A Twist in My Story

“Fuck,” Kevin cursed as he tossed his ruined shirt back in the washing machine.

It was Friday, the busiest day at the office since everyone rushed to leave early which meant his desk was stacked miles high with paperwork they’d dumped on him. It was also almost exactly a week since Danielle had walked out on him…and his mood hadn’t improved. After running out of leftovers and discovering he couldn’t cook worth a shit he’d taken to stopping at fast-food places on his way home every night. The kitchen was littered with souvenirs from his dinners. His pride kept him leaving work at his usual time and maintaining his same workload and happy demeanor all in an effort to keep his wife’s departure a secret. He didn’t want sympathy, he wanted his wife back home where she belonged so he wouldn’t have mornings like this.

Last night he discovered, in an epiphany sort of way (aka no clean shirts), that his clothes didn’t magically jump out of the hamper and back into his closet clean by themselves. He had thought “no big deal” and put them in the washer before he ate his dinner of Chinese food and worked on some papers. When the washer dinged that it was done he had opened the lid to find, much to his horror, that his nice white work shirts were pink; a red sock lay among the pink shirts proudly gloating at its nice dye job. Kevin had yanked the sock out, nearly seeing red at his anger level.

Cursing aloud he had quickly brainstormed what his options were. He didn’t want to call his mother and it was too late to run out to the store to buy a new shirt. In a drastic thought, he made a memo to go buy 366 work shirts so he wouldn’t have to wash them again. He turned in tight circles in the washroom trying to think of what to do; he couldn’t go shirtless to work tomorrow. Inspiration hit when his eyes landed upon the container of bleach sitting on the shelf. Grabbing it he dumped it over his shirts and started the machine again. After perusing a few more papers and letting a few yawns escape he had decided to call it a night, resolving to get up early to dry his shirts.

Now at 5:30am he stared livid into the washer at his shirts. Not only were they still pink, they were now blotchy too. The bleach only stained parts of the shirts. Disgusted, he slammed the lid shut and huffed to his room to hunt down a semi-clean shirt for work. As he scrounged around his bathroom and bedroom he cursed Danielle under his breath once again for leaving him like she did. It was one damn dinner for crying out loud. He found one half-hidden shirt under the bed and shrugged it on. He frowned at his reflection; the shirt was very wrinkled. However he had no time to fool around with the iron. He would already be pushing it to work as it was.

Hastily he grabbed his shoes and hurried down to his office to scoop papers into his briefcase and leave. Inhaling sharply, his right foot was suddenly wet. Forcing himself not to explode Kevin looked down at his foot to see it in a lovely yellow puddle on the wood floor.

“RILEY!” he yelled.

The little Yorkie poked her head around the corner timidly.

“Why? Why of all mornings must you do this? You never have accidents when Danielle’s here. This is the fifth time this week. Do you really hate me this much?” he shouted at the dog who only began to bark at him and increase his impending headache. “She left me, Riley. I sure as hell didn’t ask her to. She could’ve taken you with her but I guess she just wants to punish me more for God knows what.”

He huffed back to his room, yanking his soaked sock off and tossing it in the hamper on his way to the bathroom. He washed the smell of pee off his foot and found new socks, making sure to put his shoes on before he left the room this time. Stomping down the hall he sent a nasty glare to Riley who claimed her spot on the couch as she watched Kevin wipe up the rest of her mess. Kevin remembered clearly the day Riley came into their lives and how good things had been…

“Close your eyes, baby,” Danielle instructed him as she climbed off his lap.

“Aw, but I liked you straddling me like that,” he fake-pouted, smiling at her laugh. He obliged however and closed his eyes. He frowned hearing her footsteps return with a jingle and whimper.

“Okay. Open them,” she said. He could hear the smile in her voice.

When he did he saw her holding a small tan and black Yorkie in her arms. “What…”

“Happy 23rd birthday, Kev! I thought you’d like a dog that we could take care of together and this little angel just jumped out at me…literally,” Danielle chuckled, accepting the puppy’s kisses.

“You got me a dog? Wow, Dani…” Kevin was floored. They hadn’t discussed a pet yet but the puppy looked so cute in Dani’s slender arms. He reached out to scratch behind its ears. “What’s its name?” he asked, catching one of Danielle’s belt loops and pulling her back onto his lap, dog and all.

“She’s your present, you get to choose.”

“You choose, sweetie. I’ll just pick a name like Fifi,” he smoothed the puppy’s fur, earning a throaty growl from the dog. “See, even she thinks that would be a bad idea.”

