I Get A Kick Out of You

Chapter 6

"Hey, Ethan, don't forget your—and he's gone." Cassie, Ben and Joel laughed as they watched their kids sprint into the fairgrounds. "So, you say they have this fair every season?" Ben asked. Joel nodded, then told him, "Pretty much. This is the Fall fair, then there's Winter and Summer. Nothing for Spring."

Ben looked at his surroundings as was impressed at how beautifully everything was set up. Eleanore, on the other hand, looked like she could care less. Ben was so tired of her acting this way around his new friends. He couldn't say she was their friend, too, because she hasn't made any effort whatsoever.

"El," he harshly whispered, "surely work can wait just a few hours?" She gave him an annoyed look and said, "If you had a job, you'd know it can't." Ben was taken aback by that. No, he didn't work, but that was because she worked so much, no one could look after Cillian. So, he sacrificed his job as a successful lawyer to be a stay at home dad.

He even hoped it might help Eleanore's decision to have another baby, but that hasn't been the case.

"I never told you your work could wait when you got calls left and right from clients," she continued. He sighed and just shook it off. She did tell him that when he would be on the phone or at the office. She said that many times, in fact.

"I'm going to grab a beer," Joel announced. "Anybody else want one?" Cassie took him up on the offer, as did Ben. While Joel went to go get them, Ben and Cassie stayed put to keep an eye on the kids, who were running around with their teammates from the basketball team.

Eleanore excused herself to use the bathroom and Ben watched as she headed towards the porta potties, but then saw her go past them. He shook his head in disappointment for being so trusting with her. Then again, he didn't know any other way to be.

"You okay?" Cassie asked as she lightly bumped him. He turned to her and gave a soft smile. "Yeah," he told her. "I was up all night with Cillian from his night terrors, so I didn't get much sleep." Cassie let out a long groan as she said, "Ugh, I hate it when Ethan gets those! It takes him at least two days to get over it!"

Ben scoffed, "Right! I have to pop Cill in front of the T.V. and pray he'll fall asleep before he has to get ready for school, or else he'll be exhausted all day." He rubbed his tired eyes, then looked to where Eleanore had disappeared.

"There was probably a line at that one," Cassie told him, also noticing his wife's lie. He gulped, then quietly said, "I hope you're right. Them again, this isn't the first time this has happened. Usually, her excuse is that she's going to the store, but she doesn't. I don't follow her, I'm not like that. However, whenever we start the car, it says the last destination we've gone and the store is never the last one."

Cassie felt her heart sink to her stomach. He looked like he's been bottling all of this up for a long time and now that he was finally talking about it, he couldn't stop. He didn't seem angry or upset, but he seemed...sad.

He continued, "I don't know where it is she's been going and, truth be told, I don't want to find out. I won't ask because she'll just deny it and say the car is faulty. To do it in front of me, though? To lie and so easily? Bloody hell...I'm sorry, I shouldn't be throwing all of this on you."

"It's perfectly fine," she gently told him. "You need to vent and I'm here for that. That's what friends are for, right?" He gave her a smile and nodded. She hugged his arm and continued to look out on the kids.

It was quiet for a moment, before she said, "I think Joel was cheating on me." Ben gave her a double take. "What?" He asked. "Why?" She looked over to make sure Joel was still in line for the beers, then said, "It was just a gut feeling I had. The late nights, the lying about where he was going, keeping his distance, and being completely uninterested in sex. The signs were all there."