A Little Therapy

It was the loud TV that drove Toni over the edge; all afternoon and now into the evening. Finishing up in the kitchen after dinner she exploded.

"Richie…Richie turn that bloody TV down or off."

"What babe?"

"Turn the damn TV off!"

"I’m watching a game"

"You’re always watching a game, I’m sick of listening to it."

"Well close the door."

"I don’t have to close a door in our house, turn the thing down."

Richie ignored her and Toni slammed the door to his den and then slammed out the back door. Standing on the terrace she was livid. Through the closed doors she didn’t know the den had gone silent. Richie sat for a minute in his chair and then got up opening the den door and then the back door.

"Hey what’s up with you?" he asked

"I’m tired of TV all the time."

"We don’t have TV all the time."

"You’ve gone sports mad Richie, you watch everything that comes on and now you tell me you’ve bought season tickets for some rabbit team in Sydney, guess that means you’ll be spending some time there"

"You weren’t listening, I bought a family membership, both of us will be spending time in Sydney"

"You know I’m not into sports, I have no idea what goes on in a game."

"I thought it was something we could do together."

"Well you thought wrong Richie."

"Hey Toni, I don’t know anything about gardening but I know you live and breathe it okay, so I get out here and dig holes, haul rocks and pots, and bags of horse shit so you can…"

"Well you won’t have to haul horse shit anymore; Liana is going to let me have all I want."

"You aren’t hauling it in your new car!"

"No, I guess it will be delivered…what we’re arguing about horse shit now?"

Richie began pacing and stopped, hands on hips, "We’re having a fight? Okay it’s not all about you Toni…it’s about sharing, it’s about giving and taking. I spent all day yesterday helping you clear out Christmas and all this morning working on the damn sprinkler system to water the garden. I don’t mind helping you and working with you, I enjoy it okay and as long as it’s me working with you everything is fine, if I ask you to share something with me you aren’t interested…ain‘t that the way it is?"

Toni immediately became contrite. "I’m sorry…oh Richie I don’t want to be like this…I’ll go to watch the rabbit team…"

"Rabbitohs, Toni…what brought all this on is it because I went to sleep in front of the TV last night?" Richie suspected he had hit the nail on the head. "You know what I think you need?"

"Richie I don’t want to fight."

"We’re not, just clearing the air…you need some physical therapy." He walked over to her and put his arms around her.

"Hey I’m the therapist," she said against his neck

"Not tonight…Dr. Roberts has you in hand, this hand to be exact." With that hand he led her back inside and up the steps to their bedroom. With a practiced hand he exercised the type of therapy he knew she loved and needed.