Ghosts of the Past

Ghosts of the Past: Chapter 2; best laid plans

"I'll have the Caprese salad and a glass of Pinot Gris" Gayle snaps the menu shut and hands it to the waiter, never breaking her cardinal rule of not making eye contact with serving staff.

"I'll have the fish of the day and a glass of chardonnay, thank you" Chloe maintains her eye contact verging on a creepy amount of time as if to make up for her mothers rudeness.

"So everything is in order for Thursday?" Gayle folds the napkin over twice and places it in her lap.

"Yep, just some final packing to sort out but everything else is organised."

"And when do you start at the Uni?"

"I start in an official capacity on the following Wednesday, but i will be there Monday to be shown around and given the run down." Chloe is counting the seconds until the glass is in her hand, her mother on a good day still needed at least a glass of wine to be palatable.

"Well it is an incredible opportunity for you, I've told all my friends about it" this was her mother's way of saying she was proud, the words themselves would never be explicitly verbalized it was all about the subtext, but years of experience told Chloe there was more coming.

"Of course you just have to get your PHD in English/Lit and then you might be close to being on par with me"

And there it was, ever the competition for Gayle.

Finally the wine was coming, Chloe thanks the waiter, her mother barely acknowledges the arrival of their drinks, and takes a big gulp, the cold liquid running down her throat already making her feel better, she swore sometimes her mother's company made her feel like an alcoholic.

"It will be nice to return to Detroit again" Gayle says taking a small sip of her own wine

Already sensing what is coming Chloe replies simply "Yes it will"

"Do you keep in contact with any of your old school friends?"

"No, its been years since I have heard from anyone" this was being generous as there was only two people she had attempted to contact since leaving the US and one simple letter from a acquaintance explaining Marshall had moved on eight months later was the only piece of correspondence.

"So you wont be seeing any of them then?" Gayle was a master at fishing, she should compete in most of the classics.

"No I wouldn't have thought so"

"Is Marshall still in Detroit?" finally the question her mother had been bursting to ask,

"I don't know Mother, I haven't spoken to him since we left." Although Chloe was sure her mother knew this it still seemed to relieve her, she was never a fan of Marshall, he wasn't good enough for a daughter of hers.

"Didn't he marry?" Gayle asks this question with the innocence of the child but Chloe is one of the few people who can see through her mother's polite veneer.

"Yes he did mother, he married Kim, you remember her?" there is no point shutting down the conversation as it would be more trouble than its worth if her mother thought for a second she still held a flame for Marshall.

"Ah yes, that...girl. She was a friend of yours wasn't she?" there is no way Gayle's memory was this poor here she was again, casting out her line hoping to reel in a big one.

"Sort of, we got on yes." Chloe's hands tightened into fists under the table but her face remained the very essence of composed, she was after all her mother's daughter.

"If I recall from those silly entertainment shows they had a daughter didn't they?"
"Yes"

The waiter and her savior arrives with their meals, Chloe releases her fists and thanks him politely, picking up her fork she begins to eat, proud of herself that she hadn't allowed Gayle to reel in her prized catch today.

"How was lunch?" Chris asks absentmindedly flipping through a contract of the latest house he was building.

"Oh you know my mother it was a hoot" Chloe reaches in to grab two beers and hands him one.

"I was thinking tomorrow night we could go out for dinner, spend a nice night before I go? Maybe stay in a fancy hotel?" Anything to try and take her mind of him and put it back onto her husband Chloe hopes.

"That sounds good babe but..." Chris is interrupted by his phone buzzing on the bench,

"Thommo, whats going on mate?" he answers and walks out of the room, leaving her alone.

The dinner had been less than she was expecting and the hotel idea had seemed to fall by the way side, as Chloe lay in bed on her last night starring at the ceiling she thought about the last five years of her life. Chris had been such a charmer when they first met through a mutual friend, he was funny and kind, it also didn't hurt that her mother had hated him. Their relationship had been a whirlwind of six months and then a proposal, on her graduation night of her masters degree he had popped the question, head over heels for this guy she had said yes. Looking over at his naked shoulders Chloe smiled, it hadn't been the wrong decision, she loved him dearly, but it also hadn't been her plan. Then again you cant really rely on the plans of a teenager.