After My Big Brother Died, My Wife Was Always Angry

After my brother died, my wife turned into someone who got angry over everything.

I went in the middle of the night to fix my sister-in-law's leaking pipe, and my wife smashed a cup.

I spent a weekend helping my sister-in-law's son with his homework, and my wife tore up our wedding photo.

Today my sister-in-law just nicked her hand slicing vegetables, and I was rushing over with medicine when my wife climbed straight up to the rooftop on the thirtieth floor.

The wind was freezing. Her face was streaked with tears, and she pointed down at the street and screamed at me:

"Elijah Lawrence, if you dare step out that door today to go take care of her, I'll jump. I'll do it right in front of you!"

I glanced at my watch, annoyed. My sister-in-law was still waiting for me in the ER.

"Is threatening to kill yourself the only trick you've got left?"

"My brother's gone. She's a widow, all alone. Can't you have a little pity? Do you have to be this selfish?"

I turned around and walked straight into the elevator.

This time, I would not indulge that ugly temper of hers.

...

I drove fast, ran two red lights on the way.

When I stopped outside the hospital, I didn't even lock the car before I rushed into the ER lobby.

The ER was packed.

I spotted Zoe Lambert right away, sitting in a plastic chair by the window.

Her head was down, her shoulders shaking with quiet sobs. She looked so pitiful.

I strode over.

"Zoe, is it bad? How badly are you hurt?"

The moment Zoe looked up and saw me, her eyes went red, and she threw herself straight into my arms.

"Eli, I knew you wouldn't leave me on my own."

"I'm so useless. I can't even cook a meal for my boy without slicing my hand open, and now I've dragged you out here in the middle of the night."

"Ruby Fox wasn't angry, was she? If I'm coming between the two of you, I'd rather just be dead."

She wiped at her tears as she talked, trembling a little against me.

Only then did I see the bandage on the index finger of her left hand.

There wasn't even a trace of blood soaking through.

But my anger had long since flown out the window, and all that was left was guilt and the ache of seeing her like this.

My brother had died young, leaving behind a widow and a fatherless child.

Looking after them was simply what a younger brother was supposed to do.

I reached out and patted her back gently.

"Don't think like that. Ruby's just got that fierce temper. Once she's done throwing her fit, she'll settle down on her own."

"My brother's gone. You've got me to look after you and Chad Ellison now."

"If anything happened to you, how could I ever live with myself?"

Zoe leaned against my shoulder, sobbing.

Completely ignoring the odd looks from the people around us.

I stood there, my whole mind fixed on how to comfort her.

I had completely forgotten that half an hour ago, Ruby had been standing at the edge of that thirtieth-floor rooftop.

In the freezing wind, her face wet with tears, threatening to die if I walked out the door.

At the time I'd only thought she was being unreasonable.

In our few years of marriage she'd only gotten worse, more and more childish.

Even jealous of my dead brother's widow. There was just no fixing her.

"Uncle, I'm hungry."

A small hand tugged at the leg of my pants.

It was my nephew, Chad.

His mouth was turned down, his whole face full of grievance.

"Mom cut her hand on the knife, and nobody made me any dinner."

I crouched down at once and ruffled his hair.

"Good boy, Chad. Uncle's going to take you to buy something good right now."

"What do you want to eat? Anything you want today, I'll get it for you."

Chad's eyes lit up, and he pointed at the fanciest sushi place across the street.

"I want that one! Mom says that one's the most expensive and the best!"

I didn't say a word, just took his hand and headed out.

Zoe called after me in that sweet, coaxing voice.

"Eli, don't spend too much. That place is hundreds a head."

"Zoe, as long as the two of you eat well, I don't care how much it costs."

I turned and went in and boxed up two big bags of sushi.

It came to almost two thousand.

But I didn't mind one bit.

I had just carried the takeout to the doorway of the ER lobby.

When the phone in my pocket started buzzing.

I pulled it out. It was Ruby's best friend, Naomi Pruitt.

I frowned and hung up right away.

Every time Ruby threw a tantrum, she sent Naomi in to plead her case.

I was not going to give her that satisfaction today.

The second I hung up, the phone rang again.

I answered, irritated, and laid into her before she could get a word in.

"Naomi, can you tell Ruby to quit the act?"

"She's a grown woman, still pulling this jumping-off-the-roof stunt. If she's got the guts, she should actually jump!"

On the other end, Naomi's voice broke into a desperate sob.

"Elijah, you animal! Ruby really jumped!"

I let out a cold laugh.

"How much did she pay you to help her put on this show?"

"Trying to trick me into coming back? Not a chance."

"Tell her my sister-in-law hurt her hand today. I have to stay at the hospital with her."

