A local woman missing- Mary Kubica

MEREDITH
11 YEARS BEFORE
May
I can’t keep concealing so much from Josh. I’m falling apart at the
seams, trying to keep the truth from him. It’s time to tell him what’s
been going on. The events of the last couple of months have driven
a wedge between us, whether he knows it or not. I want to get back
to the couple we used to be. I need to tell him about Marty and me. I
can’t count on Cassandra not going back on her word and letting me
tell him first. If she told him, what would she say? Cassandra thinks
that Marty and I are still sleeping together now.
Thursday night I call the teenage girl down the street to stay with
the kids. They’re in bed when she comes. It will be easy for her. She
just needs to be a warm body.
I tell Josh that I’m taking him out for dinner. “What’s the occasion?”
he asks, grinning at me. It’s been so long since Josh and I have had
any alone time. With kids constantly at our heels, we can hardly
have an adult conversation anymore.
What Josh and I really need is a weekend away. What I wouldn’t
give for Josh’s parents to drive in from Michigan and stay with the
kids for a couple of nights. We could book a room at the Four
Seasons downtown. We could do adult things: go to a show, sleep in
past seven in the morning. We could catch up on all the
conversations we never have time for, or those that get interrupted
by the kids. It’s been a long time since Josh has offered more than a
sentence or two about work, about his clients, about his coworkers,
because every time he tries, his words are punctuated with kids’
needs and arguments. Can I have more milk? He’s touching me. I
hate broccoli.
“No occasion,” I say, leaning in to him. “Can’t a wife just want to
spend a night with her husband?”