The forecast was sunny but the sun didn’t shine over Magnolia Hills. The ashen clouds covered the sky, blocking the golden rays from warming the residents of the suburb. Each house that studded the twisting roads a paradigm of the next. One house was different, however, it seemed greyer than the rest. Like the life was sucked out and the only thing left was a sullen shell. Inside the shell lived a family, this family was average in every sense of the word, at least in Magnolia Hills that is. The one thing that separated these people from the rest of their community were the heads of the household.

Christian May placed a large hand on his front door and knocked twice firmly, making sure not to disturb the festive autumn wreath adorning it. The clicking of heels filled the air before the door swung open. Harriet May stood before her husband with her arms outstretched before her with a bright smile on her face. Her husband quickly brushed past her, brushing against her apron. Harriet’s smile faltered as her warm eyes dulled slightly. She examined her husband. She grimaced when her eyes reached his bulging gut hanging over the front of his pants. “Welcome home, honey,” Harriet said while shutting the open door.  Christian didn’t respond. Instead, he sat on his antiquated sofa and threw his shoes off. Harriet scoffed before returning to her cooking. She refastened the crimson ribbon holding her hair up and went back to work. Harriet hummed as she mixed the ingredients together.

“Could you be quiet a second?” Christian shouted from the couch, “I’m trying to relax.”

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry.” Harriet continued cooking but now silence hung in the air. Harriet closed her eyes to try and regain some of her tranquility. This was how they were for a while. Christian sitting on the couch and occasionally getting up to pour himself another glass of liquor while Harriet was cooking peacefully. That was until Harriet knocked over her sack of flour. Christian shot to his feet and spun around as Harriet stood there shocked.

“Don’t just stand there. Clean it up!” But Harriet just stood there and stared at the scattered powder. “I said clean it up!” Harriet quickly regained her composure and went to grab a cloth to clear the mess. “Can’t do anything right…” Christian muttered to himself, turning away from his wife.

“Chris, darling, can you come here a second,” Harriet said sweetly. Christian muttered something before turning back towards her.

“What do you wa-” Christian started but before he could finish his face was covered with flour. “What the hell is wrong with you woman!” Christian wiped at his eyes fervently. When he opened them he saw Harriet standing with a wide grin on her face.

“God I’ve been waiting so long to do that.”

“And why is that?”

“You know damn well why. With what you’ve made me put up with for years,” she said while going back to making her pie.

“Now what’s that supposed to mean.”

“The things that I have had to endure to make you happy. I sacrificed my happiness for you. A\For you and for this family.”

“Oh please, just keep making the pie,” Christian huffed. He walked back to his couch and turned on their T.V. He looked up and Harriet was right in front of him. She pulled his shirt until his face was level with hers.

“You will not walk away from me. Not this time. I’ve had it with you. All this time I’ve stayed for the kids. But now, I don’t even think they want to be near you either.”

“You take that back. Those kids love me. I am the best thing in their lives.”

“Yeah,” Harriet laughed dryly, “You keep telling yourself that. They see right through this laughable façade you try to keep up. They can smell the alcohol every time you walk into the room. They can practically taste the whiskey on your breath.”

“Façade, now that’s a big word for you.” As soon as he said this Harriet’s hand whipped across his face.

“You disgust me.”

“You’re not perfect either. Or do you need me to remind you of your little problem,”

“I never meant for that to happen, okay.” She said shakily.

“Yeah, sure. Let me just steal a little more of my child’s medication. Now look at you, you can barely function without half a bottle of Adderall in you.”

“I never should’ve married you. I was young and dumb. You promised me a life worth living, one filled with happiness and love. Now look where we are. Look where we ended up. High school sweethearts at their finest.”

“I would never have said half of that if I knew how much of an old crone you’d become,” he said as he pushed her off of him. “I did love you. But that was a long time ago. I did all that could to keep this family from falling apart.”

“Oh, thank you. Look how much that’s done for us.” She picked up his glass and took a swig. She swallowed and quickly winced. “God. What was I thinking, marrying an assistant manager at Wendy’s…” She paused for a second before she continued, “You really are nothing. What happened to the star of the school soccer team. You were supposed to do great things. It's hard to look at the pathetic excuse for a man that I see now and picture him as that same person you used to be.”

“Will you shut up!” He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. He yelled before picking a bottle off the table in front of him and throwing at the wall.

“Pathetic,” she sneered, turning away from him. “By tomorrow all of your things, including you, need to be out of this house for good. But don’t worry, you don’t have that much anyway.” As she said this, footsteps stomped down the stairs next to them. Jack May, a six-year-old half covered by his mop of light blond hair, stood at the bottom step with a paper in his hands. He ran to his mom and raised it to her.

“Look what I drew mommy!” he said with his hazel eyes twinkling. It was a mess of crayon and marker. Harriet smiled at her son and picked him up.

“It’s beautiful,’ she said before kissing him on the cheek and setting him back down to the floor.

“Hey, Jack. Do you want to show me what you made?” Christian asked. Jack looked at his father and then back at his mom. Harriet cast a final glare at the wreck of a man in front of her before taking Jacks hand and walking up the stairs.