For My Fellow Survivors

Emotional Rollercoaster

Linda Reagan was on an emotional roller coaster. She had watched sad movie after sad movie after sad movie. She was sick at home, on her period, Danny had taken one more tour, and she didn't have any apple juice. She had watched Romeo and Juliet, Casablanca, and The Fox and The Hound.
She was crying hysterically when eight year old Sean walked in. He was a little scared- he'd never seen his Mom cry before. So he did the only logical thing- he called his Dad.
*****
Danny looked at his phone which displayed his house number. "Hello?"
"Daddy, there's something wrong with Mom." Sean said.
"What's the matter?"
"I dunno. She's watching some sorta movie with music in it. And she's crying."
"What's today's date?"
Sean wrinkled his forehead. Why would Danny ask that? Shouldn't he be concerned with Mom? "April 24, why?"
"No reason," Danny quickly did the math in his head. "She's fine. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Try not to make your Mom mad, okay?"
"Okay, Daddy."
"Good, Bye, Sean."
"Bye Bye."
Danny hung up. "Perfect," he mumbled. "Absolutely perfect."
*******
Linda sobbed big, fat, ugly tears as she listened to the song Somewhere from West Side Story.
Danny came home and saw her on the couch, sobbing uncontrollably. Sitting next to her, he asked, "Are you okay, babe?"
"Tony's gonna die!" She threw herself in to his embrace.
"What? Who? Who's Tony?" Danny rapidly searched his mental files, trying to remember if he knew a Tony.
"Tony!" Linda pointed to the TV. "He's gonna die! He's gonna get stabbed by a Jet! Or Shark, I can't remember! And Maria's gonna be all alone!"
"Tony's the guy on tv?" He asked, utterly confused.
"Yes!!" Linda said a little annoyed, as if that was clear from the start.
"It's just a movie, babe. He didn't really die."
"But it's so sad!"
"So turn it off if it makes you cry."
He reached for the remote, but Linda grabbed it.
"No! I want to cry."
"Say what?" Danny always thought of himself as a smart guy- he'd solved murders, suicides, and crimes with very little clues. But in this moment, he couldn't have felt more stupid.
"I need to cry. I want to cry."
"Why on earth would somebody want to cry?"
"You don't get it!" Linda started to cry again, thinking she was crazy because Danny didn't understand.
"No, I don't. But I want to. Why would you want to cry?"
She shook her head, "it's a woman thing. You'll never understand."
Danny nodded, "Can I get you anything?" He'd just have to accept the fact he had no idea what his wife was talking about.
"Chocolate?"
"Okay."
Linda cried throughout the whole movie, leaving her husband totally confused. Danny mulled it over in his mind, but he couldn't figure it out. He hated crying- almost everyone he knew hated to cry. But here he was, sitting next to his wife, who wanted to cry.
"Linda?" Danny asked Once the movie was over. "Do you think you could maybe explain this whole wanting to cry thing again?"
She nodded, "I don't really understand it, either. All I know is it makes me feel better."
"Okay, That makes a little sense."
Linda started to laugh for seemingly no reason. She laughed for five minutes, and then cried again. "I'm gonna go upstairs!" She ran upstairs, as if she was ashamed to cry in front of her husband.
"What just happened?" Danny wondered, completely perplexed. He had never seen anybody crying one minute, and laughing the next. Not even his very hormonal wife. Shaking his head and heading upstairs, he mumbled, "I am so glad that I'm a guy!"