Naomi was screaming curses at me down the line.

But I didn't want to hear any of it, and I hit the button and hung up.

Right then, a shrill ambulance siren rose from far off, coming closer.

The ambulance braked hard and stopped outside the ER entrance.

The rear doors were yanked open.

Several medics came charging in, pushing a gurney, running like mad.

"Move! Everybody move!"

"Pregnant woman, fell from height, multiple fractures in both legs, prep for resuscitation!"

I stepped aside without thinking.

The gurney tore past, grazing my shoulder.

On it lay a woman covered in mud and water.

In the instant it passed, I saw a hand hanging off the side of the gurney.

Around the wrist was a red string, with a little gold peanut charm hanging from it.

I had tied that on her myself, on our first wedding anniversary.

The dress that woman on the gurney was wearing was the cream one Ruby had worn out the door this morning.

Only now, the dress was stained dark red with blood and mud.

Something roared in my head.

That woman was Ruby.

"Eli, what's wrong with you?" Zoe jumped beside me, grabbing my arm.

I couldn't spare her a glance. I ran alongside the gurney like a madman, chasing it the whole way down the hall.

But at the door of the emergency room, a nurse threw out an arm and stopped me cold.

I stared at that door with its red light burning, my head one long buzzing drone.

There was no way Ruby had actually jumped.

She was afraid of a needle prick.

She was only trying to scare me.

Before I could pull myself together, two uniformed officers came striding over.

"You're Elijah Lawrence, Ruby Fox's husband?"

I gave a stiff nod.

The officer's face was grave as he took out a small notebook.

"Your wife fell from the thirtieth floor. Thanks to a neighbor calling it in fast, the fire crew got an air cushion down below."

"Her life was saved, but both legs took the brunt of it. Severe fractures."

Hearing she wasn't dead, I actually let out a long breath.

I knew it.

She'd never have the nerve to really die.

Even jumping, she'd made sure there was a cushion waiting below.

This whole performance was just to force me to back down, wasn't it?

I saw the pointing and whispering around me, and felt Ruby had humiliated me in front of everyone.

Hurried footsteps came pounding from the end of the corridor.

Ruby's parents came stumbling toward us, holding each other up.

Her mother was crying so hard she couldn't stay on her feet.

Her father's eyes were red. He rushed up without a word, raised his hand, and slapped me across the face.

The blow snapped my head to the side, my ear ringing.

I covered my cheek and glared at him.

"Dad, what did you hit me for?"

"She was the one who insisted on this life-or-death scene. Was I supposed to stop her?"

Her mother pointed at me, her finger trembling nonstop.

"You animal. If you hadn't driven her to the edge, why would she ever jump!"

I gave a cold laugh and pointed at the ER door.

"Driven to the edge? This was pure theater!"

"Who jumps and aims right for the air cushion? She did it to threaten me. She was playing games with her own life!"

"With a temper this extreme, she'll drive me insane sooner or later!"

Her father shook all over with rage and raised his cane to bring it down on me.

Just then the ER doors opened.

The attending doctor came out, covered in blood.

He pulled down his mask, his face heavy.

"Which of you is family?"

Her parents and I crowded in at once.

"Doctor, how is my daughter?"

The doctor sighed and shook his head.

"The mother suffered crushing fractures in both legs. Her life was saved."

"But I'm very sorry. The twins she was carrying, three months along, couldn't be saved."

Twins?

Couldn't be saved!

It hit me like a bolt of lightning.

I stood frozen where I was, unable to come back to myself for a long moment.

She was pregnant?

And three months already?

Why didn't I know any of it?

These past three months, she'd always been throwing up at home.

I'd thought it was just her stomach acting up.

I'd even found the smell of her vomit disgusting and moved to the spare room for a whole month.

Every time she tried to talk to me, I made an excuse about something at Zoe's and slammed the door on my way out.

So that had been morning sickness.

Zoe drifted over at some point.

She slid her arm through mine, her voice soft and coaxing.

"Oh, that wife of yours, really."

"Pregnant and she doesn't say a word about it. However bad her temper is, she shouldn't take it out on the babies."

"So immature. Eli, don't take it too hard."

Zoe's words were a lifeline.

In an instant I found my way down off the ledge.

I turned and looked at her parents.

"Did you hear that?"

"She dug her own grave. Sulking at me, she went and lost the babies over it!"

"How is that my fault?"

Hearing this, her father couldn't get his next breath in. His eyes rolled back and he collapsed.

The next afternoon, Ruby was finally moved out of the ICU into a regular ward.

I smoked two cigarettes in the corridor, then pushed open the door with a cold face.

I was ready to give her a good talking-to.

Ruby lay in the bed, her face white as paper.

