ShortStories6

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JUST CHATTING

Meredith quickly flipped on the lamp light. As she fumbled out of bed, she glanced over at Thomas. As usual, he was sound asleep, not even stirring from the commotion that was taking place right next to him.   She turned up the volume of the baby's monitor, hoping that Kayla's whaling would awaken him. On the contrary, he let out a deep, snarling snore, as he drifted further into dreamland. She rolled her eyes, slipped her feet into a pair of warm, fuzzy slippers, and hurried into Kayla's room.

The baby sat up in her crib with an angry look on her face, as if she was asking her mother why she took so long to tend to her. Meredith picked the baby up, kissed her cheek, and walked over to the diaper table. After changing Kayla's soggy diaper, she sat in the rocking chair next to the window and rocked the baby to sleep, as she stared out at the moon. She awoke to the feeling of wet lips on her cheek.

"Hey Sugar, why'd you sleep in the chair all night?" He asked, and then, with out waiting for a reply, "Do you think you could make me a quick cup of coffee before I go to work?" He whizzed out of the nursery and headed towards the bathroom to shower and shave. Kayla was still sleeping soundly in her arms. She kissed her softly and lay her in the crib. She tip-toed down the stairs, still tired from her lack of real sleep, and made her way to the kitchen to make Thomas's coffee. She wanted to tell him to make his own coffee, but it seemed as if she had forgotten how to say the word "no."

Twenty minutes later, Thomas grabbed the hot flask and said, "Thanks Sugar, see you tonight." As soon as the door slammed behind him, the baby began crying. Meredith let her cry a while as she heated her bottle and headed toward the stairs. She wiped Kayla's tear-stained face and fed her the warm bottle as she rocked to and fro in the chair.

Looking down at her angelic baby, she was amazed at how much love she felt for this little creature that kept her up at night and required so much of her time and energy. Soon Meredith was wiping the tears from her own face. She wondered how her life could be so full, yet so empty. She had always believed that having a husband and a child would consume her life with so much happiness and love. This just wasn't true anymore.

Thomas and Meredith had been married for five years. They were best friends and college sweet hearts before they were married. It seemed only natural that they take the next step. They had waited to have a child until enough money was saved to allow Meredith to quit her job as a nurse and become a full-time mother. Unfortunately, this career change sparked a change in their relationship. He was consumed with being a lawyer, and she with being a mother. He was irritated that she didn't seem interested when he talked about his cases, and she was angry that he didn't take a more active role in his daughter's life. "What happened to us?" She asked herself. Kayla was rolling around on the floor slobbering on a teether. A smile came over Meredith's face as she watched her play. Every time she looked at Kayla, she was reminded of the love she and Thomas shared. Kayla had his sandy, brown hair with her mother's big loose curls, his hazel eyes, and her dimples. She wondered if Thomas noticed that their marriage was in trouble.

She glanced down at her watch. It was 10:30 a.m. She picked up Kayla and ran downstairs. Placing the baby in a play pen with a few toys, she made her way to the computer. She logged on and anxiously waited. In a matter of minutes, she saw his name pop up on her buddy list. A wave of excitement came over her. His name was "Reid," or so he said. She hadn't told the truth about her name or her life, for that matter. She had told him she was single, twenty-five, and a writer, who worked out of the home. He told her he was divorced, a single-father, and a very prominent business owner, who owned a chain of restaurants in the Seattle area. She assumed that Seattle was far enough from Houston for her to worry about him suggesting a meeting. After a little over a month, she felt like she had known him for years. He was witty, charming, and attentive. Basically, he was everything Thomas had been before he got caught up in his career.    They chatted for at least an hour every day, before she got busy with Kayla and household chores, and he got tangled up in problems with the restaurant.

They also sent several emails throughout the day. Any time Kayla laid down for a nap, she found herself running to the computer to see if he had written. He rarely disappointed her. He wrote long emails telling her about his day and often times, his ex-wife. She seemed like an ungrateful woman, who didn't realize what a good man she had in her life. Meredith felt bad about lying to this man about herself, but she would never meet him. So, how could it hurt? This was a way for her to escape the unhappy life she was now living.

