Dinner over, Glen helped his younger sister, Tanya, clear the table. While he had only been staying at his parents' place for the past week, Tanya had been there since birth with no sign of moving out anytime soon. Together, they scraped and stacked the dishes while Brenda Lansky already scrubbed away at them. Their father shifted from the kitchen table to his recliner, flipping through the channels on the television. It was a normal Monday night in the Lansky home. It just wasn't Glen's home.Once he finished his share of the after-dinner chores, Glen stepped out onto the back porch, the rain peppering the wooden roof. The wind rustled the banana palms along the fence line, making the evening storm seem worse than it was. He stood along the screen wall, arms crossed over his chest, staring out at the pouring rain.Lightning cracked the night air. Glen counted. One. Two. Three. Thunder then rumbled through the turbulent night. Three miles away. He smiled as he thought about how he woul
I'm hungry." Jordie Lansky draped himself over the arm of the couch, upside down, his pouty face staring at his mother. "Can we have pancakes?"Cherish looked over at her four-year-old. She wore a pair of Glen's old pajama pants and a baggy T-shirt with an old Mountain Dew logo faded across the front. She had skipped the bra, hairbrush, and toothpaste. It didn't matter. Who did she have to get dressed up for? Glen made it known several days ago he wasn't ready to come home yet; he wasn't sure he could come home yet. She didn't have a job to get dressed for either, so what was the point in even trying. She even kept Jordie out of preschool, so she didn't have to see anyone. She had no interaction with anyone since Tuesday morning when the roofer arrived to patch the leak in her roof. She cried her eyes out every night while sleeping on the couch and watched as Jordie played around the house. She knew she should get him back in school, but it was Friday, so what harm could one more day o
"Doesn't it get old? Playing house all the time?" Edwin stood at the tailgate of his truck, his foot up on the bumper, his Salem cigarette dangling between his fingers. "Hell, I tried the relationships without kids and found it stifling. Life is too short to be tied down in one spot. There's too much adventure to experience out there."Cherish stared at him, her smirk pushing up one side of her face. "You mean no one could tolerate your childishness for too long without going insane."He chuckled as he took a long pull from his cigarette. Finally, he shrugged. "Perhaps. What can I say? Life is about having fun. From what you say, that was your motto for a long time as well."She nodded, her own Marlboro Red dangling between her fingers. Glen had been after her to quit smoking, saying how bad it was for Jordie. Yet, she gave up enough of her vices as it was. She wasn't ready or willing to surrender more of what she enjoyed. "That was pre-family. Life doesn't tend to allow for that type
Jordie had a great time at Betsy's, even asking for three chocolate milks. They were such regulars there that Tina Rogers, "Betsy," made sure Jordie was kept satisfied with pancakes until he couldn't eat any more. She even brought out a washcloth to wipe away the syrup that didn't make it into his mouth. Cherish sat there, smiling, as the older woman doted all over Jordie as if he was the king of the world. Jordie just laughed and ate it up.Once they finished breakfast, Cherish decided it was a good idea to take Jordie to the park and allow him to run off some of the energy all that syrup pumped into him. Besides, it was a beautiful day, and her misery had cooped them up inside too long, wallowing in her self-pity. Today called for wallowing outside.There were two other moms there with their children, so Jordie at least had someone else to run around with, giving Cherish time to herself to sit and wonder where she went wrong. She knew she should focus on Glen and repairing her marria
Having made his decision that morning, Glen couldn't focus on work, so he took off for the rest of the day. The jobs were light, and Brent could handle them himself. Glen's thoughts were a recycling of what his father told him Sunday night, Tanya's unwanted advice, and his mother's conversation with him that morning. You're miserable, and I don't blame you. The woman you love betrayed you. Broke your heart. That hurts like hell. Can you forgive her, though? Can you move past it? The two of you waded through deep waters before. Is this ocean too deep? If not, you won't fix it here. You need to be home with your family, in bed with your wife. His father was right; Glen wouldn't be able to move past it if he was away from Cherish. To fix the mess, they needed to be together. Did he want a divorce? No. Definitely not. He knew that even as he walked out the door a week ago. He just needed space to think, to move past what he felt right then. It didn't work, however. He still felt miserable.
Glen pulled up along the front of his parents' house, shifting his car into park and turning the ignition off. He didn't rush to get out of the car however, choosing to sit there a bit longer in the silence. He even drove with the radio off as his mind continued to replay his conversation with Cherish after she tucked Jordie into bed. That had been tough, telling Jordie he was going back to his parents' house to sleep, that he wasn't sleeping in their home just yet. Jordie just hugged him, saying he missed him, before asking if his daddy could tuck him into bed.Once Jordie was out, the real conversation began around the kitchen table and over coffee."You've been awfully quiet tonight. Would you rather I hadn't come over?"Her hands wrapped around her coffee mug, Cherish shrugged. "I'm sorry. I'm glad you came over. Jordie loved seeing you. To be honest, it felt nice to act like a normal family again. I just have so much on my mind; I can't get it to turn off.""So, talk about it. Tha
Cherish just laid there, the night a dark blanket around her as she contemplated everything Glen said to her earlier. It was the first time she slept in her marriage bed since Glen walked out of the house over a week ago. It felt weird, lying there, alone. It had been his suggestion to try to make things as normal as possible for Jordie until they figured out their next move.They had spent the night focusing on Jordie because neither of them knew how to talk about the other. When they did talk, it was all casual chitchat about everything other than the two of them and where their marriage headed. Neither wanted to go down that road just yet, and the walking on eggshells drove her crazy. It was hard just being in the same room at times. He couldn't keep the hurt from his eyes, no matter how hard he tried, and she couldn't get past what she did, waiting for him to explode at any moment. It was always at the forefront of her mind.Yet, he came back. She really didn't think he would. Not
Cherish had just finished brushing her hair when the knock came at the door. She dropped the brush on the counter as she took a deep breath."Oh, Cher!" Aubrey called out as she entered the Lansky home."In here!" Cherish stared at herself in the mirror, her hair a waterfall along her shoulders. She wore her business finest, straight gray skirt, burgundy button-down blouse conservatively buttoned. She thought about revealing the swell of her breasts just a little, but sex had cost her the last job, and she didn't need it infecting this one. She decided to play it safe.Aubrey popped her head through Cherish's doorway. "You decent? Tell me you're not decent."Cherish saw her friend's dark hair as Aubrey peeked around the door. She forced a smile onto her face. "Sorry to disappoint. Maybe later if you're good."Entering the room, Aubrey let out a dramatic sigh. "Ah, well. Story of my life." She collapsed onto the bed, bouncing a couple of times before sitting still. "You all set for your