Repair

"Don't listen to them!" exclaimed Kylie. "Their lies are hollow and shallow." She looked up from the table to me, her gigantic, incredibly blue eyes peering into my soul. "Please, for me. Don't do this." Her eyes began to water, and I knew I had to do something to calm her nerves.

"Listen, baby," I said as I sat down beside her, "I love you. You know that. I want what's best for us, and this is what's best. Think of how much more money I'll be paid, and we'll grow to like Minnesota." I held her cold, dead hands in mine and looked into her gloomy eyes. "We can start a family there, a new beginning to our lives. Isn't that what you want?"

"No, what I want is to be happy, for us to be content with what we have, Ethan. I," she breathed out a heavy sigh, "don't wanna keep chasing after these things that are empty. I don't want to become another one of those stereotypical and fake soccer moms who lives every day like the day before. I want to be myself, and here is where I feel myself. Please turn down the job offering..." She looked away from me and stared at our hands together and patiently waited for me to reply.

I rubbed her chilled hands with my thumbs and tried to comfort her. "I know how you feel, Kylie. You're scared." I raised her head up by the chin like I've seen people do in movies when a woman is sad. Our faces were inches away. "I can tell you're scared so badly. You don't want change, but change is necessary in life. I wouldn't do this if I didn't think we needed to."

She sniffled. "Really?"

I smiled. "Really really." Then we hugged for what seemed like an eternity. I could feel so much stress and pain being released from her in our embrace, and it made me feel glad to be able to help her. Then in that moment I realized that she was damaged and in need of repair.