He stood there, unsure whether to break the silence or let it be. She's been this way for a while now. Caught in her own world, overly sensitized, distracted. It weighed on him heavily, but he had no idea how to respond when she got like this.
She walked up the stairs and through the screen door, letting it slam behind her. He let out a heavy sigh and walked toward the shed.
She picked up the basket of apples they'd purchased earlier in the day at the market. She began washing them frantically, dousing each with baking soda to scrub off any potential pesticides. Cleaning was her escape. Cleaning was her zen. Yet in realizing this, she still did not find the escape appealing.
It didn't stop her. She piled up the two dozen apples after rinsing them and opened the cupboard, clanging around for the apple peeler. 'If only he could see into my heart,' she thought. It was true. If only he could know the discord running rampant in front of him was a reflection of the chatter in her mind that she tried but could not control.
She stood at the counter peeling apple after apple, while mentally lining up the tasks that will keep her busy through the day. Preoccupied. Her fingers began to prune from the wetness. 'An apple pie. I suppose I'll turn this mess into a beautiful lattice-topped apple pie. What an idealistic image,' she thought. The perfect family with the perfect wife, home baking apple pie on a sultry Sunday afternoon. How... expected. She shuddered as the warm breeze blew in through the kitchen window sweeping loose strands of hair across her bare neck.
A moment later, he came inside and washed his hands. He dried them slowly on the towel, watching her as she kept her head down working steadily. He grabbed her apple soaked fingers and pulled her toward the next room. She started to resist him so she could clean her hands free of the muck coursing between her fingers, but he persisted. He pulled her into the dining room. He felt her soften, felt their world soften, witnessed it from the outside in, wanting to capture this moment. Her arms went limp, releasing his fingers. A smile spread across her face as she glanced upward noticing a modest one on his.
It took all the strength she had to step closer to him and throw her arms around his neck. She then allowed herself to melt into him once again, this time from the truest depths of her core.