Danielle laughed at him. “Okay. Um…she looks like a…Riley. Yes. Riley it is. Hello, Riley, welcome to the family,” she nuzzled the puppy, earning licks.

Kevin watched her with love. The puppy had been a very good idea so Dani wasn’t alone at night when he worked late. Plus her smile was enough for him.

“Thank you, Dani. I love the puppy…and you,” he kissed her cheek.

Danielle twisted and smiled, kissing his lips before Riley budded in, separating them with her nose and tongue, causing laughter to ring throughout their condo.

Kevin scowled as he drove towards work. Riley wasn’t so cute anymore when she was protective of Danielle. On several occasions she wouldn’t even let Kevin sit with his arm around Danielle without raising a fuss. And the barking…Kevin couldn’t figure out how to get her to stop barking at people when he walked her. He had tried almost every day…well on the days he remembered…to walk her and all she did was bark and growl at every person they passed. It was embarrassing. He half wished that if Danielle had planned to leave then she would’ve at least taken the dog too. He didn’t need another thing to remember to do after a long day at work.

Resigning himself to his negative, foul thoughts he merged into rush hour traffic headed towards the city, already feeling the headache increasing with pain.

“Kevin,” Mr. Rich said congenially as he entered Kevin’s office later that day. “How’s it coming?”

“Slowly. I can’t believe that one person’s mistake could affect so many records. It’s torture going back over all of these with all the new ones coming in. But you know I do it without complaints,” Kevin smiled tiredly at his boss. Since lunch he’d been on edge even more because he called Danielle again and left her another voicemail. In the entire week she’d been gone he hadn’t gotten one call from her. It angered him.

“Yes unfortunately it burdens everyone else unnecessarily but the problem had been dealt with,” Mr. Rich nodded solemnly, reminding Kevin of the intern’s dismissal that morning. She’d been in tears and he had felt a little sorry for her because it was an honest mistake but now going through the papers she’d screwed up he didn’t feel so sorry.

Kevin sat stiffly as his boss sat comfortably in the chair opposite him. He hated being watched, especially by someone with higher rank than him. It made him nervous.

“Tough time at home?” Mr. Rich asked casually.

Kevin’s defenses shot up. “What?” he choked out.

“You’re wearing a wrinkled shirt. I only do that when I’m in the doghouse with Margie. God love her but she can have a downright nasty temper when she puts her mind to it,” Mr. Rich chuckled.

Kevin chuckled with him though his laughter was forced and stiff. He didn’t like that his boss noticed his untidy appearance. “No, Danielle’s fine. We’re fine. The iron is just broken and we haven’t bought a new one yet,” he lied through his teeth. “But thanks for the info on your clothing style. I’ll have to remember that when you come to work next time in a rumpled shirt. I’ll make sure to send Margie some flowers those days to butter her up.”

Mr. Rich laughed richly at that, pleasing Kevin. Chuckling a few more times, Mr. Rich stood and straightened his tie in the process. “Well good, she’ll enjoy flowers. She always complains that I don’t give them to her enough,” he walked to the door. “Two more hours then I don’t want to see you here. Go home to your wife and buy a new iron, Kevin,” he stopped in the doorway. “Oh, and Margie’s throwing a little get-together in two weeks and told me to invite you and your pretty wife. She says you hide her too much. Margie and I won’t take no for an answer. Have a good weekend, Kevin.”

“Okay, I’ll tell Danielle,” Kevin smiled with a laugh until his boss was gone. Once alone he slumped in his chair with a heavy sigh. Lying was bad enough but now he would have to come up with a convincing excuse not to attend that get-together which wouldn’t be good for climbing the ladder in the business. He hated that even his boss’ wife noticed Danielle’s lack of presence at the office. Kevin was a firm believer though that home life should stay at home and not mix with his work life.

He checked to make sure no one was lingering outside his office then pulled out his cell. No calls. Anger built in him again as he dialed her number again, getting her voicemail.

“Hey Dani. Mr. Rich just invited us to a get-together in two weeks. This is important for my job so come to terms with whatever set this shenanigan off and be back here by then. Bye.”

Hanging up Kevin buried himself in paperwork as Eleanor slipped in quietly and put a few more file folders on his desk from Mr. Rich. He sighed in exasperation at the massive pile that kept growing. She sent him an apologetic look before slipping back out.

