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Chapter 5

"I'm home!!" Richard shouted as he walked in the front door.

"Hi Dad!" Nick and Zack yelled in unison. They were down the hall in their playroom.

"Sam?"

There was no response. Richard took off his shoes. He stopped at the playroom and looked inside. Both boys were seated on giant bean bag chairs in the middle of a toy strewn space. Each was hypnotized by the video game they were playing.

"Where's your Mom fellas?"

They pointed at the wall in front of them.

"The den?"

They shook their heads. All the while images flew by on the screen and their fingers never stopped moving over the controls in their tiny hands.

"Library?"

"No," said Zack.

Richard sighed. "Living room?"

This time the boys nodded.

"Thanks for all the help."

The sarcasm wasn't lost on them. They gave their Dad a thumbs up as he left. Richard laughed.

Smiling, he wandered toward the living room, passing the den and kitchen before he reached his destination. His smile grew wider when he saw Sam. She was sitting in the middle of an enormous white couch that ran the length of three walls. There was a book open in her lap.

"Hey Sammy," he whispered.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Hey."

"Still upset?"

"Yeah, I am actually."

Richard wasn't bothered by this. He crossed the room and sat beside her. "Should we talk about it?"

"I said everything I had to before you left."

"I'm sorry you can't understand. I've never done anything with the intention of hurting you."

Sam looked at Richard with narrowed eyes. The expression conveyed simmering rage. "Have you always been this self centered? I want to believe it isn't true but I think it is. I worked hard for years so YOU could become a doctor, then I quit so I could raise OUR kids."

"We already covered this!"

"I don't see you for months at a time and say nothing. I tell myself that it's all for the greater good, that you're helping people, and I feel guilty whenever I want time with you. I think about the boys and how much they need their father. But I remind myself of how well you provide for us, and I feel okay about things. Then you pull a stunt like you did today. No call to ask me what I think, no consideration for your family, just an obsession with money. Did you actually sign the contract?"

The question made Richard glance at his hands. His manner was sheepish. "Yes."

"Which means the deal is done and there's no backing out, even if you wanted to. Not that I think you ever would."

Richard looked at his wife with surprise. She had never spoken to him like this. On top of that, arguing about the same thing twice in one day was unheard of.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Nothing," said Sam. She threw her book aside and stood. "There's isn't a thing you can do. Discussion is over. Now come and have supper. The boys are excited to eat hamburgers with you."

"What a strange thing to be excited about."

Sam chuckled. She bit her lip and held out a hand - the sign of a momentary truce. Richard stood and took it. "Well, we are talking about your sons. Sobel men are odd. Look at your Uncle!"

Supper involved smiles and laughter. Both boys told stories about school and tried to eat more than the other. Sam talked about gardening and Richard never brought up work. The mood was a far cry from earlier. This carried on for the rest of the night. By the time Nick and Zack were ready for bed all hard feelings between their parents appeared forgotten.

"Both boys crashed hard," said Sam. She entered the bedroom with a smile on her face.

"Are you surprised?" Richard asked. He sat at the end of their bed watching news on a Vid screen. The City's head of Security – Police Chief Jim Maxwell - was holding a press conference about a serious crime in one of the middle class neighborhoods.

"Is there ever anything happy on the News Feed?" Sam asked as she passed by the screen on her way to the bathroom.

Richard shrugged. "I'm just glad we never go to those parts of the City."

"I think the media exaggerates a lot about those places."

"Maybe, but I have no desire to find out. I'm comfortable with life the way it is."

"You never know my love. It could change in a blink."

"Not if I can help it." Richard smiled at his wife. She left the bathroom and got into bed. He turned off the screen and moved to lie beside her.

"No one can stop fate." Sam said.

"I'm sorry for today. Sometimes I just get caught up in the moment."

Sam ran a finger along his cheek. "You know this has to end soon. Otherwise I'm going to leave you. It will break my heart but I can't put up with the stress much longer."

Richard rolled on his back and stared at the ceiling. "That's such a tough thing to ask."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. There's lots of time to think about your family's future while you recover. No one's saying you have to stop being a doctor, just lose some of the risk."

Richard said nothing else and turned off the light.