The Body #4: Nico and Cosi

Chapter 13 (Nico): If I'd Known

Copyright © 2024 by GroveltoHEA

I was about out of patience.

My wife still wasn't feeling well, and I'd fucking had it. Fuck her doctor she'd had all her life; I decided I was going to take her to a different doctor and have him give her a complete physical. For the second time in our married lives, I was going to make a decision regarding Costanza without her input. Well, three now that I'd told her Desti was staying until I said otherwise.

In the back of my mind was the concern that the birth control I'd been giving her for five years may have contributed to her current illness. The day of the coup, I'd stopped giving her the pills in the chocolates. Threw out my box of them and got a new box so we could continue our tradition.

But before I took her to the doctor, I knew I had to come clean to her about the pills because we'd have to tell the doctor about it in case the years of birth control was a contributing factor. The thought made me sick -- about what I'd done, about what it could have possibly done to her, about her reaction to the news, the concern it had caused her. Costanza was the sweetest, most kind-hearted person I knew, but I knew there was a very good possibility that she'd never forgive me, regardless of my reasons for doing it, and that she'd demand a divorce.

I'd prevented my wife from having a baby, a baby that I knew she wanted and was worried she couldn't have. She might find that unforgivable. It probably was.

So one night after a fucking ice cream run with Desti, I went to my office, locked the door and signed the divorce papers because my birth control confession was most likely going to cost me my wife. How fucking ironic that my move to protect the woman I loved was going to result in my losing her.

It put me in a bad mood, and then on top of that, I had to endure the motherfucking trips to get ice cream every night. The first night, I was expecting to go, get the ice cream and head home. But Desti said she wanted to talk to me about Costanza and it sounded serious, so we got our ice cream, sat at a table outside and she started in.

"I'm really concerned about Cosi," she'd said. "She's always so sweet, but she's been really angry lately. I think not feeling well for so long is getting to her."

"It'd make anyone upset," I said.

She gave a short laugh. "We're like two concerned parents worrying over our daughter. I think she's just tired of the two of us hovering over her constantly."

I knew that for a fact. She'd snapped, as much as my sweet Costanza could, at me a couple of times about treating her like an invalid and worrying too much. As for the rest of the shit Desti said, I ignored it like usual. Calling her on it would be training her to bring it up to get a reaction from me.

"She could be."

"So I was thinking, since she has either one or both of us with our eyes on her constantly, maybe we just get out of her hair every night just for a brief time so she can have a break from our constant worrying. We could go get her ice cream and let her just enjoy the time by herself, no one hovering over her, no one staring at her with concerned looks."

"I'll ask Costanza."

"Oh, right, you know Cosi's either going to tell you to do what you want or deny that she feels like she's suffocating from the constant attention."

"Suffocating?" I didn't like that word.

Desti looked down at the table, like she'd been caught. "I promised her I wouldn't say anything but that's what she was telling me earlier today. That was her word that she used. You're suffocating her."

I was suffocating her. "I need to talk with her then."

"Go ahead. Make her feel like she can't talk to me since I go running to you about everything she says because I'm so worried."