The Couple in the Portrait

Chapter 4

     "How about a little fun before I head off to work?" He whispers in my ear. I was half awake but so tired from the night before so all I could do was manage a groan. "Well it seems to me my work paid off , I love you dear sleep tight"
        I wake up around 10:20am and headed straight for the shower. I planned on meeting Ruby again today for lunch at the house so I wore something a little more casual and cleaned up a bit. One thing about me is I cannot have a lousy house, especially when others care to join. Unacceptable.
     Since I had spare time till she got here I started to cook the lunch and watch some television. I made us some chicken pot pies along with a side of strawberry cake for dessert.
       When the door rang I dusted off the scraps from my clothes and hurried to answer. "Hello ruby, come on in, you look beautiful today" I courtesy her in.
  "Why thank you Jessica , wow you have such a lovely home it feels so cozy"
   "Thank you, but please call me Jess I insist. I made us our lunch and dessert so please make yourself at home" I say gesturing her to the table while I take her coat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"That was so delicious I think I would have to pay you to cook dinner for my husband one day because god knows I'm not this good" she boasts and we laugh. "Oh whatever, I'm sure your husband would only prefer yours like my husband does to mine"
    " Listen, so I was wondering if you would like to go on a double date sometime? I know it might be soon but we both hit it off pretty well and I think of you as a close friend already and I would love for our husbands to meet and be aquatinted with one another." Ruby tells me.
        Obviously I would love the thought of that but I cannot go making decisions without John present. It is not controlling like one thinks , I hate speaking for other people when they are not present. But this is a good step in the friend direction so I couldn't help but to agree.
    "Wonderful! How about in 2 days tops? We could possibly go to La Moniet, a French restaurant the next town over ? I highly recommend the shrimp pasta and red wine" with the way she's smiling I know she's sincere with every word.
   "I'll be looking forward to it , I will call you tomorrow to confirm if you don't mind"
     "oh nonsense, do whatever you want , I can't wait" she ends up leaving 10 minutes later after helping me clean up the mess we made and once she does I call John at work and tell him the good news.
    He agreed and told me he he would be delighted to join but that he was too busy to talk to me so I hung up. I was kind of sad but what else could I expect ?
      I spend the day sewing some fabrics together to make the perfect gown for dinner . Oh did I mention I have quite the skill for this? I don't like to boast much sorry , just couldn't help it this time.
     It took me a few hours to finish and since John wouldn't be home for a few hours more I decide to make lemonade and sit out on the porch to read.
     The mail came today so I went towards it and while I was reading I felt a hand on my shoulder and dropped everything in hand.
     "I'm so sorry miss I didn't mean to frighten you, I should've spoke or something i-i" I cut off this poor man's stuttering , that alone was trouble enough. But I'm not to be rude so I dismiss the accident since that was what it only was in the first place.
    "No don't worry it's fine" I say. I watch him pick the papers for me and put them back in it's neatly order.
    He stood as tall as my husband but maybe add a few more inches, with blonde curly hair and dark eyes.
   " I only wanted to come an introduce myself seeing as we are neighbors and all. I seen you moving in the other day and wanted to find the right time to talk to you" His smile was something dangerous, but i couldn't look away.