The Story of Cadence and I

I hugged her. "Thanks, Felicity, I am grateful and you have my support, but in this instance, I think I should stay away. If the feeling is as strong as you suggest, you don't need me anyway."

When I got home, Cadence looked stressed and dinner was already on the table.

"Early for dinner, isn't it?"

She gave me an irritated glare, grumbling. "There is a meeting at the theatre tonight and I need to be there."

"A meeting; well, perhaps I should go as well."

"God, no," she spat out caustically. "Yours is the last opinion I want aired at that meeting."

I shrugged. "Then all the more reason for me to attend."

"Please, Roger. Stay out of this."

I considered my options. I realised after my chat with Felicity, they didn't need my help. "Very well."

When Cadence got home she was in tears. She yelled loudly at me, ignoring Diana who was watching TV with me. "Well you have got your bloody wish, the play is off."

"What happened?"

"You know bloody well what happened, Felicity told me she spoke to you, so don't play innocent with me. The committee has pulled the pin."

"Thank god for that."

"Yes I knew you would be happy."

"Yes I am, now maybe this house can get back to normal."

Diana sat trembling beside me as she watched the exchange, she jumped up with tears rolling down her cheeks. "I am going to bed." She rushed past her mother, but Cadence grabbed her and whisked her into an embrace. "It's okay, sweetheart, it will be fine."

Diana smiled thinly. "I hate it when you argue, it scares me, I don't want Dad to leave. Goodnight, Mum."

Once she was gone, Cadence sat beside me and I asked, "So what happens now?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, Nigel was furious, absolutely livid, as was Harry. They have both put so much time and energy into it. I feel so sorry for them."

"So it has been cancelled?"

"Yes, the notices go up tomorrow."

Things were very tense between us for a few days, but it was good to see Felicity at our home on Wednesday when I got home from work. They were having a chat in the sun room over a glass of sherry.

I left them to it, but it was nice to see; they had been friends for such a long time.

That night after dinner the atmosphere warmed remarkably and Cadence and I snuggled together while Diana watched some horrid thing on TV. It was one of those distasteful reality shows they both seemed so enamoured with. They chatted and laughed making snide remarks about the shallow characters and poor acting. As the show rolled on, who should make a brief appearance but bloody Nigel. He was equally as bad as the other unbelievable performers. Diana made a couple of cutting comments Cadence did not enjoy at all, and I felt her tense up beside me.

After Diana went to bed, Cadence stayed snuggled up. "I am sorry if I got carried away, love, but that play was important to me, I needed something to get my teeth into and I really like acting. That role was going to really push me into uncharted waters."

"Honey, I love it that you get involved and I am sure there will be other roles for you."

"Yes, but this was going to be big, Nigel was going to pull some strings and get some real publicity. I know it would have only been local, but it would have been the biggest thing that happened to me."

In bed that night Cadence and I did finally reconnect and all thoughts of divorce and separation evaporated.

That play was almost the end of the theatrical society, though. The split in the committee was deep. We had always run a show to end the summer, but after the debacle and gossip surrounding the show, the committee could not decide on a suitable replacement. They tried to get Nigel involved, but he had cut contact and showed no interest thankfully.

Saturday night I decided to take Cadence down to the pub for dinner: a date night. She got dressed up and we wandered down to the pub. We were at our table having a drink. It was the first time Cadence had a chance to hear some of the gossip. Even although we were at a table, the chatter from the bar was clearly audible and there were some very ribald jokes and comments.

She went bright red as she blushed. I could have dug the knife in, but I think she was hurting enough. We had our meal and the drinks flowed. After our main course, I had to go to the little boys' room.

On my way back out, I was tackled by a local farmer wanting some work done. It meant I was away for a while. When I walked back into the restaurant, I saw Bloody Nigel sitting at our table. I sauntered over, trying to keep my anger in check. It was only a small table with only two seats. As I stood beside the table, Nigel acknowledged my presence with a warm, "Hello, Roger, old chap, how have you been?"

I nodded. "Fine thanks, Nigey, yourself?"

He showed no sign of moving so I chipped in, "We are having dinner, actually."

He turned back to Cadence and lifted her hand to give it a kiss. "Nice to see you again, Cadence."

