Anymore

Chapter 14

Marlena walked in the door irritated that she had been running behind all day since the board meeting. She stopped when she crossed the threshold to see Roman sitting on the sofa in between Carrie and Sami in an awkward silence. She cleared her throat. "Sorry I'm late... been behind ever since that board meeting today."

Sami and Carrie jumped up and rushed to give her a hug. She smiled. "Hello sweet girls..." She pulled away from Sami and ran a hand down her cheek. "Did you order the pizza?"

Sami smiled. "Yep Carrie did, should be here in about 20 minutes."

Marlena smiled at Carrie. "Thank you sweetheart. How was your volunteer shift today?"

Carrie huffed. "It was crazy busy. Did you..." she quickly glanced at Roman then back to Marlena. "Were you able to get everything done today?"

Marlena nodded with a wink. "Yes, luckily I was able to get everything done." She patted her briefcase. Carrie and Sami smiled.

Marlena walked to the sofa and sat down. She started to remove her shoes. "Hi Roman..."

He shuffled through the files that sat on his lap. "Hey Doc..."

"What's all that?" Motioning to the papers.

He looked at her distracted. "Hmm? Oh some stuff Shane wanted me to look at for this case that's coming up."

Marlena drew a deep breath trying to calm her rising anger. She stood and walked to the stairs. "I'm going to change." She looked back. "Sami what movie did you pick?"

Sami smiled. "Alive..."

Marlena turned her nose up. "Ugh Sami... that one we read about where they eat people?" Sami nodded with laughter. Marlena grinned. "I'm starting to rethink letting you pick movies."

~~~~~

Marlena sat on the sofa with Sami sitting on the floor in front of her. Carrie sat in the arm chair, and Roman sat on the sofa at the opposite end, reading through his file. Marlena was playing with Sami's hair when she gave it a gentle tug. "Okay popcorn and bathroom break... pause please." The girls ran upstairs racing each other to the bathroom. Marlena stood and stretched her tired limbs. She grabbed the popcorn bowl and started towards the kitchen, when Roman held out his coffee mug. "Doc, could you get me a refill?" She glanced at the mug then to Roman, and kept walking without saying a word. Roman watched her walk away, slamming the kitchen door open hard enough for it to rebound off the wall. He sat his papers aside and followed her.

He stepped inside the door and watched her preparing another bag of popcorn to place in the microwave. "Is there a problem?" She ignored him and kept doing what she was doing. "Marlena!" He shouted. Her immature behavior was irritating him beyond measure. She stopped and looked at him without saying a word. He drew a deep breath. "Aren't you a little old for the silent treatment?"

She placed the bag in the microwave and slammed the door. "You should be very grateful that I'm not talking right now."

"What's your problem this time?" He took his mug over to the coffee pot.

"The fact that you don't know what the problem is, is one of my problems."

Roman turned around, leaning against the counter. "There's no making you happy is there? I'm here for movie night. What more do you want?"

"You're sitting on the sofa doing work! That's hardly participating in movie night."

"But I'm here! Isn't that what you've been bitching at me about for months? That I'm never here?"

She closed her eyes and counted to ten. When she opened her eyes the microwave dinged. She grabbed the hot bag and started to empty it into the bowl. "You're only here for show Roman."

"For show? What the hell does that mean?"

She turned to face him, fire burning in her eyes. "You walked out of this house days ago. Neither your children nor I have heard a word from you since you left. Then suddenly you pop back in on family movie night. Which, by the way, you have never participated in once since you came back!"

He folded his arms defensively. "You know damn well why I walked out... I don't much care for ultimatums Marlena!"

She shook some parmesan cheese over the bowl of popcorn. "It wasn't an ultimatum Roman, it was a statement of fact, and I meant every word I said."

He slammed his mug on the counter. "This is such bullshit! Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?"

She shrugged. "Last time I checked, I'm your wife. But if you go through with this, I won't be for much longer!"

He stepped within a few inches of her, whispering angrily. "Is this how it worked with you and John? Was he so whipped that he would do whatever the fuck you said?"

She stood straight, nostrils flaring with anger. 'Why must you bring him up constantly?"

He shrugged. "You do..."

"I didn't even utter his name!" She pushed past him and walked back to the fridge.

"You don't have to! Everything we argue about is in reference to him!"

"Only because YOU make it that way." She drew a deep breath. "But since you brought it up... no John wasn't 'whipped' as you put it! He was my partner in ALL things! We discussed things, we talked through our issues and came to compromises! We took each other's feelings into consideration when making decisions that would affect each other's lives!"

Roman snorted derisively. "Whipped..."

"Why do you say that? Because he sacrificed things to make me happy?" She grabbed the bowl of popcorn and started to walk away. She stopped beside Roman and whispered. "If that's what you believe then yes, he was whipped..." She glanced sideways at him. "And happily so, I might add." Before she could leave he grabbed her arm tightly and held her in place. She looked at his hand gripping her upper arm then looked him in the eye with defiance. His face was red with anger, his eyes glazed. He squeezed a bit tighter, before he heard the girls come back down stairs.

Sami yelled from the living room. "Mom... did you burn the popcorn again?"

Marlena yanked her arm away from Roman, and walked back into the living room.

Marlena smiled. "No smart alec I just made a bit more for when Laura comes." Just then the doorbell rang. Carrie let Laura in, taking her coat.

Laura smiled after removing her shoes. "Sorry I'm late... what are we watching?" She took a seat on the sofa next to Marlena.

"Alive." Sami smiled.

Laura grabbed a slice of pizza. "Oh... Mike was telling me about this movie. He said it was good."

Sami flashed a smile. "Told ya!" Causing Marlena to grin and roll her eyes.