Page 2 of Gabriel & Skye

“I don’t know anymore, Gabe. I’m tired all the time. I’m not thinking straight at work.”

“Maybe we should take a weekend away. You know either of our moms will look after Trin. You need a break.”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I just don’t know if that will help.”

“Is it me?” I asked.

“It’s everything,” she said, exasperated. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for any of this. I don’t feel that thing you’re supposed to feel.”

It was the first time she’d really said it, and it cut pretty fucking deep. “You mean motherhood? Or being my wife?” The question hung in the air.

“Everything feels harder, that’s what I’m saying.”

“Because you’re trying to juggle too many balls, Tiff.”

She scoffed at that notion. “That’s who I am. You, of all people, should know that!”

Standing there looking at her, I didn’t know much. Her long chestnut hair flowing past her shoulders, her intense hazel eyes. But I wanted to save our marriage, our family.

“What has to happen?” I asked, dreading the answer.

She looked so lost. “I don’t know. If I knew that, things might be better.”

But nothing got better.

She withdrew more and more. She stayed at work longer hours, even when I begged her to take a load off. See a therapist, whatever it took.

I decided to work part-time, cutting back at work to be home more with Trinity and not rely on Geraldine twenty-four-seven.

Then, a few weeks after that, when I got home from the distillery, I saw a packed suitcase in the hallway. My heart sunk because I knew Tiffany had no planned trips.

“Why is your suitcase packed?” I asked her. Trin was lying on her stomach on her play mat. Completely unaware of the devastation about to happen.

“I’m leaving for a while,” she said indifferently. “I think it’s best.”

My eyes grew wide. “You’re what?”

“Things haven’t been good for a while. We both know it, and I need a break from all of… this.” She waved her hand towards our daughter, like all of this was somehow her fault.

I instinctively walked over to pick Trinity up, kissing her on the head. “Where are you planning to go? How am I going to see Trin?” Panic rose through me. Surely she wouldn’t keep my daughter from me… or did she mean she wasn’t taking her?

She shook her head. “I need this time alone, Gabe. To think.”

My heart raced in my chest so fucking hard I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

The anxiety that had been boiling up over the past few months doubled over. My throat was dry, my heart hammering in my chest. “You can’t be serious?”

She sighed and walked over to the kitchen bench, slid her wedding rings off, and left them there. I had to steel myself from the shock of what I was seeing.

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t think it’s fair to you, Gabriel. I don’t know where I fit in here anymore. I’m not bonding with Trinity. You and I are worlds apart. Work is my only escape.”

“Escape!” I scoffed, completely blindsided and instantly hurt. “You need an escape from me and our child?”

“I knew I wasn’t cut out for this, and it’s true. It’s better for me to find my grounding, take some time away…”

“Your grounding? Your grounding is here, with your family. We love you. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

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