The Family Next Door

by Heather D'Agostino

  ooooooooo

  “Is everything ok?” she turned to look over her shoulder at her husband who was curled up behind her.

  “Yeah, why?” Patrick lifted himself up on an elbow.

  “You just seemed troubled is all,” Katie shook her head. “Forget I said anything.”

  “I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong. Go to sleep,” he reached over, wrapped his arms around her middle, and tugged her flush to his body.

  After burying his face in the back of her neck, he settled and fell into a deep sleep. Katie laid there for quite some time feeling his deep even breaths before she too fell asleep.

  ooooooooo

  When she awoke the next morning, Patrick had already left for work. Katie climbed out of bed, and made her way to the kitchen to fix herself some breakfast. Just as the coffee began to brew, the doorbell rang. Katie glanced down at herself. She was still dressed in her flannel pjs. She had no idea who would be stopping by so early. Finally deciding that it couldn’t be anyone she knew, she shuffled to the door to open it.

  When she pulled it open, a deliveryman stood there holding a vase full of red roses.

  “I have a delivery for Katie McKinley?” he stated in a questioning tone.

  “That’s me,” Katie nodded as she reached for the flowers.

  “Have a nice day ma’am,” the man nodded and turned to walk away.

  Katie shut the door and set the vase on a nearby table. When she leaned forward to smell the fragrant blooms, she noticed a card wedged between several stems. She reached in, careful not to cause the card to slip further into the arrangement, and removed it. When she opened it, she noticed there was no message, or name. Only a heart graced the white cardboard. She grinned as she thought of her husband. He would do something like that. Maybe that was why he was so uptight the night before? She quickly moved into the kitchen to send him a quick text.

  BostonBabe: They’re beautiful. Thank you!!!

  She snapped the phone shut, and made her way upstairs to get dressed. She had some errands to run today along with a checkup to the doctor’s, but now she added stopping by her husband’s office to the list. If she had brought her phone upstairs with her, she would have seen his answering text.

  IceKing: What are you talking about?

  ooooooooo

  As Patrick sat at his desk, he glanced at his phone once more. What could she have been talking about? He’d spent most of the day pondering it. Lunch had come and gone, and now dinner was fast approaching. He’d used every opportunity to call her, but never could get her to answer. His calls had gone straight to voicemail. Katie had a habit of turning her ringer off, so he wasn’t alarmed at this point, but the strange text she’d sent him was driving him nuts.

  He slumped back in his chair and shuffled the folders around on his desk once again as his door slowly creaked open.

  “What?” he grumbled as he watched Tinsley lean against the frame.

  “You seem troubled,” she cooed as she stepped into his office and pulled the door almost shut behind her.

  “I’m fine,” he muttered as he refused to look up at her. “Just tired.”

  “You know…if you’d give into this, it would help,” she swayed her hips as she rounded his desk to stand in front of him.

  Patrick glanced up as he used his feet to push his chair away from her, “Not going to happen.”

  “Don’t you want to?” she slinked closer until Patrick couldn’t move back anymore. “No one will know,” her voice dropped as she leaned over next to his ear. “I closed the door.”

  “I’ll know,” he squeezed his eyes shut as he felt her lower herself onto him effectively sitting on his lap.

  “This isn’t going to happen Tinsley. I love my wife,” he turned his head away from her.

  Tinsley reached up and cupped his cheek, “And she’s going to be real happy with you tonight. I made sure of it,” she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his.

  Patrick’s head wrenched back, “What are you talking about?”

  “I sent her flowers,” Tinsley shrugged. “She probably thinks they’re from you.”

  “You did what?” Patrick barked, but Tinsley silenced him as she pressed her lips to his once more.

  “We could be great together, don’t you see that?” she whispered against his lips as she ran her hands down his chest, and fingered the tie that was hanging there.

  ooooooooo

  As she shuffled up the steps to the clinic, Katie paused at the door to catch her breath. Maybe coming here was a mistake. She was short of breath more often now that the baby was constantly pressing on her lungs. She wanted to surprise Patrick though, and thank him for the flowers. It was such a sweet gesture.

