“It’s over Dwight. I’m finished.” Serah’s tear-filled eyes flitted from the empty wine glass, to the waiter, and back to Dwight. “I can’t do this anymore. You haven’t had a job for a year and a half and the kids deserve better.” Dwight looked as though he had just been given a lobotomy.
“I… I don’t understand. This. This is-,” Dwight understood. Somewhere in his gut he knew that this was coming, but he didn’t think it would be so soon. “Look, we had our whole life planned out. It took us two years just to get approved for a license to have Damian, and you’re going to just throw this all away?!”
“There is no this Dwight. You’re a shell of the man I fell in love with, and you have done nothing to provide for our children since you lost your job. And you’re right! It did take us two years to get approval for Damian so you should remember that one of the most important rules under the contract for the license is that you are supposed to be able to provide for your children properly! I honestly don’t know how we’ve gone so long without the government kicking in our door and slapping us with a fine.”
The blood was rushing to Dwight’s face as the reality sunk in. He was about to lose the only thing he had left in this world, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He put his clammy hand on the table and eyed the remains of his steak. “Serah, you know there is no market left on Earth for a fusion engineer. The only place I can get a job is on an outer colony, and it would take a generation to even get to one of those. By then the question of raising our kids would be obsolete.”
Serah’s eyes turned to slits. “Yes, I’ve heard this all a hundred times before. I’ve been thinking this over for a long time. My father agrees that this is the best thing to do.”
“I’m so sorry I can’t be all rich and powerful like your father,” Dwight said mockingly
“Yeah,” Serah nodded. “Me too.”
There was a long silence between them as Dwight kept his seething anger under check. Serah had a habit of hitting him where it hurt when he was most vulnerable, and he was reeling from the massive blow to his ego.
“While we’re on the subject of my father, I’ve arranged to live with him until I can find a place of my own. We can arrange visitation if-"
“Serah, your father lives off planet,” Dwight interrupted. “You know I can’t afford that!”
“They’re your kids Dwight, if you really want to see them, you’ll find a way. Besides, it’s about
time to show them some devotion and this is your big chance.”
Serah waved her hand over the sensor on the table. It pulled her bank account information from the identity chip that was implanted in her hand at birth.
“I’ll see you at home Dwight,” And with that she stood up and left. He watched her as she navigated past the tables toward the exit, and admired the way her blue dress so perfectly framed her body. He would have tried harder if he had known that today this was the last day he would ever see Serah and his children.
More on this plotline later...
No comments:
Post a Comment