Husbandly Duty

Contains Profanity

The neighborhood, being an oval with two cross streets through the center, contained about 60 homes and was large enough to remain somewhat hidden if one desired but small enough to make that a difficult goal.  It was definitely large enough to remain hidden from any neighbor on the backside of the oval especially since the neighborhood had only one entrance/exit, so those living near the front would have no need to venture to the back unless at the request of some of those rear living neighbors.  The same could be said of those neighbors living in the back who desired to remain secluded, but as they could only use the one exit when running their errands, they were forced to be seen by those neighbors inhabiting the front of the neighborhood which could seriously inhibit the ability of those neighbors to perfect the hermit nature of their existence.  To the misfortune of those hermits residing near her on the outer edge of the oval, Lydia did not exhibit any such hermit tendency causing much anguish for those solitary neighbors.  In her defense, Lydia was not malicious in any way pertaining to her interactions with her neighbors for her meddling could be somewhat attributed to her curious nature and position as the neighborhood gossip.  What she lacked in maliciousness, she overcompensated for in her ability to ingratiate herself to almost any individual’s personal story due to a longing for acceptance, because she had lived a difficult existence especially when viewed from her life’s most recent events.  Her life as a homemaker with three children married to an alcoholic workaholic precluded her living a life punctuated by nothing other than loneliness.  This insufferable loneliness could be seen as the fuel for her meddling nature, but that alone was an insufficient explanation and shallow analysis of the full story.  Read in such a way, this type of analysis would result in a viewing of Lydia from a lens of sorrow and pity for she had suffered greatly, especially since her divorce and subsequent fight with her ex-husband, where such things eventually lead particularly after her husband had failed to cover his tracks that lead to the discovery of a mistress many years Lydia’s junior.  When viewed in totality as a third party observer, Lydia’s life could most definitely be regarded from a standpoint of sorrow and pity, but once encountered on a personal level, she could be seen just as flawed as any other neighbor living in this particular neighborhood for her meddling bordered on the intrusive and many of her “relatable” stories were not without a fair bit of embellishment.  So even though pity dominated her spirit, Jake’s previous vaccinations of Lydia allowed him to feel none in this specific instance as she continued to garnish the story she relayed to Jennifer while seated at the newly constructed island at the center of Jennifer’s kitchen.   

“...I was sneakily halfway to his bedroom when I bumped into one of the pans sitting on the counter and sending it straight to the floor.” Lydia animatedly replayed.   

“You’re like 40 years old Lydia, why would you be sneaking to his bedroom? For that matter, why would you be sneaking at all?” asked Jennifer. 

“Considering it was 2 AM and I was 7 beers deep, it almost felt a requirement seeing as I have not had to do that in 20 years... and his parents might have been asleep.” Lydia added sheepishly. 

Facing away from the ongoing conversation Jake’s eye roll went unseen, and having been forced to sit through the ridiculous story as he was washing the bottles in the sink and therefore within earshot, his logic lost its battle with curiosity, so he asked, “Who was the lucky guy?”  

“...Clay.” she answered with some reluctance.  

“Clay... the one that lives 3 houses down from you?” Jake asked.  

“Um.... Yes.” she answered with even more reluctance.  

“Isn’t he the same age as Austin?” he asked.   

“NO! He’s 24!” she said.  

“And your son is......” he led.  

“20.” she answered quickly.  

“So, Austin could eventually have a brother daddy.” Jake offered.   

“Jake!” Jennifer admonished while trying to stifle a laugh.  

“I must admit, Jake... that was pretty funny.” Lydia said after burying her face.   

“How long has this tryst been ongoing?” he inquired.   

“I don’t know... maybe a couple of months, but it's not serious at all.” she said.  

“Do his parents know you guys have been sneaking around?” Jake asked.   

“They probably are aware of him having someone over, but I’m pretty sure they don’t know its me.” she said.  

“You know, his parents are super nice, I talk to them quite a bit when I’m at my mom’s.” Jake said with mild rebuke.  

“Holy shit! Does Jake’s mom know about it?” Jennifer asked.  

“I fucking hope not.” Lydia answered.   

“Probably not, since she is mostly oblivious to events directly around her. Plus, she’s Dad’s primary caretaker which is requiring more time as he gets worse.” Jake added as he finished the washing of the final bottle and placed it on the drying rack.   