She smiled. 'Nice to see you, as well.'

He stood up and I sat down as he wandered off. "What did that knob want?"

She sighed. "Stop being nasty; he is just here with some of his friends for a drink."

"I would have thought this a bit common place for him and his toffee nosed friends."

"Oh stop it, you are being silly again. Just relax."

As always, I was accosted by a continuous stream of locals wanting work. I was dragged away several times. One took ages, I had gone to the bar for more drinks and got sucked into a conversation with a farmer who needed a new power supply to his milking shed. It was a very good job, so I had to listen.

By the time I dragged myself back to the table, Cadence was nowhere to be seen. I figured she was at the ladies. I sat and waited and waited. No sign of her. There was a couple at a nearby table. I knew them vaguely. "Have you seen Cadence?"

Looking worried, the woman said, "Um, she went outside with that actor fellow."

Fearing the worst, I stormed out to find Cadence standing with Nigel and Harry in a tight little group. Nigel and Harry were both puffing away on huge cigars as they laughed about something. I stormed up, pushing between them. "We are ready to go." I grabbed her arm, pulled roughly and she staggered, stumbling behind me.

"Roger, what has gotten into you? That was totally uncalled for; we were just talking."

I stopped abruptly, turned and grabbed her shoulders roughly in both hands. "Cadence, the whole bloody village is gossiping about you. For heaven's sake, you heard that chatter at the bar tonight. Still you walk outside with the bloody knob head. Standing out here in the dark is not helping. Tomorrow, there will be more gossip. You are acting like a fool. Now come on."

I turned and dragged her along behind me.

Cadence complained, "Are you that insecure that I can't even talk to him?" What is it with you lately? You have become a jealous insecure rude man. You never used to be like this and I will tell you I don't like it, not one little bit."

"I am trying to protect your reputation, for pity's sake. Is there not enough gossip about you at the moment, or are you enjoying it."

"Flamin heck, Roger, we were just talking; Harry was there as well."

"Why didn't you stay inside?"

"They wanted to smoke their cigars, is that a crime?"

We walked the rest of the way in silence.

Things were a little chilly between us for the next couple of days, but for the most part, things slipped back to normal and our peace and quiet returned, sort of. We were both unable to talk openly, and everything was guarded and forced.

The world exploded the following week. I pulled into our drive after a very long and tiring day at work to find bloody Nigel's car parked there, taking up the whole bloody drive. I had to park on the flaming roadside.

When I walked in, Cadence and Nigel were sitting at the table and there was a partially empty wine bottle. The moment she saw me she jumped up and rushed over to greet me with a kiss. "Where have you been sweetheart? We have been waiting for ages."

I snarled, "Where the hell do you think? I have had a long day; what are we having for dinner?"

She sagged in my arms. "Sorry, I haven't had a chance, we have been talking."

Nigel piped up. "Hello, Roger, how are you?"

I ignored him as I always did and turned to Cadence. "Well, would it be to much to ask for something to eat?"

She looked devastated. "Can we talk first? I have something really exciting to tell you."

Nigel interrupted again. "Old man, I could spring for dinner; we could go down the pub if you are up for it."

The last thing I wanted was to spend time with him. "Nigey, old pal, what I would like is for you to leave so Cadence and I could sort out some dinner. Now, I am going to get changed, it would be nice if you were gone when I got down."

Cadence barked, "Roger.... Stop being so bloody rude. Nigel wants to tell you some news."

He stood up. "I know you and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but this is bigger than our issues. Look, I will get straight to the point. I have talked to the council and they have agreed that we can use the theatre. It is a public building, the theatre group do not own it."

I sneered. "Well, good bloody luck with that."

His face dropped and Cadence sucked in a huge breath. "Roger, please... stop behaving like a child; you are making a fool of yourself."

I scoffed. "Maybe, but at least I am not peddling porn."

Nigel sighed. "I think I should leave. I am sorry you have not been able to see the artistic content on what might become a fantastic modern day classic."

"Modern day classic my arse, and yes, it would be nice if you left."

He turned and headed for the door and Cadence ran after him to show him out. When she walked back in I could see the anger on her face. "Bloody hell, Roger, that was the rudest thing I have ever seen. You really have flipped your lid. All he wanted to do was tell you that we may still be able to hold the play."

