Encino-M.J

Vacation

Althea's eyes stayed glued to the kitchen clock, the knife in her hand passed absentmindedly through the thick, emerald skin of the cucumber with each slice of the blade. Opal danced around her to check on the casserole in the oven every now and then and Ardice sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, blabbering about her pageant days but Althea didn't hear or see a thing.

Her mind was on Michael.

Despite his secrecy, she knew he'd left the house to confront Jermaine about her allegations. That had been hours ago. Althea hoped the encounter would be intense yet brief and Michael would return home where she could keep an eye on him, but now she was worried.

Althea didn't trust Jermaine at all not even with his brother- and she fought hard to shake off all negative thoughts swirling in her brain. When the clock struck six-thirty, the knife skipped a slice, causing the blade to lacerate the pad of her finger.

"Shit!" she hissed, pressing the wounded digit between her lips.

Ardice clicked her tongue in disapproval and rushed to grab a dish towel that hung lazily from the edge of the countertop.

'"If my mama were here right now, she'd wash your mouth out with soap. She always taught me good southern girls don't cuss,"

She grimaced while swallowing the metallic taste of blood.

"Well, we California girls can have quite the colorful vocabulary,"

Althea pressed the towel to her finger and smiled graciously at the older woman. She'd grown tired of her neighbor's stories of vindictive beauty queens and squeezing her size 8 feet into size six shoes, but the company of Ardice and Opal gave her a chance to focus on something else even if it wasn't helping at all.

"Why don't you have a seat, Althea," Opal spoke softly, placing a hand on the young woman's shoulder. "I'll finish up the rest of this,"

Althea sighed as she plopped herself at the table.

"I'm sorry Opal. I wanted to be helpful, but I can't stop worrying about Michael,"

The maid smiled softly, rinsing off the knife.

"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, dear,"

Ardice nodded in agreement as she picked up her coffee cup.

"Sometimes, Steve doesn't come home for days," she drawled. "Men are like cats- they'll roam the neighborhood for a while but eventually they'll come back home,"

Althea didn't agree with her neighbor's logic. As much as she loved and trusted Michael, she'd never be okay with him not coming home for days without letting her know where he'd be.

"Not Mike," The young woman replied before excusing herself from the table "If he's not at work we spend all of our time together,"

Althea proceeded to rummage through the kitchen cabinets until she found the first aid kit and Opal smiled as she tossed the salad.

"It's true. Those two are joined at the hip,"

"Perhaps your generation of men is different after all,"

The young woman had just finished wrapping the band-aid around her finger when the front door slammed shut. A sense of relief immediately washed over Althea, followed by a surge of anger that slowly simmered once his footsteps entered the kitchen.

"Hi baby," Michael smiled cutely at his wife, his eyes wandering briefly towards his neighbor. "Hello, Ardice,"

He looked just the same as he had when he left except the determined scowl that had been on his face was replaced with a more somber expression.