Story Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
They sat in chairs inches away from each other. She checked her watch for the tenth time and he shifted in his seat. The waiting room of the doctor's office was immaculate and tranquil but to both of the expecting parties it felt like hell on Earth.
Evangeline looked at her watch again. They were early and no doubt that the doctor was still in with another couple. She couldn't believe Cristian had scheduled the appointment for today. She was supposed to be in court in two hours and she still needed to go over her closing argument. But why was she surprised? Cristian was doing a lot of things that got on her nerves lately.
Cristian cut his eyes to the left and watched her cross her legs. She was agitated. So was he. But they needed to get this done. They had cancelled 3 times already. Things weren't going to get better until they did this.
The door to her office swooshed opened and she escorted the couple out. After scheduling their next appointment, Dr. Lainey Winters looked to her awaiting guests.
"Mr. and Mrs. Vega," she chirped.
Evangeline and Cristian rose as their names were called.
"Please, come inside."
Evangeline rushed forward but not before she collided with her husband. He stopped and stepped back.
"After you, dear," he said, looking into her mahogany irises.
"Sorry. Excuse me," she replied, bristling past him.
The duo entered the office and took the two chairs situated in front of the doctor's desk. Dr. Winters sat behind her workstation and observed them. On her left, Evangeline, her head bowed, was the spitting image of gorgeous. Her lengthy, lustrous locks framed her face and she had a slight pout on her lips. She was smartly dressed in an indigo skirt suit with a periwinkle sleeveless blouse. Lainey's eyes darted to Cristian on her right. He looked extremely comfortable in a crisp, white dress shirt, dark blue jeans, and a black blazer as he gazed at his wife. To passerbyers, they would probably look like friends but she knew all too well they were more than that. She decided to begin the session.
"Well, I must say. When you both rescheduled…again, I didn’t get my hopes up."
The couple laughed…nervously.
"Well, things have been kinda crazy, with my case and all," Evangeline prompted.
"I understand. Well, how about we get started? So Cristian, how are you feeling at this moment?"
"I feel fine," Cristian answered.
"Would you care to elaborate on that?'
"Not really."
"That's fine. Evangeline, how are you feeling at this moment?"
She took a deep breath and pushed her elongated strands behind her ear.
"Honestly? I feel kinda bothered."
"Really?" Dr. Winters replied. "What is bothering you?"
"THIS! This whole thing. I have a closing argument to do in less than 2 hours and we are talking about my feelings. I know how I feel."
"Would you rather we not talk about your feelings?"
"Yes, please."
"Okay. Then we won't. Let's talk about Cristian and Evangeline, together. How long have you been married?"
"Five years," they admitted together.
Dr. Winters looked up from her notes and saw the spark smoldering between the pair. But just as soon as it appeared, it diminished. Evangeline's head snapped to the right to look out of the spacious corner office window. Cristian ran his hand through his medium-length hair and sighed.
"Five years. Most people would say you were just starting out," Dr. Winters continued.
"Well, it feels longer than five years, I'll tell ya that," Cristian offered.
"Why do you think that, Cristian?"
"Because, it's been tiring. I didn't think….nothing. Nevermind."
"Evangeline, do you think there is anything wrong with your marriage?" Dr. Winters asked, shifting the attention back to the bride.
"There is nothing wrong with our marriage. We have hit a rough spot. All couples do. Eventually, we will get over it."
"Wow. Well, Evangeline, it sounds like you have everything figured out. I guess you guys don’t need me."
"Thank you! I have been saying that all along, but he refuses to believe it. Are you satisfied now, Cristian?"
Cristian Vega gave his wife a quizzical stare. Was she serious? There was nothing wrong? Then why were they here? He didn’t twist her arm. She wanted to be here as much as he did. She needed to be here as much as he did.
"Whoa! What? We don't have any problems? What marriage have you been in the last year because you sure as hell weren't married to me?"
"Don't raise your voice to me!"
"Okay. Okay. Okay!" Dr. Winters placated. "Let's regroup here. We all need to take a deep breath and focus."
Incensed, Cristian stared at Evangeline and sat up straight in his chair. He shrugged out of his blazer as she stared back at him, tight-lipped, rubbing her temples. The suffocating tension they had left in the waiting room has eased into the office and threatened to choke them. Dr. Winters saw the potential explosion mounting and decided either let the outburst commence or quickly defuse the bomb. She hoped she could stop the clock from ticking.
