She was lying sideways on the couch, her upper half propped up by the arm of the air, reading a novel about someone who would wake up in a different body every morning and take over that persons life for the day before going to sleep and then repeating the process, just in another body, in another town. She wondered if that would be a life that she would be able to live, how it would be to wake in another body and live a normal life. She thinks about it often, even before she came across the novel that she became so consumed in. But, she remembers, the good days now outweigh the bad days and she knows that she wouldn't have met the people that she did, who were once friends but who are family now.
Her eyes scan the black words on the page, trying to read faster and faster but also wanting to slow down to be able to try and fully absorb the words of the book that is very quickly becoming one of her favourites. It was not meant to be one of those stories that are philosophical or give life a deeper meaning, but it is one that makes her realise that all those times she wished she could become someone else and vanish, that she was meant to be exactly who she is and that maybe on the bad days she still needs to appreciate what she has and who she is. So she concludes that maybe the story does give a deeper meaning to life, to her anyway.
Taylor hears the latch of the front door click, momentarily distracting her from being engrossed in the book. When she whips her head around, her glasses slip down her nose slightly as she sees her husband walking through the door. She knew it was him before she saw him, she was just surprised that he was home this early, maybe things didn't go too well. She shouts out a quick "Hey, baby," in his direction before turning her attention back to her book and shifting her glasses back up to a more comfortable position and one where she would actually be able to read the book. She didn't want to make a big deal about things not going too well, she assumed they hadn't anyway, so played the fact off that he was home. When Taylor only got a grunt in response followed by a bag and jacket being dropped to the floor and the clattering of shoes, she thought that she maybe underestimated how badly it actually went.
Joe shuffled over to the couch where Taylor was relaxing, he paused quickly to place a kiss on her head as her eyes fluttered closed for just a moment. She was glad he was home, but knew that he wasn't in the best of moods right now. He carried on walking around before turning and placing a bent knee on the couch by her legs, his arm stretched out leaning against the back pillows of the couch. The look on his face was like he was seven years old and had just been told my his mother that he couldn't have anymore sweets. He stared intently at his wife, wondering why she was practically ignoring him and rather so preoccupied in her book. It frustrated him slightly even though he knew he was being completely unreasonable and thinking like an idiot when he knew that Taylor had actually done nothing wrong, he was just in a foul mood and didn't know what to do with himself.
Taylor could feel his burning stare upon her so raised her eyebrows and looked up at Joe without moving her head. "Anything I can help you with or are you just going to stand there and stare?" She said it, knowing it would elicit an annoyed response from him. She watched as his arm holding him up dropped against his side before quickly moving up to his neck to undo the top button of his white suit shirt and loosen his tie slightly, hoping it will help him to feel less agitated. It didn't help. He carried on just standing there, pitying himself because his wife wasn't. Taylors focus was back on her book, well, she tried to focus on the book but was distracted at the man standing next to her, getting slightly irritated that he was wallowing. She gave into him, deciding to give him the attention that he wanted so that this pity party could be over as soon as possible.
Taylor pushed herself up onto her elbows, reaching forward to grab onto Joes grey tie to pull him closer to her. He easily obliged, finally getting the attention he hoped he would get when he first walked through their front door 10 minutes ago. His arms fell either side of her waist as their lips gently connected. When she pulled away, her forehead rested against his as she moved her hand that wasn't holding onto the book, to caress her fingers over his cheekbone. "I really messed this one up. I thought I had it in the bag," His voice was barely above a whisper, as he dropped his head, disappointed with himself. He knew he should have done better, it was the only job he had and he couldn't even do that.
