A/N Thank you, thank you my friends. We've had a lovely wedding and everything seems to be going quite well for our couple. Hmmm, let's see how that plays out.
He started to wake up and damn, his arm felt like it was asleep, he must be laying on it funny, then he looked down and saw that pretty blond hair and smiled to himself, well someone was laying on it. As uncomfortable as it was, and as much as he wanted to move it, he couldn't bring himself to wake her, to move her away.
When she finally stirred he was both relieved, and a little disappointed. He'd resolved to just lay there with her head on his arm forever.
"Good morning Sunshine, did you sleep okay?" He gave her that ear to ear grin of his. She turned bright pink, and burrowed into him, face turned down, "Yes."
And he knew she was embarrassed, but still her arm wrapped itself around him, and he wrapped his around her and pulled her in even closer.
"Can I interest you in breakfast and a honeymoon?" His fingers were playing in her hair.
"If it means I have to get out of bed, I'm not sure." And she giggled softly. "But oh, okay, I am pretty hungry, and I know those fish at the aquarium are all waiting just to see me."
They were on the road by seven. He pulled into a small café, they had breakfast and off they went.
She didn't even want to check in the hotel first, she wanted to get right to that aquarium. He thought it was all interesting, and very nicely done, but what he enjoyed most about the aquarium was watching her at the aquarium. The wonder in her eyes, her oohh's and aahh's. The more happy and excited she got, the happier he felt. It warmed his heart when she said, "I wish Carl was here, he'd love this!"
He smiled and teased her, "Really Beth? You wanted to bring a 10 year old boy on our honeymoon?"
Those pretty cheeks got pink again, but she was determined to tease right back, "Yes I did, but I knew you'd never agree. You can be so contrary."
He couldn't help himself, as much as he knew she didn't care for PDA he took her in his arms and kissed her. "Later I'll show you just how contrary I can be Mrs. Grimes."
He figured they were only going to have one honeymoon and he might as well do it up right. He'd gone all out on the hotel and it was gorgeous, she'd never stayed anywhere like it. "Oh my goodness Rick, everything is so beautiful thank you so much."
He put his hands to the sides of her head, fingers in her hair, "You don't need to thank me for treating you like you deserve to be treated Sweetie. I'd give you so much more if I could." He kissed her deeply and she was surprised by how her body responded to him. She'd always been a little apprehensive, thinking about the way a man touches a woman. She didn't think it was anything she could ever really enjoy. But when Rick touched her that way, she found she wanted more.
He led her to that bed and she felt excitement and anticipation as he slowly removed her clothes, all the while touching her body with his hands, his lips, his tongue. It was no longer that she couldn't imagine being touched that way, it was that she couldn't imagine living without this man's touch.
He took her to an intimate French restaurant for dinner. He caught the look of surprise, mixed with disgust, on the waiters' face when he saw Rick pour a little 7-Up into her wine. He didn't really care how some pompous waiter felt, that's the way his wife liked it.
They'd had a great time in the big city, but two days of it was enough for them, they both preferred a more quiet lifestyle, and were happy to be on their way to Savannah.
As they strolled along Broughton Street checking out all the great shops she could only think about how perfect everything was. She'd told herself for two years she'd never meet a good man, the kind of man a woman wants to marry, have a family with. But then she'd met Rick and her whole life changed. They'd certainly had their rough patches, heck the relationship almost didn't get off the ground. That's what showed her it was truly meant to be, the fact that neither one of them gave up. And it wasn't like she didn't know that life is life, unpredictable, and little problems would crop up from time to time. But if they could just keep doing what they'd been doing, when problems come up, work on working things out they could overcome any kind of adversity. She was certain her marriage was blessed and that they were going to have many, many happy years together.
They'd had so much fun, but they needed to get back to reality, to Carl and to their home, to their careers.
He'd told her he kind of wished she would give up her job, stay home. He wanted to be the provider.
As much as she wanted to please him, she was afraid she wouldn't have enough to do with him at work and Carl at school all day.