"Alright. I would say that was progress. Now, I see that we are at an impasse. Evangeline, you feel your marriage is fine but Cristian, you feel your union has some setbacks."
They sat in silence as she rattled on about her analysis thus far.
"One of you tell me about a typical day at the Vega household."
"Well," Cristian began, "we get up, get dressed, have breakfast, Layla comes over and eats our food, Evangeline goes to work, and I go to my gallery. Around 8pm, I get home, Evangeline's not there, I make dinner, I eat alone, watch a bit of television, and then I go to sleep. Evangeline gets in between 10pm and midnight, most nights. And that is a typical day in our merry domicile."
Cristian finished the description with a flourish as he flashed his wife a smile. She, however, cut her eyes back at him and folded her arms.
"Thank you so much, Cristian, for making me sound like a heartless bitch."
"Your words, not mine."
"How dare you?!"
"Okay!" Dr. Winters professed, stepping in. "Well, it looks like we are getting somewhere. Evangeline, is Cristian right in his narrative of an ideal day in your lives?"
Evangeline huffed. "Dr. Winters, you have to see this from my standpoint. I'm a lawyer. And a damn good one. People trust me with the outcome of their lives. And they pay me very well. I have to give them 200% or who knows what will happen. You're a doctor. You understand, right?"
"Oh, okay," Cristian voiced, jumping in, "you can give complete strangers the majority of your time but not your husband? I get it."
"Cristian! You know that is not true. I supported you all through the obstacles and late nights of getting your gallery started. Why can't you be there for me?"
"What are you talking about? I've been there for you, Evangeline. Way past the 5 years we have been married. I've seen you in action. Hell, you rescued me. But when are you gonna realize that you don’t need to rescue everyone? You don't need to save everybody. When are you gonna realize that you are my wife? That I need you?"
Evangeline closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. She didn't want to go down this road. Not now. And they still had 30 minutes left. She was already exhausted.
"It seems we are getting down to the root of your problems. Cristian, you feel Evangeline puts her work ahead of you and Evangeline, you feel Cristian doesn't support you. Am I right?" Dr. Winters questioned.
"I think you hit it on the head there, Doc," Cristian commented.
"Some of that is right. Cristian doesn't support me but I would never put my work before my marriage," Evangeline answered.
"Oh, that is rich, Evangeline."
"Cristian, I see you disagree," Dr. Winters observed.
"What are you getting at, Cristian? How many cases have I put above our anniversaries, or family reunions, or birthdays?" Evangeline protested.
"What?! You want a list? Fine. No. You know what? I'll sum it all up in two words: Todd Manning."
Dr. Winters stopped scribbling on her yellow pad as the silence hung in the room. Evangeline looked as though she had stopped breathing. The only inclination that she was still alive was the rise and fall of her chest. She stared at her husband with an unreadable expression in her eyes. Cristian stared back until he couldn't anymore and dropped his eyes to the carpet. Dr. Winters figured it was definitely a sore subject so she decided to let them talk without interference.
"How dare you say that? Todd is my friend. One of my best friends. And when he needs help, he needs me."
"No. Todd Manning needs his head examined. That man is a loose cannon."
"So what does that make me, Cristian? An idiot for befriending him? He and I have been through a lot and if you expect me to just stop being friends with him because you don't like him; you have lost your mind."
Again, silence. Dr. Winters looked between the couple. There was still so much that needed to be touched on with them and it would take more than one session. They still had some time to go, though. And she at least wanted them to leave on a good note.
“Cristian, do you feel Todd Manning is a threat to your marriage?” asked Dr. Winters.
Cristian laughed. “No, no. Todd Manning is not a threat. Just a nuisance.”
“Cristian! My God! You have friends that I can’t stand but I would never call them nuisances.”
“Because my friends don’t call the house at all hours of the night, Evangeline. What is Manning’s deal, anyway? He has a family. He should be concentrating on them.”
“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. Cristian, I want you to get this. Todd is my friend. He will always be my friend. And there is nothing you can do about it. Deal with it.”
“Do you see what I mean? That! That right there is why we are having problems.”
“Excuse me?!”
“This ‘my way or the highway’ attitude. Evangeline, I know you are the breadwinner in our house but you are married to me. Which means you compromise with me, you make decisions with me, and you are one with me.”
