The Stolen Child

I Have a Plan

It had been six months since Sasha was born and four months since Brody came home. He had been spending less and less time at home. He barely spoke to me and didn't spend any time with Sasha. I began to morph into a single mother, trying to balance work and motherhood by myself. I couldn't get him to talk to me, so I tried pushing him to talk to a therapist, thinking maybe they might be able to help. He didn't say no to the idea, but he wasn't crazy about it either.

Luke had stepped up and really helped out. He was taking care of Sasha on days where I just couldn't bring her to work with me. He was Sasha's Godfather, and Cass the Godmother, and both were really stepping into their roles. Again, I was so grateful to have such supportive friends.

"Well, honey, have you talked to him?" Cass asked as she twirled some noodles around her fork.

"I've tried. He won't talk to me." I was at my wit's end. I felt like I was losing my husband and I didn't know how to stop it.

"You're too nice." She grinned at me.

"I know."

"No, Noe. You need to demand he talk to you." She encouraged me.

"I don't want to demand it. I want him to come to me when he's ready to."

"It's been months, honey. If he was going to talk to you about it, he would have. You need answers. It's not fair for you to be left in the dark like this.

"I guess." I looked down at my uneaten food. I have been losing a lot of weight lately. Between the stress of the baby, work and Brody, I just never really had much time to eat, or really the desire to.

"Noemi, listen to me. This isn't an 'I guess' situation. Something is going on with Brody. Something must have happened while he was away that is causing this. It's affecting you and your marriage, and in a way, Sasha too. How is he with her? Any better?"

"No. He isn't being a father. He doesn't have anything to do with her."

"That's so wrong." Cass shoved another bite of food into her mouth. "He can't just check out on being a husband and a father."

"I know, but I don't know what to do." A stray tear streamed down my face.

"He either needs to talk to you, or to a counselor. But he needs help." She said.

"How's the new place?" I forced a smile, trying to change the subject.

"Amazing! You HAVE to come see it. It's a gorgeous two story home. Our bedroom is massive. We set up an office in the downstairs bedroom, and you'll never believe what Todd did."

"What?" I leaned in, genuinely interested.

"He bought a crib for me."

"What? Cass, are you…"

"No." She cut me off. "But we're going to start trying. Todd is in love with Sasha and we're ready to start a family soon." She whipped out her hand, presenting a beautiful light yellow, tear shaped diamond ring. It was surrounded by tiny white diamonds and took up most of her finger. It was a big ring, much bigger than mine.

"Wow!" I exclaimed as I took her hand in mine, examining the ring closely. "This is gorgeous."

"Isn't it?"

"Congrats Cass." I was truly happy for her. She was such a wonderful person, and I loved Todd. They were really good together, and I wanted only the best for her. "When are you guys getting married?"

"We're hoping to do it soon, like in July or August. We're already trying for a baby and I really want to be able to fit in a dress without a baby bump. So, the sooner the better."

"Well, I'm here to help!"

"Good, because I'm going to need all the help I can get!"

—----

I sat down in bed next to Brody. His eyes were closed and his back was turned to my side. Cass' words kept running through my head. I had to get him to talk to me. I had to know what he was going through. What was bothering him. He hadn't been the same since he came back from wherever he was. He still had yet to tell me where he was and what his mission was. I was completely in the dark. Trying to raise a child with an absent husband was not ideal. I needed to get to the bottom of what was going on.

I rubbed the last of my body lotion into my delicate hands.

"Hey babe." I said as I slid my feet under the blankets.

"Huh." He huffed, not even bothering to roll over to face me.

"I feel like you've been distant lately. I wanted to make sure you are okay. Tell me what's bothering you." I placed my hand on his shoulder while I propped myself up with my other arm.

"Nothing. I'm fine." He mumbled, still not paying me any attention. I paused for a while, trying to plan my next words carefully.

"I'm glad you're fine. But you don't seem to be too interested in me lately, and I was just wondering if you wanted to talk. I'm here for you, whenever you need. I'll listen quietly, and only offer advice if you need it, if that's what you want. But I know something is bothering you and I think it would bring us closer if you would just talk about it. I'm your wife. We're supposed to talk about things."

"I'm fine." He grumbled, this time I could hear anger in his voice.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about anything?" I sat up in bed, hoping to elicit some sort of response from him. He rolled over, staring me directly in the eyes. He was cold and angry. I had garnered a response, but from the look of his angry face, it wasn't the one I was hoping for.

"I said, I'm fine." He huffed angrily as he got up out of bed, taking his pillow with him.

"Where are you going?" I asked, fighting back tears.

