What a beautiful number to read off the digital clock on the nightstand. Being between jobs has its perks.
Becky has an interview later, but it's absolutely thrilling to have the house to herself for the morning while everyone else is at work.
A morning stretch in a silent house. Singing to herself as she brushes her teeth. No need to fight with Kenny over the bathroom; she can take her sweet time.
She's never been quite so excited to have the kitchen to herself for a leisurely breakfast, but when she descends to the kitchen she finds it occupied. Constantine is there, muttering to himself in annoyed Thai as he struggles to slice a bagel. She watches him for a few seconds while he hacks away, then he finally glances up and starts when he sees Becky.
"Good morning," he says, once he shakes off the shock.
"Morning," Becky mumbles. Suddenly, she wishes she put on a bra before coming downstairs.
Constantine clears his throat, then answers Becky's unspoken question. "I have a late start today."
"It's fine," Becky says.
"Let me know if I am in your way."
"You're not in the way. You live here too," Becky says. Does she sound too formal? Did she go too hard in trying to hide her annoyance? Should she dial it back?
Instead of digging herself deeper, she shuffles past Constantine and grabs a couple slices of bread from the cabinet. As she turns to the toaster oven, she sees Constantine also headed in that same direction with his freshly halved bagel.
"Go ahead," he says, stepping back.
"No, please."
"I insist," he says.
"No, I insist." Becky fully crosses to the other side of the kitchen and motions for Constantine to go ahead. She will not be made to feel like a guest in her own house. From Constantine's perspective, Becky might seem like the new one here, but she lived in this house nearly two decades before he'd even met Carolyn.
Constantine steps forward, and sets his bagel in for a toast, but doesn't take his eyes off of Becky. His gaze makes Becky feel very exposed, and folds her arms across her chest.
"Sleep well?" he asks.
"Yeah." A few seconds later, Becky hears what her own response sounds like, and recalls Kenny's accusation of how she behaved with Raymond: "answered all his questions with one word". So she tries a little harder: "Weird being back in a twin bed. I feel like a teenager again."
Constantine lets out a short, clipped laugh, that almost sounds pained, but Becky has now spent just enough time with him to understand that's his normal laugh.
"What about you?" Becky says.
"Most people hate Mondays," Constantine says, "But they are my day to sleep in."
Finally, the toaster oven beeps, and Constantine retrieves his burnt-bagel. Becky sticks her bread in, then watches while Constantine retrieves some lox from the fridge. But he doesn't put the lox on the bagel. He places it in a pile beside the bagel on his place. He takes a bite of the bagel. He chews, then places it down, picks up a piece of lox and eats it.
It's the most unsettling sight Becky has ever seen.
"Do you have plans for the day?" Constantine asks. A few crumbs spill out of his mouth.
Becky turns to watch her bread toast, instead, as she answers. "An interview, later."
"Wonderful," Constantine says. "I am sure you are eager to get working again."
YOU ARE READING
And Our Parents
RomanceBecky, we are all adults here." "It's hard to take that seriously when you have your hand in my pants. The chemistry between Becky and Freen is obvious and immediate, so it's awkward when they find out their parents are getting married. This is a co...
