Fifth of February. 3:34 p.m.
Laura Warwick was waiting impatiently for someone... Edward, most probably. She was walking restlessly across the living room and was occasionally looking up at the wall-clock. She was alone in the hall.
It was when there was some soft knocking on the door. Laura rushed to the door as she heard the knocking and opened it. Edward was standing outside. His head was down and his face displayed a defeated despair. After opening the front door, Laura stood there and waited for her husband to say something but he slowly entered into the house and throwing his jacket and hat away onto the floor in anger, sat down on the couch, putting his palms over his mouth. He had definitely lost something... Something big.
'What happened, hon?', Laura asked politely.
'Eighth job interview... Eighth failure. What else do you expect?', he replied giving out a sigh and then ran his hands over his hair. 'I am a loser, Laura. A goddamn fucking loser!'
Laura closed in on him. 'Don't you say that'
'Why the hell I shouldn't?!... Hm? I am running out of options, can't you fucking see?!... If this is a test of patience, I have damn lost it. Every interviewer... Every jackass behind the desk!... They stare at me as if I were a fucking extra-terrestrial... Oh yeah! Who in the world expects a middle-aged man to roam around place to place in search of a new job!'. Edward laughed at his own words, sarcastically.
'Don't worry, Ed'
'Shut the fuck up!', he screamed and got up. He got hold of Laura by both of her arms firmly. There was extreme rage in his eyes. 'Who is going to run this house then? Pay the bills and stroll around the monetary clubs down the alleyway at Clinton's... Spend all of it on the household... You? Bitch, you?! Your work is to cook food, wash clothes, keep up the household and look after the ladies. What else shall you do, huh? What do you think? No need for you to nudge your mind into my matters or mess with the treasury. Got it?!'
Laura seemed aghast and petrified. She was now up on her feet and was shivering, not with fear, by witnessing the aggression in Edward. She had probably never seen Edward in such an enraged manner. Like a small girl, she drooped her head down and without saying anything, just nodded her head. It was when Edward got his senses back. He could see droplets of tear around Laura's eyes. That sparked a sense of realization within him. Though his anger didn't completely subside, he decided atleast he shouldn't fuss with her, pull her into the puddle he was in. He heart was perhaps filled with guilt.
'Oh I am so sorry, Laura!', he said. He seemed quite animatingly frustrated over himself. 'I am just... afraid and filled with despair'. Then leaving her hands, he moved briskly up to the second floor. Laura just stood there as she saw Edward get into Ruth's room and create an atmosphere of some fake merriness.
...
Third of March. 12:48 a.m.
There was utter silence all around the house as it was past bedtime but Laura was still awake. She was wearing her V-neck half-sleeved night gown and was waiting for someone, sitting by the dining table, evidently, Edward. There was again a worried look over her face. She was constantly tapping her fingers over the table and sometimes biting her nails.
Then in the silence, she could hear the outer main gate to the front yard swing open. She got up and then walking up to the door, opened it before Edward could knock at it. Edward's face turned pale as he looked up at Laura. He wasn't expecting her to be up at that time. He was holding some books in his hands which he slowly hid behind his back.
'Wha-You are- What- Why are you up yet?', he asked nervously.
'What time is it, Ed? You never come home this late. Where the hell had you been?'. She was trying to lower her voice as much as possible, not to disturb her mother-in-law and daughter. She was visibly annoyed at him and had crossed her arms around her breasts.
'At a friend's', Edward replied slowly and moved into the house.
'Can I know which one was it?... who could hold you up so late...' She sniffed suspiciously. 'Are you drunk again?'
'No-no... I am not'. That was a plain lie. Laura could get it but she decided not to mention it again. she could see him trying to balance himself. He was drunk, but not to the throat. He was sober enough to stand himself firmly.
'And what are those in your hands?', she asked.
'Some books'
'When did you start reading books? I haven't ever seen you reading any book, not even the finest ones of Conan Doyle'
'Well, if I didn't... I am. Understand? And don't you bother yourself think about it'. He kept the books over the table in front of the couch and went into the bathroom. Laura, being curious of Edward's new and sudden book-reading intrigue, walked down to the living room and picked up a book. She was dumbfounded when she looked at the cover. 'Satanism and the world order' was written over it. Shocked, she picked up another book. 'The Justice of the Devil' was written over it. Laura gasped and dropped those books. She got down onto the couch, clasping her hands. As Edward came out of the bathroom, he looked at Laura and her face told him that she had seen it. He tramped fast towards her.
'Don't you say you--'
'What is it, Ed? When did this start?'
'Fuck! That's none of your business, okay... And who the hell gave you the permission to snoop!', he yelled at her, but again, with a lowered voice. That was enough for Laura. She could not hold herself up anymore and tears started flowing down her cheeks.
'You know, it's not only you who's suffering, okay?... For months, we are facing this problem together. I know you haven't been in a right frame of mind. You have lost your smile, you have lost your charm, you have lost your face, Ed. And can't you see? I have lost them too. I have been with you since the first time we met and you know what... I am a crazy scrounging bitch, who won't even leave you until your last breath, who won't even leave you even if you lose your last penny, who won't--'. She couldn't speak anymore and was just about to rush away from him when Edward held her hand and made her stop. Laura's words had melted him. There was no need to say sorry. Edward's eyes itself displayed how sorry he was for all his anger spells upon his wife.
'Look... I am... Sorry, Laura... I haven't been at my psycho best for a while and all what I have done in these last few days... well, I have done for our betterment--'
'Then what's this Satanism about?'
'Oh...um... I had told you I had gone to meet a friend... He's a good man. Met him outside the parlor near Eddy's shop. He can help me out, Laura. He knows what can help me out. These are his books. He has just given those to me to keep for sometime. Then I will return those back to him. Believe me... I will change everything back to what it was'. There was a convincing, but yet a little sceptic look over Laura's eyes. But the way Edward talked to him, he hadn't been like this since the day he had lost his job. He had always been exasperating. But his loving words had cast her away from her suspicions and now she wanted to believe on her husband's words.
They kissed each other and then started walking up to their bedroom. While they were moving up the stairs, Edward looked back at the books and stopped for a while. He was just looking at those books. Laura stopped after him. 'What is it?', she asked. Edward's face was sweating. His eyes were widening and his face displayed surprise and shock. Laura shook him.
'Oh nothing, hon', he said and then they were again on their way up to the bedroom.