All Falls Down

Matt hung up the phone after talking with Brian. He knew that his friend was right that he should start trusting Val again. He had promised her that he would, but that little nagging voice in the back of his mind told him not to. He had trusted her before and she took the issues that she had with their marriage to another man. He honored their wedding vows and she spit in his face by dishonoring them.

His heart, on the other hand, told him to take the giant leap and trust her. Despite her infidelity he still loved her with all of his heart. He couldn't turn that part of himself off. He wanted things to be like they were they first married. Life was good then. It seemed almost like a fairy tale to him now. The way Val's face would light up when he entered a room there was no way he could doubt her love for him. But somehow that love changed and he could see it in her eyes, her smile, in the way she would say his name. Somewhere along the line though her stopped lighting up and her voice was filled love when she said his name. Her smile no longer placed on her beautiful face. There was nothing but cold bitterness between them. That was when she suggested marriage counseling. It was their last attempt at fixing their broken marriage.

In the beginning he thought that the therapy was only going to be the end of their marriage, but now he wasn't quite sure. The therapist listened to their problems, but Matt couldn't wrap his head around seeing things from Val's point of view. He was being stubborn and he knew that. He just didn't want to admit that somewhere along the line he failed his wife. He failed to be there for her when she needed him the most. He kept pushing her away from him, refusing to talk about his issues. If he had been home more and if he had been paying more attention to Val's needs then maybe she wouldn't have felt the need to step outside their marriage.

In his heart he knew she loved him more than life itself, but his head was louder. His head said that she did it once and she'd do it again if given the chance. His hand twitched as he reached for his phone. He didn't need to do this, but he wanted to be sure. It wasn't like he was doing anything wrong. He was just calling her to check up on her. That's all just a nice romantic mid-day call or at least that's what he told himself as the phone rang.

“Hey, babe. Is everything okay? Trent being fussy again?” asked Val.

“No. I just miss you.,” he said. His heart ached as he lied. In his head he knew it wasn't a complete lie. He did miss Val.

“Sweetheart, I miss you too. Listen, Michelle and I are about to go into a movie. I'll see you when I get home okay. Love you.”

“Okay. Love you too,” he said before hanging up his phone.

Matt chuckled to himself lightly as he picked up Trent. He was barely six months old and he had brought so much joy into his life. He was the one thing that, despite the band's success, was the best thing that he had ever done with his life. If tomorrow their fans turned their backs and never bought another album things would still be okay as long as he had Trent.

Trent being born is what he thought saved his marriage. When he found out that Val was pregnant all of his pain and anguish washed away from him. They both wanted children so much and had tried, but found the road difficult. They had been trying to adopt when Matt found out about Val's affair. Children were the least of their problem then. After a few months in therapy they found out that she was pregnant. Val swore to him that she never slept with the man and although all of his trust in her was shattered. He believed her.

“Hey little guy. You hungry?” He asked as he bounced him with one arm causing him to babble joyfully while he prepped the bottle. The radio was playing and Trent was listening intently as Matt hummed along to songs smiling slightly at him. Deep dimples just like his father's perfectly placed within his plump cheeks exposing themselves as he sucked on the nipple of the bottle. Matt was lost in his world of fatherhood as he cared for the tiny infant. Burping him over his broad shoulders as he walked around the house. Before long he was sleeping and Matt struggled to put him down.

“Sweet dreams, little man,” whispered Matt as he leaned down and kissed his forehead.

Since Val was off at the movies enjoying her day with her sister Matt decided to spend a few moments working on a song. It had been something that he had been working on for a few days now and he the basic melody down, but there was something missing. He grabbed his pen and started scribbling down lyrics sporadically. He wrote whatever came to mind, but nothing that really made sense. It was just enough to get some of the edge off. He normally never wrote this way, but it was something that Regina had taught him to do whenever he was in a creative slump. He had pads filled with miscellaneous lyrics that sometimes sparked a few great songs. Just as Matt was about to begin working on the song the doorbell rang. He got up from the couch and saw the silhouette of his friend Jimmy through the glass.

“Hey,” he said as he hugged him.

“Where's the kid?” asked Jimmy eagerly as he stepped inside.

“Really, Jimmy? You come by my house after how many dinner invitations and you just want to see my son?,” laughed Matt.

“Basically,” he said as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge, “So what are you up to today?”

“Nothing really. Just me and Trent today. He's napping so I decided to try and finish that damn song. I can't quite get it right though.”

