Read Quiet As It's Kept Online
Authors: Monique Miller
Quiet As It's Kept (7 page)
Will pulled the baby out of the water kicking and protesting, not wanting to get out of the tub. Isaiah's wrinkled hands and feet were pretty good indicators that it was time for him to get out and be dried off. As soon as they returned downstairs, Morgan was pulling into the driveway.
After placing the baby in his playpen, Will checked on his casserole of chicken, broccoli, cheese, and rice, which was keeping warm in the oven. Steam rose from the oven as he opened it. He couldn't wait to dig in to it. The recipe was one he'd found on the Internet and he hoped his finished product would end up looking like the picture accompanying the recipe. So far it looked exactly the same.
Morgan sauntered into the room smiling the same way she had that morning when she'd kissed Will good-bye as she left for work. She gave Will a kiss on his lips, and then kissed the baby on his forehead. “How are my two favorite men doing this evening?”
“Good, and it looks as if you must have had a good day also.”
“It was.” With a playful look in her eye, she said, “It must have been because of the great start I had this morning.”
“Ah, do tell,” Will said.
“Oh, sweetheart, a lady never kisses and tells, especially not in front of her little boy.” She gave Will another kiss on his lips, lingering this time. “But maybe we can talk about it a little later in privacy.”
“Sounds good to me.” Will grinned.
“What's smelling so good?” Morgan closed her eyes and sniffed the air.
“Oh, just a casserole I baked.”
Morgan's eyebrows rose in question. “You know how to bake casseroles now?”
“Yep.” Will nodded like a child who had just mastered the art of tying his shoes.
“What kind?”
“A chicken, broccoli, cheese, and rice casserole.”
“Man, it smells good. And that spaghetti you packed me for lunch today was absolutely scrumptious. I'm just sorry I didn't get a chance to find that out last night,” Morgan said.
Gingerly, Will placed his hand on Morgan's shoulder. “Honey, don't bring all of that up. We've already kissed and made up. Besides, some people say spaghetti tastes better the second day anyway.”
“All I know is it was good. And it looks like I won't miss the treat you've made for us tonight.”
“Nope, you sure won't.”
“Okay, I am going to slip out of these clothes and wash my face and hands, and I'll be back down in a moment.”
“Good, that will give me a chance to set the table.”
“Man, my stomach is growling,” Morgan said.
“I'll second that. I don't believe I've eaten since this morning.”
Isaiah banged on his high chair and screamed something that sounded close to the word, “Yeah.”
“Okay, I guess that is a third, so that makes it unanimous,” Will said.
“Set the table, I'll be right back down.” Morgan turned and left for their bedroom.
Will nodded. He couldn't have asked for the day to turn out any better than it had. And, from the looks of things, they were only continuing to get better. He looked forward to dinner, and also to the private session with his wife later on that evening. And while he still wasn't sure exactly what kind of lesson he was supposed to learn from the test he was being put to, he was learning not to take the small things in life for granted. He never would have thought that just seeing a happy look on his wife's face or looking forward to private, intimate time would cause him so much joy.
He hated that he and Morgan had fought the night before, but as a result of the fight they had made up and it sounded like Morgan wanted to continue with round two of their session later on that night.
After setting the table, Will pulled Isaiah's high chair over into the dining room. The baby had shaken his bottle filled with formula so much that puddles of milk pooled on the surface of his high chair. Will got a paper towel and wiped up the spill. When he placed the paper towel in the trash can, he saw that it was full to the point that it was about to overflow. Before the job loss, he normally emptied the trash every other day or so on his way to work. But now he tried to make sure that it was as full as possible before taking it out, so as not to waste more money on trash bags.
He stepped through his garage to throw the bag in the outside trash can. As he opened the door to return into the garage, a bird flew in. The bird flew to the corner and landed on a shelf. It then flew to the other side of the garage and landed on top of Morgan's car.
Will opened the garage and the bird flew out. He shook his head with an uneasy feeling about the bird coming into their house, as he remembered an old wives' tale that his grandmother used to say. He knew it had something to do with birds flying into a person's home and bad luck. He tried to shake off the feeling, thinking it was silly to put any credence into an old tale.
