Tom looked her straight in the face. It was only for a few moments, but they seemed to last a lifetime.
“Bloody hell.”
Merope knew the next few minutes could make or break their relationship. She did what she thought was her only choice: groveling.
“I’m so sorry!” she wailed through her tears as she fell to her knees in front of where Tom was sitting. “I didn’t mean to have things happen this way!” She looked up to see Tom staring out the window of the café. He wouldn’t even look at her.
“We’re leaving.”
There were many people inside the café who had turned their head to watch them bicker. Tom would have none of this, though. He didn’t want the unneeded attention to add to his discomfort. He grabbed Merope’s hand and ran outside dragging Merope behind him. All he had on his mind now was getting out of this place and yelling at her in the comfort of his own home.
“Tom, please!” Merope yelled through her tears. She was out of breath and having trouble keeping up with him. It seemed Tom was dragging her more than leading her. There was no way out.
“SHUT UP!” Tom was angry; there was no denying that. His face had turned from pale to bright red wrought with rage. The fast pace he kept didn’t help his complexion either. He was running simply to release energy, but that energy was coming to an end and he realized he was really starting to hurt the woman behind him. He hated her, but he wasn’t going to become a murderer either.
“Go home,” he said finally as they came to a stop a few blocks away from their home. “I will be there in a minute.”
Merope did what she was told out of fear of losing her husband, but she wasn't sure if he would really be home in a minute or if he was using that as a way to leave her. She walked in the doors of the inn and passed the front desk.
“Everything all right?” asked Sara in a tone that showed she clearly did not care about Merope’s troubles.
Good question. Was everything all right? Merope had just run into the lobby of her home with tears running down her face, steam rising from her head, and memories whizzing past her mind. No, everything was certainly not all right.
“You know what?!” Sara had done it this time; Merope was not in a mood to be polite now. “NO! Everything is NOT all right. But, it’s not like you ever really cared. Maybe if you left me alone though, they would be. It’s not like we ever got along anyway!”
Sara looked a little surprised at what Merope had said. Everything was truthful, of course, but who knew such a girl could say those words? Maybe Merope had always had that fire burning inside her--she just never let it ignite.
“I’ll… ” Merope started to talk again, but instead took a deep breath. “I’ll be going to my room now.”
Merope slowly made her way up the stairs, taking deep breaths after every step.Everything is going to be all right, she continued to tell herself. The real question was: would it?
Tom walked through the double doors of the inn just after dark. Merope had been watching the town through her window and occasionally saw him running around letting off steam. She had decided it would be best to stay inside and let him do what he wanted.
She made her way to the door of their room and walked down the hallway. She stopped at the top of the stairs and listened to what Tom was saying below.
“Is everything all right, Tom?” Sara asked as Tom entered the lobby.
“It is now. I have a plan.”
“Do you want any help? You know I’m always here for you.”
“Actually…”
It was around this point that Merope had heard enough and made herself known. She loudly walked down the stairs and appeared at the bottom.
“I mean, we’re open twenty-four hours a day.” Sara added to her original sentence as she saw Merope appear in the doorway.
“Actually, I think I will take you up on that. You don’t happen to have two beers behind the counter, do you? I’ve been craving one all day.”
Tom looked in the direction of Merope. He knew she had been standing there all along, but he still continued. “My wife has been in a foul mood lately and I think a beer is just what I need.”
Merope looked horrified. “One beer for you, one beer for m--"
“Sara here looks like she has worked hard all day,” Tom interrupted her. “And I think you should be upstairs in your room. No reason for you to be out of bed this time of night.”
That was it. Tom could sink no lower in Merope’s mind.
“How dare you try to get rid of me like that! I may be at the bottom of your totem pole right now, but I’m still your wife! Get upstairs right now!”
Sara decided this was her cue to leave. “Is that the phone ringing?” she asked as she ran off to a room behind the desk.
“You’re no wife of mine.”
With that, Tom walked back outside and into the streets again. Merope knew there was no knowing where he would go now. Her only guess was to a place that sold his true desire right now…beer.
Merope had stayed downstairs in the lobby for almost an hour after that. She stayed until it seemed Tom wouldn’t be coming back. She had sat in a big chair near one of the windows, but it was too dark to be able to see outside.
Almost ten minutes after the incident, Sara had returned to her desk and seemed surprised to see Merope still sitting there. Neither of them said a word.
Midnight found Merope lying half-asleep in her bed with tears streaming down her face. She was determined to stay awake in case Tom came home, but it was no use. She cried herself to sleep.
A while later, Tom walked in the door. He crept over to the bed to make sure Merope was asleep. She was. Making sure he was as quiet as possible, he gathered up all of his belongings, all of the food he needed, and everything he ever gave her as a gift. He left no trace that he had ever lived there, nothing that could trace Merope to him.
When he had satisfied himself and filled every bag he had to the brim, he took once last glace around and left without a word. He left Merope no note, sign or clue of any kind that he had either been there or left. He simply walked out the door, stalked down the stairs, and left. He had no plans of ever coming back.