Before Another War

Chapter Thirty-Two

Alex was gently stirring the pot when the doorbell rang.

'That's probably Raf,' she said.

'I'll get it,' Matt replied, trying to be helpful. 

Alex glanced over to the cat as she cooked. He was lying regally on a makeshift pet bed of blankets and cushions. She was making spaghetti. For Alex, it brought back a bit of normality, at least. A quiet evening with friends—before tomorrow. Her mind kept wandering back to the office, to how Kirk could be involved. But one thing was pulling at her. If Kirk did kidnap Nadia, why didn't she say? He can't have been the one who sold her out...

Raf came into the kitchen with Matt, taking his hood down and wiping his wet shoes on the doormat.

'I see you've been busy,' he noted playfully.

Matt chuckled. 'It's my mum's recipe, best spag bol you've ever had.'

'I'll believe it when I see it,' Raf said laughing. 'Oh, by the way, I found your phone.'

Alex glanced up to see him holding it in his hand.

'Oh, thank god!' she exclaimed, rushing over to him. 'I was so worried!'

'It's no problem.' Raf handed it over, trying to seem nonchalant. Alex clasped it firmly in her hands and checked her notifications. She was a little disappointed not to find any, but she shrugged it off.

'So,' Matt began, stepping forward and glancing into the pot. 'Looks like it's almost done.'

'Maybe we should give Cornelius some,' Raf joked, but Alex thought it was a good idea.'You know, we've been struggling to get him to eat anything. He's refusing all the cat food we got him.'

Playing along, Matt scooped out some of the sauce with a spoon and put a small amount in a bowl. He placed it on the hard floor, watching the cat.

'Oh, come on,' Raf said.

However, Cornelius gleefully leapt up from his DIY bed, and ambled over to the bowl. After a few cursory sniffs, he started to eat.

'Well that's a wee surprise,' Said Matt, standing up.

'Told you he wasn't normal.' Alex shrugged.

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'But she started it!'

'Girls!' Trudy whispered harshly, 'We're trying to have a nice night, please, go to bed.'

Sophie and May's faces were downcast, but they did as their mother said and left the room.

Kirk and Trudy were left sitting at the dinner table, just the two of them. This was the first time in a while they'd had the chance to properly sit down and chat—and Kirk didn't know what to say.

'So, did you have a good day at work?' He tried.

Trudy worked as a teacher, and she was good at it. The children both revered her and were completely terrified of her at the same time.

'It was alright, the kids weren't too much trouble. You?'

'You know, same old, same old.' Kirk reclined in his chair.

There was a moment of silence between them. He racked his brain, trying to think of something to say as he took another mouthful of the bland cottage pie. As Kirk brought it to his mouth, Trudy slammed down her fork, causing bits of mashed potato to fly across the table.