Page 82 of Perfect Satisfaction

My heart aches wondering if it’s me she’s missing or just the need for human touch on a day that caused her so much emotional distress.

Talk to me, Ursula. Give me something. Anything, I plead with her silently.

But she doesn’t wake up.

Without dragging my eyes from her sleeping form, I find another shirt to sleep in because the last thing I will do tonight is disturb her when she’s the very vision of everything I’ve been dreaming about when I manage to close my eyes.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-NINE

Saying you’re sorry isn’t always possible with flowers.

Sometimes, it involves candy.

Or more.

—StellaNova

She comes to bed after I’m asleepand wakes well before me. I don’t know how she functions on so little sleep, let alone how I don’t find her collapsed on a floor in a puddle out of sheer exhaustion.

Time is moving fast. Too fast. I’ve barely interacted with my wife since the night we worked on Nancy’s promotion. Her schedule starts ridiculously early in the morning, gives her some leisure time in the afternoon, and then ends late in the evening.

And mine’s almost the exact opposite.

If it wasn’t for the tiny weight that jolts me awake when she slides into bed, I’d never know she was there. Even though she’s present, she’s a ghost in my life. Only this time I know the guilt I feel because of her absence is absolutely my fault.

How could I forget the day her mother died?

When she first told me about it, Ursula skimmed over the details, but what I did manage to get from her is, “It was the day I lost my life. It was the day I had to move from America to live with my father.”

I can so easily recall the shudder that wracked her slender body. Does she still cry for her mother today? I don’t have the ability to find out.

It’s been three weeks and all I can see is she works tirelessly. Day and night. Nonstop.

Talking to my best friend doesn’t give me any leads. “I think you’re missing an opportunity, Arek. This is what you’ve been waiting for. Fix things.”

“Thanks for nothing,” I drawl.

She stuck out her tongue before hanging up on me.

I’m beginning to believe she might be right.

I decide to leave Ursula an innocuous note on the counter, hoping she responds to it.

Is there anything you’d like from the store?

Much to my surprise she does.

No. Thank you for asking.

I follow it up.

Are you sure? I saw they had the yogurt you consume like it’s your life blood on sale.

Her response.

Oh. Thank you for being considerate. I would appreciate you picking some up.

It might not be much, but it’s not the stark emptiness I’ve been enduring from her. I’ll take what I can get.