The Fine Line Book One Between Worlds Series (22 page)

She walked into the hospital, greeting all
of the familiar people as she passed. She stepped onto the elevator
and then walked to Matt’s office. When she pushed open the large
glass double doors, she saw an unfamiliar person sitting behind a
large desk.

“
Can I help you?” Audrey
asked.

Shock gripped her as she realized Matt
hadn’t said anything about hiring a goddess to be his assistant.
The insecurity settled squarely on her shoulders as she began
doubting Matt’s excuses for staying late at the office.

“
Is Matt here?” she
asked.

“
He isn’t seeing anyone
right now,” Audrey sneered.

Audrey’s expression became obvious. She knew
exactly who Robin was and she wasn’t going to make it easy for her
to see Matt.

“
Is this
urgent?”

“
Oh it’s not. I’ll just
wait in his office,” Robin replied as she walked toward the large
office door.

“
You can’t go in there.
You’ll have to wait out here.”

Before she could say another word, Matt
opened the door.

“
She doesn’t have to wait
out here. This is my wife.”

“
Oh my God,” Audrey said
as she got up from the desk. “I’m so sorry.”

Robin saw right through her. She wasn’t
sorry at all. Still, she smiled.

“
It’s alright.”

“
It’s so nice to finally
meet you,” she said holding out her hand. “Matt hasn’t really said
much about you. I wasn’t really sure what to expect.”

Anger and disappointment swelled inside of
Robin.

Quickly, Matt ushered Robin into his office
and shut the door.

“
An assistant,” she said
plainly as she sat the basket of Matt’s food on the
desk.

“
I needed one. I can’t do
this alone.”

“
You didn’t tell me you
hired a Victoria’s Secret model,” she continued snidely.

“
Oh come on.” He paused.
His mouth hung open in disbelief. “You’re jealous. I don’t think
I’ve ever seen you jealous.”

“
I am allowed to be a
little insecure when my husband is staying too long at work and now
that I know you’re working with that” she said as she gestured
toward the reception area, “I’m allowed to feel a little
uneasy.”

Matt got up and smiled as he walked to the
empty chair beside her. He turned her toward him. “You are the only
one for me. Do you understand?”

She nodded half-heartedly.

The long hours of Matt being gone continued
even after that day. Robin missed him so much. She also felt like
he wasn’t taking her seriously about the paranormal events. She
felt as if she had been left on the front lines to fight the battle
alone.

Little by little, the doubt and insecurity
poisoned Robin’s thoughts. More often than not, she wondered if
Audrey and Matt were having an affair. At other times she thought
maybe he just avoided being at the house because of the surreal
events. Whatever the reasons, her frustrations grew. The emptiness
consumed her, weakening the foundation of their relationship.
Communication between them deteriorated. Time began slipping away
and steadily the negativity in Robin’s heart grew into resentment.
In fact, she began shutting herself down. To her dismay, meditation
didn’t work. Nothing worked.

The times when Matt could be home, her
bitterness often caused her to isolate herself to the study where
she worked unremittingly on cases and assessments. Feelings related
to her past crept in. The horribly familiar independence cluttered
her thoughts and actions. Robin felt that Matt’s new position with
the hospital took center stage and his vows as a husband took a
backseat.

Conversations about having children stopped.
Robin continued to avoid pregnancy remaining on her birth control
patch. Because of the hurt feelings and distance, intimacy was
lost.

Finally, the activity in the hospital
offices died down as Matt sat at his large office desk going over
some charts, his eyes growing weak and his body weary. He looked
out the window at the darkening sky wishing he were already home.
He, too, knew that the time away from Robin made their relationship
weaker. Still, his dedication and the late nights he worked seemed
to be a necessary sacrifice. He would be walking on eggshells for
the first year of the job.

Audrey walked into his office with coffee
and put it on his desk. She sat down in the chair across from him
and smiled.

