Beautiful and talented painter, Selma Halpern + charismatic architect husband, Jamal Halpern + bubbly baby boy, Rae Halpern. The stars had finally aligned in Selma's favor.
But by the strike of midnight on a fateful day in April, it seemed like the...
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14.
The last of Jamal's cold was slipping out of his body system and he could almost feel it, as he sipped on the black coffee Selma placed in front of him. He considered dumping the almost full content of the mug into the washbasin behind him. As stupid as it sounded, he wanted the cold to stick around for maybe a few more days, just long enough for Selma to get over her annoyance with his lies. Lies he definitely wasn't ready to admit to, not in the weeks to come.
"Jamal," he looked up at the sound of his name coming from Selma who had Rae attached to her hips while balancing a plate on the other hand. "I forgot to ask, how'd it go, your conference?"
His eyebrows knitted as it dawned on him she was bringing up a proper conversation with him, no hint of nervousness or anger, just like the old times of them being the newly married couple they were. "It was —" he paused.
How did it go, truly? Three days had passed and he still wondered. The reporters all seemed to ignore the Walsh drama and asked him questions solely based on the state of his business. There had been a slight decline in his income, if compared to the previous but it wasn't something he wanted Selma worrying about. She wouldn't drop it, inquiring and digging further to make more findings on how.
Selma has been always been the curious little cat, not caring whose feet she had to step on just to get her answers, remaining completely innocent and oblivious to what it seemed like to others. That innocence always pulled him, tugging at his heartstrings because all he wanted to do was protect her. With her sharp, inquisitive personality, there were many times over the years he had to come to her aid. She always seemed to need saving at the end. But sometimes, it really wasn't as easy as that.
"Well?"
Jamal looked up while she slipped into the seat beside him, placing Rae on the table before her. She pushed a plate of chicken nuggets with ketchup on the side in front of him and another of Kit Kat fingers for herself.
"It was alright, no hitches I guess. I'm just waiting for an email or phone call from the Walsh Chambers' secretary or Carmen's personal assistant." His fingers, clammy from their brushing arms, slipped down his pants, wiping the last traces of his nerves before reaching for a nugget. He dipped it into the ketchup and watched the slight curl of Selma's lips. She had always been disgusted by the nugget and Ketchup idea and even now, she didn't make any effort to hide it like she would have done few days back.
Everything seemed normal. She was making it normal. He couldn't understand why.
Confirming his thoughts, she reached forward to dust crumbs from his lips and dipped her finger into her mouth, smiling mischievously as she did so. His eyes didn't budge as he tried to move them away. Selma wiggled her brows and winked, all it took to push his lips towards his cheeks in a small smile. His smile seemed to catch her off guard and for a second, the confidence and normalcy in her eyes were gone, replaced by shock.