Groaning in impatience he shoved the paper he’d been revising aside and pulled Brittany Nicole’s in front of him. She was his sole responsibility to push successfully into the music industry. He was excited to do it too. He felt honored that Mr. Rich felt confident enough that he could handle this job. The only thing blocking him now was Danielle’s untimely departure. In his mind, his confused and cluttered mind, she needed to get over herself and come home. He had an ache in his chest which he couldn’t decide if it was from anger towards her or missing her. Sure he could always go to where she was but that would be like him caving and he would not stoop that low. She was in the wrong and being overly-sensitive as his dad had said.

Shaking his head he focused on the contract in front of him, shoving all thoughts of his wife to the back of his mind.

Danielle looked down at her phone as it beeped with another missed call and voicemail. Kevin called on a daily basis but she had yet to decide to answer his calls. She talked to Denise when she called to congratulate her on the baby, but she couldn’t bring herself to talk to her husband.

“Did he call again?” Dina asked as she walked beside her younger sister. She came to visit her little sister and try to get her mind off her marital issues. Their mother hadn’t had much luck this week.

“Yeah,” Danielle sighed, shutting her phone and stuffing it in her pocket. She looked out at the waves crashing to shore as sand squished between her toes. She’d always loved spending summers here when she was little and was glad her parents decided to move here after her dad retired, but now she just felt sad. Kevin had proposed to her on this beach.

“Dani, if you talk about it, it might help,” Dina squeezed her sister’s hand in support, reaching over to brush a tear off Dani’s cheek.

Dani jolted back to reality and swiped at her cheeks to rid them of the unnoticed tears. She hated that she still cried over him and wanted to stop but couldn’t.

“I’d just had enough, Dee. I had to do something,” she turned her watery eyes to her sister.

“What was going on? I thought you two were happy. I mean you moved out of the city and that went well,” Dina encouraged her to say more.

“We moved because Kevin caved to me. He hates our house. He hates the longer commute to the city. He’s always locked up in his office doing work because he spends so much more time on the road instead of in the office. I hardly ever see him even on the weekends. Most Saturdays he goes in to work. That’s not a marriage. Even when I was working at the preschool in New York I saw him more than I have recently. He’s so consumed by his job that I’ve become second in his life and I don’t think that’s how it should be,” Dani vented.

“Oh, sis. I’m sorry. I had no idea your marriage had taken this downhill turn, but it won’t be like this forever. Everyone has rough patches-”

“It’s been like this since April, Dina. I wanted to move so we could start a family and now that we are I can’t stand to be around him anymore. It pains me to be in the same house with him yet be so far apart. I even go to bed alone most nights because he works so late,” she continued, more tears falling down her cheeks as she let it all out. “He blew me off, Dee. I told him to be home for dinner because it was important and he blew me off for his bosses. You do not blow off your wife. I’d planned his special dinner with good china to tell him we were expecting. He came home close to midnight, we argued, I shouted the good news at him then locked myself in our room. I snuck out the next morning and came here. He thinks I’m mad over the stupid dinner but it goes way deeper than that. I just don’t know how to get him to see that. I always cave to him but I don’t want to this time.”

Dina listened as her sister poured out her heart, glad she finally did. “Don’t cave. Make him come to you or all your effort will be for nothing. If he loves you as much as you love him – and he does – he’ll come, Dani. Just stay strong and relax. You’re having a baby,” Dina smiled trying to get Dani to do the same.

“But, Dee, what do I do if he doesn’t come? I can’t stay here forever and I don’t have enough money saved to buy a house. Kevin and I have shared accounts.”

“When Katie comes home you can pester her about her new boyfriend,” Dina suggested mischievously, grinning as she thought of their youngest sister.

“Nice, Dee, real nice,” Dani rolled her eyes letting a smile spread across her face.

“Or Mom mentioned something about the Hendersons wanting to redecorate their beach house. You could do that. You love that decorating, creative stuff.”

“Yeah I do…I’ll talk to Mom about it,” Dani leaned into Dina lightly with sisterly love sighing when Dina’s arm came around her shoulders. “Thanks for listening, Dee.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie. Whenever you need to talk you know where to find me,” Dina kissed her sister’s forehead. “Now let’s get some ice cream. My niece or nephew needs a sugar rush,” she laughed as she tugged Danielle towards the pier.

Danielle laughed as she was dragged, feeling a little happy for the first time since she learned she was pregnant. Time was what she and Kevin needed; they both needed to clear their heads and set their priorities straight. She’d give him time. Reaching into her pocket she turned her phone off and set her mind on having a fun-filled day with her big sister.