"When we get pregnant Rick, then I'll quit my job and stay home. I want to be a stay at home Mom. Right now, we have it covered. I leave early, but you're here with Carl in the mornings. I get home before he gets home from school. I think it's perfect, for now. Okay?"
And he wasn't even sure why it was so important to him that she stay home, just old school thinking he supposed, but shit, he had to be willing to compromise, that's how successful relationships stay successful. "Sure Sweetie, that sounds really good."
Three Months Later
They'd gotten into a routine and it was working out well for them. She and Carl had easily settled into a solid Mother / Son relationship, and all three of them were happy about that.
She loved their home and Rick loved how it felt with her there. More homey, definitely more loving.
They had date night every Saturday. Carl either stayed with Dale and Erma, Beth's folks, Morgan and Duane, he'd even gone overnight camping with "Uncle" Daryl once.
Things had gotten so busy at the bakery. There were so few places left that weren't chain bakeries with goods shipped in, where the baker really baked from scratch right on the premises. The place had become incredibly popular. She'd told Rick and Carl over dinner that the bakery had become so busy the owner had decided to expand, and he was planning to hire another baker.
Rick told her he thought that was great, but in his heart he didn't really care. She'd be pregnant soon and the bakery would be a thing of the past.
The new baker started the following Monday. She felt like she shouldn't have been so surprised, lots of baker's were men. Maybe it was the fact that she didn't really think of it as a younger man's profession. Shame on her, she was gender-biased! And he was so nice looking, well maybe she shouldn't be thinking that, she was a married woman. But it wasn't like she was interested, it was just that she couldn't help but notice.
And he had a great personality, combine that with his good looks, and he was an instant hit with the customers. Not only was she happy to have the help at the busy bakery, but he was so easy to work with, and to just be around. And on top of all that, all she could say about his baking was it was perfection. It was what he was meant to do, that was obvious. His name was Spencer Monroe, or as Rosita referred to him, Mr. Tall Dark Strong and Handsome. And he can cook!
Rick walked in to get his coffee and muffin, looking forward to seeing his pretty wife. What he saw was some guy standing back in the kitchen with her. He thought another woman would be working with her, not some guy. And shit, he was tall, young and handsome in his chef's shirt and skull cap. Rick's happy mood definitely turned a little sour.
She looked up and smiled at him, well he felt a little better. But when she came out of the kitchen with his muffin and coffee, yeah he saw it, saw the way that bastard was checking out his wife's backside.
Rick "dropped in" a couple of times that day, that was unusual, but she loved seeing him anytime he wanted to come by. That evening he was particularly interested in how her day had gone, how busy they were, and how her new assistant was working out.
She'd giggled about that, "Oh he's definitely not my assistant, if anything I'll be learning from him. Holy cow it's like it all just comes so naturally and easy for him, and it's wonderful just to watch him work. And I get jealous of how he handles the 'tough' doughs like gingerbread, he's so strong he just makes it look like nothing. And he has a very nice, pleasant personality, always smiling and seemingly happy. He's going to make my job easier and more fun."
She smiled that big pretty smile at her husband, and he was smiling back, "That's great sweetie, I'm glad you're getting help at work." But inside, his stomach was in a knot. This asshole better not be planning to 'teach' her anything.
As the first few weeks of Spencer's employment passed, Beth noticed her husband coming into the bakery a little earlier in the mornings, and instead of taking his coffee and muffin with him, he now sat at a table and ate. It was like he couldn't take his eyes off of her, and at first it was really quite flattering. And he was coming by every day without fail, even if he just stopped for a minute to say "Hi", and every time he did stop, he made it a point to kiss her goodbye, a meaningful kiss.
She loved his kisses, but she also disliked the PDA, especially where she worked, in front of customers and her coworkers. It was just embarrassing, she liked to save those moments for their time together. Well even a kiss on the cheek, she supposed that would be nice, but a romantic kiss in the bakery? No, that was just uncomfortable for her.