"Oh, piss off, Cadence, I don't care about whatever he is up to. Why the hell did he think I would be interested?"

"Well, Mr. Snarky, he still wants me to play the lead role."

"Well, I hope you told him to piss off."

"No, I bloody did not," she said in a huff. "Roger, can't you just be happy for me?" She disappeared up the stairs and I heard the bedroom door slam.

I was busy getting dinner when Diana walked in looking happy. She gave me a kiss. "Where is Mum?"

I shrugged. "Up in the bedroom."

"Oh god, are you fighting again?"

I didn't reply, but my fidgeting gave her the answer she was after. "Do you want something to eat?" I asked.

"No thanks, Dad, I ate at Rachel's... What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it, I am sure she will tell you all about it."

She slunk off up the stairs and I heard her knocking on our bedroom door. I had my dinner and watched some television before I heard them talking and then doors closing. Diana had obviously gone straight to bed.

I cleaned up and decided I would go back to sleeping in Michael's old bedroom. In the morning there was no sign of Cadence, and when Diana came down she was distraught. I got her breakfast and she barely spoke until I was about to leave. "Dad, please don't fight with Mum. It is only a stupid play, after all, it's not the end of the world. Shouldn't we support her? If it was me you would."

"Like hell I would! If it was you, I would ground you for ten years and take away your tablet."

She smiled unconvincingly. "Dad, it is just a stupid play, it doesn't mean anything."

"Do not trivialise my feelings, Diana; this is a very big deal for me, young lady."

She sulked. "Please, Dad, I am begging."

I turned and walked out on my way to work. I gave her a reassuring kiss as I walked past.

During the day I pondered long and hard. What the hell was I going to do if she dug her heels in? I analysed my options, and really they were limited, I couldn't ground her, I couldn't give her a spanking, as much as that appealed to me. If she ignored my pleas and went ahead, what could I do? The more I mulled over the problem the more confused I became. By the end of the day I was stressed and anxious and I certainly was not looking forward to going home.

As I walked in the door I was overcome by a sense of walking into a freezer. Cadence and Diana were getting the evening meal. Diana greeted me warmly, but Cadence's angry glare was a whole different story, her icy dagger eyes bore right into my core.

Dinner was less than cool. Cadence spoke not one single word to me. Diana tried to lighten the mood, but it was to hard for her. In the end she broke down and rushed off to bed, bawling her eyes out. Cadence growled, "Are you happy now?"

I shook my head in despair. "How is this any of my doing, Cadence?"

Although we were not finished, she rose quickly and started clearing up. I pushed aside my plate and muttered. "I am going down the pub, at least they still talk to me."

There was no response, just some angry curses muttered under her breath.

Walking into the pub the atmosphere was warm and inviting. I chatted with a couple of the locals, it was nice to just chat with no animosity. Already the gossip was starting about Nigel and the stupid play.

At home the house was in darkness. I slept in Michael's old room again, which was pretty much how things went for the next few days, the tension was building.

It all came to a head the following week. When I got home from work, Cadence was waiting like a praying mantis. "Roger, we need to talk."

I nodded. "Sounds like a good idea."

We sat down in the front room. "Roger, I want to take that role. I mean, it is my biggest dream come true, so I do want to do it, but I will not do it unless I have your support, so will you support me and get behind this?"

I let her words settle for a moment or two before answering. "Cadence, I have always supported you, and you know that. This is different; this is cheap trashy garbage, it is based entirely on sex. If you took the sex scenes out of it there would be nothing left. I don't want you to ruin your life by getting involved. I do not want you involved in any way whatsoever."

I could see her shoulders slump as she gathered her senses. "Roger, it is a modern-day play. Golly, you have seen the way the world has changed. It just the way things are these days. The language is what you could expect to hear around younger people. It is just a reflection of modern-day society. Golly, there's more sex on Coronation Street."

I snapped back, "There are plenty of movies based on that very premise, and they didn't rely on nudity or over the top sex scenes to do it. This is nothing but pornography masquerading as art. I am sorry, honey, but I will not let you do it."

She sat upright and stuck out her chest. "Well, what if I tell you I was going to do it anyway?"