“My attitude?! What about yours?! That temper you have can be SO infuriating when you don’t get your way. Life is not fair, Cristian. Suck it up! Quit acting like your dog died.”
“Who the hell are you? It’s like I live with a complete stranger. If I had known you were gonna be this difficult, I would have never married you.”
“Well, maybe that’s the problem. We don’t know each other. You claim not to know who I am and I could have sworn you said you would always be there for me but that remains to be seen. So why don’t we just save ourselves more heartache? Let’s just end it. Let’s get a divorce. That’ll make everything better, right?!”
The inconversable lapse in time that passed was deafening. Dr. Winters looked towards Evangeline and saw tears streaming down her face. Cristian had a fist pressed against his lips as if he was holding every fiber of his body together. He was shaking. They were wound so unbelievably tight that the wrong thing said could set off another domino effect of emotions. So much for letting them talk things out. Dr. Winters decided to regain control.
“Evangeline, why did you marry Cristian? What is it about him that made you want to spend the rest of your life with him?”
Evangeline uttered a shaky sigh and hastily wiped the tears from her face. She slowly turned her gaze to her husband and peered. Long and hard. And looked for the man she fell in love with. And she saw him. 6 years younger, starving artist, and boxer. And her rock. Her best friend.
“His concern and his generosity. That’s why I married him. I have never in my life had someone care about me so passionately. And even when I pushed him away, he was still there. And he woke me up. He made me see the great person that I am and the wonderful things I deserved. But I never thought I deserved him. I always thought he needed someone who could appreciate his thoughtfulness and his sincerity. Lord knows I didn’t. But the entire time, without even knowing it, he was building me up. And making me the person that I am today. The person that loves him, with everything in me, unconditionally.”
Evangeline tried extremely hard to hold back the tears but they spilled down her cheeks like salty rivers. His brown eyes held hers as she poured her bleeding heart out to him. His beautiful wife was troubled. And broken. What he did to make her this way, he didn’t know. But whatever it was, he was going to stop it immediately.
“Cristian, why did you marry Evangeline? What is it about her that made you want to spend the rest of your life with her?”
Cristian admired the woman beside him. His wife. The only person in the world that understood him. Sure, they had their ups and downs but in the end, she always took his advice and she always trusted him, implicitly. The past years seemed to go by in a flash right before his eyes. The only constant thing was their love. He cleared his throat and slowly touched her hand, engulfing it in his own as he caressed it.
“Her determination and her commitment. That is why I wanted her to always be in my life. She fought for me. So hard. And never gave up. She believed in me just like she does her friends, family, and clients. When she saved me, I knew she would never hurt me. She would never betray me. If I told her I loved her, she would love me back. Forever. And she does. She doesn’t know this but everyday, every morning, I wake up and I just look at her. I just stare because I can’t believe that I’m married to her. How did I get so lucky? So I never take her for granted. Not for one second. Because she is my gift from God. My present. My second chance. And I cherish her with every breath I take.”
He slowly raised his fingers to graze her cheek. She closed her eyes, moaned, and turned her face into his touch. It has been so long since they connected like this. When they were newlyweds, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. When did everything change? When did her work trump all and when did his support waver? He slowly leaned forward and placed a slow kiss to her supple lips. He pressed his forehead to hers and they sat, being in each other presence. He ran his hands through her hair and she caressed his arms, massaging his wrists.
Dr. Winters surveyed them and smirked slightly. It was a start. They still had a journey, to get back to the center of their marriage, but she was sure they would be back next week.
“It looks like we’re out of time, guys.”
The couple slowly pulled from each other and stood. Evangeline righted her suit and Cristian slipped on his blazer. Grabbing a tissue, Evangeline wiped her eyes while they both turned their attention to the doctor.
“I’m gonna give you both an assignment. After today, go home and write down what you love about each other. What makes you attracted to each other. And then I want you both to sit down, each night, and share the lists. You are going to see that each day you will discover something new about your spouse. So while you are reconnecting, you are also adding new layers to your relationship. And then we can build on that. Okay?”
The pair looked at each other and nodded. Dr. Winters could see an excitement in their eyes that wasn’t there an hour ago. That made her smile. She ushered them out of the office and set up their next appointment. She returned back to her office but not before she saw Mr. Vega wrap his arm around his wife and her head lay on his shoulder. They disappeared into the elevator.
Yeah, they wouldn’t be canceling next week’s appointment.
~*~ The End. ~*~