She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but finally she just felt like she had to say something. That evening when they got in bed and he started to reach for her, she told him, "Rick I wish you wouldn't give me those romantic kisses when I'm at work, it's just…"
That was all she managed to get out before he moved his arm, rolled over with his back to her and said, "Fine, goodnight."
She was so confused, and Beth hated conflict, "I'm sorry, did I hurt your feelings? You know I love you, but you also know how I feel about PDA. Please don't be angry." She reached her hand out and touched his shoulder and just that fast he pulled away, "I'm tired, goodnight Beth."
She didn't sleep much that night and neither did he, she could tell he was as tense as she was. The next morning, Friday, they got ready for their day in silence, she couldn't wait to get to work. Her stomach was starting to feel so tense, and it hadn't been feeling very good anyway, not for a couple of weeks now.
Things got a lot better when she got to work. Rosita was telling her some crazy story about her and her boyfriend, Abe. Beth always got such a kick out of Rosita's stories about him. He was so big and blustery and definitely had a rough edge or two. But tiny little Rosita seemed to have him completely wrapped around her finger. Beth would never say it out loud, but she thought of them as Rosita and her big red puppy.
Spencer was in rare form, happy and full of silly jokes. Beth knew he had a new girlfriend and he was enjoying the female companionship, a lot. He'd just been telling her the plot line of some comedy they'd watched the night before. It was so silly and they were both giggling, when she looked up and saw her husband standing on the other side of the counter. He was definitely not smiling.
She was just about to come from the kitchen to give him his muffin, but he turned on his heel and he was out the door. She was stunned by the action. What was going on? This just wasn't like Rick at all.
In the meantime, she was feeling even worse, she wasn't sure if it was some weird little flu bug she had, or her nervous reaction to her husband's behavior. Then it occurred to her, what very well may be the matter.
On her break she quickly ran across the street to the drug store and picked up the test, stuffing the little package in her purse.
That afternoon, before Carl got home from school, she locked herself in the bathroom, read the directions, three times, and took the test. When she saw the results she burst into tears. This was what she'd wanted, so much. But she didn't feel happy. She didn't know just what had gone wrong, but she was pretty sure Rick had fallen out of love with her.
What else could it be?
Now there was going to be a baby, he didn't want her, and he darn sure wasn't going to want this baby.
Entire scenarios began to play in her head, moving back home to the farm seemed most likely. Mama and Daddy wouldn't be happy about the divorce, but they'd be thrilled about having her back and having a grandchild. Maybe she'd even keep working at the bakery. At least she had options, lots of single moms didn't.
Then she snapped to, she was projecting, surely Rick wouldn't leave her, he was an honorable man. Maybe they could work out whatever this was, maybe he'd change his mind. Maybe she could make him fall in love with her again.
It was a relief when she heard that kitchen door slam and she knew Carl was home from school. She'd help him with his homework, fix his favorite Friday night dinner, and maybe Rick would come around. Maybe.
He knew he shouldn't have turned away from her like he had. That was another shit heel move on his part. And then he'd been an asshole at the bakery. But fuck, he was sick and fucking tired of seeing her with this guy every day. This young, handsome guy who always seemed to make her laugh, this guy she thought so highly of. He couldn't compete with him. Yep, it was going to happen all over again, just like with Lori, only this time would be worse. This time he was in love, and it was a love that wasn't going to go away just because she'd moved on to someone else.
He could only think of one thing to be grateful for, at least he hadn't gotten her pregnant yet. Thank God. Oh he'd wanted it, more than he ever thought he would. It surprised him how much he'd wanted it. At one time he'd been so certain he never wanted another child. He'd even thought of having that surgery to make sure it never happened. But he wanted to have a child with Beth. He wanted it for her, for him, even for Carl.
Well that wasn't going to happen now, his life just kept taking those sharp turns and he was tired, tired of banging his head into the wall. Losing her was the final straw.
She fixed those pepperoni pizzas, just like Carl and Rick loved, she made the big salad and the banana cream pie, but the only one who was happy and talkative at dinner that night was Carl.
Thank God he had some impossibly long story, that he thought was hugely funny and entertaining, to tell them. That had successfully kept Rick and Beth from having to talk to each other, or even look at each other.
