Transgression (Prequel #1)

24 - Debt

The ambrosial smell of crispy bacon paired with salted eggs and buttered toast was more than enough to steal his attention away from the newspaper. Lowering his boots off the coffee table, he folded the dry pages and set it beside the steaming cup of coffee. Glancing to his right, he was met by a sight that over these long years has never failed to bring a smile to his face.

A bright yellow sun dress, adorned by a stitched rose and lily pattern across the bottom frill, loosely swayed around her ankles as she moved about the kitchen preparing breakfast. The way this particular fabric reflected the sun bleeding in from the open windows seemed impossible to say the least; but there she shined.

Her well-conditioned hair bounced freely with every content step across the floor; reinforcing the many reasons behind his adoration. Her body occupied his vision for a minute or two; grateful of any glance he could get of her face but deeply satisfied with even just her back side. A warmness that he grew so fond of fluttered once more.

With keen intuition, she turned to him, gripping the handle of the skillet between her delicate fingers. They locked eyes and exchanged profoundly devoted stares as she continued to stir the eggs.

Rachel playfully hummed, facing the stove again. "Did you get her up? She'll be late for school."

"Yes dear, I got her up." He returned her spirited words with a hint of sarcasm.

"Can you go make sure? You know how she can be sometimes." She said with an everlasting smile.

"Yeah, you're right." He rolled his eyes, then looked up from the couch toward the upstairs railing; a glare from the window hitting the left side of his face. "Kimberly, you up!?" He shouted through the house.

Rachel turned back to him with a wide-eyed, pinched expression.

She chuckled, "What was that?"

"I was making sure she was up." He grinned slyly.

"Well thank god we don't still live in my apartment. You almost got me evicted twice with your big mouth." She referenced sweetly.

"Oh, come on your landlord was a jackass. Plus, my car was the thing he complained about, not my mouth; and I sold that."

"You sold it to help with rent, not because of the noise."

He shook his head with a beaming grin, obliviously satisfied with their banter and reached out for his coffee. Rachel divided the eggs and bacon among three plates and laid out the stack of dry toast on a separate plate. There she ensured the stovetop was off and washed her hands in the sink.

Alex sipped his cup of energy and set it back on the table, glancing back to admire her. "You dress way too nicely for the daycare."

Carrying one plate in each hand, she started towards the coffee table. "I'm sorry my job requires me to be clean and approachable." She jokingly mocked, "Can you help me with these?"

He moved up from the couch and took the plates from her and set them on the table with care. "Having no dress code is a blessing. That's what makes my freelance contract work so great."

"The paychecks are nice too." She said, returning to the kitchen for a second trip.

A snap of his fingers, "It's a team effort, at the end of the day." He sat back down.

She double checked the burners on the stove and started returning items to the fridge. "Right now, it's more dependent on me. Seeing as your work is seasonal." She spoke with no hostility.

He nodded, "It's slowing down with the snow, but there's always work to be found. . . Maybe I can talk to Devan."

Her spirits lifted, "Great idea. The girls can have a playdate while you two catch up and talk about work." She suggested.