For the Dream of 5 Years: Chapter Twelve: Penguins and Smoke Signal

Michelle alighted at the bus station near her house and proceeded to their block. She heard the TV sounds, which confirmed that Dave was home. She knocked on the door, peeping, and saw Dave walking toward the entrance. When Dave opened the door, he was shocked to see Michelle and stood there like a statue. He was dumbfounded. "Well, aren't you going to ask me in?" Asked Michelle. "I'm sorry, dear, I am shocked to see you home. You didn't tell me you were coming," he said, gesturing for her to get inside. "Mhhhm, did you want me to send a carrier pigeon with a letter in an envelope or use a smoke signal to let you know that your wife was worried about you and was coming home?" She asked, passing him in the doorway and going straight into the living room. It took her a few seconds to realize that she hadn't greeted her husband for the first time since they met. She felt angry at him and didn't care to seek peace for the first time. "Darling, it seems you have come to fight, and frankly, I'm in a terrible mood to tolerate any fight, not from you, not from Mike," he said, going back to open the door, fearing he had locked it Mike outside. "Where is Mike?" He asked, looking out of the door. "He will come in two weeks," she said, putting her bag on the floor, sitting on the sofa, and putting her feet on the table. "I'll go get him in two weeks," she added after noting that Dave was puzzled and needed a further explanation. He needed to understand the sudden changes in his family. For starters, there were no greetings, his son was left miles away, and Michelle's attitude and rude responses shocked him. "Wait, help me understand what is happening here, Michelle?" He demanded to know, sitting on the couch directly opposite her. "Where is my son?" He asked angrily, a face Michelle had never seen. Dave had never yelled at Michelle or hurt her with his words. "Why are you being so harsh towards me? I came all the way to see you, and this is how you talk to me," she said, her voice breaking and her misty eyes ready to pour massive tears in seconds. "Oh, for heaven's sake, Michelle, stop being dramatic! Don't you dare cry! I can't deal with that now," Dave said, standing up and walking to the wall behind the couch he was sitting on, putting his hands on his head. "You came unannounced and talked about smoke signals and penguins when I tried talking to you," Dave said, stretching his open hands towards Michelle, eyes wide open, desperately needing an answer and an apology. "Unannounced? Seriously Dave? In my own house, I came unannounced?" She asked, letting out a loud cry, still sitting on the couch, badly wanting Dave to apologize and console her. "Oh, my goodness, Michelle! Are you crying? Like Mama Cate next door? I'm sure all our neighbours are at their windows, listening to what could be happening here, the way we do every time Mama Cate fights with his husband. Is that where we are now?" Dave inquired, so slowly, trying so much to avoid attracting more attention from their nosy neighbours. "Stop changing the topic, Dave; you wouldn't let me in when you opened the door. Is there someone in the bedroom Dave?" She asked, wiping her eyes. "Wow, just wow. Is that what this is all about? Did you come unannounced to see if I had someone here?" He asked. "Besides, you are the one who passed me in the doorway without hugging me as we do. We hug, kiss, and make love, then talk in this house. Our tradition came naturally, and we kept it without any struggle. It seems that was in the past," he added, throwing his hands to his sides and staying akimbo. "Did you hug me, you hugging, kissing, and lovemaking master? Did you? Why didn't you stop me when you saw me passing you and do those things that came to us naturally?" She asked, removing her feet from the table. Dave thought she was done with the drama and wanted to go to her. Instead, she put them on the couch and continued crying, though not loudly this time. Michelle rarely cried, and Dave had not seen her cry for years; her crying now terrified him. He didn't know how to handle her. He had forgotten what they did when she cried those days. "Forgive me. I'm sorry for saying you came unannounced. It was purely my fault because my phone was off, and there was no way of sending penguins or making smoke signals," he said, walking towards her couch and sitting next to her. "I'm sorry, my love, please forgive me," he said, trying to reach for her hand. Michelle shoved her hand away the moment Dave touched her. "What is wrong with you? Is there something you are not telling me, Michelle? Is this really about us not hugging?" He asked, leaning back on the couch, away from Michelle, preventing himself from touching her. He knew her very well; he knew there was something serious. "Don't you dare make this about me! You are the one who didn't call. You switched off your phone and stayed here like a bachelor," she said, sobbing. She was shocked by her crying. She, too, wondered why she was crying so bitterly. Was she crying because she didn't feel for Dave? What did she feel for Dan when Dave opened the door? Was she disappointed that Dave did not arouse such desires as Dan did? Her anger was growing, and her sobbing was getting severe. She was terrified. She needed to find a reason to make Dave feel she was justified to cry that much. "I am at fault, yes, but you are too. Why didn't you come home after the elections?" He asked. He wanted to ask if she had someone entertaining her back in the village, a person so interesting that she forgot to come back to her husband. He wanted to ask many questions, but this is not the Michelle that would use reason. Michelle was taken aback by that question. She knew why she did not come home after the elections. She hadn't thought of a proper explanation for her extended stay home. Didn't she think it would come up? She was caught off-guard. She uttered a loud cry that shocked