It was Written in the Stars Ch. 01

I also couldn't help thinking back to all that astrology crap. I wondered if I should try to discourage her from taking that stuff too seriously. Just thinking about the fight it caused and her statements about me not being who she thought I was still rang loud and clear in my ears. It was downright scary to think she could be influenced so heavily by that junk.

I supposed trying to debunk that stuff would just cause more problems, but I just couldn't help speculating on whether she still had reservations about the man she married; I hoped not. I questioned myself as to whether I should just come out and ask her or let it go; but then if everything went right over the next two days, I wanted to discuss having a child, I guessed I'd find the answer to my question then.

By Thursday afternoon we were done. Everything had gone like clockwork and we finished a good two hours ahead of schedule. The client was ecstatic and I was on top of the world as I headed north and watched Peoria disappear in my rearview mirror. I still had to go into the studio and unpack all my gear but there was a chance I'd get home in time to see my beautiful bride before she left for her astrology club.

As it was, I found I had just missed her as I drove past Brad and Gail's house. They lived across the street and Brad was one of my best friends. He was in his yard so I stopped to say hi before pulling into my drive.

"Hey, old buddy, where you been; haven't seen you in a couple days?"

"Hi, Brad; yeah, I had to go down to Peoria. I see I missed my lovely wife," I said seeing her car was gone.

"Yeah; she just drove off not more than five minutes ago. Damn, she looked nice too, she must have a hot date, huh," he joked.

"Oh yeah, right; she better not," I joked back. "The only dates she's allowed are with me."

We talked for a couple more minutes until somebody drove up behind me and honked for me to get out of their way. I told Brad goodbye and pulled into my driveway.

I was tired from the long drive and all the loading and unloading of my equipment so I looked for something easy for dinner. I found some frozen turkey steaks to stick on the grill, grabbed a can of beer and I was all set.

As tired as I was, it was still too early for bed, and since there was nothing else to do I wandered into my office to start going over the shots from Peoria. When I started, I just wanted to look, I had no intensions of actually editing them but sometimes I just can't help myself, and before I knew it, I was scouring over each and every photo, making notes, and selecting the best shots for the client's needs. I was so engrossed, I had completely lost track of time until I heard the front door.

"Hey, gorgeous," I greeted my wife with a smile.

"Honey, I thought you'd be in bed by now," she replied giving me a kiss.

I glanced at the fancy clock we got as an anniversary present from her parents. "I had no idea it was so late," I said seeing it was almost eleven. "You're pretty late getting home yourself; you didn't have any car trouble, did you?"

"No, no; we all got into a long discussion about whether Pluto is actually a planet or not, that's all. I didn't realize it was so late. I am pretty tired though, I think I'm just going to go up and hit the sack; you don't mind, do you?" she asked already heading toward the stars.

"No, of course, honey; give me a few minutes to finish up some notes from Peoria and I'll be right up."

"Oh yeah," she said climbing the stairs and not looking back, "How did it go?"

"Great," I said exuberantly.

"Good," she replied reaching the top landing.

I was a little disappointed in her obvious lack of enthusiasm, but then to be fair, I hadn't told her the significance of the job, either; so to her I guess it was just another assignment.

I went back to the office; it only took about ten minutes to finish up what I had started. I was again disappointed to find Cora sleeping already when I crawled in next to her.

I lay there for a few minutes, trying to come to grips with my disappointment; I had been so elated when I got home but it was waning rapidly. Like I told myself earlier, since I didn't tell Cora how important that one assignment was I had no right to be upset in her response. I finally consoled myself with that thought, but just as I was about to drift off, Brad's comment about her looking so nice when she left popped into my mind. Of course Cora always looks nice but when she came home she wasn't dressed in anything he hadn't seen her in a million times before. Huh; strange, I thought before slipping into unconsciousness.

The next morning at breakfast, Cora seemed to be a little preoccupied.

"Anything wrong, Honey?" I asked as she kind of stared into space while eating.

"Huh...oh no; I'm sorry, honey, I was just thinking."

"Anything you care to share?"

"No; it's nothing important, just some stuff at work," she replied.

"I just missed you last night; I saw Brad in his yard as I was pulling into the drive, he said I missed you by five minutes. I'm going to have to watch that guy, he commented on how great you looked when you left; he wondered if you had a hot date," I said with a smile. "I expected you to come home dressed in your little black cocktail dress or something."

"Were you disappointed when I came home dressed in slacks?" she asked jokingly.

"Not at all, doll; I'm just always glad when you're home; I don't care what you're wearing...of course if I had it my way, you'd be naked all the time."

"Yeah, that might be a little embarrassing at the bank; don't you think?" she asked with a big grin. "Maybe Brad was talking about Wednesday night; I had a nice dress and high heels on when Doti and I went out to dinner. You must have gotten done sooner than you thought, huh? How did everything go in Peoria; I never got a chance to ask?" she said changing the subject and evidently forgetting about last night.

