Chapter 2 : At Least I Think So

One night, I remember purposely trying to start an argument with her, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I did it just to get a reaction out of her. Anything would make me feel better, anything to let me know that she wasn't some emotionless robot.

That night, she came home from work a little late, and I had just finished with dinner. The kids were in their rooms as usual, and I was sitting at the dining table so I could have dinner with my beautiful wife.

Walking into the dining room, she paused and looked at me in surprise, clearly not expecting to find me anywhere other than our bedroom.

'Welcome home,' I spoke softly, trying to keep my voice down in the deafening silence of the room.

'Thank you... ' she mumbled, her tone clearly indicting she was still in a state of shock.

The clicking of her stilettos filled the room as she approached the dining table. She always dressed so elegantly, and even after so many years together, I still rubbernecked at her as she got dressed in the morning.

'You haven't eaten yet?' She asked me, to which I shook my head in response.

'I figured you were busy at the office today, so I made dinner. I waited up for you so we can enjoy it together like we used to back in the day.'

There was once a time we used to have dinner together every night, a time when one wouldn't eat without the other. And when our children came along, we would sit down as a family and talk about our days over a hot roast and mashed potatoes. When did things change?

Now the kids ate in their rooms, and whoever got home first cooked, ate, and went straight to bed, it was sad to say the least.

I stood up and pulled out a chair for her but she placed her delicate hand on my shoulder and gave me a small smile.

'I'm so sorry, since I was working so late I ordered take out at the office.'

Her words didn't really disappoint me as much as they should have, that ship had sailed a long time ago. But still, this could be my chance to at least get her to interact with me with a little more emotion. It was a shallow idea, I know, but I needed it. I needed to know that my wife was still in there somewhere.

'Oh, so is that what we're doing now?' I pulled my arm away from her gentle grasp and looked her dead in her beautiful honey brown eyes. 'So I suppose you want me to just toss this in the trash huh? Just screw the hour I spent slaving over a hot stove for my wife and kids after a long-ass day at work!'

Her expression did not change, her pretty face was still painted with the initial shock from when she first walked in, I was acting out of character and she knew I was bluffing.

'Does anything I do around here even matter to you?!' I spoke sternly, my voice raising ever so slightly.

My wife took a deep breath before taking a step forward and locking eyes with me. This was it, she was going to yell at me for being dramatic, or scold me for raising my voice while our children were in the house. Oh how I couldn't wait for her reaction, I felt like a psychopath getting excited about annoying my wife, but that's what happens when a man is emotionally starved.

'Without you I don't know where we would be right now,' she spoke in calm tone and composed demeanor. 'So of course what you do matters.'

She cupped my cheek gently and looked at me like a toddler who was throwing a tantrum. 'I agree it was inconsiderate of me to reject your offer so bluntly, and I apologize, but that is no reason for you to raise your voice and risk alarming the children.' She gently rubbed my shoulders, consoling me like a small child. 'Did you have a stressful day at work today? Is that why you're lashing out? I'm here, we can talk about it if you want.'

Her calm demeanor and rational response angered and aroused me at the same time. I was furious from my failure to draw a reaction from her, and aroused by how calmly she had handled my childish outburst.

Conflicted, I was misty-eyed from both the feeling of neglect, and from brandishing my fiery erection for this magnificent woman. In that moment, I could have married her a second time.

I grabbed her hands and pushed her towards the wall behind her, pinning her there with her hands above her head. This woman had just denied me emotional satisfaction of any sort, but gosh I wanted her, at least I knew that in bed, there was one emotion that I would definitely make her experience.

I leaned in and kissed her like it would be the last time, and like the submissive wife she was, she kissed me back with an equal amount of passion, but not too much so as to let me set the pace.

When my free hand made its way from her slender waist and groped her plump bum, she looked up at me with eyes that told me it was time do take it to our bedroom.

I'm pretty sure our children heard us as I practically dragged her to our bedroom and banged the door shut behind us.

If they didn't hear that, they must have heard snippets of our intense love making regardless of the soundproof walls that enclosed us.

When we were finished, I rolled off of her to catch my breath and to let my brain absorb all of the serotonin she had induced.

'Are you satisfied?' She asked me in breathless voice.

I turned to look at her bare body, covered only slightly by our silk sheets and nodded.

'I am… '

She smiled slightly before turning away and clicking off her night lamp. 'Have a good night then,' she whispered as she drifted into slumber.

I stayed staring at her perfectly arched back for a few minutes before turning off my own bedside lamp. I stared up at the ceiling in the darkness of our bedroom, before wishing her a good night.