“Trust me, you’ve done a good job with that. Because this place was nasty when we first got our hands on it.”
I sighed. “So am I going to have to ask? Or are you going to bring it up?”
He groaned. “Really? We have to do this now?”
“What the hell did you think I was going to do? Just ignore it? I know you and Allison have been going through a rough patch for a while now.”
“A while? Try the past year.”
“So it hasn’t improved at all?”
He shrugged. “It’s all right, I guess. All things considered.”
“Just all right?”
I watched Mike jam his paintbrush into the can, so I did the same. We sat on the floor, feeling the cool breeze from outside filtering through the open bathroom window. I crossed my legs and settled my elbows on my knees, giving him the space he needed to gather his thoughts. I knew I’d have to practically pry this out of him.
“Come on, man. It’s me, for crying out loud. Just tell me what’s up,” I said.
He cleared his throat. “She doesn’t talk to me anymore, Clint. She’s shut down. It’s like I can’t get through to her. Our house is so quiet all the time. We eat dinners and breakfasts together in silence. All the time. Our evenings are filled with me silently watching the news while she silently reads a book. Or flips through a magazine. Or plays on her phone.”
“Well, shit. I didn’t know it was that bad.”
“I feel like she doesn’t want to be there. Or be with me. It almost feels like she doesn’t want to be with me anymore.”
“Have you said any of this to her?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know, man. I just--I’d say we’d have to work on our communication skills. But you have to have some sort of communication in order to have something to work on. And we have none of it. How do you work on communication if there is none to work on?”
“That’s fucked up.”
“Yeah. It is. And that’s been my life for the past year. Living with a roommate I feel like I’ve perpetually pissed off.”
I couldn't imagine what he was going through. Rae and I had never struggled with issues like that. If anything, talking too much got us into trouble with one another. Not in a bad way. But in a blunt way. And I wasn’t sure what I’d do in his shoes. I wasn’t sure what I’d do if I felt like I was losing Rae. Or growing distant from her.
Well, technically…
“How did you and Rae get over that hump?” Mike asked.
“You mean, before we decided to travel for a while?”
“Yeah. When the two of you were kind of growing apart, or whatever. How did you get through it?”
I shrugged. “We talked.”
He snickered. “Thanks.”
I scooted closer to him. “Mike, I’m serious. If she’s not talking to you, then step up. Talk to her. Tell her how you’re feeling, even if she gives you nothing back.”
“What if she doesn't, though?”
I shook my head. “Maybe you guys need a vacation. Some quality time together to really push hard and see if you can work your way back to each other. Rae and I got a lot of that while we were traveling that year. It really helped us out, having that time together.”
“Maybe.”