Love after Life

Another side, another story

Due to being too self absorbed in her own pity party, Chrissy won't be able to narrate for a while now. So take it from here, Tony!

You wake up at seven in the morning, get dressed, eat breakfast, then go to work. But work is long, tedious, and you're always hanging by a thread; one wrong move, one slip up, and you're fired. Honestly, if someone had told me when I was a teenager that this was the life that waited for me once I turned eighteen, I probably woulda made a hell of a lot of different choices.

Let me show you a typical work day for me...

Eight AM and I've just finished the breakfast my wife made for me and our kids. As soon as we're done, I have to RUSH out the door so I can get in the car and drive to work. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, Chrissy remembers to put gas in the car and so I can drive directly to work. I'm not always lucky, so on my unlucky days, I gotta go down to the gas station to fill up the car with gas. THAT can take away precious minutes away from me getting to work on time, which can lead to...

"Late again, Tanner," my boss smirked. "Now, remind me why I keep you?"

"Because I'm a hard worker," I nervously said. "And I do more than average, and-"

"Nah, nah," he said as he fiddled with that drinking toy bird of his. "I keep you around as an example to our other employees. Come on, follow me; I'll show you what I mean."

He led me to his office window, where he could overlook everyone working on their software projects. Rows upon rows of people just typing away at their computers; some sitting on bean bag chairs, others sitting on bar stools.

"Most of those kids down there dream of being the next Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs," said my boss, chuckling. "What they don't expect is that they're more likely to end up like you."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I knew what he meant, but I also knew he loved saying it out loud.

"Going into their mid thirties, past their prime, working their asses off for someone else," he said, grinning. "Tell me, Tanner, is the pay good?"

"Yes," I said. No it wasn't.

"And is the work atmosphere good?" He asked.

"Of course," I replied. No it wasn't.

"What are you willing to do to keep your job?" He asked, and I gulped.

"I'll take a pay cut for the day," I said, sighing.

"Fifteen percent," said the boss. "And your lunch break will be ten minutes shorter today."

My lunch break is typically thirty minutes long.

"Now get down to your cubicle, be a happy little employee, and don't forget we're on a deadline," said my boss as he sat down on his six hundred dollar office chair. I get a bar stool that's two inches too short. "Oh, and needless to say, Tanner; if you don't finish your work on time today, you can always take it home with you."

I always do...

When I return home, I come back to a teenage daughter who won't get off the phone, a son who won't lay off the video games, and a wife who's too self absorbed to care about me. It is only in the comfort of my own car, when I'm away from prying eyes, that I can let my feelings loose.

I hate my life. I hate my life! I HATE MY LIFE!!!

I have nothing but my job; nobody loves me. I have no friends; the ones from my childhood all went on to have successful careers with wives that love the shit out of them. My kids don't love me; they only think of me as a wallet to extract money from. And my wife? Please, she never pays attention to me! She doesn't even like having sex with me; I can always tell she's so utterly BORED by the experience! She never encourages me in bed, never acts enthusiastic; she just lays there and takes it!

Some days it feels like she's already checked out of our marriage, and I often worry that someone from work has wooed her off her feet. That Josh guy she carpools with is extremely suspicious to me; I've often caught him making eyes at Chrissy, who either hasn't noticed or pretends not to.

I haven't had sex with Chrissy since my birthday last month, and it SUCKED. I don't even try anymore; why bother, anyway? She doesn't like it, and lately, neither do I. For all she does, I may as well be masturbating! Matter of fact, that's what I do every day in the shower. The highlight of my day is my shower jack-off session. This is my sex life; my hand and my imagination are my mistresses.

There are times when I think of ending it all, but I can never find the courage to do so. Sometimes I consider driving right into an electric post and... yeah. But then I start thinking about Shawna and Kyle, and I suddenly find myself unable to go through with it.

Anyway, enough about me...

One fateful morning...

"Chrissy?" I groggily said as I was getting up. I looked over, and there she was, still in bed. "You're still in bed?"

Chrissy is ALWAYS up before me, because she makes us breakfast.

"Uhuh," I heard her reply. She sounded so weak and feeble.

"Are you sick?" I asked.

"Uhuh," she replied, again sounding like a truck had hit her. I touched her forehead; no fever. But as I looked at her face, I realized she looked like crap. Something was wrong, VERY wrong.

I had no time to deal with it, though. I took my shower, making sure it was a quick one so I could make my own breakfast or something.

"Moooom, where's breakfast?" Asked Shawna right outside our bedroom door.

"Shawna, your mother's not feeling well today," I said as I was getting dressed. "Have a Pop Tart or something."

"OK," said Shawna, sounding a bit dejected. Chrissy has spoiled that girl. So has Mary Anne.

As I finished dressing, I glanced over at my wife; she looked absolutely destroyed. Was she OK? Did something happen to her? I should ask her what happened, maybe take the day to help her out.

But I didn't. My job was on the line, and with it, my ability to support my family. If I lose that, I'll lose everything...