Open Shores

Chapter 1

Two whistles could be heard outside the quiet little cabin. I refused to hear them, knowing what it meant and hoped that Josh hadn't heard, as I continued to make his favorite meal of chicken and asparagus. I only wanted a peaceful night tonight, where I wouldn't have to take Advil to get rid the the headache from crying so much because of Josh running around with Nicole. Our baby boy was the only reason she was still with him. Being heavily Catholic, I didn't believe in divorce and refused any idea of it. Not that Josh had brought it up anyway. I thought that he stayed for the baby as well, because it sure wasn't for me, not anymore. Nicole moved here six years ago, at the young age of 21, after being cut off by her parents and was forced to "learn the meaning of hard work" by moving near the farms in California, where cattle graze, chickens frolic, and crops grow proudly. That is when the marriage began to feel a strain. Josh was, and still is, a handsome man, and when Nicole met him, he became a game to her. A game that meant tearing a family apart and leaving a child home alone with his grandmother while his father went out with another woman and his mother went towards the water to stare out at the open shores.

As I pull the chicken off the stove, I hear the door quietly creak open and close, followed by footsteps going down the outdoor stairs. I put the chicken on the plate and keep preparing the food, hoping that Josh was just checking on our German Shepard, Molly, and not going after Nicole. I go to the kitchen and see his empty space that he occupied a few moments ago. I place the chicken and asparagus down and sit in my chair and weep. I weep for my marriage that is dead and has been for a while now. I weep for my child, Adrian, who is suffering quietly because he knows it will only bring me to tears. I weep for myself as I become more pathetic with each passing day because I refuse to divorce Josh. 

"Mommy? Where's daddy?" 

I look up to see my tiny Adrian in him blue Thomas the Train pajamas. He was supposed to be in bed now. It was after all 9 in the evening, an hour after Josh gets done with his farm chores. By now he would be eating.

"He's just checking on Molly, baby, he'll be back in a minute."

Adrian climbs into my lap. "Mommy, I smelled that weird flower again. It's bothering my nose." 

I try, and fail, to hold back the tears as I tell him that I will make sure his window is closed from now on. 

"What's wrong, mommy?"

I can't tell him that the flower smell is really cheap perfume that the woman who daddy runs around with wears. I can only hold him and tell him that the smell will go away after a while.
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She lights up another smoke on the side of the bed, tapping her ash into the black plastic tray on the night stand every now and then. The only thing covering her essentials was the cheep white bed sheet that had several holes near the bottom of it. Josh comes up and takes a puff of her cigarette before he begins to kiss her body.

"I think I love you, Josh." She says as she swipes her ebony hair over her shoulder. 

"Mmm." Is the only noise that comes from him as he kisses her bare shoulders and back. 

"You know, my parents are finally lifting their punishment. I won't be cut off soon and will probably move back to the city."

"Yeah? What will you do then?" He asks, lifting his head for a slight moment before starting his assault on her breasts.

"Probably just doll up my new apartment, go out with the girls."

"Mmm."

There is a brief pause before she continues. "You know, you should come with me to L.A.. You would love it there. The lights, the people, the shops. It's a special place."

He suddenly stops kissing her and gives her a dead look. "You know I won't leave my wife." He growls. 

She blows out another puff of smoke, "Not while she's alive..." She smirks. This wasn't the first time she had brought up his wife's living status. 

"I would never kill her." He scowls at Nicole. "How dare you even ask that!"

She pouts. "You sure gotta funny way of showing you care for her. After all, whose bed are you warming right now?"

He sighs, "What would you have me do?"

She considers and stretches, flaunting her breasts and midriff. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe she can drown in a boating accident? You know, the lake you live by has the loveliest shops on the other side, and it would take a boat to get over there. Or at least, it would be a more "romantic way"." She says, dramatically throwing an arm over her forehead.

"Perhaps you're right." He whispered. He did love his wife at one point, but lately he has been so torn. Nicole has told him so much about the city life that he is convinced that he could do more than just work on a farm for the rest of his life.

She perked up. "So you'll do it? We can take your boy with us once she's gone, move into a nice pent house.. Maybe start our own family?" She asked bringing Josh's hand to her stomach. 

He smiled. "That sounds really nice."

"Tomorrow then?"

He nods, "Tomorrow she will die."