Chapter 5

“WHAT? ARTHUR walked out of the clinic?” Maria asked in disbelief after Kristine told her about what happened to their counseling. Kristine visited her clinic on her way to the supermarket. “I can’t believe that Arthur could actually do that. That’s embarrassing.”

Kristine lowered her head in embarrassment. “I didn’t expect it too. Arthur is so different now that I don’t know if I still knew him…” she said. “And, he didn’t talk to me since then.”

Maria looked at her with furrowed brows. “He’s not talking to you up to now? It’s been three days since the counseling.” She caught her forehead. “What’s happening to Arthur?”

She sighed. “He gets home late and drunk since then. He refused to eat dinner and breakfast with me, and he keeps on saying to me that I don’t need him.”

“What does the doctor said to him when you talked about your problem in conceiving?” Maria asked. Kristine can see in her best friend that she’s losing her patience towards Arthur. “I can’t believe that your husband won’t cooperate. He’s so immature.”

“Dr. Edward said that he has anxieties, and his stress might worsen his incapability to produce healthy sperms. He even gave him the advice to spend more time with me and understand our situation.” Kristine plopped down her shoulders. “Arthur was offended by what the doctor told him. So he walked out and left the clinic.”

“Gosh, the reason why I wanted the two of you to see a psychologist is to fix the problem, but I think it just worsens Arthur’s case,” she said, frowning. “Arthur shouldn’t be doing this to you. You’re also the victim here. Why does he think that the world revolves around him? He’s such an asshole!”

“Maria, you know that Arthur is not really like that. He’s just stressed because of the same problem that we are continuously facing over the years.”

“It’s just two years, Kristine, for chrissake!” Maria countered. “It’s just freaking two years, and he’s already acting like that. He’s disrespecting you and making you feel worse as if it was your fault why he couldn’t produce healthy sperms—” She paused when she saw her on the brink of tears. “I-I’m sorry, Kristine… I just couldn’t help it. Your husband is so insensitive for your feelings but so sensitive to his emotions.”

Kristine swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled painfully. “I understand, Maria… I’m thankful that you’re here with me and that I have someone to talk to about my problems.”

Maria reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m always here for you, Kristine.”

“Thanks,” she smiled. “By the way, about the psychologist, is he your friend?”

Maria shook her head. “He’s a friend of my friend. I also read some reviews about him, and all were positive. He’s highly recommended when it comes to family counseling,” she answered. “You told me to suggest a psychologist that not related to us, right? The one that doesn’t know you and Arthur because you’re worried that Arthur might not attend the session. So I picked him and requested an appointment for you.”

Kristine nodded. “Arthur doesn’t want any of our college friends to know that we’re having a problem in conceiving.”

“Yeah, right,” Maria said, rolling her eyes ceilingwards. “He still got mad at you even if the doctor that you talked to is a complete stranger.”

“I hope he’ll talk to me tonight. I send him a message that I wanted to apologize to him, and I wanted to fix things out.”

“I can’t believe that you stoop low again for your husband,” she said with a sigh. “I just hope that Arthur can also see how pure your heart is. He won’t find another woman like you.”

“I want my husband back,” she said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to bring him back to me—” Her phone suddenly rang. “Oh, it must be Arthur.” She took out her cellphone excitedly but got disappointed and confused at the same time when she saw an unknown number flashed on the screen. “Hello?”

“Kristine? It’s me, Edward,” the familiar baritone voice aired from the other line. “I wanted to discuss something with you. It’s about your husband.”

~0~

“I’M SORRY about the other day, Dr. Edward,” Kristine told Edward when they met in a coffee shop near the clinic. “I tried to talk to my husband about it, but he refused.”

“It’s okay, Kristine. I understand,” Edward said and smiled at her. “And, what he said to me was all truth. I’m not married and doesn’t have any experience in fathering a child,” he laughed. “But fixing family problems caused by self-issues is my expertise.”

She smiled. “I was impressed by everything that you told us during the counseling. Thanks, by the way.”

“No big deal, Kristine. It’s my job to help you,” he smiled at her warmly. “So, how do you feel now?”

Kristine doesn’t know why he’s addressing her on a first-name basis. “I’m okay…” she said and avoided his eyes. “What do you want to discuss with me about Arthur?”

Edward heaved a sigh. “You don’t look okay, Kristine. But if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t insist,” he said and opened the brown envelope on the table. “This is Arthur’s records.”

Her brows furrowed, and her chest started to hammer. She has a feeling that she won’t like what he was about to say. “What’s in it?”

He took out the documents and gave them to her. “Arthur is experiencing mild symptoms of depression.”

Kristine covered her mouth as she read the form. She has seen her husband’s symptoms, but she didn’t expect it to lead to depression. “Are you sure about this, doc?”

Edward nodded. “His symptoms were mild, but because he refused to talk to me when you visit my clinic, I didn’t have enough time to analyze him thoroughly,” he said and looked into her eyes. “That’s why I called you and preferred to talk to you alone. I know you can tell me more about him.”

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as she looked at Arthur’s emotional and mental records. “Since our visit to your clinic, he refused to talk to me. He seldom stays in our house, and when he gets home, he’s drunk.”

Edward nodded at what she said. “That’s not good,” he said. “Is he still arguing with you?”

“Whenever I asked him to talk to me, he’ll snap out and yell at me,” she said, fighting back her tears. “He kept on saying that he’s useless and that I don’t need him.”

Edward reached her hand on the table. “Kristine… I don’t want to say this to you, but you deserved to know it because you’re his wife…”

Kristine felt her heart skipped a beat with the way the doctor delivered those words. “W-what is it?”

He held her hand tightly. “Kristine, there’s a high chance that Arthur becomes suicidal because of his depression.”

***