"Honey, everything went better than I had anticipated and I'm pretty sure the client is just as happy as I am. It'll be my biggest account so far, babe, and a nice boost to our income."

"Oh, honey, that's great," she said, finally showing some enthusiasm.

"Yeah, I'm actually stealing the account from one of the big studios down town; they messed up royally on their last ad campaign. I'm pretty sure I have the account sewn up, if I'm right maybe we can talk about starting that family, finally," I said watching for her reaction.

"Maybe," she answered.

Well that was anticlimactic, I thought.

"We'll have to talk about it some other time though, honey, I have to get to work," she said getting up from the table. She walked around and gave me a quick kiss before heading out.

She left me wondering; I knew she had to leave but I was expecting a little more reaction to my proposal than that; especially since she had been so emotional about having kids when we'd talked about it in the past. I had gotten the impression before, that it was almost torture for her to put off having children but knew it was in everyone's best interest until we could afford it. Here I tell her we can finally afford it and I get a, "Maybe?"

Once again I was getting that bad feeling in the pit of my stomach but chased it away telling myself I was getting paranoid ever since that stupid fight about my birthplace. After all, she did seem to be preoccupied with something; more than likely she hadn't really absorbed what I was saying. She'll probably come home tonight after thinking about what I said, and throw herself at me demanding I get her pregnant immediately.

That thought put a smile on my face where it stayed all day, until I got home that night. Cora's car was in the drive when I pulled up and I was anticipating a big, loving welcome as I walked in...but it didn't come.

I was really disappointed when Cora wasn't even there to greet me with her usual kiss and hug. "Cora," I called out, "Are you home?"

"In here," I heard her say.

As I walked into the dining room I saw her with her astrology books spread out on the table again. I walked up to give her a kiss. Without looking up he offered me her cheek. "That's all I get," I said giving her a peck.

"Let me just get done with this, honey."

Damn I hated that crap! I figured she was trying to determine the best time to get pregnant and was already figuring out the kid's charts based on possible birthdates. In the meantime there was nothing started for dinner again and I was feeling like an outcast. I came up with an idea to kill two birds with one stone.

"Hey, hon, let's celebrate my new client and go out for dinner tonight."

"Fine, but let me finish this first, okay; I'll be done in another twenty minutes," she said almost sounding aggravated.

I felt like telling her to forget it if she couldn't muster any more excitement than that but I didn't. Instead I went upstairs and showered. I was almost completely dressed by the time she came up and joined me.

"So, do you have all the kid's charts done already?" I asked a little cynically. She ignored me completely as she walked into the shower. I thought, what a way to start out our celebration.

As it was, the night went pretty well, although she did seem to still be preoccupied a little bit. Even that was gone later in the evening though when we made love; finally, for the first time all day, I knew I had her full attention. It was almost one in the morning by the time we cuddled in preparation for sleep.

"So, have you given anymore thought to our starting a family?" I asked quietly.

"Of course, but I want to wait a couple months yet before I stop taking the pill," she said.

I knew it; I knew that's what she was doing when I got home. She was trying to determine when she wanted the baby born. What I couldn't figure out was how she could be so sure she would get pregnant right away; I understand it sometimes takes months, or even years for some couples. Oh well, I thought, maybe she knows something I don't; in any case, we've waited this long, I guess a couple more months won't make a difference. I went to sleep that night grinning from ear to ear; my business was booming, I had a wonderful, sexy, loving wife, and soon I will be a father...I was living the best of what life had to offer, and I knew it.

For most of the following week, I don't think I ever came down from walking on cloud nine. I couldn't help showing my elation every night as I walked in the door. The first thing I would do was wrap my arms around my lovely wife and smother her with kisses. I was starting to flirt with her again, like I did when we were first dating. I took every opportunity to feel her up, which usually resulted in some sexy little banter between the two of us. Life was good.

That Thursday Cora's mood changed again when she came home from her astrology club. I noticed it right away; she was very quiet. I asked if something was wrong and she said no, but I knew something happened. She also looked different somehow; I tried to figure out what it was that was different but I couldn't put a finger on it.

I knew when something was bothering me I wanted to be left alone to figure it out by myself so I thought I would give her the same courtesy; if she wanted to talk about it, I was there; if not I knew she would work it out herself.

The problem was she didn't seem to be working it out. She kind of kept her distance from me the whole week. I wondered if she was having second thoughts about having children and didn't want to tell me. I was hoping, sooner or later, she would bring up whatever was bothering her and we could talk about it.

Now I can be a very patient man, but after three weeks of Cora's attitude my patience was running out. Each day she seemed to be pulling away from me just a tiny bit more; even during love making. I thought of confronting her and not letting her off the hook until she told me what was wrong.

To prepare for my interrogation, I sat down and started going over everything in my mind; just when all this started and wondering if there was something that happened at that time to give me a clue. As I started to analyze the past month, I remember it all seemed to start with her coming home from her astrology club. I wondered if it was something that one of her friends was going through, but they were my friends as well, why wouldn't she tell me?