  When she entered the office, Jean smiled up at her.

  “Is he busy right now?” Katie smiled.

  “No, I don’t think so. There’s nothing on his schedule for another hour. Go ahead back. I’m sure he’d be happy to see you,” Jean pointed down the hall.

  “Thanks,” Katie called over her shoulder as she waddled toward her husband’s office.

  When she approached it, she noticed that the door was almost pulled closed. A tiny crack of light shown out into the hallway and she could hear hushed voices coming from inside.

  “You know you want to,” came a woman’s voice. “You seemed to like it the last time.”

  Last time? Katie crept closer as a knot began to form in her stomach.

  “That was a mistake,” Patrick’s low mumble came next.

  “Your dick didn’t think so,” the woman cooed.

  Tears began to well in Katie’s eyes as she shoved open the door to find her husband sitting behind his desk with Tinsley perched on his lap.

  “Oh hi,” Tinsley waved a perfectly manicured hand in Katie’s direction.

  “Katie,” Patrick gasped. “It’s not what you think,” he pushed Tinsley trying valiantly to dislodge her from his lap.

  Katie’s head shook wildly from side-to-side. Her mouth dropped open as she stumbled back out into the hallway. When her back hit the wall, she stumbled slightly as she turned and began racing for the parking lot. When she flew through the waiting room, Jean’s head popped up as her mouth dropped open in surprise.

  “Katie wait!” Patrick yelled after her as he strode out of his office. He glared back at Tinsley, and his stomach dropped as he saw the satisfied look on her face. She had planned this. When he ran past Jean’s desk after his wife, Jean shook her head and sighed. “Great,” Patrick thought, “that’s more for the gossip mill.”

  Katie continued to fumble her way out to the car as tears streamed down her face.

  “Please! Wait!” he screamed as he saw her climb into her car.

  She quickly glanced up as she reached to lock the door. Her body was shaking she was so worked up. She reached into her purse and dug around searching for her keys. Before she could get the car started, Patrick came racing up. He had been right behind her, and she’d barely gotten the doors locked. He pulled at the door handle and then flattened his hands on the driver’s side window.

  “Please…don’t do this! It’s not what you think!” his panicked expression caused her to look away as she shoved the key into the ignition.

  When the car roared to life, she threw it in gear, and stomped on the gas, leaving Patrick standing there in the parking lot.

  Tears streamed down as she fought for control. How could he do this? And with HER? Before she knew where she was going, she found herself pulling into Hannah’s driveway. She sat there for a minute trying to get herself under control, but soon gave up.

  When she reached the front door, she knocked, and then wrapped her arms around herself as her body shook with sobs.

  When Hannah opened the door, she gasped, “Oh my god! What’s wrong?” and ushered her sister inside.

  “He…” Katie gasped.

  “What? Who?” Hannah led her over to the couch and sat down beside her.

  “Oh Hannah,” Kat
ie leaned on her sister’s shoulder.

  After Hannah was able to calm Katie down, she got the gist of the story. Katie thought Patrick was having an affair. She’d walked in on what seemed like an office tryst.

  “I’m sure it’s not what you think,” Hannah soothed.

  “Oh, it’s exactly what I think. I’m not blind,” the hurt had slowly turned into anger, and now Katie was boiling over. “Can I stay here? Please!” she begged.

  “Sure,” Hannah nodded.

  As the two sisters sat embracing one another, Matt came in the front door startling them both.

  “Oh thank goodness,” he sighed. “Your husband’s been blowing up my phone looking for you. He’s going out of his mind.”

  “Good!” Katie ground out. “He deserves a little worry.”

  “Huh?” Matt wrinkled his forehead.

  “I’ll tell you later,” Hannah sighed as she stood with her arm around Katie. “Come on. I’ll make up the guest room for you.”

  ooooooooo

  “You,” Patrick pointed a shaky finger at Tinsley. “I can’t believe you just did that!”

