Margaret and Olivia

Chapter Three: Home Sweet Home

Margaret and Jackson lived in the same home they had bought after their marriage. Although the couple could afford much more than their small two story home, they enjoyed the coziness and didn't care to relocate. Downstairs was the garage, kitchen, living room, and dining room; upstairs was the master bedroom and the guest bedroom. In total, there were three bathrooms, two upstairs and one downstairs. Upon entering the front door, the stairs were the first thing seen. To the left was the garage, which had been turned into a library/ office/storage room. To the right was the living room with cream carpeting. Past the living room was the dining room which connected to the kitchen, which was past the garage. In the middle of it all, under the stairs, was the bathroom.

The living room had a wall of windows, an open wall leading to the dining room, a wall attached to the stairs, and a wall parallel to the stair's wall. Dark brown curtains accompanied the windows. A dark brown loveseat sofa was pushed against the wall of the stairs. In the corner of the open wall and the stair's wall was a matching brown single seater reclining sofa chair. In front of the loveseats was a glass coffee table that had never dared been scratched. Across from the seating options was a TV on a dark brown, wooden stand. On both sides of the television were matching dark brown bookshelves filled with a mix of movies and CDs, which despite being rarely used were without even a speck of dust. In the middle of the left bookshelf was a black oval-shaped stereo. Above the reclining chair was a dark brown clock that Jackson's father had carved for the couple as a wedding present.

Margaret's usual routine was to enter the house, hang her coat and purse on the coat stand attached to the wall to the right of the front door, then place her shoes on a shoe rack under the coat stand. However, on this night, Margaret tossed her plain black purse onto the loveseat and absentmindedly dropped her heels onto the coffee table. She swayed her hips, twirling her dress, as she headed towards the stereo. The strum of the radio drowned out the ticking of the clock, although the couple had grown accustomed to the noise and barely noticed its noise.

Jackson had a similar ritualistic routine and tonight his habits remained the same. After setting his shoes on their resting spot and hanging his coat, Jackson loosened and removed his tie. He debated whether to put it away or put it on the stairs, ultimately he opted for his wife's unusual behavior and tossed the tie onto the stairs. Jackson scurried past his wife and into the kitchen where he put the keys into their drawer and poured the two of them a glass of wine.

Margaret began to spin her feet to the music streaming from the radio. Jackson sat down his wife's glass of wine as he began to sip his own. He stood against the wall and watched Margaret as she entertained herself. Jackson had finished his and his wife's glass of wine within the time of three songs. Jackson didn't usually drink, so between the wine from home and the champagne from the restaurant he stumbled as he walked over to his wife. A love song that Jackson had never heard of began playing, and Jackson pulled Margaret in close.

The couple, both giddy, leaned on one another and swayed to the music, even after the song ended. Jackson stepped back, grabbing Margaret's arm to regain balance. He still held her arm as he looked into her eyes and smiled. Just then the phone rang, breaking up the happy couple. Jackson headed into the kitchen and picked up the ringing phone.

"Jackson Cain speaking." Margaret heard her husband say to the phone. Several moments passed, and Margaret thought she heard Jackson whispering into the phone, but she was not certain, so she resumed dancing around the living room. Soon, Jackson returned. His blue eyes were unfocused and his face had lost color.

"Who was that?" Margaret asked curiously. Jackson looked up, as though he just noticed her.

"Oh, nobody. Nobody at all." He curled his lips at her, convincing her all was well. Margaret, oblivious to the lie her husband had fed her, smiled back at him, completely, thoughtlessly in love. For a moment, the two of them stood there, staring into each other's eyes, both silent with only the music and the clock's whispering tick breaking the unknown tension.