Waters Fall Read Online Free PDF Page B

arms. She crossed hers in response.
    “What would you like to know, Jake?” She was exhausted; too tired for this. Her feet hurt, her head hurt, and her heart hurt at the sound of accusation in her husband’s voice. All she’d wanted was to wash away the day and crawl into bed next to him, to have him take her in his arms and hold her, comfort her, assure her that things would change soon.
    Not anymore. Now her weariness turned her sour, and once the words started spilling out, she couldn’t pull them back in. “Do you want me to tell you about the undercover prostitution ring I run from my little hole-in-the-wall office? Or are you asking about the pole-dancing job? Don't worry. I quit that last month. I found a better night gig. Now I'm a highly-paid escort to the stars. Not nearly so seedy.”  She turned to leave, then spun around and came right back in, not quite finished. “Wait! Maybe you’re referring to my Latin lover who comes to my office at night; who calls me mi corazon and does all my paperwork for me in between bouts of passionate love-making. I almost forgot about him.” Indignation burned her cheeks. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”
    “Overreacting a little, aren’t you? I just asked a simple question.”
    “No, Jake. No, you never just ask a simple question. There’s always so much more than a simple question in your questions.” She pulled the door closed behind her, just shy of slamming it, so as not to wake the children, and made her way to the bathroom across the hall.
    By the time she stood beneath the blistering flow of hot water in the shower, she was crying. “Why do I have to cry over everything?” she berated herself. “I hate crying!”
    Nora ran her water extremely hot. Even as a child, she loved baths that turned her skin pink and tingly. Tonight she let the water cascade over her body, washing away the tension in her neck and shoulders while her hands kneaded her low back. She couldn't quite get rid of the dull pain that settled there every night.
    When she was pregnant, Jake used the heel of his hand to push against her sacrum as she lay on her side in bed, relieving the strain her swollen belly put on her back just enough that she could fall asleep.
    It had been a long time since he'd touched her without expecting anything in return.
    As her body began to relax, and her tears dried up, she closed her eyes and made a concerted effort to think good things about her husband.
    “Every night before you go to bed, remind yourself how blessed you are,” Vicky’s voice prodded. “Be thankful for a man who loves you, who loves your children, who takes your family to church. Thank God for giving you someone who is kind to your parents, who supports your dreams, who thinks you're incredible.”
    After she chickened out on giving Jake his ultimatum, Nora started therapy. He didn't know she’d been seeing Vicky Johanson for the last several weeks, and the longer she put it off, the harder it was to tell him.
    “We don’t need counseling, Nor,” he argued, every time she suggested they try it. “We’re good together, you and me. This is just a rough season for us, but it’s not so bad we need a shrink. We can figure it out on our own; do our own therapy.”
    But Jake ’s idea of therapy consisted of a little conversation, a lot of sex, and enough sleep to get up and do it all again. Besides, there was no way he’d admit they were having problems to a complete stranger if he couldn’t even acknowledge it to himself.
    “Find things to be thankful for, Nora, and do not climb in bed next to Jake until you can do so with a thankful heart.” Vicky’s expectations seemed idealistic, but the woman was absolutely unrelenting about positive thinking, in a biblical sense of the word. “Stop focusing on the things you want to change about him, and pay attention to the things you love about him.”
    The first visit had been the “rant” session, and Vicky allowed her