Ethan reached his front gate. He checked his room on the second floor; the light was on, meaning his wife was home.
With heavy steps because of the alcohol, Ethan opened his gate and locked it again. He walked toward the door and "click," he opened it. While he was taking off his shoes, "thump... thump... thump," he heard the sound of someone running down the stairs. When he looked inside, Diana's face, jumping toward him, was already in front of him.
"Wham," Ethan fell because Diana crashed into him, hugging him and kissing him passionately without saying anything. His hand pushed Diana's body back slightly, "plop," and the kiss broke from his lips.
"I'm home, honey," Ethan said.
"What took you so long? I've been waiting," Diana replied.
"Sorry, I was a little drunk, so it was hard to walk home," Ethan said.
"It's okay," Diana replied, bringing her lips closer again.
They kissed again, but when Ethan's hand started to explore, Diana suddenly pushed Ethan away, which made Ethan surprised.
"Um... sorry, honey, not tonight, okay? We're out of contraceptives (condoms), hehe," Diana said.
"Wait, do a husband and wife need contraceptives?" Ethan asked, still drunk.
"Um... I just got promoted, so I can't get pregnant because I don't want to give up my position for a child," Diana replied, smiling.
"Oh... right," Ethan said slowly, his heart sinking.
He immediately tried to stand up with Diana's help. After that, they walked to the living room. Diana sat Ethan on the sofa, then she ran to the kitchen to get him a glass of water. Ethan took off his tie and leaned his head back. After Diana came and gave him a glass of water, she sat next to Ethan. Her hand held Ethan's hand.
"Honey, can we talk?" Diana asked.
"Talk about what?" Ethan asked, rubbing his forehead with his fingers.
"Well, I had dinner with my boss, and he asked where I live, so I gave him this address. He said our house is too far from the office, and if something urgent comes up, I won't be able to get to the office on time. So, I was thinking, how about we sell this house and move to an apartment near my office?" Diana asked.
"Zap," Ethan's head felt like it had been hit by lightning. His thoughts suddenly became a mess, compounded by the dizziness from the alcohol. He turned to look at Diana's face next to him, which looked eager and hopeful that he would agree to her suggestion.
"But I bought this house for our future. If we have children, I don't want to raise them in an apartment," Ethan said.
"Don't worry, honey, I don't want to have children. How about it? Besides, your office and mine are only a block apart. Plus, this house is too big for just the two of us anyway. Let's go back to how we were, alone in an apartment, hehe," Diana said cheerfully.
"You don't want to have children, but I do... I can't possibly say that when I see her face like that," Ethan said in his heart, looking at Diana's face and burying his feelings deep inside.
With his head spinning, Ethan forced himself to think. He leaned his head back and his two fingers went back to rubbing his forehead.
"What if we don't sell this house, and we just rent an apartment near your office?" Ethan asked.
"But if we don't sell it, it'll be a hassle to pay the monthly costs. What's the point of maintaining an empty house, anyway?" Diana replied.
"I won't sell this house. I fought tooth and nail, full of blood and sweat, to get this house. Please try to understand. I'll take care of this house; you don't need to worry," Ethan replied.
"If that's what you want, I don't mind, but instead of renting, wouldn't it be better if we bought one? Think of it as an investment," Diana said.
"Hmm, okay, let's just call it an investment. Can we talk about it again tomorrow? My head is spinning; my boss forced me to drink quite a bit," Ethan said.
"Okay, I'll go work in the room then. I'll search for suitable properties. Tomorrow is Saturday; we can go look at them together, how about that?" Diana asked.
"Yes, that's fine. I'll leave it up to you," Ethan replied.
"Yes, thank you, honey," Diana replied, kissing Ethan's cheek.
Diana stood up and ran upstairs full of excitement, leaving Ethan to rub his forehead alone on the sofa. His dream of having the ideal family that he never had since he was a child, and his hope of becoming a good parent to his children, unlike what he experienced in his childhood, suddenly shattered into pieces like broken glass scattered everywhere.
"I won't sell this house. Not even when I die. You don't know my struggle, and didn't you choose the location of this house yourself before? I really don't understand your way of thinking, even though we've been together for more than 10 years and married for 8," Ethan said in his heart to his wife, Diana, who was already on the second floor.
Ethan got up. With unsteady steps, he went upstairs, carrying his bag. As soon as he reached his bedroom door, he heard Diana talking to someone on her phone. He abandoned his intention to open the door and walked toward his study next door. He went inside, threw his bag, then lay back on the sofa with his arm covering his eyes.
"If I had known this, I would've just kept drinking at the bar. I regret coming home, ugh," he said in his heart.
Because his head was spinning too much, Ethan closed his eyes and immediately fell into a deep sleep, not noticing that his book, which he had put in his bag, had appeared on the desk right in front of the sofa.
***
"Huh,"
Ethan opened his eyes. He saw himself in a quiet bar with no one around. There was only a bartender behind the bar cleaning glasses. Ethan walked toward the bar. He looked around. The atmosphere in the bar truly had the perfect vibe for spending the night and clearing a troubled heart.
Without delay, he sat down at the bar and raised his finger so the bartender would see him. The bartender smiled and seemed to understand what drink Ethan wanted. He brought a small glass with a bottle of whisky next to it. Ethan's hand moved to hold the bottle and poured the contents into his small glass.
"Thud."
Ethan drank his drink all at once and put the glass down hard on the table. His hand reached for the shelled peanuts next to the bottle as a snack. While eating the snack, he looked behind him and didn't see anyone.
"Hmm, Ms. Elena didn't show up. Of course not, this is a bar, and it's what I wanted, to drink, haha," Ethan said.