For You Just Cate

A Dinner Guest - Chapter One

Foreword with reservations 😂:
I felt I should make this clear. This is of course only a fictional story so please do treat it as such. I am sure Cate has a wonderful marriage with her also wonderful husband and I wish them all the best.

When I wake up, I hear the birds chirping from the backyard. I remember that I have left the window slightly open this night as an unbearable heat had been lying over London for the last couple of days. Especially the attic tends to up very quickly. Olivia and John had let me move into the attic of their beautiful Victorian house in Holland Park.

I met Olivia and John when I applied to work as an Au pair for a year in London, I had submitted my applications to a couple of families but Olivia and John were the first to text me back and we instantly connected. They both worked in theatre, John as a playwright and Olivia as a director. They have two kids, Lizzie and Adam. They are five and seven and incredibly sweet. I couldn't believe my luck when I met them. I was a theatre freak since my early childhood. To this day, I can still remember everything about my first theatre visit. My parents took me to a production of Steven Berkoff's Metamorphosis – an adaption of Kafka's novel with the same name - and even though I was the only child in the audience and definitely did not understand everything, I was immediately immersed in the play, the actors and the whole atmosphere. From that day on, I knew I wanted to become an actress, a playwright or director. So you can only imagine my excitement when I found about Olivia's and John's profession.

Anyhow that was two years ago. I don't work as an Au Pair for them anymore. Well, at least not full time. I am in my first year of drama school, at RADA to be more precise. As housing in London is very expensive and finding nice accommodation which isn't fucked up is even harder, Olivia and John asked me if I would like to stay with them. I could still work as an Au Pair part time, take the kids to school if my schedule allowed it, baby sit etc. so I wouldn't have to pay any rent and still earn a bit of money. Of course, I accepted the offer not only because of its practicality but also because they had become like a second family to me.

"Ada, AAAAda, are you up?" cries a squeaky, little voice from downstairs.

I open my eyes as I hear the sound of little feet climbing up the stairs already. A second later two brown haired children burst into the room and throw themselves on my bed. I groan.

"Why. Do. You. Have. To be up so early in the morning?" I try to sound as if I was cross with them but this is barely possible when dealing with so much cuteness.

"Will you come downstairs with us?" They giggle in reply.

"Alright, you little monsters. Just give me a second, will you?" I say.

They run downstairs, still giggling.

As I come downstairs, John and Olivia are already eating breakfast. I let myself drop onto one of the chairs around the kitchen table.

"How are you? Any plans for today?" I ask taking a bite from a piece of toast.

John looks up from his newspaper. "Well actually, yes. Didn't we tell you? A friend of ours is coming for dinner this evening. We'd be happy if you'd join us. She's really nice."

It seems as though John and Olivia always have someone staying over for dinner.

"Oh yeah, what's her name?"

Olivia, who had been standing with her back to me, watching the toast in the toaster, turns around and says: "Her name is Cate. We met ages ago; I think it was right after we'd finished Uni. She's incredibly funny. Although I'm not sure how she'll be today. She's going through a rough patch at the moment. Divorce, you know." Olivia's expression became clouded for a second as she talks about the divorce. "Her husband. Ex-husband, I mean, is such a great guy. Isn't he, John?"

John, who hadn't really been paying attention to the conversation because he had been reading his newspaper looks up, slightly confused.

"What? Her husband? Oh yeah. We're pals actually. A playwright as well." He winks. "I wonder why they're divorcing. They were such a great couple. We always used to say that they were made for each other. Like Orpheus and Eurydice. Unlike us, huh?"

He smirks as he looks up to Olivia.

Olivia walks towards him and gives him a kiss "Shut up, you loser. You wouldn't even have the guts to turn into a Jason. You're too nice for any of that"

John smiles and scratches his head, thoughtfully "Actually, Orpheus and Eurydice is a bad metaphor."

I have to laugh a bit. "Doesn't she die in the end?"

Olivia stands next to John, deep in thought. "Yes. Well, it also looks as though they didn't get a happy ending either. Anyways, she'll tell us how she is and what happened later. Gosh, I haven't seen her for nearly six years. It's been a long time. A lot can change."

"Mmhm, yes" I mumble.

Olivia turns towards me and smiles. "Sooo, you'll be there tonight? Brilliant! If you're going out, be back at five."

"Yes, I will." I have to think about this Cate. What made her divorce her husband?

Soon, I forget about her and turn towards my collection of Ibsen's plays which I have to reread over the summer break.

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edited by @marthaaa_h