“Hi, I'm Kiley,” the tall brunette said with a smile. “You've got to be my 9 o' clock appointment. Chris Kirkpatrick right?”
Chris nodded, a little dumbstruck at the woman talking to him. It had been a long time since he'd seen a woman who was just naturally beautiful. She was wearing makeup, but not enough to be obnoxious. “Yeah, I'm Chris, nice to meet you Kiley,” he said, glancing over at his wife who was sitting in the waiting area engrossed in something on her phone. Melissa's hair was pulled up in her usual messy ponytail, no make up and a t shirt and some capris. Something she'd woken up and thrown on.
“There is no way you're almost 54. Maybe 44,” Kiley said, reading over Chris' chart.
“Ha ha ha..My body tells me every day I feel about 80,” he told her, liking the slight flirting. Chris had slightly accepted how he looked, liking the compliment on his age. “So, you're new here?” he asked, not having seen her before.
“Yes, I got transferred from Miami to here,” Kiley said, instructing Chris to do his stretches. “Who brings you to therapy every day?”
“My wife. She's sitting in the waiting area,” Chris told the younger woman.
“Oh, that's nice. What else does she do?” Kiley asked, helping Chris stretch and then to start walking on the treadmill for a few minutes.
“Not much,” Chris muttered, sighing. He'd spent the weekend trying to help his wife with some housework and by Sunday it was a moot point. The kids made messes faster than it could be kept clean and Melissa had spent part of Sunday night in bed with a migraine. He'd given up after that, leaving wet laundry in the laundry basket for someone else to deal with. Dinner had been box macaroni and cheese with hamburger meat and taco seasoning along with some green beans. A far cry from a more home cooked meal that he was used to.
“Well, I'm sure she's busy,” Kiley told him. “Do you have kids?”
“Yeah, our oldest is going to be 8, then 7 and an almost 3 year old,” he said, telling her about the kids. “Do you have any kids?”
Kiley gave Chris a shy smile and shook her head. “No. Haven't found the right person I guess...All the good ones are taken.”
Chris knew a line when he heard one. Instead of feeling slightly uncomfortable, it made him smile slightly. “Well, I'm sure it will happen for you. You never know who you'll meet.”
Melissa didn't miss the smile on her husband's face and the physical therapist helping him. Actually she was talking and touching Chris a little too much for Melissa's liking. However, after the weekend had went abysmal, it wasn't worth it to fight about this small thing. Hopefully the woman would be assigned to someone else tomorrow. Along with that, there was the fact that both clean and dirty clothes were scattered everywhere from the kids trying to 'help' with laundry. So her outfit had been quickly chosen and make up was something she looked at longingly before running out of the bathroom to take care of Chris or the kids.
“You're sure chipper,” Melissa told Chris after therapy, not able to keep her mouth shut. She watched her husband pretend to ignore her as he buckled up.
“I don't know what you're talking about,” Chris huffed, turning away slightly. “She was just a new person..I'm a friendly guy. What's wrong with that?”
“If she touched you any more, I'd have asked her for dollar bills to stuff them in your pants, Chris. You spent more time laughing and talking than you did getting any therapy done,” Melissa told him as they made their way home.
“At least she did something,” Chris said. “The house looks worse than it did Friday. I even helped you clean and nothing still got done. I mean, what good is it for you to not work if you can't get anything else done? I don't have to have a babysitter, Mel.”
Melissa bit her lip and kept driving, willing herself not to cry. “You know what, you're right. I'll go to work and then no one will be there to pick up Cam or the girls from school or take them to dance class. Or Hads to whatever sport she's playing.”
“I'm just saying...you could try a little harder. I'm trying to relearn how to use half of my body.”
Melissa pulled into the driveway and looked at Chris. “Fine. I'll try harder. Excuse me I'm not young and hot and bat my eyes at you like that girl did. Anytime I try, you pull away and make some excuse. It's not for lack of me trying in that department.”
Chris winced when Melissa slammed the car door and went into the house, leaving him sitting outside in the car. He knew he wasn't being fair to her. That thought left though when he thought of Kiley promising to see him tomorrow, giggling when he'd told her Bye Bye Bye.
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“Hi honey, how are you?” Cathie's voice said to her daughter, hearing Cameron yelling in the background for 'Nana'. “How's my baby boy?”
“Cam's fine. The girls are fine...” Melissa said, pinching the bridge of her nose to keep from crying. “Mom, am I not trying hard enough?” she asked after a moment, willing her voice not to crack. She was sitting in the car with Cameron while the girls had dance class for an hour.
“What do you mean, not trying hard enough? You're doing everything you can...Taking care of your kids and your husband. Who said you weren't?”
“Chris seems to think I'm not doing enough,” Melissa told her softly. “I mean, I'm really struggling with everything and now he says that. He's never been mean before, Momma.”
