(Orville POV)
I sliced my Tomahawk steak into strips easily due to its tenderness, and as I dipped it into the red wine sauce, Eloise ruined the perfect moment by speaking.
"You like it?"
I didn't respond and instead, I just ate it without acknowledging her question or even her. She keeps gazing at me and I keep averting my eyes from her. She can't take a hint, can she? I then felt her hand on top of mine, which forced me to look at her in annoyance.
"I miss you, Orville. I miss us." She said.
I looked at her eyes and I tried to remind myself that this is the woman I fell in love with, the woman I married and the woman who's a mother to my three children. I tried to talk myself into loving her again. I tried to pull out from myself the love that I had for her before but sadly, nothing emerged. Right now, all I have is an ice cold heart to give.
Why is that?
My inner self is telling me something. If it's just a fling, it wouldn't hurt this much. I wonder why it hurts like this.
"Eloise?"
"Yes babe?"
"How long was it?" I asked bluntly.
"Orville, I told you. It was just a one night stand. It doesn't mean anything."
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Orville…"
"How will you be able to fix this and us if you are straight up lying to my face?"
Eloise looked down and gulped.
"Orville, I…I am sorry. Please, don't hate me." She started tearing up but I could not care less.
"5 months? A year? Spit it out already." I said, getting impatient.
"9 months, but Orville, it's over now. We are over. I told him that I will always choose you, no matter what. You stole my heart the moment I met you and nothing can change that."
"Thank you for your honesty. Now, it's my turn to give you my honest opinion. The only reason why I am staying with you is because of the kids and nothing else. I don't feel like you're my partner anymore. I'm sorry but…it just faded, Eloise."
Eloise's cries turned into muffled and messy sobs. She shook her head vigorously with a look of disapproval.
"No, you're just saying that, Orville. You're just saying that, right?" She held my hand tighter.
"I'm really sorry. It's just not the same. You're not the same anymore."
Her mascara tinted tears kept on dripping to her steak. She then took her self-embroidered hanky and wiped her tears and snot away.
"I won't give up on us, Orville. I'll prove to you that I am still the woman you loved. Our relationship may be wounded right now but it's not broken yet. I know it. If you can give me the chance to change your mind, I will do my best to win your heart back again."
"We'll have to see. In the meantime, I'll be spending more time with the kids. We both need space, Eloise."
--
"Orville, don't you think it would be best if Eloise and you get a divorce already?" Harold said as he huffed and puffed a smoke of cigarette that is half finished in between his fingers.
"All I can think about are the kids, it will break their hearts."
"But if your relationship with Eloise is this toxic already, don't you think it might also affect your kids in some ways?"
"If we tell them that their mom and I are going to separate, they will never understand the deep reasoning behind that. They are too young to understand. Second, Eloise said that she's willing to mend this relationship we have and I'm open for that."
"Mend this relationship? Dude, you're cheating on her with Ariana, her friend and you're cheating on her with different women as well. If anything, this relationship is far from being mended already."
"Fine, I'll talk to Eloise about the divorce but we won't get to it right away, and certainly not now. The kids need us to be together. I don't want them to have a sad childhood."
"What about your liaison with Ariana?"
"What about it?" I asked.
"I meant, what are you going to do about that? Are you still seeing her? Are you still sleeping with her?"
"Well, the thing is…" I said before chugging my sixth shot glass.
"I'm not satisfied with her anymore. The sex life I'm looking for, she cannot give. The women I slept with before, there's no spark. I find it hard to be with women nowadays." I said. Harold made a face before retorting.
"Well, that can only mean one thing though. Maybe you need to get laid…with a guy." He said.
I narrowed my eyes at him and gave him an incredulous stare as if I am asking whether he is serious or not. It didn't take too long before…
"Nature's calling." I said before rushing to the restroom.