She volunteered to clean the kitchen by herself, encouraging them to play Carl's video games. Carl was so excited, "Thanks Beth!" His Dad only let him play on weekends and he was more than ready.
She kept herself busy cleaning, then went in their room and tried to read, but she just couldn't concentrate. She locked herself in the bathroom again, retrieved that test from the trash, heck she even got the box back out. She re read the instructions, two more times. Yes, she done just like it said. She starred at that little symbol. And it couldn't be denied, after all she'd also missed two periods and her tummy had been off for a couple of weeks now.
They got into bed and he just muttered a "Goodnight," And again turned his back to her.
She got tears, and a couple may have even fallen, but she was silent. She didn't want him to know.
He was beside himself, he loved her so much, but he had to be the one to pull away, so she'd know it was alright. She was young she deserved her happiness, and if this Spencer guy was the one to give it to her Rick was going to accept that. Because more than anything else, he wanted her to be happy.
Saturday he and Carl went to the batting cages with Morgan and Dwayne, Carl was spending the night with them, but not before Rick got plenty of "Dad time" in.
Four o'clock came and they all went to the drug store and had a coke at the fountain, then Carl was on his way.
Rick was dreading being home alone with her so he did what people often do in situations like that, he stopped at the bar on his way home. He didn't stay and get drunk, after all, he was the sheriff. But he got a start, and when he got home he went right to that cabinet in the dining room, and in the back of that cabinet was a brand new bottle of whiskey.
He sat in his chair and he started to sip from the glass. There was some old cowboy movie on TV and he starred at the screen blankly.
He could smell the dinner she'd prepared, and like every meal she fixed it smelled delicious. But he wasn't about eating dinner tonight, he was about getting drunk tonight.
She ventured in the living room and tentatively said, "Dinner's ready." He didn't even look up when he said, "Yeah, well I'm not hungry, you go ahead without me."
She went in the kitchen, put all the food away, cleaned, and again she locked herself in that bathroom. She knew she was obsessing but she couldn't help herself, she got the box and the instructions and the test out once again. She read the instructions three more times, she starred at the test, starred at the box, re read the instructions one more time, looked at the test quickly, and then one more time, look at the box, cried and threw it all back in the trash.
Again she tried to read her book, but it was useless. Thank God she felt unusually tired. It had been a stressful week and she hadn't slept much. She'd worked extra hard cleaning house today, she had a lot of nervous energy to work off, and she'd heard some women are get tired easily throughout pregnancy. Pregnancy? She fought the desire to check that test one more time. She brushed her teeth, put her nightie on and crawled in bed. Thankfully sleep came quickly.
He was still in that chair, still sipping whiskey, still aimlessly starring at the TV, but his mind was working overtime.
He was thinking how awful life was going to be without her, he was thinking how much he hated that mutherfucker she worked with. He was thinking how he should have put his foot down, had her stay home, he was thinking about how hard all of this was going to be on Carl. And he was thinking about how much he loved her, how much he wanted her. Well he was going to have her, at least one last time before he told her she could go.
He went in the bedroom, stripped down, got in the bed and roughly grabbed for his sleeping wife. He wasn't being gentle, or tender, or loving, he was a desperate man, grabbing her, kissing her roughly and nearly yelling when he said, "What the fuck do you think he's going to give you that I can't give you? I'm your husband, I'll give you what you need, you want sex, I'll give you sex." And he reached up her gown and tore her panties trying to pull them off.
She was shocked, Rick was always so loving and patient in bed. He was never rough, he'd certainly never forced himself on her, she was scared. When he tore her panties she did something she'd never done, never thought she'd ever have reason to do, especially not to her husband, not to Rick, she reached up and slapped him as hard as she could.
A/N Well, that went from good to bad to ugly. Thanks so much to arrowsandangels for mentioning the jealousy idea. Obviously I took that ball and ran with it. Do you think our couple can repair the damage? Thanks so much for reading, please leave your reviews/comments. xo