All Chapters of The Fantasy Maker: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Emma shoved Steve's uneaten breakfast into the garbage disposal with the remnants of the boys' meal, feeling a little too much satisfaction as the sound of the grinding blades filled the room. Was it evil of her to imagine his face sliding into the disposal?Maybe.She sighed as she bent to put syrup lathered plates into the dish washer. She loved her husband, really she did. Every time he looked at her with those amazing blue eyes, her heart still skipped a beat. She just wished that he still felt the same way.They hadn't had sex in months. In fact, she could distinctly remember the last time. They were in the Turks and Caicos Islands, celebrating their wedding anniversary. He spent nearly the whole time on his cellphone while she went scuba diving, took hikes with a local guide, and explored the local markets. Only on the last night of their trip did he seem to have time for her. And even that felt more like an afterthought than anything else.They went to dinner at the resort.

She stood in the doorway and watched them. Her three men. Seth and Justin sat across from each other in their superhero pajamas, Justin in Iron Man, Seth in Superman. They had their noses buried in worksheets, Justin struggling with a simple crossword that forced him to define his spelling words for the week, and Seth with his math. Steve sat at the head of the table, his laptop open and a stack of paperwork fanned out beside it. Every time his eyes moved over something at the top of the screen, it felt like he was looking at her. She studied his face, the angles so familiar that her hands could almost feel them against her palm. She remembered the first time she saw him. It was like this.He moved in to a house across the street from where she lived the summer she was sixteen. She caught glimpses of him from time to time, saw him coming and going with his father, saw him playing basketball alone in the driveway. But it wasn't until school started again that fall that they really me

"When do you come back?"Steve dropped a handful of socks into his suitcase. "Sunday night."Emma leaned against the wall, watching him move between the dresser and the suitcase balanced on the end of the bed. She was chewing on her lip, trying to hold back the words that were sitting on the end of her tongue. Words of accusation that were just begging to be released. But she knew it would do her no good to release them."What kind of conference is this?" she asked for the third time."It's a leadership conference, Em.""In Houston?""Yes.""And you have to go?"He paused, several pairs of underwear in his hands. "I could miss it, but then I would also miss getting information that might help me in my job. Is that what you want?"Emma looked at him, looked at the barely contained anger in his eyes. When had this happened, she wondered. When had they become enemies?She shook her head. "Will you call the boys tonight?""Of course."He dumped the last of his things in the sui

A rare, quiet moment found Emma. She curled up on the couch, her camera in her hands. She ran through the memory card's collection of photos. Seth's birthday had been a week ago and this was the first moment she had to look at the pictures she had taken during the party. She couldn't believe her baby was getting so big. It seemed like just last week he was crawling across the living room like the devil was on his heels.The pictures were filled with smiling faces. Her parents. Steve's parents. Neighbors, friends, and children everywhere. She smiled at a picture of Justin shoving a piece of cake into his grandmother's mouth. Another of Seth trying to break the Hulk pi?ata he had insisted they buy for his celebration. One of Jen trying to hide the glass of wine she had snuck from the kitchen. And one of Steve, sitting on the back porch with a cellphone stuck to his head.She was going to have that thing surgically removed one of these days.It had been weeks since the night he came ho

"Just two more months," Justin said.Emma smiled over her coffee cup. "Yeah, that's right," she said."Till what?" Steve asked as he walked into the kitchen, adjusting his tie."Till school is out, silly," Seth said."Oh, of course."Steve moved up beside Emma to pore himself a cup of coffee. He touched her lightly with his elbow and smiled when she looked up at him. She smiled back.He was trying, she had to give him that much. He had been home at a decent hour more often in the past month. And he tried to be involved when he was home, instead of setting himself apart with his cellphone stuck to his ear. It was the little things, she knew. The little things that made the biggest difference."What's the plan for this summer?""Soccer," both the boys cried at the same time.Emma shook her head. "Can't you just enjoy sitting in front of the television like every other kid your age?""Of course not," Steve said as he walked over to the table and ruffled Seth's hair. "Our childre