“
Is there anything I can
help with?” she asked sweetly batting her eyelashes.

“
Oh no, it’s just charts I
need to sign off on,” he replied.

“
You look so tired,” she
added.

“
I am.”

Putting the black ballpoint pen on the desk,
he leaned back in his chair and sighed.

“
You know,” she continued,
“I can help you with that stuff anytime.”

“
The charts are something
I have to do. You should know, though, you have done great with
everything else.”

“
If you don’t mind my
saying, your wife looked just as tired as you. Actually, she looked
even more tired.”

“
She is tired. We’ve been
going through a lot lately,” he said as he rested his head on the
back of the chair. “She is also a supervisor, so she has a lot of
work-related demands,” he added.

“
I know you don’t talk
about her much, so I thought…” She hesitated.

“
What?”

“
Well, I thought there
might be trouble in paradise,” she continued as she
shrugged.

He shook his head. “No. We just have a lot
going on right now and there doesn’t seem to be enough of either of
us to go around.”

“Well, I’m always here if you need someone
to talk to or to just vent to.”

Her smile seemed heartfelt to him, so he
smiled back.

“
Thanks Audrey. You do
enough.”

The weather grew icier as January passed
into February. Robin’s heart grew colder still. Her loneliness and
regret reached a peak. She sat lifelessly in the parlor gazing out
the window, her heart heavy and sorrow-filled. The tears fell
slowly at first, but as her thoughts raced, she cried harder. She
felt hopeless realizing her marriage hung in the balance. The
thought of divorce had never crossed her mind until now.

Eventually, her weeping could be heard
throughout the old house. She didn’t realize just how loud her sobs
were until she heard her name behind her.

“
Robin,” Matt
said.

She jumped, startled by his unexpected and
now unfamiliar presence.

“
Baby, tell me what’s
wrong,” he continued.

“
I’m fine,” she answered
quickly.

Matt sighed. “Please. Don’t shut me
out.”

“
I’ve tried not to but
you’ve given me no choice Matt.” Her eyes continued gazing out the
window.

“
What are you talking
about?” he asked with confusion in his voice.

“
Nothing. It’s nothing,”
she concluded as she got up and walked past him.

“
Talk to me Robin,” he
persisted.

“
When, Matt? When should I
talk to you? I never see you!” she shouted. She startled herself.
She had never raised her voice to Matt. The unfamiliar territory
didn’t hold her back though. “You’re never here! And when you are
here, you’re working!”

“
You usually are, too! Do
you think I haven’t noticed that we don’t talk anymore!” he
shouted.

“
Really, I don’t know what
you have or haven’t noticed because you never even see me! You
spend more time with your assistant than you do your wife,” she
screeched.

“
What?”

“
We never spend any time
together anymore! I feel completely alone in this monstrous house;
this house that was for ‘
us
.’”

“
Robin, this job is the
brass ring for me. It’s important and I want to make sure I do it
right. I’m on probation for a year. The board can fire me at any
time if they think I’m slacking or messing things up. Audrey has
been really helpful in getting the office organized and helping me
with the clerical red tape.”

“
I bet she has been
helpful,” she insinuated. “And you act like you’re the only one
with job responsibilities! Me becoming a supervisor was a step up
for me, but did you see me devoting every waking minute to it? I
balance it.” She continued yelling. “And what about us? Shouldn’t
you be doing things right for us, too?”

“
I made a promise to take
care of you. This job will set us up for the rest of our lives.
Together, with the money we bring in every paycheck, we will have
this house paid off sooner.”

“
What happens when there’s
no ‘us’? We are falling apart Matt. Don’t you see that?”

He shook his head as Robin walked into the
dining room. She felt trapped. Unremittingly, he followed her as
she sat down at the long table. With her head in her hands, she
sobbed.

“
What do you want me to
do?” he bellowed.

Looking up at him, she shrugged, “I don’t
know.” She paused. “You know that you don’t even look at me the
same? It’s like you see right through me.”

