Dangerous Games

NEW WIFE, NEW LIFE

Samuel was awake at five, the grim of night had not broken up, and the open window only allowed a minuscule amount of light into the large room. Unable to go back to sleep, he resorted to staring into the thick nothingness. Kali slept beside him, her breathing shallow and even.

Flora stayed over with him a couple of nights when they were dating. Sometimes, when he couldn't sleep, and she woke to find him restlessly moving around the room, she would keep him company. They would hurdle on the bed and talk about meaningless things, finding a good laugh here and there between chats. When she slept in his arms, he would hold her close, her scent embracing him as they slept. It was never awkward. Always free-spirited and lively.

When Kali had suggested they share a room because the bed was large enough, he was not a fan of the idea. Even though the bed was indeed large enough. If he stretched out his hand, he wouldn't be able to touch her because she slept close to the edge of her side of the bed. Still, it made him uncomfortable.

He only agreed because his family could visit at any time. His sisters were nosy, even though they liked to believe they had nothing in common. It wouldn't surprise him if he wasn't home one day, and they dropped in only to find his wife's things in a separate room.

So, to avoid awkward explanations, he decided to go with the flow.

Now, "the flow" was threatening to drown him. Samuel sighed, moving under the sheets to get himself in a more comfortable position. He turned on his side, fluffed the pillow as quietly as possible, and laid his head down when Kali began to stir. Her shoulders moved, and her legs stretched underneath the sheets. She pushed herself to a sitting position, still facing away from him. It wasn't the first time he had seen her wake up.

The first night he saw her, he was sure she was as restless as he had been, but after catching her on a few other occasions, he was tempted to wonder if it was just a habit.

She had a routine. A strange one but one he learnt from watching her most mornings. She sat on the bed for some time, head bowed like she had fallen asleep, and then she would leisurely stretch after some time. Before she stood, she opened the small, ornate jewellery box on her bedside table. She usually placed her rings in it before she went to bed and put them on after waking up.

Why? He had no idea. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. The woman was complicated enough.

In the usual fashion, she turned to see if he was awake, but his lids closed before she made a full turn. He kept his breath even and didn't flinch. He wasn't sure she bought his act, but he heard her move around the bed.

At this point, she walked to the window to stand by it, staring out into the surrounding forest of trees.

Samuel sighed, not hearing any more movement, he huddled under the blanket and tried to get back to sleep, leaving his new wife to her reprieve. He lay there, facing away from the windows. The day slowly began to wake around him. The room filled with the warmth from the sun, and he was soon able to see more and more things that he couldn't in the darkness.

"Morning." He whispered, not turning around to see if she was looking at him.

"Morning." Kali softly responded. He sat up from the bed and turned to see her walking away from the window. "I hope I didn't wake you?"

"No."

She nodded and abandoned her post at the window to leave the room. He buried his head in his hands and laughed at the absurdity of all of it. They were walking on eggshells around each other. They haven't spoken to each other since the last night.

He was angry with her; he still didn't want to stand by and watch whatever madness she orchestrated against his mother. But if he was being honest with himself, he was imposing some of his anger towards his mother on her. It wasn't her fault; she wasn't even aware of how twisted their marriage was, thanks to his mother.

Samuel could barely even imagine how she would react to the full truth, the truth he could not seem to give her.

Not wasting any more time wallowing in bed, he went downstairs to look for Kali. He found her in the kitchen, busying herself preparing breakfast. Something he had never seen her do since they got married.

"Morning." She looked at him, her hand pausing for a second before she continued chopping. "What are you preparing?"

"Um, spaghetti." She looked over her shoulder at him and shrugged. "Would eat?"

"Why not."

She threw him a bright smile, and he returned it. She dished some of the food into a plate and pushed a fork into it. Awkwardly, she offered him the plate before serving herself. Samuel took a generous bite of the food and chewed enthusiastically, at first, before his contentment morphed into confusion.

Kali licked her lips, and her chewing slowed when she saw the look of discomfort on his face.

"Listen if you don't like it, you can just..."

He coughed, and she jumped back, startled. With a hand over his mouth, he leaned away from the plate, coughing hard into his palm. Kali snatched the jug from the counter and rushed to his side, filling his cup and handing it to him. He took a generous gulp, and she moved to grab a bottle of milk from the fridge.

"Give me that." She was already taking the empty glass from him. She poured some milk in and encouraged him to drink it down. "Breathe. Are you alright?"

He coughed one last time, his teary eyes locking with hers as she tried to tamper down the laughter threatening to burst out of her. He swallowed the last of his spurts, and she lost hold on her composure, bursting out in laughter.

"Am glad you find this amusing." He coughed out.

"No, I am sorry. It's not funny." She kept rubbing his back, encouraging him to take another sip of the milk. "I didn't think when I prepared it. It's a habit."

"Who cooked the dinner? I thought you said you were going to prepare food for the night. It didn't taste as spicy as this."

"Yeah, I got side-tracked, so I gave the cooks my recipe while I prepared the table." She returned the milk jug to the fridge. When she took her seat at the counter, he looked considerably settled. "I did wonder why the food didn't taste like I expected it to."

"Like it was made at the bottom of a volcano?"

"Don't be ridiculous." She grinned down at her hand. He studied the food in silence, pondering if he should continue with it. "I am sorry for it being so spicy. I'll make sure to reduce them next time."

"I'd appreciate the sacrifice. Well, at least until I can get used to it though."

"Right. We have to take into consideration your weak constitutions."

"Whatever. Listen, even though it nearly eviscerated my tastebuds, it was delicious."

"Thanks."

"But I don't think I can take another bite."

She laughed and took the plate from him. His phone rang then.

"Hello?"

Kali picked up his plate and emptied its content into a Tupperware before pushing it into the fridge. As he spoke on the phone, he watched her pull out various things from the fridge; bread, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Samuel raised a brow and watched her back as she worked on another plate of food.

"Yeah. I will be back to work in a few days. Send over all the folders that I need to go over. I'll sign them and send them back when I am done. Right. Yeah. Thanks, man."

Kali placed a large plate in front of him with a glass of juice when his call was over. She had prepared sandwiches with a bowl of fruits. "Eat that."

He picked up the bread and took a bite, nodding with satisfaction.

"Now this," he pointed at the bread. "This is good stuff."