After closing the garage, he returned to the kitchen, washed his hands, and joined Morgan, who had picked up the casserole and carried it to the dining room table. It was a lot like old times as he watched his wife move as if she didn't have a care in the world. Will picked up from the counter Isaiah's plate, which consisted of stage three baby foods, and carried it to the table also.
Once the food was blessed, all three ate. The conversation was light. Will told Morgan about the indoor day at the beach he'd treated Isaiah to. And Morgan talked about how well her visit from the corporate office had turned out.
Once they were full, Morgan laid Isaiah down for bed while Will took care of the dishes. Afterward, Will and Morgan continued with round two from that morning. Will knew that life couldn't get much better than the feelings he was having right then and there.
Will had ascended the stairs two at a time in anticipation, with two thoughts in particular nagging in the back of his mind. First, it bothered him that Morgan had been calling him some of the same names his father had called him as a child. Morgan knew about his childhood traumas. Will had told her about them about a month after they'd started dating. She'd listened to his stories and consoled him when the memories had gotten too vivid for him. She'd been so understanding, and her understanding nature was another thing that he'd loved about her. He wondered why she would say some of the same things now.
The other thing that nagged at him in the back of his mind was his wife's moody behavior. He hoped that by the time he opened his bedroom door his wife would still be in the loving mood she had been in earlier. And in just a moment he would see who was lying in his bedâDr. Jekyll or Mrs. Hyde.
Chapter 7
Will awoke from the best night of sleep he'd had since before he got laid off. Not only had he slept well, but his dreams were filled with replays of the hours he and Morgan had intimately spent together before falling to sleep with exhaustion. She had been in one of her best moods in months. It was as if he could finally exhale with relief. She was the Morgan he'd known before the mood swings she'd been having because of the pregnancy hormones. She was the Morgan he'd known before the stress she'd been under of having to take care of their family financially.
He turned over on his side to face his wife, but found she had already gotten up. Once he looked at the clock he realized that he'd overslept.
He listened for sounds that may have been coming from the baby monitor, but he heard none. He also listened for other sounds of movement from Morgan around the house, but didn't hear anything. With reluctance, he sat up and then got out of bed, heading to the bathroom. He washed his hands and face, then checked on the baby, who wasn't in his crib.
Next, he descended the stairs, and upon entering the great room he saw Isaiah playing with a toy in his playpen. The baby dropped the toy as soon as he saw his father, and pulled himself up in to a standing position.
“Hey, my little man.” Will walked to the playpen and picked up the baby. He nuzzled Isaiah's nose. The baby giggled.
“Oh, Will,” Morgan said in a slightly singsong voice. She sounded like she was in the kitchen.
“Yes, my darling,” Will replied in a similarly singsong voice. He walked into the kitchen to find his wife.
She was leaning on the island in the kitchen. He took a second to admire the woman God had blessed him with, especially as he thought about the night before. Will had been a virgin before marrying his wife, and he was glad to know that there were still women in the world who saved themselves for their husbands as Morgan had.
But Will had not been a saint, in that he had seen his share of movies about women who were on the promiscuous side. Some of the moves his wife had put on him the night before reminded him of the strippers in the movie
The Players Club.
He admired his wife for her natural beauty and God-given talents, but if he didn't know any better, he would have thought that his wife had not been a virgin before they marriedâbut Will did know better.
The Players Club.
He admired his wife for her natural beauty and God-given talents, but if he didn't know any better, he would have thought that his wife had not been a virgin before they marriedâbut Will did know better.
He walked up behind her, gave her a hug with his free arm, and kissed her on the back of her neck. She immediately stiffened. Will pulled back, wondering what was wrong.
She turned around in one fluid motion and said, “What is this?” Anything singsong in her voice was now gone.
“Uh, what?” His forehead wrinkled in question.
She held papers up in his face. Will had to back up in order to see what they were. Then he realized they were from a copy of the budget he'd put together the day before.
“Oh, that.” He smiled. “I was going to talk to you about it, but we didn't get a chance last night.” He took the papers from her hand and looked at the clock on the microwave. Morgan would need to leave for work soon. “But don't worry, we can talk about it when you get home this evening.”
