Unexpectedly, Milo - Matthew Dicks [21]
“Well, you don’t help the situation,” Milo said, surprised by his willingness to fight back. “The sky could be falling and you wouldn’t have a word to say about it.”
“I hardly think that genetically engineered grass constitutes the sky falling, Milo. The problem is that nothing you say interests me anymore. I wish the goddamn sky would fall. At least I would have something to get excited about. Because right now, I’ve got nothing. Nothing.”
Even though he had known all of this on some level already, these words had stung Milo the most. Had silenced him.
And despite the sting, he couldn’t help but note Christine’s dramatic repetition of the word nothing, with its resolute emphasis and intended finality. Milo wanted to ask if this bit of drama was really necessary considering their lack of an audience, but as he always did in these circumstances, he refrained.
Christine waited for a response from her husband, and when nothing came, she turned and began walking, not waiting to see if Milo would follow. After a moment, he did, and the two were walking side by side again as they climbed the concrete steps into their home. As Christine crossed through the kitchen toward the bathroom, where she would shower with the door closed for the first time during their relationship, she turned and said, “I think I need some space, Milo. I think we need some time apart.”
The way in which she made this request, followed by the immediate closing of the bathroom door, left the conversation in limbo, where it would remain. She would continue to ask for this space but without giving specifics or demanding a response for another three months until he finally obliged.
Milo related this story as succinctly as possible to Dr. Teagan, who seemed to nod at precisely the right moments, just enough to encourage him to continue without appearing to pander. His affection for the man grew with each passing minute.
When finished, Milo had wanted to ask the doctor if it was normal to assume that time apart and space meant a trial separation, but he was afraid to even mention the word normal to the doctor, as if entering the word into the record might expose a considerable chink in his armor.
Instead, Milo waited, and after ten interminable seconds, Dr. Teagan spoke again. “Do you still want to be married to Christine?”
“Yes,” Milo answered quickly, and meant it, though the reasons that he desired to remain married to Christine were unclear. Milo thought that he and Christine were fairly compatible, and they were fortunate enough to share some excellent friends. They owned a home in which they had invested a great deal of time and money, and it was finally starting to look like the house of their dreams. Milo also adored Christine’s family, particularly her mother and father, and the thought of throwing all that away for a shortage of conversational topics befuddled him.
When Dr. Teagan failed to respond to his one-word answer, Milo reasserted his affirmative response and waited, determined to force the doc into the next move. After a moment, the doctor suggested that they ask Christine to join them.
When Christine sat down in the chair beside Milo, she could not have felt farther away from him. He thought about the information that he had just shared with the doctor, information that he didn’t think Christine would have wanted shared, and he shuddered to think about what she might have said during her time alone in the office. Milo turned and looked at Christine, hoping to flash a smile or take her hand, which would have been second nature less than a year ago, but Christine’s eyes remained forward despite Milo’s certainty that she knew he was looking in her direction.
“So, Christine, why don’t we start with you? I know that you’re not happy with Milo’s decision to move out. But you also told me that you had been asking for time apart prior to Milo’s decision to move. What was it that