“I understand. I still haven't finished that song from the 'Pinkly Smooth' days, but it'll come together. Just give it some time,” he said as he stared at the counter. It was almost as though he was in slow motion. He had been like this for a few months now. He could be doing something as simple as getting a beer or just watching television and he'd get caught in a trance. It was almost as though he wasn't even there. Matt knew that he needed to get his friend some help, but that was a decision Jimmy would have to make on his own.

“Jimmy if you need anything you know I'm here for you. Anything at all. Day or night,” said Matt as he patted his shoulder, “Matter of fact. Why don't you spend the night here? I'm sure Trent would love to spend some time with his favorite uncle.”

“I know you're here for me man. I'm good. I cross my heart. I was just thinking about calling Reggie again. She and I were supposed to go to the studio today, but she hasn't answered any of my messages,” said Jimmy.

Matt shrugged, “Wow, she must really be pissed at Brian to ignore your messages too.”

“What did he do now?”

“They had a fight last night, and she ran off. He sounded pretty upset on the phone though. I'm sure she'll probably show up a later tonight.”

“Yeah, maybe. Knowing her she's probably just in the studio working on final pieces of some song or something,” he said as he looked at the time, “Shit! I have to get home. There's some stuff I gotta take care of. I'll talk to you later though.”

Matt nodded as Jimmy let himself out. He went upstairs to check on Trent. He was still knocked out cold and he decided to get a head start on dinner. He started to order take out, but he decided to actually cook. He took out some steaks and potatoes. He even took out a nice bottle of wine and placed some candles on the dining room table. While the steaks were on the grill he fed Trent again and placed him in his crib.

Normally the two of them would eat dinner separately, but Matt wanted to make the effort. He wanted things to be back to the way before the affair. He had just taken everything off of the grill when Val walked through the door. She took note of the wine and candles while he placed the food on the table. A bright smile spread across her face and in that smile Matt saw what he had been missing. She was his everything. His partner for life. He knew that if he kept up with the paranoid thinking he was going to lose that forever. He kissed her forehead lovingly before she went upstairs to wash up and check on Trent.

Val sat down at the table and poured herself a glass of wine, “How was your day?”

“Uneventful. Trent slept most of the day and Jimmy stopped by,” said Matt as he sipped his wine, “What about you? How's Michelle? Is she doing any better?”

“I haven't spoken to Michelle today, but I think she's doing better. She's going for her ultrasound tomorrow,” smiled Val as she poured herself another glass of wine, “[i]This is 40[/i] isn't what it's cracked up to be. The previews were a lot better than the actual movie.”

Matt could have sworn that Val told him she was seeing a movie with Michelle. If she didn't go with her. Part of him wanted to make a big deal of it, but his heart told him to let it go. Just because she didn't go to the movies with her sister didn't mean that she didn't go to the movies with another Michelle. They new a few others and he just assumed that she had meant her sister. His head was trying to rattle off on the possibility of her lying to him, but he chose to listen to his heart.

“You didn't happen to talk to Regina today did you?” he asked trying to forget, “Brian's been worried about her. They had a fight last night and he was wondering if perhaps the two of you had talked or something.”

“No,” said Val as she chewed on a piece of steak, “I haven't spoken to her in a couple of days. Is he sure that she didn't go to one of her brother's? I'm sure if they had a fight she could have gone there or maybe Taryn's?”

“I don't know, but it's a bit strange for Reggie not to call him. She even ignored Jimmy and she never does that.”

Val's eyes widened a bit at his last statement. It was out of the ordinary for that to occur, but Regina had been a bit busier as of late. She made a mental note to call her before she went to bed to check on her before returning to their meal. It had been a long time for two of them to have a special moment alone, especially after having Trent, and she was going to enjoy every second. After their meal Val did the dishes and sang lightly as she did. It had been so long since she had been this happy she didn't even realize that it was her singing. She used to sing around the house all the time when they first got married and it was nice to have that feeling again.

“You want to watch a movie?” asked Matt as he looked at the array of movies the couple owned, “You pick?”

“Sure,” she said as she pulled out one of her favorite movies. After placing it in the player she sat sat down on the couch, while Matt sat in his recliner, and wrapped herself in a throw blanket.

“What are you doing Val?” asked Matt, “Come here.”

She smiled for what seemed like the millionth time, but he didn't care. He loved that smile. She got comfortable in his lap and placed her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her. He promised himself that he was going to try and make this work just so he could have more moments like this.