Free Deliver Me by Farrah Rochon

get Amanda back.
    Jeffrey maneuvered his cart around a fresh fruit display and made his way
to the refrigerated shelves, picking up a sealed container of fresh melons
cubes. It seemed like a healthy dessert. Tonight he wanted to surprise Amanda
with a meal she couldn’t resist.
    The instructions from Dr. Holmes said she needed to increase her iron
intake to help with the anemia. He studied packages of plastic encased meats,
trying to decide between beefsteaks and boneless chicken breasts.
    Wait. Didn’t he hear somewhere that fish was a good source of iron?
    He moved over to the seafood department. Studying the selection behind
the clear display, Jeffrey asked for a couple of grouper fillets. He would make
his special tartar sauce, and steam a few fresh vegetables for a side dish.
    Carrots.
    Amanda loved carrots. She could do amazing things with them when she was
in a playful, sexy mood.
    Jeffrey nearly broke down in the middle of the grocery store.
    God, he missed his wife.
    How could two people who had been so crazy in love get to where they were
now? They barely spoke. Hell, Amanda could hardly look at him most of the time.
How could they have allowed this to happen? How could it have gotten this bad?
    Jeffrey stopped the self-deprecation and forced himself to get back to
his game plan. Tonight was about wooing Amanda. He wouldn’t think about the
downward trend of his marriage over this last year and a half. He still loved
her. They had a baby on the way.
    His marriage was not over.
    When Jeffrey arrived home, Amanda’s car was parked in the driveway. It
felt good just seeing it in its usual spot again. It felt glorious having her
back home. And it was hell on Earth.
    As much as Jeffrey had wanted her here, he was beginning to regret ever
making the suggestion. Because it just wasn’t the same.
    It pained him to no end to walk into their old bedroom and not see her
lying in the bed they’d shared for so many years. He’d offered to take the
spare room, just to have the chance to see her on their bed.
    But Amanda refused. She’d flinched when he had mentioned it, as if she
couldn’t stomach the sight of the place where they had expressed their love in
the most primitive of ways.
    Jeffrey opened the door, expecting to find her on the sofa in the den. It’s
where she spent most of her time, probably because it was the farthest room
from their old bedroom.
    He was right. She was curled up on the end of the tan and green-striped
couch, her feet tucked under her.
    “Good evening,” Jeffrey said.
    She turned her attention from whatever she was watching on television and
stared at him. After a long moment, she answered with a soft, “Hello.”
    It was the first time in months she had addressed him without that tired,
cynical drawl; had looked at him without scorn.
    Jeffrey balanced the grocery bags in his hands and kicked the door closed
with his foot.
    “I thought you had class tonight?” he asked. He knew she was on a Tuesday
and Thursday night schedule this semester.
    She stared at him, not saying anything, and Jeffrey’s good mood
plummeted. He was hoping, for once, they could have a civil conversation, like
a husband and wife were supposed to have at the end of a long day.
    “I pulled out of school weeks ago,” she finally answered. “It was too
much for me to handle right now.”
    It took all he had not to shout for joy. Ever since Amanda started having
the dizzy spells, Jeffrey had been scared to death that she would pass out
while heading to class, but he’d been afraid to voice his opinion. Knowing
Amanda, she would have continued attending the night courses just to spite him.
But she had made the decision to stop on her own, and God, was he grateful. It
was one less thing to worry about.
    Jeffrey felt a twinge of guilt. He should be at least a little
remorseful. Earning a degree in Social Work and becoming a child advocate had
been Amanda’s dream. She wanted to be a voice for those too little to