Work in progress

Rain fell soft on the porch roof in a pitter patter pattern that made Mike contemplate his last couple weeks. He wondered aloud to himself, alone and content with that fact asking how he got to this point. He reached into his picnic basket and absentmindedly chewed the end off of a baguette. From the corner of his eye he noticed a lone figure dressed to the nines with a magazine shielding his hair from the rain come strolling up his street. The man seemed to not see him sitting on the porch as he grumbled noisily about his terrible luck getting caught in the rain on his walk to work.
"Hullo, stranger, care to get out of the rain?"
The strange man shook himself back to reality and gazed from Mike to the porch and back again. "I 'preciate the offer friend but I can not stop, work waits for no man."
Mike smiled slightly as he understood the sentiment, nodded and tipped his hat. "Will you at least take this hat with you? Your hair looks too well done up to be bothered by the rain."
The stranger sized Mike up before shaking his head a resounding no. "Again, 'preciate it but the last thing I need is my already wet hair to become matted by a hat."
"Fair enough, well, safe travels buddy."
"You too, good sir."
Mike watched the man's figure get smaller as he picked his pace up on the way to his job. He pondered how society had gotten to this point, where human interaction almost always seemed strained and forced in a weird way.
Mike's thought was broken by the screeching call coming from inside the house. "Miiiike, are you out there smoking again?"
"No I'm not, I'm just thinking."
The door opened noisily and a worn face peered around from the inside, the glow from the porch light casting shadows on the wrinkles and creases of her face. "Well, whatever you call it I can smell something burning from out here. You must be thinking pretty hard." A coy smile danced across her face, as this was just another round in their playful bantering about Mike's smoking habit. Mike had quit smoking two months before yet she loved to remind him of how disgusting of a habit it had been.
"Do you have to do this every time I'm missing for a couple minutes? I just wanted some peace."
The lady's smile flashed into a frown. "Sorrrrry for wanting to see you, m'dear, next time you're gone I'll just sit in the dark alone and pout."
"No one said you had to sit in the dark, we do have lights y'know."
The tone of the bantering had taken on a strained tone, less playful and more combative. "Oh do we have lights? I couldn't tell with how many are burnt out. You know you said you'd change 'em last week."
"I already told you, the corner store didn't have the right wattage, and I'm not gonna just buy $6 light bulbs for them to destroy the fixture."
"Ohhhh, I forgot that we only had one store in this town, forgive me for bugging you sir." She slammed the screen door on her way back in, mumbling about her good fortune to be married to such a resourceful man. "After 20 years together he still doesn't listen." She shook her head as she absentmindedly picked up the dirty dishes that had been accumulating in the foyer. "And on top of that, I must be the maid of the house too. Man am I lucky." Turning around a little too quickly, Megan stubbed her toe on the corner of the end table. "Fuuuuuuuck that hurt" she howled, holding her foot with her free hand and hopping around. She lost her balance as she hopped too far from her center of gravity and came crashing to the floor, the dishes breaking around her and one falling on her forehead. Again, she let out a howl, defeated.
"Y'alright love??" Mike came rushing into the foyer and examined the scene. Hurriedly he picked up the large pieces of glass and ran his hand through her hair. "What happened babe?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine, don't let it take time away from your thinking about little old me." Hurt and embarrassed, Megan turned her gaze anywhere but on Mike. "I'll pick it all up in a second don't worry about it."
"No, no, let me get it for you. Do you want any ice?"
Megan's face relaxed a bit as she let a little bit of her grudge lapse. "I'm fine honey, honestly. Really, I'm fine." she said, her tone wavering just a bit to belay the fact that she was not wholly fine. Mike frowned without a hint of condescension as he knelt next to Megan. "Clearly, you're not. What's going on?"
Megan trained her gaze on the end table just past Mike. "We never spend time together any more. Like when we first started dating."
Startled by the new direction of the convo, Mike's eyes narrowed. "Megan, we've been together for 20 years, things cool off naturally."
Megan harrumphed in defiance before jumping into her clearly prepared narrative. "Oh, 20 years, I guess that makes up for it. Too bad the last 15 have been forced and miserable." Megan was even surprised by her brutal honesty, Mike was aghast.
"Forced and miserable? Well excuse the fuck out of me. Here I was thinking we loved each other." Mike stood up abruptly and turned towards the porch.
"Wait, Mike. We need to talk about this." Megan looked daggers into the back of Mike's head. "I know that you've been running around on the weekends, and I've known for some time. The last thing I want is to spoil your fun, but you'll have to excuse me if I'm not exactly excited about playing second fiddle."
Mike's mouth dropped open, surprised again at Megan's directness. "Where is this coming from love, you were the one who said we should see other people." Mike stammered out the last sentence, not even believing his own words.
"Suggested? I blurted that out in the middle of an argument and you took it literally. I can not believe you. How dare you pin this on me?"
Mike scratched his chin, unsure of where to go next but knowing that he should be treading lightly. "I-I just thought it might be a good idea, what with us not having sex except on my birthday or when I buy you things."
"Buy me things? Mike, it's not the buying that turns me on, it's the idea that every once in a blue moon you still thought enough about me to get me anything. With how we've been going even a trinket is a bright spot." Tears welled in Megan's eyes as they had their longest conversation in over a month, and not about anything either of them really wanted to address. "I just want you to want me, Mike. I want to be a priority."
"You are a priority, Megan, you're my only one. What do you think I think about when I'm sitting on the porch all the time? I'm thinking of ways to get through to you without being cut down by a snarky remark. I'm thinking of