05-08-2004, 12:01 AM
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obsolete
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 617
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Janice Fleming
Jan sighed but didn't look away from the fire when Jack walked into the living room. The little ones had been in bed for hours, and Mark had gone upstairs early to catch up on homework that he'd missed. Wanting to set a comfortable mood for when her husband came in, she'd lit a fire and poured them each a glass of wine in preparation. That was almost four hours ago, and the log had just about burned itself out.
Worried about how late Jack was, she had phoned dispatch around ten o'clock only to be told that he had been in and out since around six that afternoon. So she waited some more and finally drank her glass of wine alone. The second and the third as well.
"I see you finally decided to come home."
"I stopped off... " he began.
"Somewhere without that new-fangled modern convenience of the telephone. I suppose your cel wasn't working either. Look what's happening to us, Jack. To our family. Do you even care?"
Jan sensed rather than saw her husband sink down onto the sofa. Angry now that the fleeting sensation of relief of his being safe had passed, she refused to look at him. "I had thought we could talk tonight. Like we always do after you go over the road. You obviously had other ideas."
Janice clenched her fists, but still refused to turn to look at him. "I'm not pregnant, Jack. The doctors say I -- Mark and I -- need to get away and relax. I wanted to talk about that. That, and other things. But now I'm tired. Bone tired and I'm sad. I'm going to take Mark up to the cabin for a week. Maybe two. Pat Kelly said she'll watch the little ones while I'm away. You? You can do whatever it is you find more important to do than to be with your wife and family."
Untucking her legs from beneath herself, she stood up and looked at him for the first time. "Now I'm going to bed. You can do whatever pleases you. Good night."
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