"Baby?" Tasha called out her husbands name at the dinner table. This was the first night in months that the Cole family was having an actual dinner together.
"Yeah?" Sincere looked up at her from across the table.
"It's your turn.."
"My turn?" He asked, genuinely confused.
"Yes... your turn to tell us how your day went." She replied still staring at him. He looked over at his son who was looking down at his food and then to his daughter who was looking at him.
"Oh yeah, my day." He cleared his throat. "My day was pretty good. Wrote a couple tickets, patrolled a few areas.. nothing too major."
"That's good." Tasha said smiling a little bit. "I'm glad you had a good day." She looked down at her food and her smile slowly faded, then there was complete silence. Only the sounds of silverware and slow chewing could be heard within the dining room.
"Desert anyone? I made brownies." Tasha stood up and grabbed her plate.
"I'm full, thanks for dinner mom." Their 18 year old daughter, Serenity stood up and grabbed her plate as well. "I'm going up to my room. Got some homework I have to finish."
"Yeah.. me too." His son, Semaj, said next. "I'ma go chill with the guys for a while."
Both his children headed towards the kitchen to put their dishes into the sink and went their separate ways. There was a thick tension within the room and Sincere wanted to say something but just couldn't. There was really nothing to say.
"How are they holding up?" He finally asked her after what seemed like hours of silence.
"They're fine. Serenity just started her senior year and Semaj is... you know... being Semaj."
It was weird to him having to ask how his kids were doing even though they all lived in the same house. He rarely saw them and they rarely saw him. It was almost as if he was a stranger in his own home, at least that's what it felt like.
"Our daughter is a senior... remember when we were seniors?"
Tasha chuckled. "I remember those days like it was yesterday... you literally followed me home everyday. You were so persistent, that's what I loved about you."
"So I'm not persistent now?" Sincere raised an eyebrow.
"You know what I meant." She rolled her eyes.
"Come over here." He patted his lap and she looked at him. "Come." He ordered and she slowly put the plate she was holding down and walked over to him, sitting on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her lips.
"I love you. I want to make this work NaTasha. We've been so distant lately and I know it's because of work but I love you and I just want us to be back to normal."
Tasha listened to his words but didn't respond. In her eyes, his job came before their marriage and it was no coming back from that. She understood it came with the job but he didn't make anytime for her. He didn't surprise her like he used to, he just didn't do the things he did before he was switched to the overnight shift. It was aggravating to say the least.
