A Sad Soul Can Kill You by Catherine Flowers Read Free Book Online

don’t have anything to say,” he said as he closed the oven door.
    Tia raised her arms in the air. “Then what am I supposed to do, Lorenzo? I’m still young. I didn’t get married to become abstinent!”
    He washed his hands, and then turned to face her. His glare pierced her like a frozen dagger. “I already told you,” he said, the callousness of his voice adding to the chill already forming within her, “why don’t you just leave?”
    Tia held her breath. She would not let him see her cry again.
    He walked back into the living room and sat down in front of the television set.
    She stormed out of the kitchen after him. “Is that what you really want, Lorenzo?”
    He was surfing the channels with the remote control, finally stopping to watch the last few minutes of a game show hosted by a popular comedian. “Can we talk about this later?” He waved her away as he chuckled at something the television host said. “Or better yet,” he said without removing his eyes from the television, “can we not talk about this at all?”
    â€œI don’t understand you,” Tia said despising the shrill sound of her voice. “Why are you so irritated?”
    He inhaled deeply. “I told you my back has been hurting me, okay?” he lied.
    â€œAnd what about the other times?”
    He turned to face her. “What did I tell you?” he said sternly.
    Tia didn’t answer. Lorenzo’s attempt to make love to her earlier that morning had once again been unsuccessful. Through the years his weight had doubled, and she was willing to take that into consideration for the failed attempt, but there were ways to get around that. And she hadn’t believed him when he’d said his back was hurting any more than she’d believed him when he’d said they were soul mates. Yeah, right, she’d thought. Soul mates who aren’t mating.
    Lorenzo’s complaint of back pain had not begun until after he’d been fired from his job as an electrical engineer for a large retail chain. Around the same time, he had started making visits to a doctor who began prescribing multiple medications for him: one to relieve pain, one to relax his muscles, and another to help him sleep.
    His steadily declining mood had not gone unnoticed by Tia, and she had pointed out to Lorenzo that he was being prescribed too many different medications, and that all of them caused drowsiness. “I am a nurse, you know,” she’d said. But her comments had elicited no response from him.
    She stood staring at his empty eyes—another change in him—that had become cold and uncaring. “Can’t you show me some kind of affection?” she asked. “I mean, I cook for you. I clean and wash for you. I’m here . . . ,” she spread open the palms of her hands, “. . . for you. Can’t you show me something, Lorenzo?”
    â€œI don’t need a wife to cook and clean for me,” he said in the same detached way he’d begun using whenever he spoke to her. “As you can see,” he pointed to the kitchen, “I know how to cook. And I certainly know how to clean.”
    She frowned. “Then what do you need a wife for?”
    â€œI don’t need a wife for anything,” he said, swirling his neck again. “Let’s get that straight first.”
    They glared at each other for a few seconds before Tia spoke. “Then why did you marry me, Lorenzo?”
    Even though she felt defeated, she was hoping he would say because he loved her, needed her, and honestly couldn’t live without her. Instead, he answered her by turning his attention back to the television set as the theme song from the weekly series, Jeopardy , began playing.
    â€œYou know what?” she said sarcastically. “What one man won’t do, another one will. You better remember that.”
    â€œDo whatever you have to do,” he