Unexpected drama.

{if Appointment = 0
}As Beth pulled up to Mr. Harden's house, she was greeted by an unusual sight. Kim Harden's sky blue Lexus convertible was peeling away from the house, with a small moving van following behind. What...
{elseif Appointment = 1
}Beth pulled up to Mr. Harden's house.{endif
}She pulled up next to the {if Appointment = 0
}other {endif
}Lexus, and grabbed her massage table and supply bag before hesitantly knocking on the door. when no one answered, and she noticed the front door wasn't actually closed, she set down her table and pushed it open. She could hear Tom Harden's voice: he seemed to be yelling, probably into his phone, on the back patio under the Italian style pergola. {if Appointment = 1
}Beth glanced around at the living room and dining room, and noticed the walls seemed bare. There were no pictures anymore. {endif
}As Tom stepped back in through the sliding glass doors, Beth was treated to his angry words...
"...see you in court, then!" He hung up, and then jumped a little when he saw her in the entryway.
"I'm..I'm sorry, Mr. Harden, the door was..."
"Fu....damn it. I totally forgot...." He set his phone down, and the anger melted from his normally friendly face. He was taller than her by about six inches, with some grey streaks in his otherwise lustrous black hair. He was in good shape, and well dressed in khaki shorts and an Under Armour top. He liked to jog. "I guess there's no real hiding the fact that... Kim and I are through."
{if Appointment = 0
}"I saw her leave..." {elseif Appointment = 1
}"Oh, no..." she didn't have to fake a sympathetic tone. No....{endif
}
"I'm sorry, it's been brewing this whole week, and I should have called to cancel the session today."

Beth felt her heart sink a little. She had looked up to them as a couple still in love after years of marriage. "I'll go if you want, but if you ask me, you definitely need my services."
Tom stared for a second, before laughing. "I guess so. I'm definitely tight all over."
"Why don't you have a drink while I set up, then?" Beth smiled. She tried to sound encouraging, and it seemed to be working.
A little while later, she was rubbing oil onto Tom's back. He was stripped to his briefs, with a towel over his hips, face down in the cutout of her table. His muscles were like old wood: knots on top of other knots. She had her work cut out for her. "Do...you want to talk about it?"
He was **** at first, but eventually he gave her the short version. Kim and he had been having problems for a while, but had been putting a good show on for others. They'd grown distant from each other, and Kim had shown less and less affection over time, blaming him for working a lot. He admitted that he did indeed work hard, but asserted that he always made time for romance, and that it was Kim who had become disinterested. It all had boiled to a head earlier in the week. Tom had accused Kim of cheating, and she hadn't outright denied it, deflecting instead. They had agreed to separate, but this morning, when she had shown up with a U-Haul van driven by her personal trainer, Geo, Tom knew he had been right. They had fought the entire time she was packing, and more on the phone after.
"And that's...mmmmmph....basically where you came in..."
"I'm so sorry, Tom. That sucks."
"Honestly? I'm more relieved than anything. It's been a long time coming. We haven't even had sex in almost four months." Suddenly, he tensed up. "Sorry, that's inappropriate, I shouldn't-"
"It's okay. I'm a grown woman, Mr. Harden." Beth was a little surprised at the fact that her eyes were filling a little. Her role model couple...wasn't what she thought it was. Was it inevitable? "You're incredible tense. I can tell this has been doing a number on you."
"Honestly, I'm glad I forgot to cancel... I really f..I really needed this today."
The end of the session was rapidly approaching, she realized. And Tom was still really tense. "I'm annoyed that I have another appointment right after, because you definitely need more work."
"Honestly, what you've managed so far is great..." he murmured. He rolled over for her to work his chest, arms and thighs, inadvertently letting the towel drop. Beth couldn't help but notice the bulge in his shorts: a common side effect of getting a massage. Occupational hazard, she thought wryly.