In The Way Of Life And Death (Backstage)

I Love You

As Alya set the bowl of pasta on her dining room table, her phone rang from inside her purse. The caller ID read the name of the OBGYN clinic that she was a frequent patient at. She knew why they were calling, all they wanted to do was remind her of her appointment for the next day. She set down the potholder she'd had in her hand and dug through her cluttered purse.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Yes, is this Alya Lennox?" The receptionist on the other line responded.

"This is she."

"We just wanted to call and remind you of your appointment for tomorrow,we have you down for noon, is that time still doable for you, miss?"

"Yes, it's fine. I'll be in tomorrow, thanks." She ended the call and took a deep breath. This was no ordinary appointment, no, this could be completely life-changing. She was going to be tested for infertility, and she'd never been so anxious in her entire life. After setting down the phone, she got back to work setting the table. It wouldn't take long since she only had to set places for herself and her husband. Her high heels clicked as she walked into her kitchen. She bent down to open the oven and take out the chicken she'd been baking. She set the dish on the counter top and turned the oven off.

Her phone rang again with a call from her husband, Miles. She scurried back into the dining room, where she'd left her phone.

"Hey hon, are you on your way home?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I'm probably five minutes away or so, I was just wondering if you had any plans for this weekend."

"Um, well tomorrow I have a doctors appointment, but other than that, no."

"What time?"

"It's at noon, but I'm not sure how long I'll be. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, Jax had these tickets to a music festival and he was going to take Bianca, but her mom got sick and she's in the hospital. Now he wants to know if we want the tickets," Miles started, "but we've got to leave pretty early to get there on time, it's six hours away."

"Oh, I guess we'll have to pass, I can't cancel this appointment on such short notice."

"Okay, I'm pulling in the driveway now, bye." Alya looked up out the window as Miles parked his truck in the driveway. Something near a minute passed before he came through the front door. Alya walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss.

"How was work?" She asked.

"Same as always, I finished the designs for that new jewelry shop downtown," Miles replied. He never had a bad thing to say about his workday, he loved his job as the head of an architectural design company. "What about you?"

"Tiring. It's only December and we're already having court dates being set up for next November, I swear if I didn't like working in law, I'd have quit a long time ago," she joked, "let's eat before it all gets cold." They both sat down beside each other at their large dining room table. They chatted over fettuccine and baked chicken, before making their way to the living room to watch T.V.

"I'm going to pour myself a glass of wine, do you want any?"Alya offered.

"I'm good, the bottle you got tastes like kool aid."

"Suit yourself, wine snob," she joked. Miles got up from the couch and rushed over to her. He threw her over his shoulder, he started walking around the living room this way, as she protested.

"Take it back and I'll put you down."

"I won't take it back," she started as he started to loosen his hold on her, "but I will admit that you are the cutest wine snob ever." She wiggled out of his grasp as he dropped her playfully onto the couch. "That's the last time I try to do something nice for you!" She joked as she walked into the kitchen. She uncorked the bottle and watched as the blood-red liquid fell into the glass. After putting the bottle away, she picked up her glass and went back to the living room.

She entered to find her husband sitting in half of the double recliner they shared on nights like this, with their dog, a blonde cockapoo named Sophie, snuggled up in his lap. "So what's with the doctor's appointment tomorrow?" He asked.

"They're just running some tests on me at the OB, no big deal."

"Do you want me to come? It's not like I'm doing anything else tomorrow."

"No thanks. Besides, I've got some chores that need to be done around here, and I think tomorrow is a good time for you to do them." They sat together in the living room until almost midnight, snuggling and watching cheesy Christmas movies that Miles claimed were complete torture, but he was engrossed in all of them.

Alya got up to get ready for bed after they finished, You Got Mail. "Goodnight princess, I love you," Miles said to her as she stood up and stretched.

"But I love you more," Alya responded, blowing him a kiss.