Dominoes Falling Ch. 01

Most of all, the thing that Nathan couldn't comprehend was what was Melanie's stand-in here. He knew at the end of the day, the marriage was her mistake too as much as it was his. Both of them had regrets. But for the last few months, Nathan felt that they were progressing in the right direction. Just when he felt that they could have a chance, the Cummings decided to shatter his illusions. Nathan scolded himself for letting his guard down. Nevertheless, he had to decide by today's evening for the longer he procrastinated, the more barbaric the war will be.

Before long it was lunchtime. Vanessa had been shooting him concerned looks all through the morning; asking a few times if everything was okay. He brushed it every time with the excuse of the hangover, but she didn't seem convinced. She, however, decided to let it lay, for now, leaving him without further questions. As the day came to close, Nathan grew more uncertain than he was when the day began. The predominant question in his head was, if he did sign, what happens then? It was this dilemma with which he entered Edward Frosch, his lawyer's office.

"Well, you are in a risky spot Nate," Edward commented after Nathan narrated the entire happenings of yesterday night.

"You don't have to tell me," Nathan grumbled.

"You don't take that tone with me. I did warn you not to marry her," Edward retorted. Nathan moaned in desperation. He slumped back in his chair, rubbing his temple to ease the throbbing in his head. "And that ridiculous open marriage clause both of you insisted upon. Great good it did. Oh no, wait it didn't, remained chaste for the whole of two years. Getting sloshed also is dumb when you have so much to think about," Edward continued lecturing Nathan. "Wasn't that how you got into this mess in the first place?"

"What would you have me do, Ed?" Nathan asked.

"How about calling your lawyer. That seems like a reasonable choice," Edward replied sarcastically.

"They ambushed me out of nowhere, Ed. I thought it was a family dinner," Nathan explained.

"With their lawyer present for it? Very unlikely," Edward responded.

"And how do you think it would look?" Nathan mocked. "Hey Frank, since your lawyer seems to be present you wouldn't mind me calling mine. Yeah, that would have gone down real smooth."

Both men sat in silence for a while, each analyzing the myriad of ways yesterday's dinner would have played out if only Nathan would have done things differently.

"Nate, did you really call him Barny to his face?" Edward asked breaking the silence.

Nathan grinned in response. "Yup. Should have seen his face," Nathan replied.

"I would have if you had invited me," Edward answered back. Both men looked at each other for a minute before breaking out in guffaws. The laughed so loud that it resounded all across the floor startling everyone.

"So what do we do now?" Nathan asked as he wiped away tears from the corner of his eyes. He really needed the laugh.

"Well Nate, the meeting as not a complete waste even if I wasn't there," Edward remarked. "We know now about where you stand with the house. Are all the utilities in your name?" Edward asked.

"Yes. And I was the one paying for them for the last two years," Nathan affirmed.

"I would suggest that you terminate all the services immediately. Not that it would change anything rather than pissing them off," Edward continued. "That, however, is not the point. They have tipped their hand in their fury," Edward said gleefully.

"What hand?" Nathan asked confused.

"Eric Sanders," Edward stated as if that explained it all. When Nathan sat there waiting for him to continue, Edward realized that he would have to elaborate. "You do know that the Cummings and Sanders were trying to forge an alliance," Edward asked and when Nathan nodded in affirmative he continued, "You threw a stick in their plans and they had to scramble to save face."

"Hey!" Nathan protested. "You are saying as if I was the only one to blame in the whole ordeal. She was as much responsible as me. If it hadn't been for my parents, we wouldn't have been in this mess."

"Not from their point of view, Nate," Edward pointed out. "And your dad did what he felt was right to salvage your reputation," Edward carried on with his voice of reason.

"So you are saying that now that Eric is back in town the Cummings are revisiting their earlier plan," Nathan ruminated. Edward mimicked a bulb switching on. "And I am in their way," Nathan concluded ignoring Edward's actions.

"My professional advice would be to not sign the papers," Edward declared. "The longer you hold out the more it would hurt them. If they need this alliance as much I think they want, they would cave and start the divorce proceedings themselves."

"How did it go so wrong so fast Ed?" Nathan sighed as he sank lower in his chair.

"You tell me Nate," Edward replied. "You said things were looking up the last time you were here. What changed from then to now?"

"I don't know Ed," Nathan sighed. "I seriously don't know no matter how high you raise your eyebrows. I thought we were slowly working through the loss. And BAM! Out of nowhere, this comes."

"Maybe you were wrong Nate," Edward disagreed. "Maybe it was all in your head."

"You have to believe when I say she changed Ed," Nathan implored. "I accept that his death did hit me hard but she took it even worse. I could see it in her eyes. In fact, yesterday I had half a mind to confront her and find out the answers instead of torturing myself."

"Nate, tell me you didn't, did you?" Edwards asked alarmed.

"Don't worry Ed. I have enough sense left in me," Nathan reassured.

"Nevertheless, I would like you to stay away from her and the house for a few days," Edwards suggested forcefully. "Gather as much stuff you need and go someplace else."

