is this a date?

part one

tws: swearing, mention of alcohol

toulouse, france was where this broken couple lived. it was 1996 and their relationship was almost over. they were on the verge of divorce. their once bright and lively home turned into a somber and gray house. the dark and cloudy gray skies of this tense tuesday evening created a film of despair over their heads. they couldn't be happy anymore and they were perfectly okay with it.

"lionel, i thought i had asked you to pick up eggs on your way home from work," lorie had coldly said as she turned towards him.

lorie was a relatively short female with dark brown curly hair. it cascaded down her back almost like a waterfall. although her face looked sweet, button nose and once shiny green eyes, she was hot tempered and got bothered easily. every little thing could and possibly would set her off. she was like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. lionel knew how to deal with it in his younger years. he was now 26. his patience ran thinner now. every afternoon he would drown his problems out in old liquor. the burning in this throat gave him what he was missing. feeling. he didn't feel anything with his wife now. instead they continuously fought and bickered. it was like it never ended.

"i'm sorry lore, but i forgot," was what he responded with.

lore was what he used to call lorie all the time when they first got married. when they had first crossed the threshold to their small, one bedroom house, the name sort of slipped out of his lips without him knowing. it brought back such fond memories when he said it.

*flashback*

lorie happily giggled and squealed  playfully as lionel carried her into the house they had just bought together, it was like a dream come true for her.

"lionel, please don't drop me! i'll never forgive you if you do!" she joked.

lionel promised her he wouldn't. he would've never put the women he loved so much into any kind of danger. he gently set her down on the slightly dusty hardwood floor. her white heels made a soft sound as she stepped down and admired her new surroundings. her new husband, her new house, her new life... she was ready to begin anew and to spend the rest of her life with lionel.

"i'm so happy we can start a new life together, lore," he smiled.

lionel's pov

i couldn't bear to look lorie in the eyes much anymore. the animosity we held for each other was very vivid and clear, even though we did our best to put on a facade of a happy marriage. thinking back, i had wondered why i decided to marry a girl like her, but at the same time i knew why. four years ago we got married, but two years later was when things got rough. it was as if a switch got turned on in our minds that opened up our eyes to the reality of our horrible behaviors. lorie was such an angry and quiet person that it was hard to just coexist with her. i wish it didn't have to be that way because deep down, i loved my wife but she gave me no choice. i mentally couldn't put myself through a life like that anymore

she was aware i wanted a divorce but neither of us had actually said anything about the d word. not that we were afraid of it, but we wanted to try and fix what we had lost. sure, it was a task and i was the only one invested but i wanted to try anyway. i looked up from the table i was sitting at, only to see the curly mess that was my wife's hair. her head was down. she was busy cooking dinner. i used to help her with it by the way, but soon, my job as a journalist got in the way as well as our relationship going downhill. now i just sit and work on my articles as she cooks in silence. every once in a while i would ask for suggestions about what to write but she would give me sarcastic, cold, or offensive comments. things that would obviously make me lose my job. and that's exactly what she wanted too. i was sure of it. she wanted me to pay for the things i've done to her, even though i hadn't done much.

i was a caring and loving person and husband for the first four years of our relationship. then things changed drastically when we got married back in '92.