"Is there anything I can help you with?" Susan noticed
the cut vegetables as she approached the counter. She wanted to jump in, but
she was a guest and her sister's orderly household always left her disoriented.
"No, get yourself some wine; I've got everything under control." Cathy waved her away while adjusting the blue flame under the pan. She grabbed the oil when the flame met her expectations. She smiled at her blurry reflection in the silver pan while dropping a few splashes of oil in it. "There, that is three tablespoons, or close enough." She forced a smile and turned to face her sister.
"You sure I can't help?" Susan sipped her wine while observing the perfectly laid out rows of cut vegetables and chicken. She felt a stab of guilt at her less than tidy approach to cooking, or anything.
"No, don't worry; this'll be ready in a min...” Her words trailed off as James moved around in the adjacent family room. She absently turned and scooped the pile of vegetables into her hands and dropped them into the pan. She jumped back and grimaced as the pan sizzled and a drop of oil landed on the back of her hand.
"Are you okay?" Susan sat her wine on the counter and rushed to her sister. She grabbed the hand and surveyed the damage - a small red patch was immediately visible.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." Cathy mumbled while slowly pulling her hand from Susan's hold and gently rubbed it while watching her husband fumble with something in the corner.
"Is he okay?" Susan couldn't hold back the question any longer. The normally friendly James had barely recognized her arrival, and his disheveled appearance was a sharp contrast to his usual neatness. She had noticed papers, books, and more scattered around his office when she greeted him. The one thing she couldn't forget was the faraway look in his eyes when he did finally notice her standing in the doorway of his office. His empty stare had pushed her away and up to the kitchen.
"I really don't know, but honestly I don't think so." Cathy looked down at the place on her hand but didn't see it. Her mind drifted to the past when his behavior had taken such turns. She remembered the time he disappeared for three days and she tried to forget the incident with the gun. She knew a few days with the doctor and her old James would return and treat her like a queen. Nobody had ever made her feel as good as he did, but then again these bad times were unmatched as well.
"Oh, did something happen?" Susan's mind recalled her own memories of his previous troubles - at least, the ones she knew about. His disappearance for a few days two years ago had been her introduction to his problems, but she never believed the diagnosis. She, and the rest of the family, assumed he had another woman. After all she thought, we all have our crazy moments but we don't act like him.
"Not yet, but I can tell, the warning signs are there. It is something to get to know after a while, you know what I mean?" She knew her sister had no clue about it or anything else. She had never seen him lying on the floor in a fetal position crying. She had never seen him sit at his desk and do nothing all the while trying to will himself to get better. No, she had never told her those stories, or the one with the gun that still made her shudder. She knew her family belittled him, and she regretted telling them anything.
"Yeah, I guess so." Susan leaned back against the counter. She drained her wine glass and turned for the bottle when she was startled by the sound of the smoke alarm. The glass shattered against the wood floor as she watched her sister pull the pan from the stove.
"Shit, it looks like we'll be ordering a pizza." She grabbed the pan, swung open the back door and tossed it into the tall green grass. She held the door open and rocked it back and forth as smoke rolled into the night air.
"Oh, I'm sorry; I should've been watching it." Susan felt a sting of guilt as she knew this could have been avoided with her help. She turned on the ceiling fan and joined her sister on the back porch.
"Look at this yard." Cathy motioned to the tall grass while dropping her small body in a metal chair. "He usually takes such good care of everything, it is just another sign."
"Yeah, the yard usually looks so nice." She felt like she had said the wrong thing by agreeing with her, but it did usually look good - too good as her husband like to say. In a way, she knew the family liked to see the perfect James go down. It made them feel superior since they were not crazy, or it had never been diagnosed.
"Yeah." Cathy's reply was mumbled as her mind was obviously elsewhere.
"So, what will you do?"
"Well, I'll call the doctor shortly and we'll go from there. It is best to get him to the doctor or hospital as soon as possible, before he does something dangerous." She knew she had said too much.
"Dangerous? Do you think he would hurt you?"
"No, don't be silly. I was talking about him doing something that causes him to lose his job." She waved off her sister's astonishment with a small lie. He had never done anything to her, and she never thought he would. The gun flashed in her mind and chills swept across her body.
"Are you cold? C'mon, let's go in, I think the smoke has cleared. I'll take care of the pizza if you still want to eat, and you can make your phone call." Susan stood and grabbed her sister by her shoulders and guided her into the house. They both stopped once inside as they watched James on the couch - Susan squinted to make out what was in his hand.
"James!" Cathy screamed while wriggling out of Susan's clutch and running to her husband. She dropped to her knees and slid to his side. Her fear retreated as she spotted the tweezers in his hand.
"Who the hell broke a glass?" He shook his head while pulling the shards of glass from the soft part of the foot. Cathy pulled the weapon from his hand and finished the job while telling her sister to grab some paper towels.
"Oh, it is my fault; I dropped the glass when the smoke alarm went off. I'm really sorry, I forgot about when we went outside." Susan handed the towels to her sister while staring at the large butcher knife in his other hand. She felt the sweat on her neck as his hand maintained a grip on its wooden handle.
"What's with the knife?" Cathy pulled the last visible piece from his food and patted it with the towel. She remembered what she had seen and turned and pulled the knife from his hand.
"Oh, I thought I might need to push the pieces out." He leaned back on the sofa as his wife laid his foot on a towel covered spot on the coffee table. She flipped on the television to ESPN and told him to watch as they ordered the food.
"What the hell was this for?" Susan now had the knife and she waved it randomly while waiting for a response from her sister.
"He said it was for the foot." She fumbled in her purse without looking up. Finally, she found the paper with the number. She grabbed her cell phone and returned to the deck to make the call while her sister nervously talked to her brother-in-law - mostly about what kind of pizza he would prefer. She had the sudden urge to run; she wanted to go home to the insanity of her own home.