  “Oh come on,” Tinsley smirked, “you know that you wanted this. I just gave you a little push. Now we can be together,” she rounded his desk to where he was standing, and attempted to wrap her arms around his neck.

  “No! I don’t want you! Why can’t you understand that?” he growled. “It’s never going to happen,” he picked up his coat, grabbed his briefcase, and strode to the door.

  “Wait! You can’t leave. You have that big consult, remember?” she panicked slightly as he stood in the doorway with his back to her. She thought he was contemplating staying, but his shoulders began to shake with self-deprecating laughter.

  “You really think that’s what I should be worried about right now?” he took a step forward and then paused. “Tell your dad I don’t want the procedure, and to give it to someone else.”

  “You’re going to ruin your career,” she taunted.

  “Better than my marriage…or what’s left of it,” he sighed as he walked away heading for his car.

  ooooooooo

  After several calls to Matt, Patrick found out that Katie was at his place. As he climbed into his car, he tugged on his tie to loosen it. When he glanced in the rear-view mirror, he noticed smudged lipstick on his jaw. He reached up and rubbed vigorously with his fingers. His stomach twisted as he thought about what Katie had seen, and what it must have looked like. How was he ever going to explain it? He huffed as he started the car, and began to drive toward Hannah and Matt’s.

  When he arrived, he climbed the steps and banged on the door.

  Matt opened it with Hannah standing slightly behind him. Patrick tried to peer around them searching for his wife, but he couldn’t see her.

  “Where is she?” he asked in a panicked voice.

  “She doesn’t want to see you,” Hannah growled. “You’ve done enough…go home!”

  Patrick lunged forward, “No! I want to talk to my wife! You can’t stop me from seeing her!”

  “Go home man, she doesn’t want to talk to you tonight,” Matt placed his hand on Patrick’s shoulder. “You both need to calm down. You can talk in the morning.”

  “But…” Patrick pressed.

  “I’m asking you nicely to go home,” Matt warned. “I don’t want to have to kick your ass, but I will.”

  “Please,” Patrick tried another tactic. “She doesn’t understand.”

  “Come back in the morning,” Hannah crossed her arms over her chest. “She’s gone to bed.”

  “Fine,” Patrick sighed as his shoulders slumped. He turned, stumbled down the steps, and ambled over to his car. He turned to face the house before getting in, and glanced up at a second story window. The curtain fluttered as if someone had been peering out of it, and a shadow moved behind it. He knew it was her. She wasn’t sleeping. She was listening to him beg.

  A tear slipped from the corner of his eye as he climbed in the car, and headed home to an empty bed…an empty bed, empty house, and empty nursery.

  What had he done?

  Chapter 19

  Patrick and Katie seemed to be at a stalemate over the next several days. She refused to see or talk to him, and he refused to give up. Every morning he would venture over to Hannah and Matt’s and knock on the door, and every time he did, Hannah would answer it and hold him at bay. Katie had begun to learn the routine, and would lock herself in the guest bedroom while she waited for him to leave. She’d even gone as far as switching her shifts at the hospital so he couldn’t stop by and see her there. It was only a month until her due date, and she had no idea what she was going to do then.

  “You have to talk to him at some point. You know that, right?” Hannah sighed as she came into the room Katie was staying in and sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “No, I don’t,” Katie growled.

  “I know you’re mad,” Hannah reached to place her hand on her sister’s shoulder, “but this is his baby, too. It’s going to be here soon, and it’s going to need both its parents.”

  “Says the girl who cut off all contact with her boyfriend and left town when she found out he had a kid,” Katie narrowed her eyes on Hannah.

  Hannah recoiled as if Katie had slapped her, “I can’t believe you just said that.”

  “Well, believe it,” Katie snapped.

  “I’m gonna go before you say something you truly don’t mean. I know you’re mad, but now you’re just being cruel,” Hannah stood and began moving toward the door. “Breakfast will be ready soon if you plan on eating with us.”

  “I’ll be down in a minute,” Katie sighed, “Hey…do you have Grace and Justin’s new number?” Her lip trembled as she waited for a reply.

