ng at it for hours, and now my body ached. I wanted him to stop; I had had enough. "Tom," I whispered. "Tom," louder this time. But he didn't listen. He never did. In the next mi

ay out the door. I stood, frozen, surprised at his reaction. "I am sorry," I whispered. But he already slammed the door shut. I shuddered at the memory. "Really?" I asked. "Be ready by nine. I have a lot to do tomorrow," he said. My lips parted to speak. I wanted to tell him that tomorrow was our anniversary. But then his phone rang. He picked it up with the speed of light; for a second I wondered who was calling. He smiled when he saw the number on the screen. He never smiled like that with me. "Hello. How are you doing?" He whispered into the receiver and walked towards the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Soon enough the sound of his voice got drowned out by the sound of the shower. I sighed. I guess our conversation was over. The next morning I called in the babysitter. Amira stayed home; she was running a temperature, and I needed to keep an eye on her. "Daddy! Can you give me a kiss?" Amira yelled, stretching her arms out to Tom before he walked out the door. He leaned just enough for Amira to hear. "Daddy doesn't do kisses, Amira. Meet your mother," he said. I watched Amira's smile drop. The babysitter did too. "Hurry up, Selene," Tom said, then walked out the door. I carried Amira into my arms and hugged her tightly. "Daddy is just in a rush, sweetheart, but I would give you all the kisses you want." I planted kisses all over her face. She giggled. "Stop, Mum, it's too much." "You deserve it, my princess." I planted a kiss for the last time and handed her to the babysitter. "Please take care of her; if anything happens, give me a call," I muttered. "You have nothing to worry about, ma'am." Sh