Beth
They’d gone through the motions. He’d arrived home at the usual time and announced his presence with the squeaky opening of the cabinet above the refrigerator. She didn’t have to see it to know he was taking down the bottle of vodka. He’d poured a shot, thrown it back and slammed the weighted shot glass down on the counter. This meant he was ready for her.
When she’d appeared from the laundry room, he’d asked how her day was. She knew he didn’t care. This was just part of the routine. He hadn’t really cared in over ten years. He asked just to go through the motions. It’s what his father had done.
She’d taken two steaming dishes from the stove and prepared plates for each of them. She’d brought them to the table as he took another shot. He used to try to hide it from her. Now he announced his presence home with the thud of the glass on the counter.
The routine continued over plates heaped full of chicken stir-fry and rice. She asked him how his day had been. If she was honest with herself, she didn’t care either. His answer was always “great”, followed by a shot of vodka.
Tonight it had been different. There’d been a tension in the air. This wasn’t the first time she’d felt it, but it was the first time it carried heaviness. It was like the day at work had been too much for him, and he now felt the burden of it all on his shoulders.
When she’d asked him how the day had been, he said had been different. When she asked him how so, he said the store had been robbed. She had felt genuine shock, and a certain amount of pity, when looking at him, and how dejected he felt.
She’d thought it must be his father. He still couldn’t get out from under the fear of his father’s wrath even after all these years.
He’d told her two men had held the place up right around 9:15am. One had been massive, and had used Davis as a human shield of a sort. At this, she’d kept her face impassive. That was part of their deal, to never speak of, or show emotion about the elephant in their relationship, Davis.
He’d told her how they picked all the diamonds, gone through real fast, and done it, just so. They’d left everything else. He thought it strange to have left the other items as many of them were of great value.
The police had mentioned how strange it was, but they didn’t offer much else. He said he felt like they thought maybe he had something to do with it, which was crazy.
She was only half listening. She couldn’t stop thinking of Davis. She was worried for him. J.D. hadn’t mentioned whether or not he was okay, and that scared her. Her stomach knotted with the pain. She thought she’d risk his anger.
“Is Davis okay?”
J.D. hadn’t looked at her. He was still staring at the chair he’d been telling the story to. He reached for the bottle and poured another shot. He took it. A strange look passed across his face and his eyes snapped into focus. It was as though the weight had lifted.
“He’s dead.”
She’d held herself together. Emitting only a small gasp. Every inch of her wanted to burst with the anguish she felt. She didn’t know why it popped into her head or why it mattered. She knew it was unfair to ask. But she had to ask the question.
“Could you have done anything to stop it?”
“They had guns. They shot him in the head. The larger of the two had caved his face in with a punch before hand. After they’d taken everything, they shot him. I saw a hand come up. Then the gun was aimed at his head. His brains splattered all over the display cases and you could hear the fragments of bone rattle around on the floor. He’s dead.”
The emptiness of his voice hadn’t helped, nor his attention to detail, but they didn’t break her. It was the loss. The tears were coming, but she had been determined not to give him the satisfaction.
She had excused herself, and went up to the bedroom and slammed the door. She’d buried her face in the pillows and sobbed.
That’s where she was now. Sobbing. She sobbed for Davis. She sobbed for herself. She sobbed for the loss of the complicated but decent man she thought she’d married. She sobbed in fear of the cold, dispassionate man who had just told her about the death of her lover. She sobbed until she was empty and all she felt was numb.