Morgan frowned. “No, why don't we talk about it now.” She crossed her arms and rolled her neck.
Will did a double take, and his body tensed as he wondered why she was acting so hostile all of a sudden. “Don't you need to go to work?”
“I know what
I
need to do, Will,” she said, rolling her neck again. She had put an emphasis on the word “I” like she was trying to be sarcastic with him.
I
need to do, Will,” she said, rolling her neck again. She had put an emphasis on the word “I” like she was trying to be sarcastic with him.
He wondered if she was trying to imply that he wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing. “Whoa, maybe I missed something. What's up with you? Why are you acting so hostile?”
“Oh, I'm being hostile, am I?” Morgan asked.
“Ah, yeah,” Will said.
“Well why do you think that is?”
“I don't know, Morgan. That is why I am asking you.”
Isaiah started to squirm in Will's arm. He stepped over to the playpen and sat him down in it. As soon as he stepped away, the baby started to cry. Isaiah wasn't a whiny baby, but Will had noticed lately that whenever things got tense between him and Morgan, Isaiah could sense it. It was as if history was repeating itself; like when Nicole often sensed the tension between their parents when they fought.
This was not the way Will had envisioned his day starting. Morgan seemed to be having another mood swing and Will didn't want to deal with it, especially so early in the morning, and especially not after the great night they'd had together. Now he wondered if the previous day had even happened at all.
“I'm waiting,” Morgan said.
Will took a deep breath and tried to speak in a calm voice. “Morgan, we can talk about it later on. I want to sit down with you to talk about it in detail, so that I can show you how I came up with everything.”
Morgan huffed. “I think I can read and understand things just fine. And from what I've read, you want to cut out anything that has to do with me having any type of âme' time.” She pointed at the budget. “From what I can understand, you want me to stop getting my hair done, and anything else that makes me feel good.”
“No, don't look at it that way. I don't want you to stop getting your hair and nails done. I am just saying that if we space these services out, we can save more money. I mean, if you look at the budget, I didn't just adjust the services you receive, I've also modified how I can get my hair cut, and how I can start doing more of the services we've been paying other people to do. I've already started changing the oil and I can also start doing the lawn myself.”
Morgan folded her arms and rolled her eyes. “You doing a budget is all fine and good, but you need to make some modifications on itâmodifications that don't include me having to walk around here looking like some ragamuffin off the street.”
“Now, Morgan, don't exaggerate things so much. You wouldn't look like a ragamuffin if you spaced out your hair appointments a little,” Will suggested.
“Listen to me, Will, and listen to me well.” Morgan unfolded her arms, stuck her pointer finger up, and wagged it from side to side. “I work too hard every day not to be able to have some time for myself. I don't ask for much and I don't spend exorbitant amounts of money. So I don't think it is asking too much to have my hair and nails done.”
Will clasped his hands firmly together as if pleading. “Morgan, honey, you are blowing this all out of proportion. That is why I wanted to sit down with you and talk about this later.”
She placed both hands on her hips and rolled her neck. “I am not blowing anything out of proportion. And you need to revamp that budget before we sit down and talk about anything dealing with money right now. You know that's a very sore subject. And I don't know how you think you can just dictate how we spend the money in this house when I am the only one bringing any in.”
Will's mouth dropped wide open. He took a moment to compose himself as he took another deep breath. He couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his wife's mouth. He wondered how she could be twisting something as small as trying to better manage the money they did have.
Isaiah had pulled himself up to a standing position and started whimpering. Will looked over toward the baby and saw tears welling in his eyes. It hurt him to see his son starting to cry.
“Look, let's talk about this later on tonight. We're not going to be able to resolve anything right now.”
Morgan spoke before Will could say anything else. “And we won't resolve anything tonight either if you try to talk to me about the same stuff you've already written. So, again, I suggest you revamp that budget before you bring it to me for a discussion.”
Will put his hands up and took another deep breath. It was very rare that his temper flared up. Overall, he was an easygoing guy. Before he and Morgan had gotten married he could count on one hand the number of times his temper had gotten the best of him.
