Chapter Six
“Dammit, Lou! You mind shuttin’ the door?” Kid yelled in frustration.
Louise had never heard such a beautiful sound in all her life. He was here. He hadn’t left! She opened her eyes and smiled softly, closing the door behind her.
Kid was chest-deep in a hot bath, his hair wet, which made it all the more curly and unruly. His skin was golden brown from the sun and Louise felt warm all over just to see him there in front of her.
Kid, however, was obviously still furious with her. He didn’t look at her, even when she crossed the room and knelt beside the steaming tub of water.
“Kid?” she said tentatively. When he didn’t respond, she continued, choosing her words carefully this time. “Kid, I’m so sorry. I know you’re mad. You got every right to be.”
He still refused to look at his doleful wife. His strong jaw clenched in anger.
Louise touched his arm and felt him flinch. Her hand jerked back and she felt her throat tighten in fear. It wasn’t going to matter if she apologized. Kid was hurt, and she was the one who’d inflicted the pain.
She stood up and turned away from him, sitting on the bed and gazing out the window. The silence was a chasm between them. She heard Kid get out of the bath, dry himself off and begin to get dressed.
Finally he said, “Rachel’ll be expectin’ us for dinner.”
Lou didn’t respond. How could they go and face everyone like nothing was wrong? Their friends, no, their family, would see right through it. Everyone would be in a rush to fix things between the couple, things that could very well be irreparable.
“You comin’?” Kid asked.
Still Louise didn’t respond. She just felt like curling up in a ball and dying. To have Kid recoil at her touch...what could be worse? And she knew she deserved it. Every bit of it. Some wife she was turning out to be. Had she lived in the world as a man so long she’d forgotten how to be a woman, a woman all the time?
“Louise?” Kid said again, irritation in his voice.
Lou hung her head and quietly answered, “I ain’t hungry. Tell Rachel I’m sorry.”
“Yeah,” Kid answered as he left.
Silence enveloped the room, overpowering Lou. She’d lost him, and this time it wasn’t to another woman, like Samantha or Doritha. This time she’d just lost him because of her own stubbornness and pride, and that was more powerful than any hold another woman would ever have. Dismayed at the realization, Lou felt bile rise to her throat and it was all she could do to make it to the basin in time before collapsing in a heap of sobs on the bed.