  Hannah paused at the door, “Yeah…why?”

  “I wanna talk to him about filing for divorce,” Katie blinked back the tears that were now forming in the corners of her eyes.

  “What?” Hannah gasped as she raced back over to Katie and knelt on the floor in front of her. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I think I am,” Katie sobbed. “He cheated on me, Hannah! How am I ever going to trust him again? How can I bring a baby into that type of relationship?”

  “You need to talk to him before you decide to do anything. Are you even sure of what you saw?” she peered up at her sister, begging her to not do anything rash.

  “I know what I saw. I heard them. She said…she said he liked it the last time,” Katie began to crumple forward as Hannah moved to wrap her arms around her.

  “I know what you said, but what if you missed part of the conversation? What if she wanted you to hear that part? Are you really ready to give up on him just like that?” Hannah soothed. “That man loves you. You need to talk to him,” she whispered as Katie nodded against her. “I’ll give you Justin’s number, but I really hope you don’t call him for legal counsel.”

  As Katie wiped at her eyes, Hannah stood and made her way back to the door. “I’ve really gotta go finish breakfast. Charlie’s gotta catch the bus soon.”

  Katie nodded silently as she watched her sister disappear out into the hallway.

  ooooooooo

  As Patrick stood in his bathroom leaning against the counter, he peered at his reflection. Dark circles ringed his eyes, and several days’ growth covered his jaw. He was still dressed in his clothes from the previous day, and his hair was sticking up in every direction. He sighed as he glanced down at his hand and the gold band on his finger. He never thought that something that seemed so perfect could fall apart so easily. Didn’t ‘for better or worse’ mean they could fix things like this? Did she mean it when she said it eighteen months ago?

  After splashing some water on his face, he turned and made his way back out into the bedroom…their bedroom. The bed was still made from when Katie had last been there a week ago. He’d left the room untouched. Katie’s scrubs that had been piled in the corner chair still sat there, the book she’d been
reading at night still sat on the nightstand, the enormous pillow she’d been curling around herself when she slept was sitting at the foot of the bed.

  Patrick stalked toward the door, pulling it shut behind him. He couldn’t spend another minute in there, it hurt too much. He’d been sleeping on the couch for the last week, and wondering if he’d ever make it back to his bed.

  When he trotted down the stairs heading for the family room, he passed the vase of red roses Tinsley had sent Katie. Already dried up and wilted, Patrick really hadn’t noticed them until that moment. He stopped dead in his tracks as his anguish turned to rage. The anger that radiated off him was palpable. Surging forward, he picked up the vase, and heaved it across the room with a force he didn’t know he still possessed. The container shattered when it hit the wall as the wilted blooms sprayed out in every direction. He glanced up at the mirror on the wall. The man looking back at him looked nothing like his former self. Wild rage glittered in his eyes, along with a sense of hopelessness. His shoulders slumped, the rage disappearing as quickly as it had come. He headed to the kitchen to grab a broom. He didn’t think Katie would be by anytime soon. She’d been stopping by to get things she needed when he was out, but he knew he should clean up the glass.

  As he finished dumping the last dustpan full of glass into the trash, his phone chimed. When he picked it up, the one number he didn’t want to see, flashed in front of him.

  “What do you want? Today is my day off,” he barked into the phone.

  “Thought you might like some company,” Tinsley’s sugary voice came through the line.

  “I don’t want anything from you,” he snapped.

  “How’s Katie?” she pushed.

  “That is none of your damn business,” he clicked the disconnect button and tossed the phone on the table.

  His phone buzzed again. Noticing it was Tinsley once more, he clicked ignore, and then powered the phone off. He wasn’t planning on going anywhere, and if someone really needed him, they could call the house phone.

  Determinedly, he went to rummage through the liquor cabinet. Relief surged through him when his fingers grazed the high dollar scotch bottle his dad had given him for Christmas. He pulled the Johnnie Walker Gold Label out and grabbed a tumbler. Jack and Johnnie had become his two best friends over the last several days, today being no exception.