Monachopsis | B. E

Chapter Eight

After their argument Denzel called up Prince and asked to come over, get drunk and talk.

When he was sitting down on the couch of his friend's living room, he already began reaching for the bottle of whiskey that was sitting on top of the glass table.

"Okay," Prince sighed and stood up from his spot to get the bottle away.

"What are you doing?" he watched him put it underneath the table and grab a pillow to put in Denzel's lap.

With a proud smile he sat down opposite from him, "Now you can talk."

"Prince..." he gripped the pillow tighter. "I feel like I'm in a therapy session."

"Exactly. Now, speak."

Prior to talking, he let out a sigh, "We got into an argument."

"About what?"

"Earlier we were on the phone while she was driving home and I mentioned that I want a second kid. Instead she told me that she was getting pulled over by a cop and hung up the phone. When she got home, she began telling me about it and how she thinks it has something to do with Andrew."

"He's in prison."

"That's what I told her and she got mad at me because I didn't believe her." his eyes roamed around the room and stopped at the ceiling. "She does tend to be more sensitive when the anniversary of his imprisonment is coming up, but this time she's all over the place. I mean, we have been fighting non stop recently."

"At the end she suggested a divorce."

Prince cleared his throat and leaned back down to get the bottle of whiskey. As he began filling up their glasses he finally spoke up with a chuckle, "Yeah no. You got me there."

"That's... uplifting."

"I think that you should text or call her tomorrow and tell her that you'll two talk after work. No arguing and no yelling," his voice quieted down. "And I'd probably consider couples therapy."

Due to the fact that the two of them got drunk, Denzel ended up spending the night at Prince's place.

Throughout the night Billie tossed and turned and checked her phone frequently in hopes of receiving any kind of message from him. Stubbornly he did the same. None of them dared to make the first move.

When at work he decided to take his friend's advice and message her about the need to talk in the evening, she left him on read.

He spent the whole day trying to figure out the right words to say to avoid provoking an argument but he got caught by surprise once he got home and saw Billie making dinner.

It wasn't what she was doing that confused him but rather her attitude. She was acting as if nothing had happened.

"Hey," he awkwardly greeted her.

She looked back at him for a moment, a grin tugging on her lips, "Hey."

"Where's Elijah?"

"Asleep."

His eyes moved around, stopping at an opened wine bottle and the half empty glass next to it, "So-"

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Sit down then."

With his back facing her, he did as told. Soon enough she put a plate of food along with utensils in front of him.

He could feel her set her hands down on his shoulders and give them a light squeeze before leaning down to his level. Her lips gazed against his earlobe, then she quietly spoke, "You can come get your dessert afterwards."