The Argument

It was a week ago Tuesday when it happened. I didn't even know she was that angry when we started arguing. Maybe it was all the stress because I was gone all the time due to working so much. Or maybe it was all of our recent financial struggles. All I know is the moment she brought up having dinner with her parents it set my teeth on edge.

It's not like there was some rift between her parents and I or anything. But God. I just wasn't interested in spending the time and money. Between the long hours and all of our debt, I just wanted some time to myself. I was already looking into getting a second job just to give us a little breathing room.

"I haven't seen my parents in months. You always do this. You make up excuses every time I want to do anything. Don't you want me to be happy?" My wife glared at me that way she does when she wants to goad me into an argument.

"Look I'm too tired to fight," I pleaded. "Why don't you just go by yourself? Let me just stay home and read a book or watch some of the movies we have recorded on our DVR that I'm never home to watch. I could really use the break."

"I already spend the rest of my life without you. The last several times I've seen my parents you haven't been there. They're starting to wonder what is going on. So am I."

I boiled over.

"Are you fucking accusing me of something?" I shouldn't have raised my voice.

Her eyes narrowed. She knew something but wasn't saying it. I wasn't going to fall for her trick.

"I don't need to waste my breath accusing you of something we both know is going on. You want to be with your girlfriend."

She looked so self-assured. She didn't know anything. Certainly not whatever she thought I was guilty of.

"Look. I don't know what you think you know. But I'm not up to anything. I'm a one woman guy. The last girlfriend I had was you."

Her lips were pressed together so tightly her mouth was just a thin, narrow line.

"Then who the hell is Rachel? I've read your text messages. She sounds like a desperate high school girl! I'll bet she's young and pretty too."

Her voice trembled.

"Why are you reading my text messages?" I yelled. Damnit! My hands were now balled up into fists. I was shaking and my face felt hot. I hadn't done anything wrong but now I'm getting the third degree by my suspicious wife.

"Admit it. You're caught. All these long hours you've supposedly been working were just a cover for this girl you've been seeing?" She moved her face closer to mine with her hands on her hips.

I gave her a fake smile. I was trying to regain what was left of my cool.

"Those texts aren't from her to me. They're from her philandering boyfriend she broke it off with. She sent them to me so I could read what he'd been saying. I've been talking to her. Trying to help her. If you wanted to know you could have just asked me. I would have told you everything. You didn't need to sneak a look at my text messages. What is wrong with you?"

"You're lying!"

"Do want me to show you all her other messages so you can see I'm telling the truth? She's a friend. That's all."

"I don't want to see anything from my liar husband. Why didn't you ever mention this before? You're busted so now you're just covering your own ass. Was she worth it?"

I extended my arm to offer my cellphone to my fuming spouse. Instead she batted it out of my hands causing the phone to fly up and hit me in the face before landing on the hardwood floor, cracking the screen.

"I don't need to read any more lies. You're a cheater. You disgust me. I hate you. I wish you were dead!" She began sobbing.

I bent down to recover my damaged phone from the floor. The screen was cracked but appeared functional at least enough until I could afford to replace it. I was doing everything in my power to not yell back or argue. That would only make this bad situation worse. She wasn't in the frame of mind to have a civil and reasonable conversation. She was consumed by jealousy. I turned to walk away.

"I'm going to go for a drive and give you a chance to calm down. We'll talk about this later. Right now there's no point to this."

"Right. Going for a drive, huh? Where to? Your girlfriend's place?"

I heard the kitchen drawer open. But I kept walking towards the entryway closet to get the keys from my jacket pocket. I felt her come up quickly behind me.

"No. I don't even know where she lives. And she's not my girlfriend. I told you, I'm not that type of....ugh!"

I felt the blade of a knife, hard and sharp penetrate my back. I fell instantly, hard to the floor. My jaw cracked on impact. I could taste blood. My heart was beating like crazy and then things started getting fuzzy.

"You're a piece of shit liar. You deserve this. I hope you go to hell. I hope your girlfriend was worth dying for you motherfucker!"

"But she's not...."

Everything went black. I couldn't see. I couldn't speak. My heart was slowing and then it stopped.