Early the next morning, as the sun was beginning to rise, William quietly slipped back into his house. He looked into the family room, finding Ben and Nate sprawled out on the two couches, quietly sleeping away. He turned and walked back out, careful to let them both sleep. He then slowly crept upstairs and peeked inside Eric's bedroom, finding him asleep in bed. William smiled as he watched his youngest sleep soundly. He then went into his bedroom and closed the door. He began undressing and headed to for the attached bathroom. The sooner he could get the stink of last night off him, the better off he would be. He didn't dare shower at the motel, lest Yvette get the wrong idea and decide to enjoy him for a thoroughly unwelcome encore. He turned on the shower and waited for the hot water to travel up from the water heater in the basement. As he waited, he checked himself out in the mirror, finding increased muscle definition and he was a bit hairier as well. He leaned forward, his hands resting on the counter. Was there a part of him that wanted Yvette during that first meeting in his office? Of course there was, he thought to himself. But I'm a married man, committed to my wife and my family. He really did regret his actions in Minnesota that caused all this to happen. And then somehow, beyond his will, it happened again. William was really worried his family wasn't going to survive this one either. He stepped into the shower and began washing last night's stink off.
Martha quietly entered the house, having just had a lovely early morning breakfast with Samantha and Frances. she crept upstairs to her bedroom. To her surprise, she found William was already home. She kicked his dirty clothes aside, wondering if she should toss them down the laundry chute or burn them in the firepit out back. She undressed and switched into a comfortable pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. She was sitting on the bed, thinking about the previous night when William walked out of the bathroom. All he was wearing only a large bath towel as he walked into the room. Martha looked up, startled to be broken out of her daze. William was likewise surprised to see her there. The both stared at each other for a moment, neither one saying a thing.
"Hi," said William, breaking the silence.
"How'd it go?" Martha tried to sound as even keeled and non-judgemental as possible.
"I got it all taken care of. With luck, we will never have to see that hoe again." William walked over and sat next to her. "How about you?"
"It was good. I am now a...um...werecat." It still felt weird to Martha to say. Last night was amazing for her, a revelation even. But admitting it felt weird. Especially since she had that experience with people she was not married to.
"So, what does this mean for us?" William needed to know and he just couldn't wait any longer.
"I don't know William. I mean, I know none of this was really your fault but at the same time it has opened a lot of old wounds for me. I wonder if I made the right choices before."
William felt his heart sink. All he could mutter was a weak, "Oh."
"I'm willing to try on a day by day basis. It's going to take time and both of us really need to figure out if this is really what we really want in life. I'm not expecting either of us to have the answer right away," Martha looked at him and offered him a reassuring smile. "But it makes no sense to me in continuing to drag this out if it's not working anymore."
"But reconciliation is still possible, right?" asked William, looking at Martha like a kicked puppy. Martha couldn't help but feel her heart melt a little.
"Yeah, it might be," replied with Martha. "We just need to figure out something that works for us. And be honest about it."
William nodded and took his wife's hand in his as they sat together on the edge of their bed, both wondering where to go from here and having absolutely no clue.