Sweep Me Off My Feet

Chapter 12

After putting Brandon to bed, Angela went back downstairs and switched on the TV. She was not really watching whatever was on, but the TV provided a perfect background noise as she waited for Michael to come home. He had sent her a text saying that he would not be home for dinner, but he had not said what time he would be back. He was usually back by five or eight if and when he got late, but on that particular day, he was later than usual. She did not even realize when she fell asleep on the couch waiting for him. The last thing she remembered was watching Top Chef when she suddenly woke up to a loud noise. It sounded almost like a thud. She pulled herself up from the couch, just in time to see her husband struggling to get up.

“Michael…” She got off the couch and rushed to where he was. He was blabbering and reeked of alcohol. “Damn it, baby, what did you do?” she wondered out loud as she helped him to his feet.

She began guiding her to the couch, but she did not want to let him crash there. The last thing she wanted was to have Brandon wake up in the morning and see him in his drunken state.

“Come on, big guy…” She was heaving as she helped him to the guest room. It felt like she had done a ten kilometer marathon by the time they finally got to the guest room. He fell on the bed and she lay next to him for a few minutes before she began helping him with his clothes. From the way his clothes smelled, she couldn’t help but wonder if someone had spilled their drink on him or if he had been too drunk to hold his own drink steady. “Okay, we are finally done,” she said as she draped a comforter on him. Getting him undressed had taken almost twenty minutes and she was exhausted. She was about to leave when she heard him call her name. She turned around and looked at him. His eyes were still closed but he was saying something. His voice was so low, she had to crawl next to him just so she could hear what he was saying.

“Angie… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I should have been there for you. I should have been there when that man attacked you…”

“Michael,” she said in a soft voice in an attempt to try and calm him down, but he would not stop.

“You really do care for me and I have been so tough on you…” He went on and she began running her fingers through his hair, gently rubbing her fingertips against his scalp. When he finally got silent, she pulled away, but he reached for her hand and touched it ever so lightly. “Don’t leave me, Angie… please,” he begged.She looked at him and crawled back into bed next to him. She went on running her fingers through his hair until he fell asleep which was just minutes before she too fell asleep.

*****

When she woke up the next morning, she felt like she had been sleeping for ages. She reached for her phone on the nightstand and when she did not feel the nightstand where she usually had it, it suddenly hit her. She was not in the master bedroom.

“Sh*t!”

She was late getting Brandon ready for school. She jolted out of bed and looked at the empty bed next to her.

“Michael could have at least woken me up,” she thought as she ran out of the guest room. She stopped at the dining table when she saw a piece of folded paper with her name on it.

Angie, I didn’t want to wake you up because I know you had to stay up late last night because of me. Valeria took Brandon to school. I explained to him that you were not feeling so well. I’ll see you tonight. M.

She exhaled loudly and walked to the couch. That was the last place she had seen her phone. She sat down and pulled up Candy’s number before she started typing.

Hey, feel like hanging out?

It only took a few minutes before Candy texted back.

Slow day today, so sure. I’ll drop by when I am done with this shoot.

Angela frowned.

A shoot? It is only nine.

She leaned back and waited for the reply.

Something about the way the lighting is during the sunrise… photography jargon. Almost done. See you soon.

Angela smiled and typed a quick ‘see you soon’ before she made her way upstairs. She took a quick shower before making her way back downstairs for some breakfast. She was not really in the mood for cooking so she just got coffee started and had a bowl of cold cereal. And true to her word, Candy got there before she was even done with her breakfast.

“Is there a day you will come to see me without food?” Angela asked when she opened the door for Candy who was holding a pizza box.

“What? So, now you are too good for pizza?” Candy asked, and Angela frowned.

“I will never be too good for pizza. So, which pizza did you get?”

“Spicy meat lovers special and because it is just us, thin crust!” Candy said excitedly as they walked to the living room.

“Sheer perfection,” Angela said as they sat down. “How was the shoot? Why the hell did they do it so early?’

“I don’t get the timing either, but they were hell bent on getting that morning glow which was great for the swimsuit line they are planning on releasing… you know how it goes.” She reached for a slice and leaned back. “The advantage is that my day is done. I have the whole day and here I was thinking that dancing gave me some kind of freedom.”

Angela smiled as she reached for her own slice.