Cathie Weston heard the sadness in her daughter's voice and frowned. She didn't know what to tell her, knowing that her son in law was dealing with a lot mentally and physically. However, Melissa was her daughter and it broke her heart to hear her upset. “You know everything happens for a reason. And I can't imagine what you and Chris are going through still...I'm sure he loves you, he's just looking at everything differently now.”
Melissa bit her lip and nodded. “ I need to go Mom. Thanks for listening even for a few minutes,” she said, telling her mother she loved her.
Her phone beeped and she saw it was from Chris.
'Don't worry about dinner 4 me. Heated up leftovers...again'
Tears pricked Melissa's eyes as she looked at her phone. She'd meant to get out a roast to put in the crock pot and left it in the freezer. And she needed to go to the grocery store. Mel sighed, shaking her head.
'I'm sorry'
There wasn't an answer until she was getting out of the car to get the girls and it made her even more upset.
'Don't bother, Mel. I'm going to bed in the guest room'
The kids were good for the most part as she traipsed through the store a little while later, getting food. Melissa got everything to make an apple pie and some pinwheels, something she hadn't made in a long time.
“Mom, are you and Dad getting a divorce?” Hadley asked in the middle of check out.
Melissa froze, looking from the cashier to her oldest daughter who was looking to her intently waiting for an answer.
“No, Hads, what make you ask?” Melissa said as the cashier kept ringing up items.
“Cause one of the girls at school said when her Mom and Dad quit talking and kissing and stuff that they decided to get a divorce. And that her Daddy moved away,” she said matter of factly. “An' she said since Daddy's famous, she said he'd not want us anymore.”
“Hads...” Melissa warned, closing her eyes and swallowing hard before looking at her 3 kids. “Let's get our groceries and go home, okay? No one's going anywhere....Daddy and I are alright.”
“But you and Daddy don't kiss anymore,” Kenna spoke up as Hadley nodded.
Melissa wasn't sure how she managed to get all the kids to the car and help the carry out person get the food in their car and get home. It was a gut punch and took her breath when she thought about it. It was true. She and Chris hadn't been affectionate like they'd been before Chris got hurt. It had been disappointing at first, but now Melissa realized she was trying to ignore it. In doing so, the kids were seeing their parent's relationship suffer.
Not only that, but Melissa had started going to counseling while Chris was at physical therapy. She knew that Kiley was still working there and that her husband always smiled now when he came out to the car. It felt like a competition; one that she was losing.
Once the kids were in bed, Melissa started putting up the rest of the groceries that didn't need to go into the freezer or fridge. Before starting, she'd went in to check on Chris, who was sound asleep in the guest room like he'd said. Mel caught a reflection of herself in the mirror on the dresser in there and paused. She looked exhausted. More than that, she looked sad. Her clothes looked like she'd dug through a plastic bag to find them. It had been so easy to get into the habit of finding something to wear without thinking about it. Just trying to survive the day and make it through had been the plan. She stared at the mirror image of herself and didn't blame Chris for looking at another woman, at least for a split second. While putting up food, she hit play on Spotify, hoping that music would help her mood.
'Where are you now, when I need you around? ...I gave my best it wasn't enough, you get upset, we argue too much, we made a mess of what used to be love..You say it's better if we love each other seperately...' Usher sang as Melissa let tears fall from her face. She put up everything else and then grabbed the blanket and laid down on the couch. It had been hard enough to sleep in the bed without Chris there when he was at the hospital, but she wasn't even going to try when he was just a couple rooms away.
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Chris got up and sat on the guest room bed, looking around. It still had boxes from moving sitting in there. A lot of them were kitchen things. He'd not realized in moving how little space there actually was in the kitchen. He'd felt bad that he and Melissa hadn't flown down to Orlando to actually look at the house, but it worked at least for now. Chris grabbed his phone to look at the time. It was almost 4 in the morning but hadn't slept well since around midnight.
Getting up, Chris made his way to the master bedroom, frowning when he turned on the bathroom light and there was no sign of Melissa in their bed. The comforter hadn't even been disturbed and his mind went back to coming home and finding a note from her saying that she'd left. He knew that wasn't the case, that she was home and the kids were all asleep. That still made him pause a moment, going to look and finding her asleep on the couch. He watched her sleep, her face still looking upset and he frowned when she said his name softly.
He should have woken his wife up and comforted her, asked what dream she was having, but didn't. Chris sighed, knowing later in the morning it would be the same as it was the day before. He never asked where his wife went while he was at therapy and she never asked him any more about Kiley. It was the only bright spot in his day. Well, that and his kids coming home from school. All the medication he was taking and dealing with Melissa seemed like the time before the accident was a lifetime instead of just months.
Walking back to the bedroom, he gave thought to asking Melissa for a separation. It would be easier on them both, at least in his way of thinking. She could have the kids and not have to worry about him. Chris wouldn't feel guilty about another woman being on his mind and the thoughts he'd given to being unfaithful. Kiley had expressed more than just a passing interest in him and more than once mentioned meeting up for drinks. He'd declined every time, but lately it seemed like a more promising thing.
Story Tags: chris
