Their penthouse was filled with the smell of coffee, as it has always been. But it did nothing to kill the silence between them. Janet leaned on the kitchen counter, staring at the coffee pot. She poured two cups of coffee, one for her and the other for Jay. She made sure to put the right amount of sugar and cream, just as he liked it.
She picked up the cups and walked over to Jay who was sitting at the kitchen table. His eyes were fixed on his laptop, tapping and clicking. This made Janet wonder if he even noticed she was there.
She pulled a seat and pushed a cup of coffee to Jay, spilling a little on the table. But he didn't look up. All his gaze was still fixed on his laptop.
"Jay." She called. Her voice was steady.
"Hmm?" Jay mumbled without taking his eyes off the screen.
She pulled her seat closer to him. "We need to talk."
"Now"
"Yes."
"Can't it wait?"
"I wish It could, but I'm tired of you postponing it every day."
Jay paused, and finally, he took his eyes off his laptop and looked at her. His eyes were tired and dull. "But you know I've had a long day."
She tapped her fingers on the table. "Sitting there all day and staring at your laptop? No, we're not postponing it again. We need to talk now."
Jay shut his laptop and turned his seat to face her. "What's it?"
"What's going on, Jay? If you can't see that things have changed between us, I can." She asked.
Jay clenched his fist. He sat there without uttering a word.
Janet chuckled. "When it all started, it was beautiful. Sitting and talking about everything with you. Sharing a cup of coffee, even though I don't like mine with sugar and cream. Neither did you like yours without sugar. But, we didn't care. Now, we barely say five sentences to each other in a day."
Jay rubbed his head. "Janet, you're overthinking these things. We're good."
"Are we?" She replied, nearly shouting. "There's an eclipse over us. I can't even see the light anymore but, you're acting blind"
"What do you want me to do?"
"Fight Jay, fight!" She yelled, slamming her fist on the table. "
Jay rubbed his temples. "Janet, you’re overthinking.
"I am not. Fight for us. For me. For you. For what we have. Fight Jay. I need you to give me your attention. I walked into this kitchen, I brewed coffee for minutes and you didn't even know I was standing there."
Again he was silent. Then, he stood up. "Come with me."
Janet was reluctant at first but she followed him. He led her to the balcony, overlooking the city. It was a great view. The cool night air wrapped around them as they stepped outside.
"Look. Look at this view, isn't it beautiful?" Jay asked, holding her from behind as they looked at the flickering city light below them.
"What are you doing?"
"Do you remember our last apartment before this one?" He asked.
Janet nodded.
"Do you remember the first one?"
Janet nodded again. She turned to face him.
He held her hands. "You've not lost me. And there's no eclipse over us. I'm trying to give us a better life. Away from the tiny bathroom and small kitchen, in a neighborhood that's not safe to raise our kids. We could literally hear our neighbors arguing every night." He looked into her eyes. "I might have drifted from what I used to be, but I'm fighting for a better life for us and our future kids."
"But we were happy."
"Yes. Yes, we were." He paused. "Look, all I'm trying to say is, it's never my intention to make you feel this way. I'm sorry. I promise to do better."
She swallowed hard, searching his face. "I'm not asking for much, all I want is my man back. There should be time for work and time for us."
Jay nodded, squeezing her hands gently. "Right. Like I said, I'll do better."
Then she hugged him and he held her tightly. Both were aware that the eclipse over them wasn't over yet, but there was hope of light if only they worked together.