When The Lights Go Down

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

He had barely slept a wink, he would start to fall asleep but then Gladys' body would brush against his and he was awake all over again. It was like a live wire snapped against him every-time they touched and it was a throughly unwelcome jolt.

He felt dirty, like he had done something so wrong and inappropriate, which coincidentally makes him feel even worse. he shouldn't feel so horrible about himself after sleeping with the woman he once loved, the woman he shares a child with, and yet he can't help it.

He glances at the clock on the wall and blearily makes out the time; 9:02. Others are probably getting ready for breakfast or already there, so he slowly slides himself of bed, careful not to wake Gladys as he does.

He takes a quick shower to fully wake himself up and to wash away the events of the night. The heady scent of the hotel's lavender scented bar soap filling his nose.

When he finally makes his way down to the hotel's breakfast room, he's immediately greeted by June. "Daddy!" She squeals, garnering the attention of the others in the room.

"Hey you," He groans as she leaps at him and picks her up into his arms, pecking a kiss to her cheek. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good. But Uncle Fred snores." She scrunches up her nose at the revelation and FP laughs.

"I know he does, he's loud too." He agrees with her. "I'm hungry, let's go get some breakfast."

"The pancakes are yummy," she informs him. I had two, and Uncle Fred put extra whip cream on them for me!"

"Well aren't you a lucky girl." He sets her on the ground and she follows him to the breakfast buffet, pointing out what he should get to eat, what looks good and what looks gross to her little five year old eyes.

"There you are." Fred says, coming up to the two of them. "Sleep well?" He asks, his tone telling Fo that he knows what happened.

"Fred-" FP begins to protest, not wanting to have this conversation around June.

"Honey, why don't you go finish the picture you were drawing?" Fred suggests to the girl, who, thankfully, doesn't sense the strangeness between the adults.

When she skips off out of earshot, Fred immediately begins to grill him. "I take it you were with Gladys last night?" Fred begins.

FP doesn't meet his eyes, unintentionally answering his question. "What makes you say that?"

"Well after you left, so did Gladys, she said she'd be back but never was, we kind of just put two and two together."

He shrugs. "I was with her, yeah. She stopped by to talk."

"Talk? That's all you did, you talked?" FP is quiet and Fred takes his silence as answer. "FP-"

"Don't make me feel guilty about this, Fred. It just happened, one second we were talking and the next... I didn't plan for this okay? It was the last thing I was thinking about when she showed up." He sighs, lip quivering in frustration. "She told me that she broke up with him."

Fred's face falls, suddenly understanding where FP was coming from now. "I guess that was probably a bit confusing for you then huh?"

"It wasn't at first, I was just, I don't know, mad? Mad that she showed up here unannounced, mad that she had the nerve to give up our marriage for a relationship that didn't even work out, all of it. But then she was sweet, like the Gladys I once knew and fell in love with, and it didn't matter what happened, because it was good to have her back."

"And now?" Fred presses gently.

"Now I feel horrible." He admits. "I'll always love her but I can't see her the same way anymore. I see that guy, I see that day I walked in on them in our bed, I'll never be able to see her the same again." He solemnly says. "She'll always have a part of my heart because she gave me June, but it just made things so clear for me that that is all I feel. And now I feel like I used her, and I feel dirty, guilty."