From Dusk Till Dawn

Chapter Seven

The day went by with much ease. The Collins came over of course. But that day Amy reassured her parents and sister that they needn't come over anymore and that I was taking good care of her. Which was somewhat true; I help Amy everyday to shower, I brush her hair, I cook for her and feed her, I took care of the housework, and I always try to offer the most comfort I could. It somehow wasn't enough and I knew it, but knowing Amy, I was certain she'd never admit it. In all the things I've done to her, though, I'm sure she was satisfied with me doing the housework. Since the beginning of our marriage, we have fought hundreds of times about the housework. She wanted to split it between us fairly, which was the most equitable thing to do. But whenever it was my turn to do anything I would just slack. I never helped in housework, except for cooking, as it was the easiest for me. And even after I cook, I never wash the dishes. Amy was always frustrated with me for that and I'd use lame excuses like," I'm sorry, I forgot." Or "I'm sorry I had a lot of work to do," or "I'm sorry but I'm totally exhausted." One time we even turned it into a bigger fight than it should be. She kept nagging and I snapped unable to restrain my anger. "Have you any idea how tired I am?! I've had enough of your ignorance to this!" She nearly screamed at me. "I told you I have work to do, and you're being ignorant too!!" I yelled back. I was mostly angry that day because I truly had a lot to do and for the first time I wasn't making up the excuse. "Ignorant?! Travis, you never help me with anything and it's getting frustrating! Can't you hold a responsibility FOR ONCE?!" Her tone grew louder at the end of the sentence.

"FOR REAL WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?" I yelled at her and at my tone of voice, I realized I had crazily lost my temper.

"MY PROBLEM IS YOU AND YOUR IRRATIONALITY," She screamed back.

"You really can be a pain sometimes," was what I said at last before leaving the house to get some fresh air. It was what I always did when we fought.

Looking back at those memories now made me despise not helping her before. I suddenly started to recall all our fights; which were a lot. Most of the time, I realized, I was exaggerating. We once had a bid fight because I was certain her friend Hardin tried hitting on her even though he knew she was with me. I knew all along that he liked her, from the way he looked at her like she was the only gemstone in a mine. "You're overreacting he was just being polite," Amy had said attempting to control my rage. "Are you freaking serious! " And I continued to blame her for not putting enough limits with him. We had this fight over and over again until Hardin got engaged and somehow disappeared from our lives for a little while. When he contacted us again after months, things were different. The look he had for Amy somehow changed and that was the only thing that left my heart at peace.

Another one on the list of our big fights was when she bought me tickets to Greece on my birthday. Yes, she got us two tickets and I ruined the whole birthday. The thing was that at that time I had to meet with some art dealers at the end of the week. And I couldn't cancel it for a trip to Greece. So I told her to return them. Amy got mad and we were all shouting and yelling at each other. For we didn't travel anywhere other than on our honeymoon and she had always wanted to visit Greece. After that fight, we didn't speak for two days. In those two days, I had contacted the people I was to meet with and asked to postpone the meeting, which they gladly agreed to. Thus I took my chance and bought us another two tickets to Greece to make it up to Amy.

Most of those fights could have been solved easily without our overrated reactions. But we somehow manage to drive each other crazy sometimes.

That night I offered to read to her. The gleam in her eyes and her wide grin were more than enough to tell me she loved the idea. For the first time after the accident, she seemed in high spirits. She asked me to read her any of Nicholas Sparks' novels and I picked one of my choice. We sat in the balcony of our bedroom, two cups of Earl Grey tea for each of us. I read one page after the other. The night breeze danced along with the soft locks of Amy's hair. The yellowish light in the balcony fell on her face illuminating her eyes as they twinkled stronger than the stars above. Words flew out of my mouth as I watched Amy's reactions change with every turn of a page. I felt tired by the first four chapters but went on anyways as Amy seemed to enjoy it. More than being focused on reading, though, I kept my eyes on Amy as she drank her tea by herself. It was no hard task but the fact that she might accidentally spill it was hugely daunting to me. Thankfully though nothing bad happened. When it has gotten late, we went inside to prepare ourselves to sleep. I helped Amy brush her teeth and change her pajamas before I went to the kitchen to wash the two teacups. When I told Amy that, she seemed amused that I have grown more effective now in the housework. And I was glad it made her more relaxed.