Temptation

Chapter Nine

Tom furrowed his brow and after a moment, he laughed loudly and shook his head while turning back around.

"I'm serious, Tom." Diane spoke.

"Why would you ever think I would want to leave?" He inquired.

"Come on, Tom. Do you really want to work there until you retire?"

"Yes, Diane, I do," He replied. "My work is my life. I enjoy doing what I do. I get to help the next generation of performers. My work is rewarding. I'm never going to leave."

"Don't you wish you were doing something more fulfilling?" She questioned him.

"The work I do now is fulfilling to me." Tom scoffed.

"Is it even work? You're just putting on a show, Tom." She spoke.

"Putting on a show is work. You have no idea the kind of preparation it takes to put on a performance. I have to choose the play, cast it based on how I think the roles fit the actors, map out the stage, rent out the props and furniture from our storage, dictate the actor's movements, collaborate with the scenic, sound and light designers, make up the playbill, do dramaturgy for the show depending on the time period I set it in, get costumes from our storage...all while working on a very tight budget." Tom explained.

"I know that but-"

"You don't know that!" He interjected. "You don't even know what blocking is or how to say it right. You have no idea the amount of work I do nor have you ever cared to try and learn. You've never attended any of the shows I did yet I am always there for you when you have an event at work."

"Tom, please, I don't want to-"

"Why? Why do you not care about what I do? Why is it always about you?" He questioned her.

"You think I only care about myself?" Diane scoffed.

"Actually, yes...yes, I do think that."

Diane took a step back from Tom and chuckled harshly, glaring up at him.

"I care about you, Tom. It's just...I'm thinking about our future together." She replied.

"And how does our future together involve me leaving the college?" Tom inquired.

"I work my ass off every day. I've worked hard for my promotion. I'm trying to be able to support us as best I can if we want to have a family. Sometimes I feel like I'm doing the most." Diane explained to him.

"You think you're doing the most in this relationship?" He raised his brow.

"Yes." She answered.

"Diane...we have no relationship anymore. All it is is you working at the office all day, coming home and either working some more or being told you need to head back. You have a relationship to your work but not with me. I've tried making plans with you to go on dates or to just sit and share the same space with you. How do you think that makes me feel when anytime I try to do something with you, you always ask for a raincheck knowing full well you're never going to do it anyway?"

"I'm trying to provide us with a future. What do you do every day? You just go to work and have fun. You get to come home and work for a few hours and then you're done. You know that I've been working for this promotion for a while now. It's been my dream to be a partner at a law firm and-"

"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!" Tom exclaimed. "You're making this about you again. I'm trying to express to you that I feel like you don't care about me and my work and then you just turn it on me. I mean, I can't keep having this argument with you. Why do you not care about my work like you care about your own? Why do you want me to leave the college? Just...why?" Tom questioned her.