Chris sat at his desk in his office typing up notes about the client he just saw. A knock on his door interrupted him, "Sorry to bother you, Mr. Matthews. Your last client just canceled. He said the weather's getting worse." Chris briefly smiled at his secretary then said "Jane thanks for letting me know. You can head out for the day."
"Thank you have a great weekend."
"You too."
Jane left shutting the door behind her as Chris finished up his client's notes. The clock in his office struck five as a chime sounded in his office. Turning off his computer Chris stared at the files piled up on a burnt orange colored chair in the corner of the room. He debated whether to take some work home with him, so he picked up a small stack and put them in his briefcase before locking up the office.
The wind howled as Chris walked into a Thai restaurant, grateful that he had ordered pickup. His phone rang so he stood near the restaurant's entrance, not wanting to stand outside in the cold. "Hello?... Hi, Rose... I'll be right there... Thanks bye." Chris hailed a taxi as is thoughts were of his wife. He wanted to be there for her as much as he could. Although every time he spoke to her she isolates herself from him and he didn't know how to close the gap.
Arriving at his apartment building Chris nodded to his doorman as he took the elevator up to the fifth floor. "Sarah... I'm home," Chris called out into the darkness of the apartment then softly shut the door behind him. The quietness enclosed him as he set up the kitchen table for dinner. Chris laid his coat across his lounge chair in the living room, not bothering to hang it up on the coat rack.
As he sat his briefcase down at his desk in the living room he glanced at Sarah's computer. He was disheartened knowing she hadn't written anything. Normally her computer screen would be filled with parts of a story that when read it was as if you were actually there. A notification popped up on the screen which read "Are we still good for noon?" Chris was puzzled wondering who it could be.
"Hey, you're home early." Chris turned from the computer to see Sarah sitting in her lounge chair with her coat still on.
"Yeah, the weather's getting bad...my last client canceled."
"Mmm okay," Sarah said with a straight face.
"Are you alright? Rose called and told me what happened."
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Why is your coat still on?"
"I was just cold. By the way, what's for dinner." Sarah said hanging her coat on the coat rack.
Chris was stunned by the sudden change of conversation but decided not to argue the point. "I ordered Thai. I know we haven't had it in a while."
"Thanks."
Dinner went by slow and very few words were exchanged. Chris remembered of the dinners they once had. Laughter would fill their tiny apartment and they would talk for hours. Chris stood up from the table and cleared the dishes. Sarah had retreated to their bedroom and Chris started on some of his paperwork before heading to bed. Quietly walking into the bedroom he was surprised to see Sarah awake, her eyes filled with tears. "What's wrong?" Chris said sitting on the bed next to Sarah.
"Just another nightmare."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No, no...I just want these images of that day out of my head." Sarah said in a defeated tone.
"I'm here for you."
"I know. I just don't want to put this all on you."
"You're not."
"But I am." Sarah gestured to the living room then continued "I saw your stack of paperwork on your desk. How far behind are you?"
"Just a few weeks."
"A few weeks!? That's going to take you forever to catch up." Sarah pulled her hair into a loose ponytail.
"I'm taking fewer clients. Things will be okay."
Sarah got out of bed and walked to the kitchen. Pouring herself a cup of water she took a few sips then faced Chris who sat at the kitchen table. "Is it going to be okay?" Sarah lifted her hands in frustration. "My book is a disaster. I haven't written anything in over a month. My sales have been dropping and my readers aren't the happiest with me right now. And now you're taking fewer clients."
"We have money don't worry."
"How am I not going to worry, plus we're having a baby we need all the money we can get."
"Honey...we'll be alright. I promise." Chris walked to where Sarah was standing and kissed her, then she pulled away.
Sarah placed her hands on Chris's chest and said: "Listen I'm sorry it's just that..."
"No, you don't have to be sorry. I understand."
Sarah softly smiled at Chris then walked into their bedroom and laid down in bed, "I have an appointment tomorrow."
"At the doctor's, is everything okay?" Chris said wearing a worried expression.
"No not at the doctors. I'm seeing a therapist. His name is Dr. Victor Waterstein. My appointment is at noon."
"I saw the notification on your computer."
"Okay. Well, goodnight Chris." Sarah said turning toward the window.
Chris placed a hand on her shoulder, gave it a gentle squeeze and said: "Goodnight honey I love you."
"I love you too," Sarah whispered.
As Chris drifted off to sleep he thought, "I have to find out more about Victor."
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