Anthony had been talking to Ariane for at least two weeks now. They hit it off exactly like he and Rayna did when they met at Wisconsin. She was beautiful and could be any man's dream. Anthony enjoyed her company. They would meet up here and there and lengthy phone calls. Rayna caught onto it. Usually if he was on the phone for a while, it was either business or his dad. Rayna knew it wasn't either one of those choices by the way Anthony saw sweet little compliments and the way he laughed at whoever was on the other end of the phone.
She mentioned it to Alexis and of course her response was to go through his phone. Rayna trusted her husband and didn't think he would be doing anything wrong. As suspicious as Rayna was, the last thing she wanted to do was go snooping around. Whatever it was as taking most of Anthony's attention and it was really getting to Rayna. Anthony was outside sitting in the lounge chair texting Ariane for what seemed to be all day.
Rayna came out and straddled him. "Who are you talking to, babe?"
Anthony was a little surprised at her just hopping on him. "Uh, just someone I met at that charity event awhile ago."
"What are you guys talking about?" Rayna said.
"Just talking." he said.
"Okay, well.." she said getting up and sitting in the lawn chair next to him. "How about you talk to me?"
Rayna extended her hand out for Anthony to take. He looked at it and the longer he took the more Rayna's hopefulness dropped. She was about to pull away but, reached and grabbed it. He entwined their fingers before leaning over and kissing her knuckles. It warmed Rayna up inside where as with Anthony, he felt something missing.
"So how has work been?" Anthony asked.
As Rayna went on about work, Anthony began to listen. However while looking at her, he trailed off. He started thinking about Ariane. Rayna just kept going and going and Anthony wasn't even on the same page with her.
"You aren't listening." Rayna said scoldly.
Anthony snapped out of it. "I'm sorry, baby. Why don't you start from the beginning?" Anthony's phone rang signaling a text message. He picked up his phone and opened it to see a funny text. He laughed and let go of Rayna's hand to response.
Rayna got up and retreated back into the house. She couldn't believe Anthony had totally disregarded her. Anthony came back inside and met Rayna in the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, honey. Come on, talk to me." Anthony said.
"Fine. Let's talk about who is on the other side of that phone." Rayna said frustrated.
"It's nobody, baby." he said.
"A nobody who you've been on the phone with for weeks. A nobody who constantly makes you laugh and smile." she said. "Give me a name."
"They aren't important." Anthony said.
"Really?" Rayna said putting her hands on her hips.
"Yes. They aren't important, honest." Anthony said.
His phone rang again and he looked at his notifications. Rayna rolled her eyes and went into the pantry.
"Look, that was Terry. That's different." Anthony said.
"Either way, that phone has more of your attention than I do." Rayna said coming back with a package of popcorn. "I don't text or play on my phone when we talk. Neither should you. It's disrespectful and frustrating as shit."
"Language." he said. Rayna shot him a death glare as she put the bag in the microwave. "I'm sorry. How about we go out tonight? No phones, just you and me. A nice place. It's supposed to be great outside tonight, we can eat out on a patio."
Rayna looked at him with very angry eyes. "I don't know."
Anthony crept up on Rayna and pulled her close. He held her by her waist and kissed her forehead. Then began an assault of kisses on his wife's face.
"Okay! Fine! Alright!" Rayna said.
"Can you wear that blue dress I bought you?" Anthony said.
"Are you going to take me out of it when tonight's over?" Rayna said seductively.
Anthony kind of cringed on the inside. He just couldn't bring himself to try for a baby with Rayna. "We'll see." he said kissing her cheek.
Rayna knew what that meant. She took her popcorn out of the microwave and slipped out of Anthony's arms to go into their home theater.
Just like Anthony said, he found a place where they could dine on a patio and not be disturbed. It was a nice night in Seattle. Anthony wanted to make up for the way he acted today and he was doing right.
They got done swapping stories and had just got done laughing their lungs out when Anthony's phone rang. Rayna looked at his jacket pocket. Anthony took out his phone and turned it to silent. Rayna smiled.
"So, why don't you go ahead and tell me about work?" Anthony said.
Rayna retold the story that Anthony missed earlier that day. When she moved onto another story, Anthony started to black out. He tried hard to focus but, he couldn't keep his mind off of Ariane. Why was he thinking about this woman? Anthony snapped out of it when their waiter brought their check. Anthony paid it and they were on their way out.
As Anthony drove them home, he kept getting distracted by the thought of Ariane.
Ariane.
Ariane.
Ariane.
Ariane.
"Anthony. You missed our turn." Rayna said.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Anthony said making a U-turn.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." he said.
Rayna sat in bed, reading while Anthony was getting ready. Anthony had left his phone charging on the nightstand. It began to buzz. Rayna felt Alexis whispering in her ear to unlock his phone and go through his messages and past phone calls. No, she wasn't going to do it. Rayna trusted Anthony. He'd never cheat or even step out on her.
His phone buzzed again. Rayna put her book away and left the urge inside her to go through his phone. She started to bite her nails in anxiety. It buzzed again.
Rayna leaned over and reached for the phone. Anthony came out the bathroom and caught her in the act. He took his phone back as quick as Rayna picked it up and unplugged it.
"Who are you talking to?"Rayna said.
"I told you. Nobody important." Anthony said.
