“What about lunch?”
“I don’t want anything thanks, you go on home.” He walked through the house and stood in the middle of the living room looking out the large picture window at nothing. How had his life gone off the rails?
His business was doing better than expected, he had his health and more money in the bank than he could ever spend and right this second none of it meant shit. He felt like nothing would ever be the same again. Like he’d never have another day of happiness.
Turning away from the window, he headed up the stairs to his bedroom. He took one look at the bed where he’d made love to her only this morning, just a few short hours ago and felt sick to his stomach.
He barely restrained himself from throwing up. No way was he going to let her make him that weak. He’d get through this no matter what it takes, it might take some time, but he’d get through it.
He walked over to the bed and stripped it, taking the sheets downstairs and out to the burn pile. Eileen, who had ignored his orders to leave, watched him from the kitchen window with understanding eyes. Things were going to be a little rough around here for the next little while. She’d just have to go into town and have a word with some people.
She’d see to it that everyone knew it was no fault of his, none of it. Hindsight is twenty-twenty and she should’ve known when the girl started acting strange that something like this would happen.
Should she have told him what she’d noticed? Oh what was the point of all that now? It was too late wasn’t it? You could’ve bowled her over with a feather when Nettie called her with the news. But she couldn’t say that she was surprised, she’d long suspected there was something off about Miss. Valerie.
These young people today though, all seem to have mercurial moods. One minute they’re fine and the next they can get riled up at the drop of a hat. She didn’t think much of the girl’s moods, passing them off as just the vagaries of married life.
She’d known all along that they were trying to have a baby. Had seen the disappointment time and again. Especially when the Davises had had their last little girl. She should’ve known that day when she’d happened to look out the window and seen Miss. Valerie beating her favorite horse bloody that something was afoot; and all the other things that had happened since.
She looked away with fresh tears in her eyes and went to see about defrosting something for dinner. They’d weathered many a storm together and she was sure they’d get through this one as well, just one foot in front of the other.