Work Text:
Trina sighs as she stares at her wedding ring. She wonders when Marvin will get home. She also wonders who he’s with; he doesn’t do the broadcast on Saturdays. Her only thought is that he’s probably with his mistress. Trina knows that he’s been cheating, but it makes him happy, as much as that disappoints her. She doesn’t want to divorce him. She keeps her ring on even though she knows because she wants to believe that their marriage can be saved. If she takes it off, that symbolizes the end of their relationship, and she doesn't want that. She sighs and gets up off the couch, sparing a glance at her son, who is playing chess and not speaking. That worries her sometimes. She knows it’s her and Marvin’s fault for being so neglectful.
The mother heads into the kitchen for a glass of wine, specifically Cabernet Sauvignon, a kosher red wine. Marvin’s favorite, though he’d never admit it due to it being one of the velvety feminine wines, She hesitates to grab the glass, wanting to just drink from the bottle, but she has to be proper. She pours herself a glass and takes a sip, humming softly at the taste. She goes back into the living room and brings her glass and the bottle with her. She smiles at Jason and tries to talk to him, but gets nothing in reply. "Ungrateful brat." Trina hisses without thinking. She apologizes as soon as she realizes what she said, and there’s still no reaction. Jason goes to his room, taking the chess board with him. Trina sits in silence, sipping wine, for thirty minutes.
Marvin arrives home with his new work friend, Whizzer. Trina is jealous of him. Marvin spends more time with Whizzer than he does with her and Jason. Trina walks to the two men and greets Whizzer with a stiff, fake smile and a handshake. She kisses Marvin on the cheek and he doesn't do anything back which she had grown used to. She lets them know she’ll be starting dinner soon and they can help themselves to the wine she brought out. She quickly grabs two more glasses and fills them before handing them to the men. Whizzer asks about Jason and Trina lets him know the child is in his room and in a bad mood. Whizzer is respectful and doesn't question further. Marvin and Whizzer sit on the couch and talk as the TV plays in the background. Trina gets started on dinner. Whizzer goes in and tries to talk to her; she apologizes and tells him that she's not in the mood for conversation. Whizzer, always the gentleman, does not push but instead offers to help her cook, having noticed how stressed she seemed. She accepts his offer. They work together and actually talk a bit before Marvin comes in; he’s irritated and begins to argue with Trina. Whizzer is kicked out of the kitchen as the couple argues. He goes to check on Jason, wanting to know if the child is okay. The argument goes on for nearly ten minutes before Marvin lets Trina go back to cooking. He goes back in the living room and calls Whizzer down so they can talk again.
Thirty minutes later, everyone is seated at the table and ready to eat. She had made linguine with tomato sauce and challah bread. Whizzer thanked her before he ate, because of course he did. They ate in silence, minus the few times Whizzer and Jason spoke with each other. Once the meal was finished, Trina said they should go on a walk or to the park; she wants Jason and Marvin to get outside and interact with someone (besides Whizzer) for a bit. Whizzer says he wants to stay behind and clean the dishes as a thank you, and Marvin says he’ll stay behind too. She sighs and accepts this. It takes a bit to convince Jason to go to the park, but she promises ice cream, and he finally agrees.
They leave the two men and take the 15-minute walk to the park. Once they arrive, Trina realizes she forgot to grab Marvin's wallet. She makes Jason promise not to run off before hurrying back to their home to grab it. Trina enters quietly so as not to bother the men. She spots the wallet on the console table. She does her best to stay silent as she grabs it. While Trina was heading to the door, she heard odd sounds coming from the den. She peeked in, curious as to what was happening, and almost cried at what she saw. There was Marvin and Whizzer laying on the couch, belts gone, and Marvin's fly was down. They were giggling and kissing. Whizzer was groaning and whining as Marvin licked, kissed, and bit his neck while pulling his hair. Neither man noticed her. Her heart broke, and she felt disgusted. This man, whom she believed was a gentleman and a decent person, was the reason her husband wasn't in love with her. She had accepted this man into her home, made him food, and let him interact with her child, only for him to be a homosexual and her husband's ‘mistress’. Tears filled her eyes as she fled the home.
She goes back to the park and plays with Jason, acting as if nothing happened. They both ended up getting vanilla ice cream. Jason wanted to get Whizzer a cone, so she did. She almost forgot what happened. They return home an hour later with an extra ice cream cone for Whizzer. Whizzer is getting ready to leave when they arrive. Jason gives him the ice cream cone and hugs him goodbye. Trina makes sure to stay civilized with her goodbye. Marvin walks Whizzer out to his car, she never minded this till now. She watched them through the window and noticed Marvin kissing him goodbye. He hasn't done that to her in years. It fuels her jealousy. Marvin comes back in and seems happy. It's infuriating. Trina keeps herself civilized. She puts Jason to bed, then confronts Marvin.
They end up arguing again. Marvin tells her that it doesn't matter and he’ll stop; they both know it's a lie. Trina is done. She tells him they're getting a divorce, and he is out of the house. He tries to refuse, saying that he pays for the house, food, and appliances, but she ignores him and yells until he leaves. It takes her a moment to process what happened, but when she does, she grabs the bottle of wine, sits on the couch, and begins sobbing. She cries and drinks for hours. She lays down on the couch after finishing two bottles, still crying. She rips off her wedding ring and tosses it across the room. There’s no hope for their marriage. She falls asleep with tears streaming down her face.