The Good Wife (COMPLETE)

Eight

The days went by and I saw Mark even less than before. He was usually gone before I got up and came home after I was asleep. I tried waiting up for him at night, but I always ended up falling asleep on the couch. My only human interaction came from the coffee shop or went I needed to go out for groceries. It was becoming a very lonely existence.

Today was an extremely slow day at the shop. It was Friday and I guess the thought of the weekend was all the help people needed to get through the week's last workday. I worked through a few orders and read a little from my book. I scrubbed the counters as the doorbell tinkled again. I looked up to find Brendan waltzing in.

"Hey, how did your interview go?" I asked, setting my rag aside. I hadn't seen him since the pants incident.

He beamed and smoothed the tie around his neck. "Thanks to you and your fine scrubbing, I got the job!"

"Oh, that's wonderful! Congratulations!" I said, throwing my arms around him in a hug. He must have been taken aback at first, but he hesitantly put his arms around me and hugged back. He gave nice hugs. I shook my head, clearing those thoughts and blushed slightly. "Celebratory coffee on me?" I said.

He nodded. "The usual please."

"I'm guessing no frappucinos for while then," I said, cracking a small smile.

"No. At least not on work days or when I have to look presentable. You did a fine job cleaning, but if you hadn't been here, it would have look like I shit myself. Which reminds me," he said, pulling something from his messenger bag. "These are yours."

I peeked inside the brown paper bag to find my hot pink sweatpants, clean and neatly folded. "Aw, you sure you don't want to keep them? They match your eyes."

He chuckled a little. "That's alright. Pink looks better on you."

I laughed and started making his coffee. I handed it off to him and he headed towards the back of the shop and took a seat. He looked to me and patted the seat next to him. There were no other customers to be served so I went and sat down. "When do you start?" I asked.

"Monday."

"Nice. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. They showed me my office and it's in the corner so it has an amazing view. I'll have to snap a picture and show you. You can see almost all of Central Park."

"Uh, I'm so jealous. I would kill for a nice view and Central Park is my favorite," I said, leaning back into the booth and closing my eyes for a second. "All that green reminds me of home."

"And where is home for you, Abby?"

"Well, I live outside the city now, but I grew up in rural Virginia. Lots of open space and trees, but not too far from civilization either. It was the best of both worlds. You could be out in the fields then ten minutes down the road was downtown with loads to do. It was great."

"It sounds so nice. I've lived here my whole life, but we used to go visit my aunt on her farm upstate. I loved going there as a kid. So much room to run around. It was liberating. I love the city, but sometimes it's just too crowded for me."

"I can understand that."  We both took a sip of our drinks.

He smiled at me and cleared his throat. "So, I have a proposition for you, Miss Abby."

"Oh? And does it involve me cleaning your clothes again?" I asked.

"No. No, cleaning this time. How would you like to go on a date?"

An image of Mark flashed through my mind. I paused and took a moment to swallow the water in my mouth. "Oh, Brendan. Um, I'm married."

"Oh." He blinked a few times. I could see the shock on his face. His eyes wondered down to my left hand and sure enough, he noticed my wedding band and engagement ring.  "He's a lucky guy," he said with a weak smile, trying to recover.

"I'm sorry, Brendan." I felt so guilty. He was so sweet and I didn't want to break his heart.  Even if it didn't feel like I was married, I was.  And I still loved Mark.  I was holding onto him by a thread, but I could never do that to him.  Even if I did want it a little bit, deep down inside.

"Don't be. Just forget about it."

The bell rang and a younger man entered the shop. I gave Brendan a weak smile.

He looked at the watch on his wrist. "I gotta run. See you around Abby." He said as we both got up and he rushed out the door as I headed to the counter.