“I just saw him out with the kids last week, and he seemed to be fine.” Lydia said with concern and secretly willing the conversation to veer anywhere away from her sexual proclivities.   

“It’s not so much his internal medical issues, but his spine has become dramatically worse, but he seems to always find a way to push through the pain when it comes to his grandkids.” Jake said approvingly.   

“I hope he doesn’t know about my time with Clay. No offense, Jake, but I’d much rather your mom know than to have to deal with the shame of facing your dad.” Lydia said.   

“I understand you completely.” Jennifer said nodding in approval. 

“She can be a passive aggressive bitch on her good days.” Jennifer added while boring holes in Jake.   

“Look, after 60 years of a particular personality, there is no way of changing someone’s nature.” Jake added almost defensively.   

“You must have XX chromosomes and be married to me to see the behavioral issue with my mom, because most people believe her to be one of the nicest humans.” Jake said.  

“Nasty nice.” Jennifer answered.   

“What?” Lydia asked.   

“She has perfected the attitude of kindness with an underlying nastiness that clearly doesn’t seem to penetrate to all individuals... just me apparently.” Jennifer explained.   

“Hold up now, I’ve spoken with her about her attitude and her interactions with you of late, so let's not go attacking her just yet. She said she’s trying to become more cognizant of her attitude, especially towards you.” Jake replied with some irritation. 

“Hallelujah! The issue is resolved then. Jake ‘spoke’ to his mother 6 months ago, so all is well.” Jennifer said mockingly to Lydia.   

“I had the same issue with my mother-in-law but much worse. Right after Mark and I got married.......” Lydia began.   

“I think I hear the baby babbling.” Jake mumbled clearly only to himself and thankful for any reason to be removed from the conversation as Lydia initiated another ridiculous sequence of events ultimately leading to a perpetual cycle of oneupness between the two women.  Not that Jennifer had a tendency to enter into these types of contests, but in order for her to have adult interaction, she was forced to endure the meddler that was Lydia from the bottom of the oval. 

Sometime later, after soothing his youngest daughter, Sarah, and playing with her after her relatively successful nap, Jake poked his head from around the stairs hoping the contest had ended and stepped out from behind the stairwell.  “This would have been a much easier recon mission if I had some troops to carry out the mission,” Jake thought as he wondered when his youngest would reach her milestone of conqueror of the great staircase but knowing it was at least a few months down the road before conscription.  Seeing his wife tending to the area of the sink and realizing he had failed to properly arrange the bottles in their specific holding area, he winced inwardly and immediately entered apology mode, “I see you are mending my rookie mistake,” he initiated.   

“I ain’t mad at you.” Jennifer said with some playfulness.  “I’m just thankful that I didn’t have to wash them for the 5th time today.” she finished.   

Realizing Jennifer was in a better mood after Lydia’s unannounced visit, he felt relief.  He had prepared himself for a wrathful vengeance for his mistake with the bottles.  Knowing logically that the mistake was not a big deal he nonetheless had constructed a preliminary dialogue of the aforementioned wrathful conversation, as he typically did with most difficult conversations, especially concerning the times of spousal disappointment.  As much as he disliked Lydia, he had decided to remain cordial, perhaps even overtly friendly, when in her presence if nothing more than to appease his wife, who lacked the minimal adult interaction one required in today’s society, excluding time with her husband. Even though her meddling and insufferable nature collectively were Lydia’s top attributes, if only in Jake’s eyes, he mustered the nerve to ask, “I’d hazard that your visit with Lydia went swimmingly?”  

“It was fine, and how can you tell?” she answered.   

“I’m not attacking, but your attitude over the recent weeks is quick to judgement, especially concerning issues related to Sarah, so I thought my error with the bottles might just touch the right nerve.” he answered, unconsciously curling his body into a slightly defensive posture.   

“Have I really been that difficult to be around of late?” she asked with a sincerity on the verge of sadness.   

