Lauren sat quietly on the couch, staring into the darkness. Dinner had been ready for about 10 minutes with no sign of Matthew yet. She sighed to herself and got up to set the table – probably for one. Matthew had been coming home later and later every evening due to his steady increase of clients over the last two weeks.
“Hey,” Matthew said as he walked in the door, disrupting Lauren’s train of thought.
“Hi,” she answered quietly.
“My evening meeting ran late tonight. I hope you weren’t waiting too long,” Matthew offered as he threw his coat and tie onto the nearby chair.
“I just took it out,” Lauren explained about dinner.
“It smells good,” Matthew said.
“I visited Mrs. Plumb, and she gave me some fresh produce from her garden,” Lauren said quietly.
Matthew smiled slightly as he nodded and found a seat next to Lauren at their tiny dining table. They served themselves and ate together in silence.
“Matt?” Lauren cautiously asked.
“Yeah,” Matthew answered nonchalantly.
“Is everything ok? With us, I mean…” Lauren asked timidly.
“It’s fine,” Matthew answered, as if nothing was wrong.
Lauren looked at her plate and tried not to cry. She knew something was wrong with Matthew that he suddenly started acting this way. It was like he didn’t even care about her anymore.
“I just…” Lauren started.
“What do you think about moving into a bigger house?” Matthew interrupted her.
“What?” Lauren asked, quite stunned at the proposal.
“I’m making so much money now, we can afford to move into something a little nicer. I mean, look at this place! It’s a dump,” Matthew spat out.
Lauren felt the tears brimming at her eyes and tried not to break down too much. She had spent weeks trying to make their little house into a cozy home.
“What’s your problem, Lauren?” Matthew wanted to know when he saw her crying.
“I’ve spent
weeks trying to make this our home, and all you can worry about is making more money or getting more clients!” Lauren screamed between sobs.
“You don’t want me to make money?!” Matthew couldn’t understand. “I’m taking care of myself and my family.”
“You’re a totally different person,” Lauren whispered to her husband as she wiped her eyes.
“I just want what we deserve,” Matthew told her.
“What we deserve or what you think YOU deserve,” Lauren snapped back.
Matthew’s jaw clenched as Lauren stormed away from the dining table, knocking over her chair in the process. Matthew sighed as Lauren slammed their bedroom door, and he finished his dinner alone.
Formerly known as boolPropped