The change - A short story- Fiction Part 3

giantbear (74)in #fiction • 6 years ago (edited)

Maria woke up early the next morning. Even before John, and he is usually up and about just before six. She felt terribly nauseous and had to run to the bathroom. She felt absolutely miserable. The one day that she doesn't cook, and now she had food poisoning.

John came to check on her and helped her back into bed. He brought her some tea with dry toast, and she started to feel a little better. Might not be food poisoning after all, she thought to herself. John even suggested that he stay at home to look after her but she insisted that he go to work. She promised to phone him if things became worse.

Her meeting was at eleven o clock and she wanted to look her best. She felt much better after the toast, and when she felt stable enough, she took a shower and dried her hair. The new style was easy to handle. She carefully put on her make up, and when she was completely dressed, she looked awesome. She turned in front of the mirror and felt proud of herself.

At nine o clock she drove to the city. She knew that she was going to be early, but she would rather be early than late. She felt so important when she walked into the building and announced herself at the desk. They offered her a cappuccino and she gladly accepted. Her nerves were killing her, and the caffeine would calm her down.

She was still paging through a magazine when she was called into the editor's office. She was surprised to see that the editor was a woman and she felt much more relaxed.

The meeting went great. The editor was quite impressed with her manuscript, and couldn't stop talking about their next move. In fact, she was so excited that she offered Maria a great deal of money, and also presented her with a cheque for an advance on her next book. Maria felt totally shaken up and she couldn't believe her ears. She felt as if she was in the middle of a dream and that she was going to be awaken at any minute and it would all be gone.

They spoke about a lot of things, and Maria just hoped that she would remember everything. The editor had set up a contract for her to sign, and with a shaking hand Maria signed the paper. She felt overwhelmed, happy and excited all at the same time. Maria left two hours later, with the cheque safely tucked away in her purse. The editor gave her a copy of the contract and she promised to be in contact soon.

Maria walked out of the building feeling proud and excited, and she couldn't wait to tell John. She went straight to the bank to set up a personal account for herself, and deposited the cheque into her account. She has never even had a bank account of her own, because John said that it was not necessary, but she felt now that she was becoming more independent and that she needed to start doing things for herself.

She decided to treat herself to lunch and then went to the store to buy the ingredients for John's favorite meal. She arrived home just after three, and was surprised to see John's car in the driveway.

As she walked in, she could see that he was not in a good mood. He was sitting in front of the television and had a drink in his hand. She could see that he already had a few drinks too many, and didn't want to provoke him.

She went to the kitchen and started to pack away all her groceries, and when she turned around John was standing in the door.

"Where have you been Maria?"

She realized that it was not the right time to tell him about her book, so she told him that she went to the city to have lunch with a friend.

He didn't look convinced, and the next words he uttered totally knocked her off her feet.

"Are you having an affair Maria? Is that why you changed your hair and why you are suddenly going out to lunches?"

She didn't know whether she should laugh or cry at the pathetic creature standing in front of her. How could he even think that? She was at home most of the time, tending to his needs. She assured him that she was not having an affair, but the mere thought that he could even think that, shook her to the core of her being.

What was supposed to be a happy conversation, turned into a very heated argument. It was the worse fight they had ever had, and eventually she just turned around and ignored him. She went on with the cooking and as usual, she could hear him down in the garage. She left the food for him in the oven, and went to bed.

Perhaps tomorrow, when he was sober she would tell him her good news. The news that could change their lives forever, but for now she was keeping it all to herself. Damn him for even thinking what he did! Maria went to bed angry and didn't even say goodnight to John when he finally crawled into bed next to her.

-to be continued-