“
I do see you,” he said
more calmly as he sat on the bench across from her.

“
No you don’t!” She shook
her head with conviction. “I don’t know what the answer is. I just
know that we are falling apart and I’m losing you. I don’t want to
get a divorce.”

“
A divorce? What the hell
are you talking about?”

“
We are falling apart
Matthew,” she shouted, slamming her fist on the table. “Are you
blind?”

“
No, Robin, I’m not!” he
screamed back at her. “And we are not falling apart!”

“
We are!” she exclaimed.
“Matt, do you know how long it’s been since we’ve even had sex?
Since you’ve touched me? Do you even need it anymore?” Again she
paused and quieted a little. “Or are you getting it from somewhere
else?”

He was infuriated by the implication. “You
think I’m sleeping with her! You think I’m having sex with Audrey!
How the hell could you think that?”

“
How could I not? You
didn’t even tell me about her Matt! You kept her a secret and
obviously you had nothing to say about me to her. I can see exactly
what’s going on. She’s beautiful and vibrant! Why wouldn’t you be
attracted to her? God knows you’re not attracted to me
anymore.”

He dropped his head. He was silent for
moments. “What is happening to us, baby? We never fight. This isn’t
us at all,” he said sadly.

“
Someone is going to have
to compromise. And if you’re cheating on me, just say it. I can
handle it Matt. I will walk away and you can make your
choice.”

“
I’m not cheating on you!
I would never do something like that! From the first day I saw you
I have been wrapped up in you and you alone! I’m not interested in
anyone else. I don’t want to be. You are my wife, damn it! I would
go to the ends of the earth for you! Hell, I’d even walk through
fire if you asked me to. I’ve been walking through the flames since
we’ve been living in this damn house!”

“
Instead of going to the
ends of the earth, come home every once and a while.” Her sobs
intensified. “Because I miss you, Matt.” Tears rapidly fell down
her cheeks.

“
My heart feels like it’s
ripping in half. I can’t stand seeing you cry.” He got up and
walked to her. Gently, he turned her chair toward him as he knelt
in front of her. His fingers brushed away her tears as he smiled up
at her. “I miss you, too Robin. I don’t want to lose you. And I
sure as hell don’t want a divorce. God, what are you
thinking?”

He embraced her. “Nothing is worth losing
you. Not my job. Not this house. Nothing in this entire world could
take your place. Nothing.”

Her arms fell around his neck as she cried
uncontrollably. Quickly, she found herself deeply in love with him
again realizing she never fell out of love to begin with.

****

The argument changed things. Matt worked
from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Because he wasn’t an hourly employee,
he had options; options he didn’t even realize were available to
him. Matt also cut Audrey’s hours. He set her up to work 10 a.m. to
3 p.m. He felt uncomfortable being alone with her after the
argument with Robin. So, he hired Stella Bowling, a wonderful woman
in her 40’s. She covered the office from noon until 5 p.m. Although
Audrey didn’t say anything, Matt could see the change angered her.
He told Robin about the changes promising to always keep her
informed.

It didn’t escape Matt’s attention that
Audrey wore more revealing clothing when her hours were altered;
shorter skirts, lower cut blouses. He knew she tried desperately to
grab his attention. There were times he felt uncomfortable with the
lack of personal space she put between them. Leaning down to go
over spreadsheets and paperwork topped the list.

A snowy February Saturday morning meant rest
and relaxation. Matt laid awake watching Robin sleep peacefully
beside him. He loved watching her sleep. Touching her hair gently,
he just wanted to be close to her. He rose up on his elbow and
kissed her cheek then her neck. He saw the smile across her
lips.

He whispered in her ear, “Good morning.”

She smiled, stretched, and turned onto her
back, looking up at him. Slowly, he unbuttoned her pajama top and
opened it up never losing eye contact with her. Brushing the tips
of his fingers across her breasts, he smiled seductively.