Chocolate

The Dinner

Sunny weather stopped by that Saturday morning, melting the remaining frost and giving the town an amber glow. Serena only worked until 3 and she figured to hold onto her job to make sure she really did want to watch Gabriel's kids. He told her to stop by at 6 for dinner.

Describing the mixed feelings in her head was a needle in haystack, because although she found him sexy and enjoyed hooking up with him and kissing him and having feelings for him even though they only met the previous week, there was that little needle in her that knew it was wrong because his wife and three children were still very present in his life. She held onto to the fact that he was getting a divorce to assuage her feelings of guilt.

Pulling a tan knit sweater over her dark wash denim jeans, she tousled her curly brown hair and headed to Gabriel's house.

*

"Hi, sweetie, it's nice to see you," Melody warmly welcomed Serena into her home, which smelt like roasted turkey and sweet potatoes. It felt like Thanksgiving to Serena, something she didn't really receive a huge celebration for at home. Her parents were distant from each other and never paid attention to what she did unless they were sober, which was rare. Then they were quick to yell at her as a scapegoat for their failing, drug dependent, marriage. It was nice to be around a good family. Until she realized she was a factor that would ruin their marriage. Rather, their divorce which was pretty peaceful. They still lived together and were hiring a babysitter and their smaller kids didn't seem shaken up, and maybe, she figured, Melody was hiding it until it was all set in stone.

"You too," Serena followed Melody to the large table, adorned in colorful food platters and clear glass plates and cups. The smaller boy skipped around the kitchen attached to the dining room and the older boy politely walked into the dining room and sat down.

"Brady, go get your father and sister!" Melody called to the younger boy, Brady, in the kitchen. He scuttled up the steps quickly, leaving the three in the dining room. Serena slunk into a seat adjacent to the head of the table.

"Thank you for setting this up," Serena said after a long silent moment.

"My pleasure. Thank you for agreeing to babysit. My husband visits the shop occasionally and said he stopped by with Noelle once and mentioned to me how nice you were," she said. Serena almost flinched at her use of the word husband. "Would you mind grabbing a drink with me?" she didn't wait for Serena to answer before walking to the kitchen. The younger boy bounced down the steps.

"Daddy's getting dressed, Noelle said she isn't coming," he trotted to the dining room, an iPad in his hands.

Melody sighed while she slid a pitcher of water out of the fridge and poured it into a glass. "Have you spoken to Noelle?" she asked as the clear liquid filled the cup.

"A little bit," Serena accepted the pitcher that Melody handed over.

"Do you know what's going on with her? She seemed a little upset when I broke the news about our divorce but even before then," Melody explained and Serena noticed she finally brought up the divorce.

"I don't know," Serena slid the pitcher back and watched Gabriel descend down the steps. Both his mistress and wife watched him walk down as if he were in slow motion, his curly brown hair still damp and his gray blue eyes squinting from his wide smile.

"Hey Serena."