Over The Fence

seven

Joe got home late Sunday night, so late that the sound of the door banging closed woke me up. Blinking, I rolled onto my back sighed. I wanted to bury my face in my pillow and go back to sleep, but I knew I had to get up. Joe was probably drunk.

"Babe?" I heard him call out, and there was a thump from downstairs.

"Coming!" I called back, rubbing my eyes as I got up. Running a hand through my hair, I went downstairs to see Joe's bag tossed by the front door. "Joe?" I asked.

"Hey babe!" He came out from the kitchen, pulling me into a rushed, sloppy kiss.

"You've been drinking." I cringed, shifting backwards. 

"How was your weekend?" Joe asked, slipping his hands around my waist, edging his fingers under my shirt. I pushed his hands down, shaking my head.

"Fine." I told him. "Joe, come sit down okay? We've got something we need to talk about."

"Not now." He groaned.

"Yes now." I sighed. "It's important." Joe huffed at me but let me lead him upstairs. "Okay." I started as we sat down on the bed. "I got a call back from the fertility clinic."

"Hmm?" Joe mumbled like he was uninterested.

"Umm." I swallowed, tears springing to my eyes. "We...we can't have kids Joe. You can't have kids."

"Really?" My husband frowned, and I nodded, a tear slipping down my cheek. "Oh. Okay."

"Is that it?" I blinked at him. "Just okay?"

"Well what do you want me to say?" Joe shrugged. "I mean, I've been thinking lately that maybe we don't need to have kids after all."

"What?" I sat back. 

"Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that we lost Vi."

"What?" My voice was a whisper, shocked at what he'd just said.

"No, well..." He sighed. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Well how did you mean it?" I dared to ask. "Because it sounds like you just told me that my miscarriage was a good thing."

"Well." Joe hesitated.

"Oh my god!" I shot to my feet, taking a step back. "What the fuck is wrong with you? That was our daughter!"

Joe just shrugged. A sob burst from my lips and I clapped a hand over my mouth, taking another step back. My husband just looked away, like he didn't even care. I turned and fled, rushing downstairs and out the back door. I needed to get out, away from him, away from the man who no longer wanted the things I did.

I fell to my knees in the grass of the back garden, letting out a sob as I clutched at my stomach. My heart was breaking, breaking, breaking. 

Sobs ripped through my chest as I bent over, my arms wrapped around myself. I couldn't stop thinking about how I'd felt when I had my baby. My little daughter. My Violet.

"Ali?"

I looked up. Travis was standing on the other side of the fence, staring over at me. His eyes widened at the sight of my face and I pressed my lips together. Then Travis glanced over his shoulder.

"Stay there." He told me, and then rushed down the fence. A moment later, he came down the side of our house and knelt down next to me. "What's going on Ali?" He murmured.

"Joe doesn't care that we can't have kids." I sobbed out my grief, still clutching at my stomach. "He said it was a good thing I miscarried Vi."

"Vi?"