"You just finished saying you wouldn't. I am afraid if that's the way you're going to behave, then I think our marriage is condemned to fail. If you go ahead with that play, I will leave."

"So you would throw away our marriage because I want to further my career?"

"Cadence, you don't have a career; the acting is just a hobby. If you want to do it you will be doing it alone."

She turned her head away and the room descended into silence for quite a while before she answered. "Very well, Roger, you have your wish. I will ring Nigel and tell him I am not allowed to do it."

I couldn't hold back my smile. I sighed deeply. "Thank god. Thank you, Cadence, that is wonderful."

"Wonderful for you, perhaps, but I am so disappointed in you. Recently I have seen a side of you that I do not like. I did not know how insecure, how suspicious and distrustful you are. I thought our marriage was stronger than that. I thought we could trust each other."

"Cadence, this has nothing to do with trust, I do trust you."

She interrupted before I could finish my train of thought. "Rubbish, you absolutely do not trust me. God, remember outside the pub the other night when I was talking to Harry and Nigel, you actually physically dragged me away, as if you had caught me having sex with them? I was so bloody embarrassed."

"It is not you, it is that twat Nigel I do not trust. And that Harry is nothing more than a sleazy bastard."

"It does not matter about them. If you trusted me you would know that nothing would have happened, regardless of what they wanted."

"Cadence, you are not the first woman to be seduced by sleazy operators... They prey on women who have ambitions, they use that against them, it is a weapon, they tie their offers to trashy roles, it is how they get women to make bad decisions."

"I am not some stupid teenager. I have a mind of my own."

She stood up and headed for the kitchen to prepare dinner. I got changed and went down. English summers are wonderful, with long balmy evenings, so I took the opportunity to mow the lawns and tidy the hedge. Jeremy, our neighbour, invited me over for a beer and we sat outside enjoying the setting sun. After the attack from Cadence, it was nice to talk cricket and sport, local news. His wife Beverly came out and joined in, as well. Diana came over. "Dad, dinner is ready."

I made my apologies and headed home with a fuzzy head. During dinner, Diana and I joked and laughed, the mood lightened somewhat; although Cadence was still moody, at least she didn't bite my head off.

I helped Diana with some maths homework and she hugged me when she left for bed.

Cadence and I sat in gloomy silence with some garbage playing on television that neither of us was watching. Eventually, Cadence announced she was going to bed.

The bedroom door was not shut, but there was nothing to make me think I was welcome, either. I slept in Michael's room. I noticed that my freshly washed clothes were folded up and sitting on the end of Michael's bed. This was starting to feel more like my room.

The weekend rolled around and I had expected things to go back to normal, but if anything, it was getting worse. Cadence behaved like a bitch. Saturday night her and Diana spent the whole night watching horrid reality TV shows, giggling and laughing the whole way through. I went to bed early.

The town was awash with gossip about the play. Some saw it as an opportunity to promote the town, others were aghast that it would bring nothing but disrepute on the town.

I tackled Felicity, hoping to find out more, but she knew very little apart from the fact she had a meeting with Nigel on behalf of the drama society, during which he had asked her to personally accept the female supporting role. She turned him down. She asked about Cadence, as she had not seen much of her lately. I explained that we were fighting about her acting in it.

Felicity seemed shocked because Nigel had used the fact that Cadence was taking the lead as added bait to get her to join the party. That surprised me; he was lying to attract Felicity, then he would use Felicity to get Cadence.... Very sneaky, I mused.

When I voiced my concern, she said. "The sneaky bastard. Thanks for that, Roger. I will remember that for future discussions."

By the third week something had to give; the tension around the house was overwhelming, like a pall of dark clinging mist hanging over all of us. I don't know what Cadence was expecting to happen, but my stoic stance seemed to infuriate her, and it all came to a head.

"Roger, I want to ask you to reconsider."

I shook my head. "No, Cadence, I refuse to allow us to become the laughing stock of the town. If Nigel is serious, I am sure he will have already found somebody else to take the role."

"He has kept the position open, hoping that I would change my mind. He has sent me all the rewrites and I have been practising my lines, but he has given me a deadline. I have to let him know yes or no by Friday. He does have other actresses who are interested."