The more I thought, the more scenarios I came up with; did they discuss our having children and found something in the stars that was a bad omen? Knowing my views on the subject, that would certainly give her a reason for not wanting to discuss it with me.

Could it still have something to do with the fight we had about my birthplace? I doubted that; as traumatic as she took it at first, she seemed to get completely over it fairly quickly. No, I couldn't see that having a bearing on the current situation. What ever happened, happened at Barbara's astrology club.

For five years, I thought, that stupid Voo-Doo never caused a problem, now it seemed, every time I turned around it was becoming a cause for concern.

Since I was almost positive our problems had something to do with her astrology club, I decided to wait until I had a chance to talk with Barbara before confronting my wife.

The following Thursday I got a peck on lips before Cora took off. Since it was a twenty minute drive from our house to Barbara's, I waited until she pulled out of our drive before calling.

"Hello," she answered.

"Hi, Barbara, it's Steve Haynes, how are you?"

There seemed to be a slight pause before she answered. "Oh, Steve, I'm fine, how are you?"

"Well I'm not too sure, Barbara, that's why I'm calling. Cora is on her way over but just left so we have a little time to talk. She's been kind of out of sorts for the last month or so; she won't talk about it but I noticed it seemed to start after one of the astrology meetings. Can you think of anything that happened or was said that would have caused her some distress? Has she said anything to you about something being wrong?"

Again there was a pause, this time a little longer. "You said she's coming over?"

"Yeah, she's on her way; she never misses those club meetings, you know that."

"Steve, some of the other members will be coming shortly so I really don't want to get into it until we have some time to talk. You know where I work, right; over on Touhy and Wolf road?"

"Ah, yeah, sure; Barbara, but now you're starting to scare me, what's going one?"

"Steve, I really can't get into it right now; can you meet me for lunch sometime?"

"Yes, of course." I thought about my schedule for a second. "I can't tomorrow, I'll be tied up all day, how about Monday? I'll have to juggle a couple things around but I can be there," I said now genuinely concerned.

"I'm sorry, Steve, we have a meeting on Monday; how about Tuesday?" she responded. "Don't say anything about us talking or about lunch to Cora, okay?"

"Yeah, okay, Tuesday it is, but that's a long time from now, can't you give me a hint about what's going on; you really have me worried now," I said anxiously.

"No, it'll be better if we talk in person."

"Okay, I'll wait for you in front of your building at noon on Tuesday; if I can't make it I'll call, but unless you hear from me, I'll be there." We said our goodbyes and hung up.

Shit, now I was almost sorry I called. I sat on the couch wondering what could be so terrible that Barbara couldn't talk about it over the phone. On top of everything else, Cora was late getting home again; not by half an hour like before, it was midnight by the time I came out of my stupor and looked at the clock. I tried calling her cell but it went directly to voice mail. It was quarter after before she came strolling in.

"Damn, honey, where have been? I was getting worried, I almost called Barbara to see if you were still there," I said without so much as saying hello.

"You didn't, did you?" was her reply without so much as a hello.

"No, but..."

"Don't you ever embarrass me like that; I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," she interrupted matching my ire with her own.

"Don't use that tone with me, you had me worried sick; it's after midnight for crying out loud; what the hell am I supposed to think? The least you could have done was called to tell me you were going to be late."

That appeared to take her by surprise; I don't think she realized how late it was.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "Barbara and I started talking after everyone else left and I guess I lost track of time. Why didn't you call my cell?"

"I tried but it's turned off."

"What," she said taking it out of her purse. "I'm sorry, honey; I must have turned it off accidentally somehow, no wonder you were worried."

She sauntered over to me seductively, put her arms around my neck, and gave me a big, sloppy kiss. "Forgive me?" she asked pulling our lips apart again.

Now how the hell could anybody stay angry with someone like that? I'd almost forgotten about my conversation with Barbara.

"Yeah, I forgive you," I countered with a grin. "Just don't let it happen again," I said with a mock stern tone in my voice.

I thought we were both too tired for sex that night, but if there was any question, she answered it. "Good night," she said crawling under the sheet.

"Good night," I replied. We didn't even get a chance to cuddle before she was sound asleep. As for me; well I lay there wondering what Barbara was going to tell me.

The next several days were torture; I tried to act normal but all I could think of was the phone conversation I had with Barbara; that Tuesday I was waiting in front of the building where she worked just as I said I would be. When she saw me, I got the impression she was hoping I wouldn't show. I asked where she wanted to have lunch, and to my surprise, she picked the bar and grill across the street. I was surprised because she didn't drink.

She picked a quiet spot in the corner of the place as far away from everyone as we could get. I pulled out the chair for her to sit down then sat myself on the other side of the table. She hadn't spoken a word since we walked in, nor had she looked me in the eye. Barbara was always a happy person, always the first to laugh at a joke or be ready with a kind word; but there were no jokes, no kind words as I watch her struggle with whatever it was she had to tell me. Her hands trembled and I saw tears in her eyes.

"Barbara, what going on?"

To be continued...