The affair - A short story- Fiction- Part 3

        

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Peter rushed to pick up the kids. He was still in the middle of a meeting and he completely forgot about the kids. He excused himself and left immediately. Celeste would kill him if she knew that he forgot his own kids at school, but it was not his job. She was the one who agreed to stay with the children, while he brought in the money.  

Both kids were angry when he finally arrived at school and he apologized profusely. He drove straight home and the kids went to their respective rooms. Shaun slammed the door so hard that the windows rattled. 

Peter grabbed a beer from the fridge and very reluctantly started to clean the kitchen. It was still in a disaster stage after this morning but there was no one else to do it. 

Shaun came downstairs to make himself a sandwich and then asked what they were having for dinner. He hadn't even thought about dinner yet, and felt exhausted even just thinking about cooking now. He ordered some Chinese food, and an hour later, dinner arrived. 

That was easy enough, he thought to himself. If Celeste thinks, that this was going to get him under then she was in for a surprise. 

Celeste missed the kids terribly and she was constantly worrying if they were okay, but she knew that if she went back home now, then all would be in vain. Peter had to learn some responsibility and the most important was for him to miss her. He had to realize that he needed her, and that he couldn't live without her. 

She mostly stayed at the hotel to think about her life, and even bought a few books to read. Reading helped her to relax, and keep her mind occupied rather than to think about what was going on at home. Peter never had much interest in the children, and she knew that it was not a healthy situation. They were his kids too, and they were supposed to be a family but it didn't feel like that in the last few months. Peter was always busy at work, and he just expected everything to be ready when he arrived home. She just never thought that he would go as low as he did to cheat on her. 

  

Things were crazy at home and Peter was close to losing it. He dropped the kids off at school in the mornings, and then went to the office. He had to cut his days short to pick up the kids, and his whole life was turned upside down.  He had called Celeste a few times but her phone was mostly off and she did not answer any texts, although he could see that she read it. 

After a week Peter's mindset began to change. He started to spend some more time with the kids, and even helped Shaun with a project he had to do for school. In the evenings when he had dinner in the oven, Melissa set the table and afterwards they ate together at the kitchen table. Peter felt proud of everything he has achieved in such a few days.  The only real issue he had was with the washing machine. He had no idea how it worked and he had to download the manual on his computer to figure it out. 

It took him hours to do the washing one evening and after everything was clean, he still had to fold it and pack it away. He couldn't believe how exhausting it was to do all the housework. 

One evening while the kids were already in bed, he was sitting in front of the television feeling totally exhausted. He suddenly realized that he missed Celeste. He had figured out that she was angry with him about going out that night, but nothing really happened between him and Jessica. Even though he was tempted.  He felt ashamed of himself for even thinking of having an affair with Jessica and he knew that she would never be able to offer him so much as Celeste did. The only person he thought of were Celeste. 

For the first time in years, he realized the true reason why Celeste was tired all the time. Anyone would be tired if they were cooking and cleaning the whole day. He made a mental note to put in more effort to help her in the house. He realized that he had spent too much time at work and he missed out on so many things regarding the children. 

That evening he realized what he had in life, and that he should be thankful for every second he got to spend with his wife and children. He missed Celeste so much that his heart was hurting. He took his phone and sent her the following message:

"I miss you Celeste. The kids miss you too. We are all miserable without you."

Celeste smiled when she read the message. Perhaps now he understood her side of the story. 

She sent him a message back. 

"I miss you too..I will be back in the morning."  

-The end-

 

                          

                          

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