Decisions
By: John Theodore
Worth Noting:
- From the moment he walked home with that letter from work warning him of his frequent absence and unnecessary day-offs, things never were the same. At first, he took it like she was harsh on him and didn’t want him to hang out with his boys.
- “I know how much you want me to stay home with you, but I’m a man. And I need to be with my boys too. Remember how much they always come through for me?” he said to her in one of their late-night bedroom talks.
- “Mike, you’re literally wasting yourself! How long are you going to take before you see that your friends are going down the drains, and you sure are going with them?” she asked him, pulling from his hold and turning her back on him.
“I’m sorry Mike, I have to go! I can’t do this anymore.” She said, dragging a gripsack after her.
After several attempts of nothing but stutters, he punches hard into the wall. Sadly, he watches his wife take her steps to the door. He clearly knew he had lost her and the moment she walked past that door, she was never coming back whatsoever. Had he not seen this coming? He slowly walked after her. He knew by then she had already gone, but he just wanted to confirm if she really could make such a decision and be firm about it. Sure as the sun, she really was gone. All he had now was himself.
Tracing his way back to the house, he couldn’t help notice the resounding emptiness that she left him to. With every heavy ticking of the clock that hang high on the living room wall, reality hit him. He had a chance to prevent what just happened – at least she tried to persuade him to. Had he acted right, heard what she had to say, he could have had her in his arms right now. Laughing and playing like they used to, few months ago.
From the moment he walked home with that letter from work warning him of his frequent absence and unnecessary day-offs, things never were the same. At first, he took it like she was harsh on him and didn’t want him to hang out with his boys.
“I know how much you want me to stay home with you, but I’m a man. And I need to be with my boys too. Remember how much they always come through for me?” he said to her in one of their late-night bedroom talks.
“Mike, you’re literally wasting yourself! How long are you going to take before you see that your friends are going down the drains, and you sure are going with them?” she asked him, pulling from his hold and turning her back on him.
As much as Mike wanted to justify the goodness of his boys, he knew they were a wreck. At their age, spending their entire weekends on road trips, booze and women! Was it that important? Mike was the only one in a relationship. And them staying together meant he was up for responsibilities already. He knew so well he wasn’t the same guy; they were no longer the same clique as in campus. Although he chose all the reasons not to swallow this truth, he could feel things going south. First with the work, and with time, it had escalated to his home.
Judy was already tired of staying late to wait for her husband. Having to keep watch of him started feeling more like a task than a romantic gesture. She settled with him because she needed a man. Why did he have to keep trying to prove her wrong? She hated to feel the boyhood in his behaviors. What was worse, he wasn’t even ready to hear her out. She couldn’t even count the number of times he left her to sleep home, cold and alone, just because they had a boys’ trip out of town. The more she stayed in bed waiting for him to ring that doorbell in the middle of the night, the more she felt out of peace.
“Mike, are we going to be together like this?” she asked.
“whaa….what do you mean?” he asked, obviously drunk.
She had to brush off the smell of booze that sprayed off his mouth as he talked.
“I mean, you being like this. Are you even ready to make things right?” she continued, sitting upright, her back supported by the bedrest.
“Judy le…let’s talk of this tomorrow please” he said between hiccups before collapsing to sleep.
She remained there, staring at him all asleep like a baby. For the first time since they met, she felt hate for him. She didn’t want to, but she had no control. As tears welled her eyes, she slowly got up, leaped into her sandals and picked an extra blanket from the drawer and a pillow. She sobbed her way to the living room. She knew this was her last night in this house. And her last night with him.
About the Author
John Theodore is a passionate 24 years old Kenyan writer and oceanographer whose love for literature has birthed a lot of writings. To most, his work is a therapy for the soul. Besides short stories, Theodore also writes poems, blogs and has tried a shot on novels which makes him a diverse writer.
Twitter : Theo Dore
Instagram : Theodore John
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