The wants of people creates suffering

    The sun glared early Sunday morning, beaming a bright mellow light over the white picket fence houses and rolled over onto the freshly trimmed grass. As rays of light bounced off the perfect little houses giving them an everlasting glisten, Shannon dashed through the garden late for work.
“Honey!,” Tierra bellowed from the glass door. “You forgot your lunch”.

He immediately stopped darting through the freshly cut grass and turned around as it crunched loudly under his suede shoes like crisp potato chips. “Maybe I don’t want it!,” he thought to himself as he unwillingly trudged back through the grass and toward the gleaming front door, to retrieve his everyday tuna fish and water. What was so special about this dishonoring meal he was forced to eat everyday? Weren’t CEO’s supposed to get high end meals? Was this punishment? Maybe she found out about his secret and was planning something Shannon worried but quickly dismissed the lingering thought because it was impossible. As he trudged up the white paved trail he passed blooming flowers, oozing in bright teals and oranges making it to the doorway where his wife eagerly waited for him.
“Glad I caught you in time,” she smiled handing him his soiled everyday brown paper bag.
    “Yeah,” he frowned examining his lunch hoping for something different.

    Just as Shannon glanced up from his disappointing lunch he noticed an older married couple from two doors down walking past energetically in their tight green and yellow workout get up. He quickly plastered on a smile, as if he was trying to impress them, and waved down to them pulling Tierra close kissing her cheek lightly. Just as planned they let out a few “Aws” and surprisingly said they were the perfect couple to be modeled after. But off the couple went, rebooting their energized mindsets. As they passed by, Shannon’s smile drained and he broke away from Tierra leaving her on the doorstep alone.
.
    “What time will you be home?” she called out to him curiously as she watched him dart through the grass once more, only making it to the car this time.

                         “Don’t worry about it,” he replied hoping she’d stop asking questions and before she could answer he was already down the street making a left.
    She rolled her eyes slipping her way back into the house with the same cloud of disappointment Shannon had for his low class lunch. She wondered why things suddenly seemed distant between them but dismissed the thought quickly thinking she was just exaggerating like Shannon says she always is.

                                                                      ***
     She tossed, turned and waited all day for his return and now was watching the clock tick furiously, as it struck nine. She sighed hoping the silencing air would be broken and her husband would be in her arms again. She listened closely, drowning out the clock and was relieved to hear tires softly caressing the gravel of the driveway. She ran to the door as if she were in a hurry, to meet Shannon. He entered the house un loosening his tie, letting it wither to the ground and let out a tiresome sigh as he sat down, concerning Tierra.

    “What is it?” she concerningly said rubbing the sides of his shoulders gently.

        “My job is jus-” he sighed once more making Tierra more concerned.

    “You can always talk to me,” she reassuringly said putting her arms around him.

        “Well …” he hesitated

    “Well what is it? Spit it out,” she said feeling a little uneasy.

        “The company needs me to go down to Colorado for this convention for upcoming real estate brokers,” he explained.

    “Colorado??,” she puzzledly said.
       
        “Yes Colorado but only for two weeks,” he said calmly.

    “Only?? This will be the third time you left in four months and you think I’m supposed to be okay with it? Why can’t someone else go?,” she exclaimed sadly.

        “Honey I’m the head of this company and you know I’m the only one who’ll get the job done. Everything will be fine so calm down and stop worrying. I’ll be back before you know it,” he said reassuringly rubbing her hand.

    Her heart sank as if it were an anchor heading toward the bottom of the ocean. How could he leave her like this? Five months pregnant and an emotional wreck! She thought of all the things she’d sacrificed and put up with and he repays her with this? Her mind was racing as if it were destined to cross a finish line. She didn’t look as though she felt. She just quietly crept over to a chair and crouched in it trying to not explode again.

        “You’re pretty quiet over there,” he called out.

    “Because I don’t understand why you’re doing this to me again,” she sighed.

        “Doing what? You’ll barely notice I’m gone so relax.”

    “Relax? How can I possibly relax? I’m five months pregnant with your child and you’re telling me to relax? I can’t believe this,” she cried, rising out of her creaking chair slowly.

        “Look I’ll be back in two weeks and that’ll be the final and last business trip I’ll ever have to go on. The sooner you let me handle my business, the sooner we can focus on yours, okay?”

    “Fine Shannon,” she frustratedly said rolling her eyes and making her way across the living room and up the pillow soft carpeted steps to their room.

                                                                    ***
The next morning Tierra was greeted by Shannon’s toppling pile of bags at the front door as she made her way down the steps, scratching her head yawning. She couldn’t believe he was really going through with this plan. But as usual she kept quiet as he hurried down the steps carrying his last, overstuffed bag. Without any room for remarks Shannon picked up his four overflowing bags, headed out the door and slammed it making Tierra jump out of confusion. No kiss. No hug. No anything goodbye.

Tierra didn’t really clean the house so when she did you knew something was peculiar. As she mopped and dusted Shannon’s office angrily she suddenly stopped. It was Shannon’s computer. He must’ve forgotten it she thought as she examined the remaining parts of the room. He NEVER let her use his computer. Not even to play a simple card game of solitaire. Was her husband of two years hiding something? No she thought quickly, how dare she think like that? But no matter how hard she tried convincing herself, she couldn’t shake the lingering thought. So she closed the door and lowered the blinds as if he were still in the house and opened it to prove herself wrong. But the messages uncovered in his email to a young twenty year old named Ashley, clenched her stomach and heart so tight she could feel them throbbing calling out for air. She could hardly breathe. Is this why he’s been so distant  or going on frequent “business trips”? She made her way through the house stumbling from confusion. She grabbed everything she could and dashed through the garden just as the man she once loved had and into her car. She started it having no idea where she was going but decided it didn’t matter. She just needed to be strong for the sake of her unborn child and break free from the stronghold of that suffocating house.