Nathan resumed rubbing his temple. "I just want this to be over," he prayed.

"It will soon be," Edwards promised.

"The spring is back in your step," Vanessa observed as soon as he returned from lunch. "What's up with that?"

"I will tell you if you tell no one," Nathan whispered conspiratorially to her. "Lean in, I wouldn't want anyone to hear this. I found a way to make more money," Nathan whispered to Vanessa who leaned even closer, eager to find out the secret. "I am docking your pay by half since you don't happen to do any work when I am around. See, a foolproof method."

Vanessa drew back shocked if he was serious or kidding for Nathan stood there with a resolute expression on his face. She wondered if she had crossed some line today when she saw the hint of a smile beginning. Vanessa scowled and pouted as Nathan could no longer control his grin.

"Worry not; I went to a doctor for the headache. The headache has been -" Nathan paused for the apt word, "- treated. And I am not docking your pay."

Vanessa sat there pouting for a moment before saying to his retreating form, "Funny that your doctor has his practice in a law firm."

Nathan stopped in his tracks before turning around to gape at Vanessa who continued her work with a smirk. It took a moment for him realize that Edward's receptionist had already relayed the information to her. It impressed him nevertheless.

For the remainder of the day, Nathan worked rather efficiently for a man with the Damocles sword. Edward did expect this day to come and speaking with him helped him arrive at a conclusion. Now that he was clear with what he would like to do, Nathan was no longer distracted. He felt like he had just returned from lunch the next time he checked his watch, but it was already time to leave. He worked way past the time he would normally do and stayed back even after Vanessa left. Finally when he felt that he decided it was time to leave and locked up the garage to return to her house.

'Her house.'

It surprised Nathan that his mind had already accepted that it was no longer his home. Until yesterday it was his home too but now it no longer was. It was a gift belonging to her from her parents; they made it pretty clear yesterday. And they didn't want him there. Nathan was not going to grovel at their feet for residence, and based on how he was feeling from yesterday, Nathan felt pretty sure that he wouldn't be grovelling. Edward warned him to pack his back and look for a new place and Nathan agreed with him. Nathan had come very close to losing his cool and if they continued to push him in the same manner on a daily basis, he couldn't promise how he would react.

Nathan remembered that his parents were out of town and won't be back for a week. He could crash there till they returned and then see where things will go from there. That would solve the problem of having a roof over his head. Nathan's main concern was how long this would drag out and if it did what then. It was not like he had someone to marry in a jiffy but still; he knew it would not be a joy ride either.

Melanie was in the backyard when Nathan arrived home. Making sure that she was unaware of his arrival, Nathan slipped upstairs and pulled out a bag. Promptly he proceeded to shove all his belongings into it, first trying it quietly in a meticulous manner and when failing to fit it all, in a loud and haphazard manner which helped even less.

Melanie had heard some racket coming from the first floor and decided to investigate. She found Nathan cursing as he tried to fit a bunch of his stuff into the bag, with very little success. She stood there watching trying to figure out what was he trying to achieve. She stood there a while observing his antics, and when he took no notice of her, she spoke out, "Just take another bag."

Nathan whirled around, startled at the sound of her voice. Seeing that he couldn't get away stealthily anymore, Nathan sat down on the bed heavily giving up on packing. Nathan observed that Melanie didn't leave but rather stood there leaning casually against the doorframe. Nathan felt uneasy about how she watched him; her gaze reminded him of a predator getting ready for its hunt and spotting its meal. He waited to see if she had anything more to say than few inane comments, for he sure had many but didn't know how to start or if he could retain his cool afterward. Refraining from asking anything, Nathan returned her gaze, searching her eyes for anything for he was grasping at straws. But there was no pain in them but the twinkle of victory radiated in Melanie's stance. Nathan wondered if she probably thought that he was about to sign the papers for it looked like that was what she wanted. When she kept standing there like a statue, Nathan left the room to, brushing past her to retrieve another bag to pack the excess stuff that he required.

Melanie was still standing in the exact same place. Nathan took no heed of her as he resumed packing his bags. Soon he was faced with the same problem as earlier, with no more space to pack and many of his stuff still left out. Nathan realized his folly; there is no way he could get all of this junk at a time. It still amazed how much he had accumulated over a meagre span of two years. He wondered how he would have managed if the spilled was more than five years down the line. If the junk accumulated was proportional to the number of years of marriage, Nathan would try to make a marriage which exceeded more than eight years work rather than faced with the daunting task of packing his stuff. Eventually, Nathan decided to take the valuables and essentials and return for the rest tomorrow. As soon as he arrived at this conclusion, the packing became a lot easier.

All through his packing, Melanie stood there watching silently as she grasped the enormity of the situation. Pausing a moment from sorting and packing, Nathan turned to look if Melanie still stood there or if she was gone. Unfortunately for Nathan, Melanie hadn't budged an inch from the time he had started. But Nathan did notice that her eyes didn't twinkle anymore but was replaced with a stony unreadable expression. At least everything was not going according to her plan was what went through Nathan's mind and he put her out of his mind for the moment.

