Maria was desperate for Sue to have a better life and, in her opinion, what Sue needed was a man. Maria had scoured her contacts for single men and surreptitiously invited them to a number of weekend BBQs at her house. So far, Sue had been only polite but distant. Admittedly, none of them had been particularly great specimens, up to now.
Maria smiled quietly to herself and raised a smug eyebrow to her husband Sam.
Sue and Ben were getting on like a house on fire. She could see them talking intently to each other and Sue was laughing in a way she had never seen before. Pure happiness radiated from her face.
Maria circulated among the guests offering them more wine. She refilled Sue's glass again and noticed the slightly glassy look in her eyes. Might be time to slow down, Maria thought.
Ben jumped up and hugged Maria as she topped up his wine.
"Thanks for inviting me to such a great BBQ," he enthused. "Who knew Sue and I would meet up again!"
Maria looked at Sue confused.
"Do you know each other?"
"Yes! We were in high school together. Sue was my younger sister's best friend. What an unexpected reunion."
Maria smiled warily. She didn't know Ben all that well. He had worked with Sam years ago and she only knew him as a lonely, divorced dad. The memory of reading Sue's file from children's services came back to her. Sue had been troubled from an early age and especially in high school.
"Well, thanks again for putting on this great lunch," Ben said and leaned to take Sue's hand.
Sue's face was radiant with joy. Maria felt both worried and happy for her friend. Ben stopped looking at Sue and turned back to Maria.
"We were thinking to go and watch a movie together this afternoon. Get reacquainted." Ben winked. Maria watched them with a guarded face.
"Can Ollie stay here with the kids?" Sue interjected gently with eyes full of hope.
"Of course!" Maria said, trying to act enthusiastic. "Leave him here. He is having a ball with the other kids!"
Sue and Ben squealed like teenagers. Maria noticed that Sue looked happier than she had seen her in a long time. Although she felt a dark shadow pass over the moment, she shrugged it off and patted herself on the back for such a great set up. It had to be fate and as they say: 'everything happens for a reason' Maria thought to herself.
"Go, go! Enjoy!" Maria laughed as they left the party.
YOU ARE READING
The Men's Camp
Mystery / ThrillerIn a dystopian world, a teenager named Shula comes of age and enters her time of child bearing to save humanity. In the present day, Maria just wants to have a family of her own. She helps a police investigation which makes her wonder how to save th...
