The Wedding Issue

Chapter Sixteen - Table for Two

I stood at the door with the key in my hand and the heavy backpack of camera equipment dangling on my shoulders. A part of me wanted to get in and call it a day. The other part, the more resilient one, wanted to turn around and run back to Genevieve. There was always that heavy feeling in my chest that comes whenever I'm not around her. I don't recall experiencing such a feeling before. I banged my head against the frame of the door. I hated feeling so helpless and agitated.

I could hear Claire making noises in the kitchen; she was cooking. She only cooked when she was in a good mood. I thanked the heavens for that. There were a million ways that I could ruin her mood right now. I must be the world's most awful fiancée.

I, on the other hand, was a bundle of nerves. I couldn't bring myself to walk into our shoebox apartment and tell Claire that all her wishes would come true, that she was going to meet Genevieve, the woman she openly admires, in less than three days. She was going to be ecstatic, and I wouldn't be able to sleep until this nightmare was over.

It did seem kind of weird, though, that Genevieve would ask to meet Claire. There was something incredibly wrong with that picture. I wasn't even sure why Genevieve would be remotely interested in Claire. I guess she was just trying to be nice.

Who was I kidding? With my luck, they would probably end up hating each other and I was going to be stuck in the middle of World War III.

I didn't have the patience to pull out every ounce of courage to plan a scenario in my head as to how I would break the news to Claire. I decided that I'm just going to have to wing it. That, and I also needed to use the bathroom.

I unlocked the door and walked inside. The place smelled of melted butter and rosemary. My stomach began to grumble. I didn't realize I was hungry. On a second thought, I realized I had barely eaten all day.

Claire skidded to me and hugged me. I hadn't received such a warm welcome from her in a long time. It was refreshing and I couldn't help but feel warm inside.

'Hey you', I told her then found her lips.

They were warm and tasted like strawberries. It was intoxicating.

My stomach grumbled again and we laughed between kisses.

'I made roast beef, mashed potatoes with peas and onions, just the way you like it, and buttered corn on the side', she said as she took my hand and led me to the kitchen.

'What's the occasion? Oh god is there an anniversary I forgot about?', I started to panic.

'No, silly. I just haven't cooked for my man in a while and I thought it would be nice. Plus, you sound like you haven't eaten anything all day', she said as she rubbed my tummy.

'I need to pee first', I confessed and hurried to the bathroom.

When I came back, the table was set and we dove right in. The meat was tender and succulent. The mash had just the right amount of lumpy peas and onions. The buttered corn was sweet and spiced just right. The cold beer that tagged along made our dinner much more wholesome. I had to give it to Claire. She was the Master Chef of this small family.

'The food was amazing, Claire', I complimented her.

'You're welcome!'

I watched her as she wiped her plate clean. Man, did that girl have an appetite! She always seemed to be chirpy and buzzed with energy. She was like a child trapped in a woman's body. It's one of the things I love about her; she was so innocent.

'So do you still want to meet Genevieve?', I started to say.

'Do I?', she said as she wiped her mouth with her napkin.

'Well then I guess you're going to have to cancel your plans this Saturday because she invited us to the Marquee.'

She stood up and danced around the table gleefully, and for a moment there I forgot why I was so nervous about them meeting each other.