The majority of his luggage included clothes and few valuables which did mean something to him. Filling the bags completely, Nathan stepped back and wondered if it was sufficient or if he had to prepare a third bag. Nathan was tempted to throw the remaining into a trash bag and carry it. However, he knew his mother wouldn't appreciate it when she returned. Nathan decided that it would be best to let the less important stuff lie here till he could find a place of his own. Nathan knew it was bold leaving it in the clutches of Cummings but they did leave their daughter as bait so Nathan rationalized that he could do the same. He decided to box it up now when he had time so he could easily take it when he had the need. Although, Nathan had zero idea if they had any boxes or where the stack them; it was Melanie who liked to unpack things while Nathan would be left with the assembling. Nathan turned around to ask her when he realized that she was no longer standing there but had left.

"Where did she go?" Nathan wondered as he searched through the house. Nathan never really appreciated the humongous architecture. Growing up in the less privileged part of the town, Nathan felt at home in a cosy place like his parents' house. This, however, dwarfed them with more rooms than he would care for. Nathan didn't understand the purpose of that many bedrooms, for he wasn't going to invite that many. Infuriating him doubly was the fact that the whole house was built like a maze with each room opening into two others. Two people could go through the house a whole day searching for each other but never discovering. Nathan felt like he was stuck in a similar position as he scoured the house for Melanie. As a last resort, Nathan made sure to check the one room that they both avoided fervently with the hope of finding her there. Nathan was disappointed when even that room turned out to be empty. He stood there for some time when the sound of a door thudding close travelled through the house eventually reaching Nathan.

"Looks like she is back in her room," Nathan thought as he proceeded down the hall. With his hand reaching for the knob, Nathan hesitated and thought better of it and chose to knock instead.

"Come in," Melanie called out. Carefully, Nathan opened the door as he tried to grasp the situation. He still didn't know why she came to watch him and why she left and he wasn't foolish enough to prod her for the answer. Once inside the room, Nathan felt foolish for reading too much into things for Melanie was on the bed with some book in her hand and a shy smile on her lips as she read some interesting titbit.

"Do you know if we have some cardboard boxes?" Nathan asked tentatively.

Melanie laid there with no indication of answering him or even having heard him. Nathan wondered if he should repeat the question or is she ignoring him purposefully. Melanie laid down the book and sat up straight as she looked at him making Nathan feel as if she just read his mind. "Why?" Melanie questioned.

Nathan could hear the depth of the question for Melanie was not only curious about his need with the boxes but also very much interested in how the boxes figured out in his reply to the divorce petition. Nathan knew that there was no backing down now but he would have to face the music before he could get the boxes. But he wasn't ready yet himself. Moreover, he was disconcerted by the sheer teddy she was hiding under the covers. Noticing that she had changed her clothes, Nathan had to constantly keep his eye from wandering as she laid there with her charms on display.

"To pack a few clothes," Nathan replied evadingly.

"Planning on donating?" Melanie's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"No, planning on moving out," Nathan replied equally sarcastically. Catching himself and calming down, he explained sparingly, "I am not filing but I am not going to stay here. You are free to do whatever you wish including filing for it yourself."

A whole minute passed before Melanie replied. She got out of the bed and walked to the window before answering him, "They are in the kitchen." Nathan waited for her to mention the shelf for there was a dozen of there but she replied him no more he felt that he had to search them himself for he was sure that asking her again was sheer foolishness. Nathan also had to hold off his temptation for as she got off the bed, Nathan could see her looking very alluring in her teddy. In his two years of his marriage, he had never seen her wear anything of this kind and it was turning more difficult with every minute, reminding that he hadn't been laid for two years.

Quickly exiting the room, Nathan walked swiftly towards the kitchen trying to put as much distance between them as he could. "They were married for two years and now when things were at their worst, why did she grace him with her charm?" Nathan thought furiously for he was sure that this was another ploy into seducing him to do something he would regret later. Nathan commended Edwards on his decision to move out; he knew he couldn't turn her down every day. Finding the boxes and hastily packing the boxes Nathan got the work done in record time and loaded the bags and few boxes into his car.

He was nearly finished when Melanie walked down the stairs into the living the room, settling down in front of the television. Nathan felt thankful that she chose to wear a robe but was still at unease for he knew that the teddy was still underneath. When he was done loading up, he turned around and watched her as she shut off the television and stood up sensing the gravity of the situation. Both stood there watching each other as they tried to form words to express their emotions but failed miserably and stood in a complete hush as they pleaded with their eyes for the other person to say the first word. Nathan tortured himself with her beauty as he memorized it. NO matter how bad the marriage might have been, Nathan knew that he could never find anyone else who is as beautiful as Melanie.

When the silence got too much, Nathan dropped his keys on the table and walked out of her life and to his car and drove away. Long after he was gone, Melanie stood there rooted to the spot, her eyes filled with tears and the aching sobs enveloped the room.