SLOW HANDS

Evan Reese was tall and leanly built, though not scrawny. Rangy, that was the word. He had the look of a man who spent his life outdoors. A well-to-do man, though not born to money. He had met his wife, Christina when she used to own a food truck, and after two failed attempts, had finally found the guts to ask her out on a date.

Christina had accepted to go out with him because she liked him. She liked his sense of humor and the way he looked too. A strong-featured face, the deep-set gray-blue eyes crinkled at the corners, framed by dark lashes. His hair was black, cut far too short to be fashionable. A practical style. What on earth did a man like him see in a woman like her? Christina had wondered. If any other stranger had tried to strike up a conversation with her and ask her out on any other day, she’d have spurned him. Maybe the fates had indeed intervened to bring two kindred spirits together, in which case it would be unwise of her not to follow their lead, so she had accepted, and then two years later, they were happily married. It was the best decision they ever made, and everything was fine…. Well, until they started trying to have a baby.

It was 10:30 pm when Evan Reese walked into the house he lived in with his wife. As usual it was very quiet and Evan hated that. He missed coming home and having Cristina rush out to hug and kiss him. He missed hearing her tell her how much she missed him. He missed them talking to each other about how their day went. He missed falling asleep with her in his arms. He missed her even if she was right there with him in their house. After Christina’s miscarriage, she had changed so much and had become a different woman entirely that sometimes Evan wondered if she was still the loving, cheerful woman he had married.

He couldn’t blame her. He knew how badly she had wanted a child and how happy she had been when she told him that she was pregnant. The look of devastation on her face when she lost the baby still haunted him. No one ever wanted to see their loved one so unhappy, and it had sucked even more because no matter how much he wanted to help, he couldn’t do anything about their situation.

But it seemed like fate had more in store for them. The worst came when the doctor told them the reason why she had lost the baby, and all hopes of having another was completely shattered. According to the doctor, it was unlikely that Christina would be able to carry or have a Child.

Evan had wanted a child too. Hell, he was the happiest man on earth when she had given him the news of her pregnancy, and when they lost their baby, he had almost broken down too, but he took one look at Christina’s face and knew that he had to be strong. Someone had to be…. For both of them.

Five months had passed since the incident, but Christina seemed to be stuck in the past and didn’t seem anywhere ready to let it go. She had quit her job as a chef and had made no effort to go back. She spent the days at home, wearing a sad, gloomy face and everything Evan tried to do in order to cheer her up proved abortive. She had become a shadow of her former self. The beautiful, cheerful and fun loving woman he had loved and married was gone.

What made the situation even more difficult and painful was her attitude towards him. She kept her distance away from him so much that sometimes he felt like she blamed him for what had happened. All he wanted was for her to feel better. All he wanted to do was help her, but she refused to even give him a chance and continued to avoid him like a plague.

Evan went into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. He was hungry but there was nothing to eat. He didn’t even bother to check if there was any dinner for him. Christina hardly prepared anything anymore and so he ended up buying most of the food they ate. It would have been much easier if he cooked, but he didn’t and since Christina had been the chef, and was happy to prepare their meals, he had never thought of giving cooking a try. He regretted that now.

Christina wasn’t in the bedroom they shared either. They both had separate rooms, but had preferred to share his. That had changed too, because now, Christina preferred to be in hers.

After kicking off his shoes and unbuttoning his shirt, Evan went in search of his wife. He knocked once, and when she didn’t reply, he pushed the door open, only to find her seated on the bed, her long blonde hair piled into a messy bun on top of her head, with what should have been their baby’s clothes scattered around her….

She had been so excited about the Child she was carrying that she had started making plans early and already bought some baby clothes. Evan’s heart dropped into his stomach. When was she going to stop this? When was she going to realize that it wasn’t the end of the world? That they could actually move on with their lives and get past this… When would she finally be ready to move on and be his wife again? He wanted his Tina back more than anything.

She didn’t even bother to look at him. “Don’t you knock?” she asked in a shaky voice.

“I did,” Evan replied, ignoring her tone. “You didn’t say anything so I came in”

“That’s because I’m busy and I wanted to be alone,” Christina retorted. “The last time I checked, silence doesn’t mean ‘come in'”

Evan was frustrated, and he wanted to yell. He wanted to pull her to her feet, shake her and shout some sense into her. He wanted to tell her that she was ruining their marriage. He wanted his wife back, but instead he shoved his hands in his pocket as if to resist the urge to grab her and walked deeper into the room.