                                                                        ***
    Hours had flew by since the incident and the clock was once again in the ears of Tierra but this time in a comforting friends house.

    “This is really embarrassing,” Tierra shamefully said.

        “What is?,” Hector concerningly said as he slid down the couch toward her.

    “How you were right about him and I just ignored you thinking you were jealous or something.”

        “Forget about that okay? None of this was your fault.”

    “Yes it is,” she pleaded as she dropped her head and sobbed into her hands.

        “No it’s not. Everything will turn around for the better,” he said rubbing her back gently.

    “How? What about my baby, house and car? How am I supposed to manage those? What will the neighbors think of me? What about my reputation?,” she fired back worriedly.

        “I will take care of everything, okay? Just please try to relax for the sake of your child. You can stay here as long as you want I won’t mind and don’t worry anything about your neighbors, they definitely shouldn’t be the main concern right now,” he said calmly as she lifted her head out of her tear-stained hands and hugged him.

    “Thank you so much Hector, I don’t know where I’d be without you.”

        “Neither do I,” he smiled .

    They both laughed and he showed her around the rest of place hoping she’d forget about the nerve-wrecking day she’d played a key role in.

                                                                       ***

    After two weeks of Shannon’s so called business trip he returned home. At the front door he was greeted by broken vases and knocked over candles that trailed back to his office. He called for Tierra but of course no answer. As he opened the office door slowly it creaked as if it were telling him what happened. His heart was racing uncontrollably and a sheet of blankness overcame him, as he discovered the open email and invasion of his forgotten computer. No shock. No guilt. Just blank.

                                                                      ***

    Still in shock about the situation Tierra tries to relieve her stress by getting out of the house. So before slipping out of the door she prays she doesn’t run into Shannon. “Lord please let me avoid that cheating dog at all costs because if I don’t, I don’t know what I’m gonna do.” The supermarket was right down the street but fresh air wouldn’t hurt would it? She thought as she entered the the store occasionally doing glance sweeps making sure he was nowhere to be found. She hummed lightly, weaving her cart slowly from aisle to aisle. She absentmindedly let her guard down and there stood the cold-hearted man that flushed her world down the drain, three feet away from her.

        “Tierra!,” he called out rushing toward her.

    She hurriedly turned her cart the opposite direction but before she could sharply turn the corner, he leaped in front of her stopping it.

    “What?!,” she snapped trying to sound strong but gasping and looking frail.

        “How have you been? Why haven’t you come home?,” he asked.

    Feeling offended and insulted for his lack of empathy she swerved the cart around him, shoving him to the side. He regained his balance and followed behind her.

        “Please come home it’s almost been a month.”

    She kept walking as if she didn’t hear a word.

        “Please! I can’t do this by myself I need you back!,” he yelled desperately as she kept walking.

    “Give the man a chance,” a random old lady called out, sending Tierra’s bottled up rage through the roof.

    She wheeled her cart back out to the front where she retrieved it and slammed it into the rest that were lined up neatly, sending them into a brawl. She then stormed out the door raging like a bull and just as expected he followed her closely like a lost puppy.He pleaded his unworthy case again before she turned around and set him straight.

    “I don’t want anything to do with you or that little twenty year old you’ve continually been messing with! You’re a lousy husband and sure as h*ll have no business being a father. I’m better than I ever was without you because I’m no longer under your suffocating grip! If you ever try to call me or the man that will be taking your place, we will call the police!!,” she exclaimed while getting into the car and slamming the door in his face speeding off, leaving him with the same blank expression he was shadowed with hours earlier. She sped off not wanting to look back and was clouded with a sense of accomplishment. She smiled to herself proudly for finally getting everything off her chest but little did she know that he was following behind her, trying to track where she was and that smile would vanish forever.

                                                                        ***
Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months since Shannon heard from Tierra and his anger her relationship quickly turned into raging jealousy. One dark night he decided he’d had enough so he camped the night outside  Hector’s house a couple door down with a pair of binoculars, watching their every move closely. He witnessed Hector kissing Tierra’s forehead as he sat on the downstairs couch embracing her. He stayed outside the house as the hours passed and he unintentionally fell into a deep sleep. His sleep was interrupted by the sound of Tierra’s voice. He ducked down his car and listened.

“I’ll be back soon,” Tierra called.

    “Okay well see you then,” he heard Hector say as he peaked and saw him helping her load two final bags into her running car sitting in the driveway.

By the way she was loading the car he immediately knew she was going to her mother’s house for the weekend, which was the perfect time to “take care” of Hector before she returned. Shannon rode off, got his supply of gasoline and matches and returned to a dark lowly lit neighborhood and what he thought was an empty driveway. He crept up the side of the house through the patchy grass cautiously, covering his tracks. He spotted Hector in the house and immediately sprinkled gasoline along the perimeter of the house, on windows and plants surrounding his house as Shannon saw him getting up and going upstairs. He saw Hector mouth words to someone in the upstairs bedroom but before he could make out what was being said he already struck up a match and released it, running down the grass away from the house. He stood back watching the house boom and explode in smoke and shattering every dream, memory and person trapped inside. His wife and child being two of them.

                                                                          ***

    His raging jealousy has landed him in a rotting jail cell on three counts of murder and facing the death penalty, after being captured by state police. He mourns the loss of his wife and unborn daughter Teagan regretting the affair he had that started it all. He wonders how his actions lead up to this point but those thoughts are interrupted as his cell is opened by an officer and he is lead down to the electric chair.