he promised to take care of you in sickness and in health and yada yada yada.." Kyra explained.
Reba laughed. "Your father didn't say that."
"Oh no mom he did! We had to listen to him talk about it the whole way home." Cheyenne said, as if it was extremely annoying. Reba looks to Kyra and Jake for any extra comment from them and they just nodded in agreement to Cheyenne's remark.
"Dads been acting a little weird lately… the change is almost shocking." Cheyenne says.
"Ha! You think your shocked?" Reba mutters, thinking about Barbra Jeans unexpected visit.
"What was that mom?" Cheyenne asked, not understanding what she meant by it.
"Oh never mind" she replied.
Just then Brock appeared with a basket of dirty clothes. "I'm gonna do a load of laundry, if you wanna throw in some clothes you better go get them now" he spoke towards the kids. They all scampered off to grab clothes that needed cleaning. "Laundry huh?" Reba chuckled. "Since when?" She continued.
"Since today… I'm gonna make myself more available to do my share around here." He replies with a smirk on his face. Reba couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was happy that he's going the extra mile, she just wasn't used to it. All she could say was, "Thank You!"
Brock let out a big smile. For once, no sarcasm for her. He felt as if things are starting to look up. The Kids came back throwing their clothes in the basket.
"Thanks dad." They all said, one right after another, with Cheyenne and Jake leaving the room almost instantly. Kyra sat at the kitchen table trying to finish up what was left of lunch.
"Dad, don't forget my black pants does not go in the dryer you have to hang them up to dry." Kyra said just as he was making his way to the laundry room. Brock just nodded and walked out.
Reba grabbed her drink and sat next to Kyra at the table. "Your father doing laundry. That should be interesting" She giggled.
"As long as he doesn't put my pants in the dryer. Then I don't care."
Meanwhile Brock was in the laundry room standing in front of the washer trying to figure out what he's supposed to do. "Okay, this cant be hard." He told himself. "Soap first.. Okay.. Then the clothes.. Okay… see I can do this." He said as he shut the lid closed on the washer. In a matter of seconds, his confidence was crushed when he saw the many gadgets on the panel of the washer. There were things for colored clothes, whites, delicates. Then a time limit for wash, rinse and finish cycle. He was beyond confused, so he opened the lid and peeped inside. "Well, I see blue, black, yellow, and green. So I guess that falls under "colors." There were too many dials and buttons he wasn't sure which one to press. So he shouts out, "Reba, what setting do I use?"
She shouts back to him, "Well that depends, what does your shirt say?"
Brock looks down at his shirt and yells back, "University of Texas"
Reba and Kyra looked at each other and giggled to themselves.
"Krya would you mind?" Reba asks her.
Kyra got up to help her father tackle the impossible. "First of all dad, mom meant what does the tag of your shirt say. All you have to do is turn the dial to colors, then turn this dial to cold wash, then press this button to start it. The washer does the rest."
Brock feeling a little embarrassed said, "Well at least I got the color thing right" he chuckled. Kyra just gave him a look of concern and walked back to the kitchen.
"Good choice on the husband mom" she said gathering up her things. "Mid forties and just learning how to wash clothes. You must be so proud!" she continued before leaving. Reba just laughed finishing up her drink. Brock walked in and said, "Nice to see you laughing again"
Reba was a bit startled and took that moment to think about what he just said. It sure has been awhile since she's laughed, or even smiled for that matter. She loved the little flaws in her husband. One being that he could never wash clothes, and the fact the he tried, made it cute. His ignorance about the little things amused her, some find it to be irritable, but not to Reba. She believed that ignorance is bliss. After hearing what the kids said about Brock feeling the way he does about his responsibilities as a husband, and re-thinking all what Barbra Jean had told her. Reba felt that it was time she act on it, instead of dwell on it.
"Yea… well it feels good to laugh again." she softly says. She turned over to look at him, and her heart skipped a beat. She still had that feeling of love for him. That's when she knew that things were gonna be fine. If the tiniest, yet silliest thing can make her laugh still, then it was it all it took for her to realize that its not over, and that sometimes love just needs a little humor.
Brock pulled up a chair next to her and took her by the hand. She was trembling at his grip, and he tried to steady her as much as he could. "Reba.. Talk to me." He pleaded. She was hesitant at first than finally said, "I know about her."
Brock let his hand slip from her grasp and his face fell into his palms. It was all real to him to him now. His wife knew about his adultery and didn't say one word, he broke out into tears, knowing he caused her so much pain, forcing herself to stay strong for the kids and herself. He hated himself for the pain and suffering he put her through and It was eating at him from the inside.
Reba took hold of his hand again, "Brock its okay" she said in a reassuring voice.
"No Reba its not. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"
She interrupted him saying, "Brock listen to me, your right, its not okay. But its done with, it happened. There's nothing I, nor you can do about it to change that. And I know now that what you did is over. I also know I Haven't exactly been the wife you married lately, and I apologize for that. But I still love you, and I want to make us work."
"Why Reba? Why?" He questioned. "After all I put you through, why would you want to be with someone like me?"
She takes a deep breathe and calmly says, "Because, I am aware that each marriage has its ups and down, and that situations like this do happen. Its raw, and it real but its never, never above forgiveness. And I believe that each marriage than can be saves, should be saved"
Brock looked up at his wife, tears filling up his eyes. She knew he was hurting, but it was his turn to weep for them. She cried enough for the both of them, and now it was his turn. "I'm so sorry Reba." She wiped his tears away, trying to hold back her tears from falling and said, "I know Brock. I know" She let go of his hand and brought each other in a passionate embrace, sharing one another's burden and heartache. He held on to her as tight as he could letting the tears fall to her shoulders. Reba couldn't hold back her tears any more and she cried out to him, "I love you Brock." This was the first time in a long time that they ever shared their feelings with one another. It was so overwhelming and it only brought them closer together.
Jake ran into the kitchen screaming, "Dad, Van won't get out of the tree house and my friends and I wanna play."
Brock stepped out of Reba's embrace and wiped his face clear saying, "Okay buddy, I'll be there in a bit."
Reba tugged at the hem of shirt, straightening her clothes trying to regain control of herself. "Yea, you better go check that out.. We'll talk later."
Brock nodded and walked back up to her, starring her straight in the eyes. She could tell he wanted to say something to her, but nothing escaped him. So he just leaned in and gave her one last hug. She accepted him fully and refused to let go. She loved having him so close to her again, its been so long since she felt that way and she didn't want it to end. He grabbed her hands and pulled himself away. "I'm here now." He said in a firm voice, and walked out the kitchen door.
Reba stood there, finally feeling safe, feeling that everything was right in the world. It felt so good to be honest with her husband, and for him to be honest with her. It was a start of something new. They were starting over again, and they are going into it knowing more now, then they did before. She sat on the chair and smiled to herself, anxiously waiting to see her husband again.