Jake found himself attached to a rock outcropping bulging from a sheer cliff-face.  His hand and footholds sufficiently comfortable to hold his weight, at least currently.  His memory struggling to pinpoint exactly how he arrived here.  Doing his damnedest to forget about what was hopefully an acute amnesia episode, he found himself in yet another battle as he fought to contain the panic that was just shy of 212 degrees Fahrenheit.  Accepting his situation, at least temporarily, allowed him to take stock of his options.  When he cast his gaze in either direction parallel to the cliff-face, he was surprised to see no end to the canyon in which he found himself as it seemed to stretch onward to the horizon, perhaps to infinity.  When he gazed downwardly, he was pleased to see at least a floor to the impossible cliff, but upon closer inspection realized the distance was still too great to attempt a downward egress. When he ventured a gaze upwardly based on his position on the outcropping, he was able to see what he hoped to be a lip to the top of the cliff-face and not a false summit.  While still quite distant, an upward egress seemed to be the natural choice at least to remove himself from this nearly impossible situation.  Taking a risk to look perpendicular and opposite the cliff-face prior to his climb, he could barely make out what looked like a horizon but what must certainly be the counterpart to “his” cliff-face.  He began his upward crawl moving slowly and deliberately making sure to keep at least 3 points of contact with the cliff-face at all times as he learned from watching an old climbing documentary from his youth, wishing he had attempted to view a few more considering his current predicament.  The consistency of the rock and the number of handholds made for an easy climbing process, much to Jake’s relief.  He was beginning to make noticeable progress toward the distant lip but was brought to a halt when a rope bridge connecting the 2 cliff-faces suddenly appeared with a woman at its center locked in the fetal position sobbing with fear. He felt a confusion much like the panic from earlier ready to boil from within, but the sight of this helpless woman kept the confusion at a simmer.  Her figure looked familiar but was still too distant to resolve completely.  What he could see from his vantage point showed a woman whose face could be seen between the boards of the bridge with beautiful features taken directly from ancestors of Gaelic descent.  Her hair while currently in a frazzled state was still as breathtaking as if professionally prepared for an uptown gala.  It was dirty blond in color but was able to compliment her near flawless complexion.  Her nose was set perfectly on her face, while her lips, although trembling, appeared full and soft, perfect for an after date first-kiss.  Jake felt fully in control of his situation while admiring this astonishing woman but was ill-prepared for when she opened her eyes.  The way her face was positioned on the bridge left her line of sight directly with his, but he was sure she was unable to see him as there was not much contrast between him and the cliff-face.  Her position and contrast allowed him to view her with ease but did not seem to matter for she appeared before him as a total solar eclipse.  He was fortunate enough to view one many years ago and was dumbfounded at the effect it had on him.  At the time of totality, when the corona could be seen with the naked eye and night had chased away the day, this object 93 million miles away seemed to materialize just out of arms reach, whether itself travelling the distance in microseconds or himself travelling the distance due to the attraction totality had on all things within its purview, Jake was unsure.  The moment this woman opened her eyes, he was brought back to that moment of totality, travelling to a distance just out of arms reach unable to look elsewhere trapped in the gravity of her eyes.  Jake was able to see the endless blue of her eyes and realized why he was reminded of an eclipse... for she was the sun whose rays were scattered by the atmosphere resulting in what humans called the sky.  He could also see some golden, brown flecks aggregated together in her right eye almost as a solar flare for the power he felt was raw and all-consuming when looked upon directly.  His confusion suddenly resolved for the end of totality was near and he was forced to look away from her eyes for the anguish was too great, much like the end of a solar eclipse where even 99.9% of the sun's energy being blocked allowed the 0.1% of energy peeking through to cause permanent eye damage for he now knew the truth... he was looking upon his wife’s soul.  The confusion and panic were replaced with shame and urgency.  Shame because Jake had allowed his wife to reach a point of suffering no wife should experience if the husband is performing his job optimally and selflessly.  Even if Jake believed he was doing a great job in caring for his wife, it seemed that selfishness had gained a foothold and altered the reality of his outlook.  Urgency became priority and caution had been eliminated, for all that mattered was the well-being of his precious wife and his goal now was to get to her as quickly as possible.  The frustration he felt with his acute amnesia had resolved, and he now knew it was by his own damn hands he had found himself attached to a cliff-face.   

Jake rushed to his wife wrapping his aching arms around her in an embrace of protection.   

“The difficulty lies only with me, darling.” answered Jake.  “I have failed you of late with my selfish actions and I hope forgiveness can find its way into your heart.”  Jake continued.   

Jake could see in her eyes that forgiveness was already available for him but in the golden, brown specks, the solar flare raged with a wrathful power aimed at those whom he did not know.