Four Cups Of Salt

Chapter 1

It's funny isn't it, how people are so different but manage to get along to the point where they think that person is now family. These were the current thoughts of Renee, as she listened to a middle aged women with a painstakingly dull voice into a microphone. The whole reason she would go to bingo was because after the painfully dull process of waiting for a number to be called, all of the elderly women would go and eat cucumber sandwiches and various types of cake that Janice (one of the more dedicated bingo players) would bake. Renee, being the only young person who would go play bingo, would get treated like a granddaughter, which was enjoyable. She even had a favourite elder, who was also her neighbour, her name was Connie. Connie was awfully lovely every Christmas she'd bake Renee and her roommates Christmas cookies and invite them over for Christmas dinner which was always delicious.

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Soon the bingo finished. Deborah had won, Renee had suspected she may of cheated but she wasn't too interested in filing a law suit against Deborah. She talked to Connie as she walked through the hallway towards the elevator.

"My grandson Basil is visiting me this week, he lives in New York," Connie said, sighing.

"Basil? Isn't that the name of a herb?" Renee asked turning her head to face her.

"I know it's a terrible name isn't! I have no idea what my daughter was thinking!" Connie said laughing.

"Is he nice?" Renee asked smiling.

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It seemed as soon as you left high school everyone would hassle you to getting married and then have a child. Renee was going into her thirties and everyone would be reminding her of her biological clock that was ticking. She was already a god mother of twenty nine children soon to be thirty. And honestly Renee wasn't very interested in having children of her own, she just found it annoying how everyone that she would talk to always reminded her of the need to have children.

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"Tbh hes not the best person, I mean I honestly he's a bit of an average Joe," Connie said, back at it again with the modern day slang.

"Right, well I'll see you next week Connie!" Renee said waving goodbye as she stepped into the elevator to get her apartment, as the bingo club was conveniently on the second floor of the apartment block where she and her roommates live.

The elevator gave a familiar ding to signalise to get out of it, Renee stepped out of the elevator and walked to the unlocked door of the apartment. It seemed she was just on time to avoid being yelled at by her fiery roommate Gwendolyn (or Gwen for short).

"Renee, tell Sam she needs to have an opinion otherwise we will get nowhere!" Gwen yells, letting her red hair fall on her face in anger.

Samantha, a girl with a blonde pixie cut, dashes out of her room, "I'm sorry!"

Catherine (Cat for short) sighs from the other side of the room, "Gwen chill."

"Well I'm sorry for stating MY opinion," Gwen says sarcastically, waving her hand.

Renee sighs, chucking her laptop bag on the ground and giving her shoulder a massage, "Connie's grandson is coming to visit her." She states, sitting down on the couch to relax.

"Since when did Connie have a grandson?" Cat asks curious.

"Since forever apparently," Renee answers.

"He sounds like a jerk if we have never heard of him! I mean we never see any family members at Connie's Christmas dinners." Gwen hissed

"It's quite sad, I mean Connie's a lovely old lady and her grandson never visits her," Sam says chiming in. (with a haven't you people ever heard of)

Cat comes and sits down next to Renee, "I wonder what he wants from her, I bet he wants her money because he can't care for himself."

"Connie's whole family are jerks! I mean have we ever met her daughter?!" Gwen hisses sounding like she was the one who had been cheated of living a nice retirement without worrying about if her family even cares about her.

"I think Renee and Cat met her once, it was around Easter five years ago..." Sam says trying to remember.

"Yeah she was a biotch," Cat says rubbing her temples as if that would some how get rid of the horrible memory of that night.

"Hopefully Basil isn't a jerk, cause I'm probably going to have to meet him," Renee sighs aggressively, dreading the idea.

"Basil?" Sam said scrunching her face up at the name, "As in the herb?"

"Exactly like the herb," Renee answered.

"Wow!" Gwen answered sarcastically before laughing.

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Eventually the discussion of Connie and Basil died down to the discussion of one of Gwen's annoying co-workers that seemed to have their sights set on being best friends with Gwen much to her dismay. Soon all conversation died and Renee had retired to her room to check her emails, social medias and so on. An old school friend of Renee's had posted a picture of their luxurious trip to Italy on Facebook. It always bothered her how Facebook was literally a place for people to be narcissistic and brag about their amazing life, which in all honesty wasn't that great. Renee got bored of staring down pictures of old friend's amazing children, expensive holidays, and other things that the world didn't need to know about.

She closed down her laptop lid and travelled from her chair to the shower letting the steaming water flow over her body relaxing her muscles, washing away every bad decision she had made that day. Turning off the hot water, Renee slid out of the shower wrapping a towel tightly around her body as if it would provide some warmth. In honesty Renee wished that this day never existed, but she would just have to live with it. Renee finished buttoning the last button on her shirt, the weather had made an unexpected turn making the weather ten times colder, but she would just have to live it. Just like how she would have to deal with meeting Basil.