She found herself thinking about him more and more every day. She kept telling herself that her behavior was justified since Thomas was paying little or no attention to her, yet deep inside her heart, she knew it was wrong. Every morning she would tell herself that she would not log on to the computer, but she felt a force pulling her to it. Could this force be love? She tried to bury that thought deep within. Even after Thomas got home her mind was still with Reid. Over dinner, Thomas tired to make conversation with her about the case he was working on , but she completely tuned him out. Instead, she was wondering if she would have a spare minute to drop Reid a quick note to say goodnight. Thomas apparently could sense his wife's disinterest, and went to the family room to watch television. Meredith saw that she angered him, so she finished feeding the baby and took her in to play with her daddy. However, Thomas acted as if he didn't notice either of them. She sat there for a few minutes, but he never shifted his eyes from the television. She grabbed Kayla and took her upstairs to bed. By the time she finally gotten the baby to sleep, Thomas was already in their bed asleep. She slipped down the stairs to write Reid an email. A smile came to her face as she saw a letter from him. She could feel the excitement in her heart as she opened the email.

This was no ordinary goodnight note. He seemed frustrated and annoyed. Not with her, but with his ex-wife, who had apparently called and upset him. He told Meredith that she was the only person that seemed to understand or care about him. She felt exactly the same way. Yet, something in his email made her feel nervous. She began trembling. He wanted to meet her. She quickly shut down the computer and went upstairs with out responding to his message. Still trembling, she climbed into bed, pulling the covers up around her. Her lies had caught up with her. She wanted to meet Reid more than she cared to admit, but there was no way she could get away with it. The lack of sleep had taken a toll on her, and she looked older than thirty-one, much less twenty-five. And how could she even begin to explain Kayla? She turned over in bed and stared at Thomas while he slept. Was she betraying him by even considering this? He was completely clueless as to what was going on with her. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Kayla's wails woke her again. She glanced over the clock, which read, "8:00 a.m." As she fumbled out of bed, she noticed that Thomas had already gone to work. The morning was off to a very strange start. First, Kayla had slept through a whole night, and Thomas actually left for work with out waking her to make his morning cup. She changed Kayla's diaper and headed down the stairs to feed her. After breakfast, she put Kayla in her playpen and made her way to the computer to reply to Reid. Once again, there was a message already waiting for her. This time, he had a more detailed plan for their meeting. He explained that he would be flying to Houston in two days to meet with a potential partner who had interest in franchising the restaurant. He said they could meet in a public place, in case she had any fears of meeting a stranger. He also assured her that it could just be a one-time meeting if she preferred.

Meredith hit reply, sat staring at the screen for several moments, and then finally wrote that he should wear a red tie with his suit and meet her by the skating rink at the Galleria Mall at noon on Friday. She suggested that they meet for lunch. In her mind, she had devised the perfect plan. She couldn't keep from wondering what this mysterious Reid looked like. She had decided to go to the Galleria, watch for the man with the red time that would be waiting near the rink, and not approach him, but watch from afar. He would never realize who she was because he would be looking for a woman who was alone, not someone who was pushing a baby in a stroller. She would merely satisfy her curiosity and then walk away from the situation and from him with out saying a word. Hopefully he wouldn't be attractive, and she would be able to forget about Reid all together and try to work on her marriage.

Two days later, Kayla woke her again. Her sweet baby had finally adapted to sleeping through ought the night and was now waking up like clockwork at 8 am. Thomas had allowed Meredith to sleep without waking her before he left. She assumed that he had been stopping at the gas station to buy coffee. He obviously couldn't make it himself. She got the baby ready and then began working on herself. For the first time in months, she had actually styled her hair and applied make-up to her pale face. She giggled. She felt like a teenager getting ready for a date.
She didn't know why she was fancying herself up since she wouldn't actually be meeting Reid. She smiled approvingly at her reflection, bundled up Kayla, grabbed the baby bag, and headed towards the Galleria.

The mall was crowded. It was Christmas break and there were kids swarming around everywhere. She knew he would never be able to pick her out of this ocean of people. Anyway, he was looking for a young, blonde, not a middle-aged brunette. There was no way he would recognize her. She became increasingly nervous as she drew nearer to the skating
rink.    She began picturing him in her mind. Although she hoped he was
unattractive, she just knew he would be handsome...someone she couldn't forget...someone who would always haunt her mind and heart.

Kayla was cooing inside her stroller. Meredith was grateful that the baby wasn't fussy, so she could concentrate on her mission to find Reid. She saw a man leaning against the skating rink wall. He looked out of place in his business suit. He appeared to be tall and lean, but she couldn't quite tell for sure. Soon her eyes could focus more, and she noticed his bright red tie. Her heart began racing, and her hands were turning cold and clammy. She was still too far away to see his features. As she drew closer, she noticed his sandy brown hair. The closer she got, the more she felt as if she was waving in slow motion. However, her view was becoming clearer and soon she could see his hazel eyes staring back at her.

"Hey Sugar, what are you doing here today?" Thomas asked, as his eyes shifted about nervously.