Discovering Truths by B. Benfield (chrysanthemum read aloud .TXT) 📕

Choppers. And honestly…I’m not sure that I have any regrets. My marriage sucks, but I don’t know that I completely regret my wife. She gave me my son and he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I just wish things were different, but I don’t see that happening. We’re both ready to throw in the towel, but we’re hanging on for him. I’ve heard, don’t stay together for the kids, they can see that you’re not happy and that makes it hard on them, but then I’ve also heard that you need to make it work for the kids, so heck, I don’t know.

Blah. Sorry. Didn’t mean to get into all that. If I don’t get a chance to respond tonight, I hope you have a good evening and sleep well again. I’ll definitely be looking forward to your next message.

 

Gage

***

It was six in the evening by the time I received Gage’s e-mail. I’d spent all day obsessing, paranoid that I’d said too much in my first letter. Of course he was busy and I’d worried for nothing. Reading his second message gave me another sense of assurance. Our situations were so similar it was actually kind of scary.

Gage,

 

It’s crazy that we’ve found ourselves in this predicament, and I strongly agree with you…that everything happens for a reason. I’m sure things will go exactly how they’re supposed to, and I’m so excited to see what comes of this. Our personalities seem to vibe for sure.

It also seems that we have the same answer in regards to our intentions. That’s promising. I am totally down for seeing where this goes. I never thought I’d find someone like you to begin with, so this whole thing has me pumped.

My favorite candy is Dove Chocolate. It’s just so smooth...literally so good. When I was younger, I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. I always remember thinking my teachers were so fascinating and wanting to do what they did. When I entered high school, I took a lot of computer and business classes and that’s where I discovered that I had a niche for it. That’s what led me to go to college and get a degree in business. Now, I haven’t used the degree since I received it. It’s kind of a bummer. My favorite TV show is anything on HGTV. I’m totally into the house hunting and remodeling, although it’s not my cup of tea. I’ll just watch. And my biggest regret, well honestly, it’s getting married so young. Marcus and I were together through most of my high school career and we married when I graduated. I never experienced anything else. The fact that I thought I could change his mind about wanting children was just stupid on my part. Now, well, we have a lot of issues. Big issues.

So that brings me here. I know I should just leave him, but for whatever reason I can’t bring myself to do it. I hope that admission doesn’t send you running for the hills. Considering we’re in the same boat, I hope you can understand me. I’m just looking for a missing connection.

Hope you have a good night.

 

Abby

***

I flipped through the TV channels as I lay in bed that evening. I was trying to make myself sleepy, but I couldn’t get the days e-mails out of my mind. The door creaking open startled me out of my trance and I sat up to see Marcus tip-toeing into the bedroom.

“Hey,” I said, glancing at the clock on my bedside table. It was a little after ten.

“Hey,” he said softly. “Still awake?”

“Yeah. Trying to get sleepy,” I said, adjusting my pillow. “How did court go?”

“Went great! We won the case!”

“Nice. Well, that’s good news. Did you have dinner?”

“I did. We went out for celebratory drinks afterward.”

“Oh. Your whole office?”

He was in the closet undressing. He slipped off his shoes and jerked off his tie. “Well, yeah, the few of us who were working the case.”

Right.

“Do you have a full day tomorrow?” I asked.

“I have several appointments,” he replied. I hated how he would never tell me what he was actually doing. I knew that there were certain details he couldn’t mention, but he never let me in on anything that had to do with his job. It was always referred to as “the case,” “court,” or “appointments.”

“Well, I’m going to try and fall asleep,” I said, rolling over to my side. “Night.”

“Me too,” he said, flopping down on the bed. “I’m exhausted. Night.”

And that was all he said. He was snoring five minutes later.

Chapter Five

The sun was shining bright the next morning as I headed out early for my Yoga class. I met Melinda for breakfast afterward before she went into the office. She was there waiting for me, like she always was. That girl was never a minute late for anything.

“Morning,” she said as she spread cream cheese on her bagel.

“Good morning,” I replied. I dumped some sugar into the coffee she had waiting and stirred it around a bit. I felt like she was watching me and when my eyes met hers, I noticed she was.

“How are you? How are things?” she asked.

“I’m fine. Things are…the same.” I shrugged. I brought the coffee to my lips and watched as she nodded.

“Anything you need to tell me?” She took a big bite of her bagel and continued to stare at me while she chewed.

“Um?” I questioned with wide eyes. “What are you getting at, Mel?”

“The last time we talked you had conjured up some psycho plan and I want to know where that stands.”

“Well, you said you didn’t support it, so I figured it was best to not even discuss it.”

“You’re right, I don’t support it. I