Dave forcing him to lean forward and cover her mouth with his hand. "Don't you touch me!" She yanked herself off the seat and dragged her handbag to the bedroom. Dave realized that this was the first time she didn't bring farm proceeds from the village. It had never happened. Dave wondered if she had gone to see a man before coming home. He had noticed that she wore an unusually short skirt. She looked so sexy; if it were not for the current situation and awful mood, they could be against the wall, on the kitchen counter, in the bathroom, on the floor, or the bed feeling so happy and stimulating their dopamine. Michelle was dressed in a tight mini skirt, a wide red silky blouse that she had knotted just above her navel. She had knee-length boots that drew attention to the skin above the knees and below the skirt. This made Dave hesitate to let her in, to admire her immense beauty. It had taken a long since she dressed the way she used to dress when they met. Suppose he hesitated because he wondered who and what propelled her to dress like that. Suppose he hesitated because he felt he didn't deserve her for cheating on her. He did not like the fact that he did not know how to act. If he had acted normal, they would be happy right now; he wouldn't have made her cry, and she wouldn't have walked out on him and left him alone in the living room. Dave went into the kitchen; he felt terrible about what happened while Michelle was away. He wanted to confess, but he was scared of what would transpire. He hated himself for being a jerk, for treating his queen like any other ordinary person, for failing to make her happy. He picked some potatoes from the vegetable cabinet; they were so weathered; he peeled them and chopped them carefully, just as Michelle loved her chips. He took some frozen meat from the fridge and defrosted it. He made French fries and dry-fry beef, just as she loved it. Michelle had cried herself to bed when Dave entered the bedroom. He took some candles from the bedside drawer, lit them, and placed them on the bedside table. Michelle was snoring like a child falling asleep from crying too much. She was his child, princess, and queen, and he needed to pamper her. He touched her face; she was smooth as he remembered it. "Hey, hey Love...sweetheart,...wake up," He called softly, stroking her hair and touching her lips gently, trying to wake her up. She struggled to open her swollen eyes, wondering where she was. It took her over a minute to recollect her memory and place Dave in her current world. Dave patiently waited for her to wake up completely, touching her face, shoulders, arms, and waist. He was still kneeling on the floor to level Michelle's face. He was calm, and Michelle was calm; they could have a voice of reason now. However, this was not a time to talk but one to make peace. Although he knew one couldn't successfully make peace before solving the underlying issues, he discerned that the kind of talk he wanted would ruin things even further. "I made you your favourite; chips and beef," he said, showing her the meal on the table. "You didn't have to; I'm not hungry," she said, realizing those words hurt Dave. "Thank you, I will have it, only because you made it," she said, trying to salvage the situation. She pulled herself up and sat on the bed. "You need to wash your hands because you didn't take a shower when you came," Dave reminded her. It was their family's custom for everyone to shower immediately after coming in from the outside. Michelle had breached this rule and entered the bed with all the dirt, germs, and viruses from outside. Dave knew he had to remove all those beddings and accompany Michelle to the bathroom. If they had made love, that would have been a different case. That would have been blamed on the heat of the moment. There was no heat of the moment on this particular day, and there was a different kind of heat, a dramatic one. After washing their hands, they enjoyed the meal, all this time, Dave held her hand, feeling her soft skin all this time. They rarely talked, and Dave saw it wise not to force anything. He looked into her beautiful eyes, studied how she chewed her beef, and admired her even more. He wanted to apologize for straying. "I am so sorry, my love," he said, holding her hand tighter. "Please forgive me," he added when Michelle didn't say anything. Could it be her table manners had improved, that she doesn't want to talk with food in her mouth, or she is intentionally ignoring him? He wondered. "It's okay, my love, it is all my fault. I shouldn't have overreacted. I shouldn't have told you about the penguins and the smoke signals. That was so rude of me," she said, touching his face. Her hand was so warm that Dave felt his wife's comeback. This was the Michelle he knew, so polite and compassionate. He touched that hand on his face and leaned in for a kiss. They kissed and smiled at each other. The night was weird, there were no loud laughs like other days in the past, no funny whispers in the middle of the night, but there were no cries either. They were reticent, and when they went in the bathroom to take birth, he had touched her breast. She recoiled politely, as though the hand was from a strange person or as though he had changed the way he previously touched her. He retreated without saying much, and they pretended like it didn't happen. Throughout the night, as they lay in bed cuddling, they hardly slept. Each one privately pondered what had come over them, how they had betrayed each other, and how they had started drifting apart. Morning came, Michelle made breakfast, and they spent most of the day watching The Jeffersons. It was better to pretend their less talk was because of the comedy series they were glued to watching. They tried to laugh because of the comedy, but every time an episode ended, their faces resumed their previous sad states. They made dinner together; they wished Mike was at home, running around and shouting to ease the tension.