"To sleep in the other bedroom." I heard his heavy footsteps trod down the hall, followed by the slamming of a door. Photos and trinkets rattled on the walls from the vibrations the door sent throughout the house.

I curled up in a ball, pulling the blankets up over my head. I lay there for a while before reaching for my phone. I quickly typed a message for Cass, describing what had just taken place. I clung to the phone for dear life. I didn't want to wake her up, but I needed a friend right now, anyone, to guide me. I had no idea what to do next. I felt like my world was falling apart and all I was doing was hiding. I looked down at my phone when I heard the familiar ding signaling a text message, breaking the sound of my sobs.

"Luke is taking Sasha tomorrow. I have a plan. Meet you at the coffee shop at ten". The text from Cass read. I placed my phone on my nightstand before quietly crying myself to sleep.

I sat at a table in the back of the coffee shop. My fingers gingerly tapped the black coffee mug as I waited for Cass. Luke had come to pick up Sasha about an hour ago. I hadn't spoken to Cass today, and was dying to know what her plan was.

"Good, you're here." Cass's familiar sultry voice sounded off from behind me. She slid onto the metal chair, two to-go coffee cups in her hands.

"What's your plan?" I got right to the point.

"Todd has been tailing Brody all morning. We're going to go relieve him."

"What?" I asked, astonished.

"You need to figure out what is going on, and where he is going all day. Todd just called and said he was at work now, we're going to go wait for him, see where he goes and what he does all day."

"I can't do that. That's such an invasion of his privacy." I argued.

"Look, you need answers. You've asked, and he refuses to tell you. It's time you got your answers. Something is going on, and we are going to figure it out." Cass grinned from ear to ear.

She liked Brody, and I know she wouldn't do anything rash. She was right though. I've tried to break down the walls Brody had put up, but he wasn't budging. I needed to know what was going on. But I wasn't quite sure how following him would give me answers.

"He says he's out with friends every night." Cass said as if reading my mind, answering the questions I hadn't asked yet. "We're going to see if that's true. If it is, we can hopefully get close enough to overhear their conversations. Maybe we can figure out what is going on. Maybe he's talking to his friends. One way or another, we're getting answers tonight." She stood up, shoving a coffee cup into my hands. I sighed and took the cup, following her out of the coffee shop.

"What are his plans for the day? Cass asked.

"He was supposed to be at work, then come home straight after."

"Has he been coming home right after work?"

"Yes." I nodded. "But he usually is only home long enough to shower, then he's gone all night."

"Do you think he'll be gone all night again tonight?"

"Probably. He didn't go anywhere last night."

"How's he been with Sasha?" She inquired, changing the subject.

"He acts like she's not his child. I mean, I guess technically she isn't. But she is his, she is ours. He doesn't feed her or change her diapers. He barely even looks at her."

"Something is up, Noe. Don't you think it's about time you found out what it is?"

I sighed, staring at the bottom of my empty coffee mug. I know she's right. I just have such a hard time spying on him like that.

"Noemi, Cass." I looked up to see Lauren standing next to us.

"Lauren." I smiled. "What a coincidence seeing you here."

"Well, it is the only coffee place near my office." She said as if we should have known that. "It's more odd to see the two of you so far from your daily routines." She shot glances between us that I knew meant she knew something was up.

"We're just having some coffee." Cass said smugly, peeking up at Lauren from over her coffee mug.

"What are you really doing here?" She asked as she slid onto a chair between Cass and I.

"It's Brody." I sighed. I quickly explained how he had been acting since he's been home, and what Cass and I had been discussing just now, much to Cass' disapproval.

"That's odd. He's been the same at work as he always is." Lauren said.

"So, it's just around me, then." I said, my words drenched in sadness.

"See, I told you something is up. You need to find out what is going on." Cass urged me.

"Noemi, I have to agree with Cass here. Brody is completely normal at work. So if he's acting like that when he's home, something might be up. Did he change his mind about the baby?"

"I don't know. He was gone the entire pregnancy. If he changed his mind, I couldn't contact him anyway." I glared at Lauren. I didn't want him to go, but he did anyway, and now, we're dealing with this.

"Have you asked him what's going on?"

"Yes. But he won't talk to me." I explained.

"Well, I think you need to figure out what's up. But I don't know that following him is the right course of action."

"Don't you dare tell Brody our plans." Cass glared at Lauren with warning.

"I won't." Lauren put her hands up in surrender. "I agree something is up. I'll see if I can get him to talk to me."

She stood up, clutching her coffee cup.

"Ladies." Lauren nodded at both Cass and I as she took her leave.

"So? We doing this?" Cass whispered.

"I guess." I sighed heavily. I needed to know what was going on, and this was the best option I had right now.