Beautiful Disaster (Dem and Hope)

Chapter 24 (Visiting Kristy and Danny)

Beautiful Disaster

Chapter 24

Visiting Kristy and Danny

Hope

Each morning I woke up next to Ethan was a constant reminder of what a mess our marriage was. Deep down inside I was beginning to hate him. Nothing I ever did was right for him. It was so hard to keep up with all the things he ‘needed’ me to do. Every evening his clothes for the next day had to be ironed, supper had to be on the table at exactly half past six, and the house had to be kept spotless at all times. I had to be dressed and presentable at all times as well. He led all of our friends and family to believe we had the perfect marriage.

Inside I was slowly dying. This was not how I planned to live my life. At night I laid in bed picturing how my life with Dem would be. In my mind Dem and I had the perfect marriage. It was just like our relationship before he left. I’m sure we wouldn’t have all the nice things that Ethan and I have, but it wouldn’t have matter. I wouldn’t care if both of us had to work just to make ends meet. At least we would be happy and in love.

“What do you have to do today?” Ethan asked then took a sip of his coffee and made a face.

“I planned to go see Kristy and Danny for an hour or so.” I told him honestly. It had been over a month since I had visited Dem’s family.

“Hope, how many times do I have to tell you two spoonfuls of sugar and three of creamer?” Ethan got up and poured his coffee in the sink.

“I put exactly that amount in there Ethan.” I answer.

“Don’t you ever lie to me!” Ethan grabs my wrist and makes me look him in the eye.

“I-I haven’t. Ethan, you’re hurting me.” I cry as tears well up in my eyes.

“Oh don’t start with the tears.” He releases me, sits back down at the table, and picks up the newspaper like nothing happened at all. “I don’t see why you feel the need to visit his family.

“Ethan, they helped me a lot after he left.” I didn’t dare say Dem’s name in front of Ethan anymore. It would only cause him to lose his temper even more.

“Right, because I had no part in helping you get over him. I’m off to work. I’ll see you tonight.” Ethan kissed me on the cheek before he left.

I cleaned the house before I left to do my daily errands. My first stop was the dry cleaners to drop off Ethan’s suits and pick up the items that had been cleaned. Then, I went to the grocery store to do my weekly shopping. I returned home and unloaded the car before I made myself lunch. After lunch I decided to go visit Kristy and Danny before I had to be home to cook.

“Hope! What a wonderful surprise!” Kristy greeted me after I knocked on the door. It’s funny how I used to just walk right in and now I feel the need to knock.

“I know. It’s been too long since I’ve seen you and Danny. I just had to stop in and see how y’all were doing.” I hugged her before walking into the kitchen and sitting down. I could smell the apples and cinnamon from the pie she had in the oven.

“Danny, get down here. Hope is here!” Kristy called and a few seconds later I could hear Danny’s footsteps as she ran down the stairs.

“Where have you been for the past month?” She questioned before wrapping me in a hug.

“I’ve been busy. I haven’t had the time to even go see my family.” I told her.

“But you’re a stay at home wife?” Danny looked confused.

“Well, being a stay at home wife is a lot harder than it seems.” I sigh.

“Whatever, I’m just glad you are here. There is so much I need to tell you!” Danny grabs me by the hand and pulls me up the stairs to her bedroom. Dem’s door is open and  literally drag my feet on the carpet when I see Kristy has packed his things up.

What’s going on in there?” I ask as Danny quickly closes the door.

“N-Nothing.” Danny stutters. I walk by her and open the door. Everything of Dem’s has been neatly packed in boxes and separated. Some of the boxes are labeled with the contents, but a lot of them are labeled goodwill. I turn around to see Kristy looking at me with a sad look in her eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going through his things?” I asked in a small voice.

“Oh sweetie, I knew how hard it would be for you. You’re just getting your life back on track. There was no need to bring you down again.” Kristy replied.

“But you should have let me make that decision on my own! What if I wanted something? What if I you put something important in the goodwill box because you didn’t know it was important?” Tears are freely streaming down my face as I open one of the goodwill boxes and pull out one of Dem’s favorite shirts. I bury my face in the soft fabric and Dem’s unique scent explodes in my nose.

“Sweetie, he’s gone. And you’re happily married now.” Kristy rubs my back soothingly.

“I still love him, and I don’t know if happily is the right term to describe how my marriage is.” My hand flies up to my mouth as soon as the words come out. I couldn’t believe I had just admitted that out loud in front of the two people who are bound to hound me for an explanation.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Danny asked crossing her arms over her chest.

“Nothing. Just forget I said anything.” I shake my head.

“No, you need to explain yourself Hope.” Kristy gives me a stern look.

“Fine, let’s go to the kitchen and I’ll tell you guys everything.” I sighed. There was no use in arguing with them.

It took me over an hour to tell Kristy and Danny everything that had been on my mind. I could tell by the looks on their faces that neither one of them were happy. I on the other hand felt somewhat better about the whole situation. It wasn’t just me who knew how I felt. Now that Danny and Kristy knew I could ask for their advice on how to deal with everything.

“So, what are you going to do?” Danny asked.

“Stay with him.” I answered with a shrug.

“Hope, he is verbally abusing you and putting you down. It’s only a matter of time before he hurts you physically!” Kristy exclaimed.

“Look, it seems worse than it really is. He’s under a lot of stress right now and I’m not helping by being such a klutz. Someone I important from his job could drop in at any moment and the house needs to be presentable and so do I” I defend Ethan. Why? I have no clue?

“Do you even hear what you are saying?’ Danny said exasperated.

“Ethan is my husband. I’m supposed to make things easier for him and I haven’t been doing a very good job of that here lately.” I shrug.

“Sweetheart, if you’re unhappy then you shouldn’t stay with Ethan.” Kristy sighs.

“I have to. Listen, I’ve got to go and start dinner. I’ll talk to you guys later.” I get up and quickly hug each of them before leaving.

I cried the whole way home. I knew Kristy and Danny were right, but I couldn’t leave Ethan. No matter how hard being married to him was; deep down inside I still loved him. I had no explanation as for why he had started acting the way he was here recently, but I knew he wasn’t the same Ethan that I fell for. I had to figure out a way to get my Ethan back.