Chapter - 3 - Influence

The next morning at the dining table, Vicky had woken up early that morning since she could not even get enough sleep, she had prepared breakfast for the family. Just a short and fast meal of slice bread, egg, toast, bacon and some hot chocolate drink. She made the table and carried her three year old son to his favorite chair in the dining. "Good morning mommy" Josh said cutely and innocently "oh! Morning my prince" she said and kissed him. "now here, you don't want to get your uniform stained" she tied his napkin around his neck and sat near him while she picked two slice bread and spread some butter, jam and egg "ahhh!" She gesturize to make Josh open his mouth, but he refused . "Hmm..nmn." he nodded cutely. Vicky sighed and made a funny face, he smiled at her with milk teeth showing. "Here comes the ...chooo...choo...train.." She used one of his favorite phrase to get him eat his food. Josh gulped down the meal after having a tiny bite of the brownish toast. He loved trains so definitely that works all the time. "Mommy" Josh called "yes" Vicky answered "where's my daddy?" He asked cutely with a mouthful of toast. "Well...daddy isn't eating with.........." Just then Mike entered with his suitcase. Josh got down from the chair and ran to hug his father. Mike knelt down to the level of his son and ruffled his brown spiky hair cutely. Josh loves it when he does that. He hugged him lovingly "Good morning daddy" "Morning my prince. How was your night? Hope you dreamt about me" "yes, I dreamt about you and mommy" Josh smiled innocently. Just then Mike and Vicky's eye met and she turned her face away immediately. Mike continued to hug and kiss his son affectionately, Vicky watched on from her seat as she saw the feeling of fatherly love at that moment in Mike, she couldn't help smiling at both father and son although she was madly angry with the father. Mike carried Josh to his seat and went to his. "Dad's here, okay?" he said reassuringly to Josh for that while. Vicky didn't turn or say anything to Mike, she was still angry and he was not going to apologise either for hitting her since it had become his habit and it was no new thing. At first, he felt remorseful when he saw a piece of his palm where h'd hit her yesterday had made a mark on her right cheek. He wanted to apologise but couldn't out of pride besides he felt she started it the moment she started insulting him. He could remember the very first day he laid his hands on her clearly now, he had felt very remorseful and regretted although that day Vicky was at fault, she insulted and embarrassed him in front of his friends. After the friends left, he and Vicky got into a very hot argument that even made Josh cry. Mike hit her that day and his conscience disturbed him like crazy because he loved his wife and he could not believe he could hit her. He was sad and went to aplologise but she was furious and would not listen. He left the house and went to the bar to see one of his friends, Kelvin. He poured out his emotions to Kelvin. "Kelvin, I can't believe I did it, I mean I slapped her. I hurt Vicky" he said crying "I raised my hand on her and she is mad at me". Kelvin hissed and called Mike a coward. " I don't understand why you're crying Mike. She was being too tough to handle, wasn't she? She was the one at fault, man" Kelvin said, advising him wrongly. How could Kelvin give him a good advice when he wasn't even a married man? Kelvin motioned to the bar tender "more beer please," he ordered for he and Mike. "Come-on drink something and cheer up man, don't tell me you apologised to her" Kelvin asked with disdain. Mike raised his head from his palm and faced Kelvin "I had to apologise" Mike said and gulped down his drink. "That's you being a coward" Kelvin finally stated. "Have you seen how I treat Ava before?" Kelvin tried to explain about the way he treats his girlfriend. " I do hit her every fucking time she provokes me. I need to show her what her place is." "You don't have to be amazed at how I act around her whenever she gets me annoyed" Kelvin said chuckling " I can't help it when she gets me mad, I have to tame her so she knows how to watch her ways and shut her tongue tight in her mouth" "But isn't that too mean?" Mike asked Kelvin "She has no choice, she can't leave me...after all i take fucking good care of her with my......" He brought out some dollar notes and shakes it to Mike's face. "Come on Josh" Vicky called her son as she always calls him in short jolting Mike back into the present from his thoughts. "We don't wanna be late" she said eventually breaking the silence that had ensued in the dining room. She held Josh by the hand and took the dishes to the kitchen leaving Mike in the dining. As she grabbed her bag, she carried her son and was heading downstairs when Josh said "good bye daddy. Mom, greet dad bye too" he said smiling. "bye son" Mike said and waved to Josh while Vicky just went out with her son and got ready to drop him at school and head to her working place. She had just dropped Josh at his school and was heading to her office in her Honda jeep car which her husband had bought for her when the going was still rosy. It was on her birthday that fateful afternoon, Mike had paid her a surprise visit in her working place. After her colleagues at the office had sang her a happy birthday song, she was informed that her husband was waiting for her downstairs. She rushed down happily while the rest came to watch from the balcony and roof top. Mike was waiting for her and was beside a brand new Honda jeep. As she got down, she ran into his waiting arms. He wished her a happy birthday. "I have bought you this" Mike stated smiling "Please accept this as a token of my love" he said and handed her the car keys "Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed and covered her mouth with her palm gesturizing her surprise. She was so happy that she hugged him tightly and kissed him for a long while on the lips. They had been so engrossed in the kiss, not minding others watching them. They were lost in their love for each other. Where had that love that was ruling their lives gone to? Why had it walked out of their marriage and left with all it's joy, happiness and bliss? Love had left leaving only sourness. Vicky cleaned her tears as she sat wearily in front of the wheel. She didn't feel like driving at that moment, she just buried her head on the steering wheel and allowed her emotions to get the best of her. Just then her phone rang. It read 'Bestie'. It was Judith calling She raised her head, picked the phone and cleaned her tears immediately as though Judith would see her from the phone.. "Hello" she said "where are you Vicky?"Judith asked worried "I'm on my way now" Vicky said and sat upright. She immediately turned on the ignition realizing she was supposed to have been in the office on her seat working not crying her eyes out inside her car. "I was held up by the traffic jam" she lied to Judith who was complaining about how she had covered up her lateness so the managing director wouldn't get mad. "I'm on my way now" Vicky said "Thank you" she said and hung up the phone. All thanks to Mike for getting into her head so early in the morning and making her lose the zeal for today. She hissed and sped off.