"Well, this unimportant ass nobody texts and calls you a lot!" Rayna said.
"Please, not tonight." Anthony groaned.
"Why are you avoiding me?! Is our situation that bad that you have to talk to someone else!?" Rayna said raising her voice.
"Rayna, please don't start with me." he said.
"No! I'm not letting this go! Is my body a little messed up? Yeah, I'm willing to admit that. But, I have been taking the medicine like I should so I can make a way for us." Rayna said. "But, you can't even look at me long enough to make love to me so we can have a kid."
"Rayna, you taking meds doesn't make me feel anymore confident about us becoming parents." Anthony said.
"And just what the hell does that mean?!" Rayna yelled.
"It means that bottle of whatever chemical the doctor gave you doesn't change the fact that there is still a possibility that we can't be or have a family." Anthony said.
"We can. You just have to try! We try! Try and try and try until we get a kid." she said walking towards him.
"So, a bottle of liquid is supposed to make me just hop in bed with you?" he sneered.
"What? You aren't attracted to me anymore?!" Rayna said. "One flaw can throw you off."
"Rayna, I can't with you." Anthony growled.
"Can't what? Can't talk to me, can't look at me, can't pay attention, can't make love to me!" Rayna said.
Anthony was getting to his boiling point. He felt himself get hot and was ready to blow. "Yes! Yes, I can't do that because, that entire time we tried and tried to start this fantasy family of ours it failed. You failed!"
"Don't put this on me!" Rayna screamed.
"I don't see why not! You're the one that has to take medicine, not me. I'm perfectly fine!" Anthony said.
Rayna was taken aback by Anthony's comment. It stabbed her right through the heart and made her bleed out onto the wood floor. Anthony realized what he said. His dad taught one very valuable lesson. You can't take back words. He was shocked about came out of his mouth. Never would he say such a thing to his beloved wife much less any woman.
The tears fell instantly. Rayna turned away and began to walk away from Anthony. He pulled her back and held her, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
"I'm so so so sorry, baby." he said.
"Get off of me!" Rayna said growled trying to elbow him.
"Rayna please." he pleaded. Rayna struggled and tried to push away from him.
"No!" Rayna said. Anthony squeezed tighter, hoping Rayna would just get tired and give up. However, Rayna just wasn't giving up. He tried kissing her neck to make her calm down. "Get off!"
She kept struggling. Rayna wanted to be anywhere but, in Anthony's arms. He lifted her off the ground and tried making her sit on the bed but, Rayna wasn't having that. Anthony just gave up and let Rayna go. She glared at him one last time before leaving the room. Anthony sat on the bed and hung his head.
He laid in bed, tossing and turning. He was dogging himself out for saying that to her. All over a phone. It wasn't until around three a.m. that Rayna reappeared in their room. Anthony sat up and waited for her to get in the bed. He reached to touch her shoulder.
"Don't." Rayna said quietly. She slid down into the sheets and laid her head on the pillow. "You don't have the right to say that shit to me. I'm not a complete screw-up. I've done not a damn thing to you and for you to treat me like I'm at fault... You don't think I'm in pain? Like, I'm not hurt by the fact that we are having a hard time..." Rayna couldn't finish because of the tears and the emotion that took over. Anthony gently wrapped one arm around Rayna. When it was apparent that she would allow it, he pulled her close.
He whispered sweet little things in her ear. Saying things that he knew would make her happy but, Rayna wasn't listening. Just how he wasn't listening earlier.
Anthony woke up to hear rustling in their closet. He got up and walked in, wincing at the light. He rubbed his eyes and saw Rayna packing her bags.
Something yanked on Anthony's soul when he saw that. He didn't like see this image. He'd never admit it but, deep down Anthony had a fear of being alone. Rayna walking out the door was something that scared the hell out of him.
"Rayna, I..." he started.
"I'm going to Texas. Visit my family, get a taste of home again." she said.
"Baby, I'm sorry. Last night, that wasn't me. I had no reason to say that you. I can make it up to you. Just...let's talk about this." he said walking towards her.
"Anthony, I think it's only right if we both have our space." Rayna said.
"Rayna, please. Don't leave me." he whined. Rayna looked at him with soft eyes. "Last night was in the past. We can work through it. We can try for a baby. We can do whatever you want. Just don't leave me."
"I'm not leaving you. I just...I want to be alone. Besides, I haven't seen my family since the wedding." Rayna said. "I'll be gone at least a week."
"No. Please." Anthony said getting on his knees. "I'll do anything. I'll give you a piece of the moon. Just stay here with me. I'll do whatever I have to do. Just don't go." He hugged her waist putting his ear to her heart. He listened for her steady heartbeat.
"Anthony, you and I just need to time to...figure out what to do." Rayna said. "I don't want to leave either but, we can't get through this by being on top of each other. One of us smothering the other."
"No! You can't walk out on me. I'm begging you to stay. You can go through my phone, my email, all of my accounts. Just promise me you'll stay." he begged.
"That won't change anything. My mind is made up. I've already bought my ticket." Rayna said.
Anthony looked up at her like a child looks at their mother after a bad day at day care, looking for that love and reassurance that everything was okay. He realized that she was right. They couldn't be suffocating the each other like this.
Right now, this was the only way they could really get over their issue. All they needed was a little space.