You're All I Need

The Present...

The cold January wind blew loudly outside. On the inside of the black, tinted window SUV, a soon-to-be divorcee sat in the driver seat turning the gold wedding band around his ring finger while staring at the brown double doors of the building he would soon have to go into.

"You ready to go in?" A voice asked through the speakers of the truck.

The SUV was turned off with the push of a button next to the steering wheel. "I think so."

"You good bro. Call me when you get out."

Forty-three year old Kai Evans nodded as he looked to the right of his truck seeing the white Lexus truck belonging to his wife of eleven years. He briefly glanced at his phone again where he was Facetiming his younger brother. His brother nodded to him and said bye and the two hung up.

Kai opened the driver side door and got out, grabbing his phone off the magnetic dock mounted on the dashboard in the process. He made his way across the parking lot of the small, one floor office building. He pressed the Ring doorbell sounding off the chime. He heard the doors unlocking and a beep letting him know he could come in. He twisted the handle and entered in, his heart beating at who he knew would be inside.

"Good evening, are you Mr. Evans?" A chipper young African American woman greeted him from behind a cherry wood counter. He nodded and she smiled, already knowing it was him thanks to her boss. "Great. Dr. Washington is in the back with your wife right now. Just sign in here and I'll take you back."

Hearing the words, 'wife' tugged at his heart and gave him butterflies. Something he'd only felt three other times; marrying her and when their two children were born.

Kai picked up the fancy black ball point pen and signed his name underneath Sydney Evan's signature. She was still using his last name...

Once he was finished, he followed the receptionist down a hall and to two white double doors. The receptionist knocked first then opened the door and stepped aside for Kai to walk in.

"Mr. Evans is here sir."

Kai entered in seeing his wife Sydney Evans sitting on a couch with their marriage counselor, Dr. Keith Washington, sitting on a brown leather chair across from her. Kai walked over and sat down on the spot next to his wife. He shook Dr. Washington's hand.

"It's so good to meet you Mr. Evans."

"Same here." Kai spoke lowly. Being here was new to him; he's never talked to a therapist a day in his life nor has he ever considered it. He looked to Sydney and gave her a smile and nod. She gave him a small smile back, which was quickly wiped away when her lips began to tremble.

It's been a week since he last saw her...and it was hurting them both.

"Me and your wife were just talking about your kids Ian and Isaiah. Ian's about to go to high school soon, right?" Kai slowly nodded. He could see Sydney wipe at her eyes out the corner of his own. "Last week we talked about you two. Kai, I know you think divorcing Sydney will make the lives of her and your children better. But...talking to Sydney about the boys before you came in, it seems like it would make things worse."

Kai shook his head, "We been together for over 11 years man. All the boys know is us bein' together. This is the last thing I wanna do but...I think this is the best thing for them and her. I've been moody as hell since my best friend died...and I've lied about things...I just think I should be alone right now."

"From the kids or from me?" Sydney spoke up, tears now rolling down her flushed cheeks.

Kai knew she was crying but couldn't look her in the eye. When he didn't respond, she broke down. He sucked his teeth and leaned forward resting his elbows on his legs and clasping his hands together. His fingers found his wedding ring and he began to turn it as if he was taking it off...

"Sydney you know what I did. That shit is unforgivable. It's not an example I want my sons to look up to. I need to fix me and that means divorcin' you. I've put you through enough. You haven't forgiven me for what I did an' I don't blame you."

Dr. Washington sat like Kai, looking towards Sydney. "What Kai did...do you see yourself forgiving him?"

"Dr. Washington, I already have. While I don't agree with what he did and he did lie to me, I understand why he did what he did. Despite what happened, us divorcing will not solve anything or help him. He needs to be around his family to be reminded of the great man he still is..." She turned to Kai who was still avoiding looking at her straight on. "He needs to be reminded of how much he still means to me. I cannot lose him Dr. Washington. And if it takes twenty sessions or four for him to see it, so be it. I'm not giving up on him and I don't want him to give up on himself."

Silence filled the room as Sydney waited for him to say something...Dr. Washington watched as he registered everything Sydney had said. Kai dropped his head and closed his eyes that burned with tears.

"Kai...I want you to take this week to think about what Sydney just said. Think back to when you both met...the friendship you both had before the relationship...think about what you felt when you first laid your eyes on her...the first time you became a father...your wedding day...every special moment you shared with your family. Can you do that for me?"

Kai shook his head slowly as he opened his teary eyes, "I think about it everyday..."

_____________________________________

Long awaited...

This is an extension from a few short stories from Touch Me, Tease Me featuring Sydney and Kai. In the imagines, Sydney was portrayed by content creator, Kathlyn Celeste (popular from Tumblr and Youtube) and Kai was portrayed by Nas. For this story, I will strictly describe each character's physical features rather than provide face claims.

Thank you for supporting!

Chan Marie