The next morning Kelly woke up and yawned contently. She rolled over expecting Nick to be in bed beside her, having momentarily forgotten about their previous fight. The blankets were shoved about on his side of the bed, so she knew he had slept in there last night.
Kelly quickly slipped her sunny blonde hair into a ponytail and went downstairs to locate her husband.
He was nowhere to be found and the house was silent. Kelly opened the door to see if his vehicle was there and it was, so that only left one place for Nick to be.
Kelly opened the sliding glass door and sure enough, Nick’s boat, his pride and joy, was gone. She briefly wondered how long he had been drifting along the Tampa Bay, but promptly went back inside to fix herself something to eat.
The breeze blew swiftly through Nick’s blonde locks, while his eyes, that matched the color of the water, stared into the horizon.
“Why am I so upset about this?” Nick asked himself, aloud. “I mean, we have been married for three years so it’s not like we’re not ready for kids.” Nick paused for a moment and leaned heavily over the side of the boat, looking for some answer. “I guess I’m just not ready to be a dad…” he trailed off quietly.
Kelly had finished breakfast and lunch, had gotten dressed, and washed the laundry and still there was no sign of Nick. Kelly fixed a glass of lemonade and took it outside to drink on their back deck. As soon as she pulled a chair out to sit down, she noticed Nick climbing out of the boat and tying it down.
Kelly started walking toward the boat to intercept him. Kelly’s yellow summer dress flowed behind her and her eyes glistened in the Florida sun. Nick noted her ravishing beauty and immediately felt compelled to apologize, but that feeling vanished as quickly as it had come.
“Here,” Kelly said, handing Nick her lemonade. “You can have it. It’s making me feel sort of sick.” At this comment, Kelly lowered her left hand to place it over her tummy.
Nick noticed this gesture and stared at her hand intently for a while. The diamond on her ring finger glittered in the sunlight and caught his eyes. He would’ve surrendered his heart and pride to apologize but then he had that sinking feeling that nothing would ever be the same again once the baby came.
“Nick?” Kelly called him back, lifting his chin so that their eyes met.
Nick stared into her eyes for a moment, then abrubtly walked into the house, leaving Kelly standing there, alone.