Both her legs were wrapped in thick casts, hoisted high on a frame.

Her eyes were open, fixed straight up at the pale ceiling, and she said nothing.

I pulled over a chair and sat down.

"Are you done making a scene?"

"Even if you've got a problem with me, you don't go jumping off a building over it."

"Well, look at you now. You threw a fit and lost the baby. Happy?"

She didn't so much as blink, as if she hadn't heard a word.

That lifeless look of hers was the thing I hated most.

"Ruby, I'm warning you. No more of this crying, screaming, and threatening to kill yourself."

"You got lucky this time. There was an air cushion to catch you."

"Next time there might not be anyone to save you!"

I threw the words down coldly, waiting for her to cry and argue back the way she always did.

But the half-shut door creaked open instead.

Zoe came in, carrying a thermos.

She was in full makeup today, wearing a brand-new silk dress.

She set the thermos on the nightstand.

"Oh, you poor thing. You've been through so much."

"I made you some chicken soup, specially. To help you recover."

As she spoke, she deliberately lifted a hand to smooth back her hair.

A dazzling diamond bracelet now sat on her wrist.

Ruby's gaze finally shifted, landing on the bracelet.

Zoe covered her mouth in mock surprise.

"Oh, don't mind this. You gave me such a fright yesterday."

"Eli felt so bad about the shock, he took me to the mall specially to buy it."

"He said it isn't easy, a widow raising a child alone. I should have a little jewelry to my name."

I stood off to the side and didn't say a word to stop her.

The truth was, she'd planted herself at the counter and refused to leave, saying my brother had promised to buy it for her before he died.

She cried until I couldn't stand it, and I pulled out my card and paid.

But now I actually wanted Ruby to see it.

The more she acted out, the less I would give in.

I cleared my throat.

"That's enough, wipe that look off your face. Your sister-in-law cooked that soup out of kindness."

"You made such a huge scene this time you nearly gave your sister-in-law a heart attack."

"Give a little grace to your brother's widow and let it go. Drink the soup, then apologize to her."

"And we'll call it done."

I thought she'd do what she always did.

Either scream a fight at me, or dissolve into wounded tears.

She did neither.

Ruby turned her head.

Those unfocused eyes slowly sharpened into focus.

She looked at me, quiet.

No anger in that look, no resentment.

Only a dead stillness that ran cold down your spine.

Then she smiled.

Her cracked, colorless lips moved, just slightly.

And with utter calm, she said a few words.

"Elijah, let's get a divorce."

I froze for a second, then let out a furious laugh.

She was completely out of her mind.

Even now, she was still using the miscarriage as leverage, trying to back me into a corner with it.

Did she really think that scaring me with divorce would have me on my knees begging for forgiveness?

It was ridiculous.

I pointed at her face and snapped.

"Ruby, can you be reasonable for once?"

"There's nothing going on between me and Zoe. I'm only looking after her out of duty."

"My brother's gone. It isn't easy for a woman to raise a kid on her own."

"You're his sister-in-law. If you won't help, fine, but getting jealous at a time like this is beyond ridiculous!"

Zoe, standing beside me, suddenly went limp and clutched both hands to her chest.

"Oh, oh"

She collapsed straight into my arms.

Her face was white as paper, cold sweat beading on her forehead.

"Eli, my chest just started hurting so much. I can't breathe."

"Maybe I got too frightened last night and the angina's flaring up."

"Take me to a doctor, quickly. It hurts so much."

I clutched Zoe tight, panic surging through me.

My brother had treasured her more than anything while he was alive. If something happened to her right in front of me, how could I ever face him?

I turned and shot Ruby a look of disgust from the hospital bed.

"See that?"

"You made this whole scene, and now you've dragged Zoe's health into it too."

I left her with one hard line.

"You sit here by yourself and think about what you've done."

"I'll be back to clean up your mess soon enough."

With that, I didn't even look back.

Half carrying Zoe, I strode out of the ward.

I ran her up and down through the whole hospital.

EKG, blood work, a brain CT scan.

Once the full workup was done, the doctor glanced at the report.

And said flatly:

"Nothing serious. Just a bit of low blood sugar. Go have a good meal and she'll be fine."

Zoe blushed and leaned into me, saying it was all her fault for being such a delicate thing.

I gave a helpless smile and took her down to the caf on the ground floor.

I settled into a comfortable armchair and sipped a black coffee, taking my time.

Letting Ruby stew for a while, I figured, would finally cool that temper of hers.

Just then, my phone rang, sharp and urgent.

The caller ID showed the nurses' station.

I answered.

The nurse's frantic voice came through.

"Family of the patient in Room 302, where did you go?"

"Your wife is gone!"