“Why don't you go ahead and go to work? We can talk later.” He turned to pick the baby back up and headed upstairs.
“What? Is that it? Is that all you are going to say? How are you just going to walk away from me like that?” Morgan yelled toward him as he walked away.
“That's all I have to say for now. And I do need to walk away before I say or do something that I might regret later,” Will said.
“Say or do something? Something like what?” Morgan said.
He wanted to get away from his ranting wife. But the next thing he knew, Morgan was in his face.
She repeated herself. “Say or do something like what?”
Will was taken aback. Morgan was standing in his face. “Move, Morgan.”
Morgan waited for an answer. Will tried to step around her, but she continued to block his steps to leave the room.
“Morgan, we can talk about this later. Move out of the way so I can go upstairs. You'll be late for work.”
“Answer my question first, or can you even do that? You can't seem to do anything right, can you?”
Will felt his temper flaring as his heartbeat sped. Louder than he meant to, Will said, “Morgan, I don't know where all of this is coming from, but I need to go get away from you before Iâ”
Morgan cut him off. “Before you what?”
Isaiah started a screaming cry as he watched and listened to the exchange between his parents.
Will couldn't take the wailing screams. He stepped to the side to move around Morgan, but Morgan got closer in his face. She got so close that he could see veins in her eyes.
Without thinking, Will grabbed Morgan's forearm, yanking and squeezing it. Morgan let out a yelp. As he continued to hold on to her arm and squeeze, Will said, “Move, Morgan.”
Tears welled in Morgan's eyes as she pleaded for him to let her arm go.
Will didn't know how much time had passed before he finally released her arm. It had probably only been seconds, but to him it felt like an eternity. When he did let go, Morgan fell down to the floor, crying. Will pulled the baby closer to him and ascended the stairs to the baby's room.
Once in Isaiah's room, Will slammed the door and sat down on the glider rocker, glad to be out of the presence of his wife. Will couldn't believe what he'd just done. His temper had never flared like that before. He'd never wanted to be anything like his father. When he was a young boy, he'd always vowed never to hurt his wife or his family. Now he had broken his age-old vow. He was glad he hadn't gone further than he had. With all the rage he'd felt, he could have broken Morgan's arm. He shuddered at the thought.
The baby shuddered also in his father's arms. Streaks from the tears that had fallen from his eyes had started drying on his little cheeks. Will pulled a wipe out of its container and wiped the baby's face. Isaiah smiled at his father, as if knowing the tension in the atmosphere had been lifted.
Will bounced the baby up and down on his lap as he thought about the events that had unfolded that morning with his wife. He was starting to wonder if he was in the Twilight Zone with the way Morgan's attitude was hot, lukewarm, then cold, and hot again. It was as if he were married to two women at the same time. And while Will didn't believe in astrological signs, he might have to give some type of credence to what many people say about people who are born under the sign of Gemini. Morgan seemed to have two different personalities. Then he wondered if maybe the honeymoon between him and his wife was over, and this was all just a part of him getting a chance to see his wife for all of who she really was; not just her good side, but the notso-good side.
He decided it would be best to wait until Morgan left the house before he emerged from the room. He needed his own time to totally diffuse. And even though he could count on one hand the number of times his temper had flared up before marriage, since marriage he'd lost count of how many times he and Morgan already had disagreements causing him to want to flare back out at his wife. It was a feeling that he didn't like or welcome.
He was sure now that he must have been in the Twilight Zone, because in real life nothing had changed as far as his wife's feelings and her demeanor. He was going to have to do something to help alleviate the problems they were having. Hopefully he'd get a call for a dream job, but in the meantime they needed more money, and they needed more money now.
He wasn't pleased with the way Morgan was acting, but in a way he couldn't blame her. He was the one who was supposed to be taking care of their family. He was the man of the household. It wasn't her fault and he couldn't blame her for getting a little upset about what was going on.
Will pulled Isaiah up into a standing position to face him. “Little man, Daddy is going to have to change some things. You and I are going on a little trip today. Daddy's going to have to start bringing some money into this house. And if Daddy's got to get a job at a fast food restaurant or at a retail store, he will.”
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