She sighed at the red light, stopping only made her think. Her hands were relaxed at the bottom of the wheel but she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. The reminder of who she was when he left was like a finger prick. It hurt right away but slowly faded until it decided to hurt again. And it decided to hurt now.

She didn’t mean to make him unhappy; she made him dinner each night and every Sunday was a meal that he favored. Nothing was wrong, she thought so at least. Sex was great and the money was better.

Cars raced in front of her; she wondered why there were so many cars this day. Many people had to be many places she figured.
She sighed. Who would she take care of now? She had no family, no children. As much as she begged him to get her pregnant he never would let her off the pill. And she wondered what he would do. She thought he needed her; she did his laundry and kept the house in order. But it didn’t work—again.

A tear slipped down her cheek and she gripped the steering wheel harder. The damn light wouldn’t turn and she was getting anxious to get home to cook dinner. He might come back for all she knew. It wasn’t the first time this has happened.

She licked her lips as a tear slipped between her bottom and top lip. Everything she tried failed, and everything that worked broke. She was king Midas in reverse her mother would snicker at her. Oh, her mother. Drugged up and drunk every day and night, her mother was lucky to have such a daughter to take care of her. Leaving her with nothing when she died, however, was inappropriate yet expected.

Then the thought crossed her mind, just for a second. The thought that had been digging under her skin all her life, the thought that she had been too scared to follow through with, but just this once it brought peace to her heart and she felt a tug of anxiousness to go with it.

She believed that everything happened for a reason. Even this silly light. Even this unnecessary traffic. So she took her chance. Slamming on the gas and heading straight into the traffic, a car crashed into her side and everything went black.
***

Sliding the key into the lock he was excited to see his beloved wife again. As much as he hated not telling her where he was going, his boss sent him on unexpected trips that caused him to leave as soon as possible. If he told her that, however, she would complain and make him quit and that couldn’t happen for his job was their only income. But when he was home things were perfect. Every Sunday she made him a meal he greatly favored and even if it wasn’t Sunday, he came home to a clean house and a hot meal.

She had mentioned having children once before he remembered as he opened the front door. Children . . . she was only twenty two. And besides, they had just got married a couple months ago. Not that things weren’t going well, hell, everything was going well. Sex was great and the money was better. He chuckled to himself as he let himself in.

“Sweetheart, I’m home.”