"No, get yourself some wine; I've got everything under control." Cathy waved her away while adjusting the blue flame under the pan. She grabbed the oil when the flame met her expectations. She smiled at her blurry reflection in the silver pan while dropping a few splashes of oil in it. "There, that is three tablespoons, or close enough." She forced a smile and turned to face her sister.
"You sure I can't help?" Susan sipped her wine while observing the perfectly laid out rows of cut vegetables and chicken. She felt a stab of guilt at her less than tidy approach to cooking, or anything.
"No, don't worry; this'll be ready in a min...” Her words trailed off as James moved around in the adjacent family room. She absently turned and scooped the pile of vegetables into her hands and dropped them into the pan. She jumped back and grimaced as the pan sizzled and a drop of oil landed on the back of her hand.
"Are you okay?" Susan sat her wine on the counter and rushed to her sister. She grabbed the hand and surveyed the damage - a small red patch was immediately visible.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." Cathy mumbled while slowly pulling her hand from Susan's hold and gently rubbed it while watching her husband fumble with something in the corner.
"Is he okay?" Susan couldn't hold back the question any longer. The normally friendly James had barely recognized her arrival, and his disheveled appearance was a sharp contrast to his usual neatness. She had noticed papers, books, and more scattered around his office when she greeted him. The one thing she couldn't forget was the faraway look in his eyes when he did finally notice her standing in the doorway of his office. His empty stare had pushed her away and up to the kitchen.
"I really don't know, but honestly I don't think so." Cathy looked down at the place on her hand but didn't see it. Her mind drifted to the past when his behavior had taken such turns. She remembered the time he disappeared for three days and she tried to forget the incident with the gun. She knew a few days with the doctor and her old James would return and treat her like a queen. Nobody had ever made her feel as good as he did, but then again these bad times were unmatched as well.
"Oh, did something happen?" Susan's mind recalled her own memories of his previous troubles - at least, the ones she knew about. His disappearance for a few days two years ago had been her introduction to his problems, but she never believed the diagnosis. She, and the rest of the family, assumed he had another woman. After all she thought, we all have our crazy moments but we don't act like him.
"Not yet, but I can tell, the warning signs are there. It is something to get to know after a while, you know what I mean?" She knew her sister had no clue about it or anything else. She had never seen him lying on the floor in a fetal position crying. She had never seen him sit at his desk and do nothing all the while trying to will himself to get better. No, she had never told her those stories, or the one with the gun that still made her shudder. She knew her family belittled him, and she regretted telling them anything.
"Yeah, I guess so." Susan leaned back against the counter. She drained her wine glass and turned for the bottle when she was startled by the sound of the smoke alarm. The glass shattered against the wood floor as she watched her sister pull the pan from the stove.
"Shit, it looks like we'll be ordering a pizza." She grabbed the pan, swung open the back door and tossed it into the tall green grass. She held the door open and rocked it back and forth as smoke rolled into the night air.
"Oh, I'm sorry; I should've been watching it." Susan felt a sting of guilt as she knew this could have been avoided with her help. She turned on the ceiling fan and joined her sister on the back porch.
"Look at this yard." Cathy motioned to the tall grass while dropping her small body in a metal chair. "He usually takes such good care of everything, it is just another sign."
"Yeah, the yard usually looks so nice." She felt like she had said the wrong thing by agreeing with her, but it did usually look good - too good as her husband like to say. In a way, she knew the family liked to see the perfect James go down. It made them feel superior since they were not crazy, or it had never been diagnosed.
"Yeah." Cathy's reply was mumbled as her mind was obviously elsewhere.
"So, what will you do?"
"Well, I'll call the doctor shortly and we'll go from there. It is best to get him to the doctor or hospital as soon as possible, before he does something dangerous." She knew she had said too much.
"Dangerous? Do you think he would hurt you?"
"No, don't be silly. I was talking about him doing something that causes him to lose his job." She waved off her sister's astonishment with a small lie. He had never done anything to her, and she never thought he would. The gun flashed in her mind and chills swept across her body.
"Are you cold? C'mon, let's go in, I think the smoke has cleared. I'll take care of the pizza if you still want to eat, and you can make your phone call." Susan stood and grabbed her sister by her shoulders and guided her into the house. They both stopped once inside as they watched James on the couch - Susan squinted to make out what was in his hand.
"James!" Cathy screamed while wriggling out of Susan's clutch and running to her husband. She dropped to her knees and slid to his side. Her fear retreated as she spotted the tweezers in his hand.
"Who the hell broke a glass?" He shook his head while pulling the shards of glass from the soft part of the foot. Cathy pulled the weapon from his hand and finished the job while telling her sister to grab some paper towels.
"Oh, it is my fault; I dropped the glass when the smoke alarm went off. I'm really sorry, I forgot about when we went outside." Susan handed the towels to her sister while staring at the large butcher knife in his other hand. She felt the sweat on her neck as his hand maintained a grip on its wooden handle.
"What's with the knife?" Cathy pulled the last visible piece from his food and patted it with the towel. She remembered what she had seen and turned and pulled the knife from his hand.
"Oh, I thought I might need to push the pieces out." He leaned back on the sofa as his wife laid his foot on a towel covered spot on the coffee table. She flipped on the television to ESPN and told him to watch as they ordered the food.
"What the hell was this for?" Susan now had the knife and she waved it randomly while waiting for a response from her sister.
"He said it was for the foot." She fumbled in her purse without looking up. Finally, she found the paper with the number. She grabbed her cell phone and returned to the deck to make the call while her sister nervously talked to her brother-in-law - mostly about what kind of pizza he would prefer. She had the sudden urge to run; she wanted to go home to the insanity of her own home.
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