Lovers at War - (A.R.)

Chapter 10

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Food for Thought

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THE OVEN BEEPED and I was quick to find my oven gloves. Opening the door and taking the fettuccine alfredo out of the oven (yes, I cook it another way), I set it aside to cool slightly and closed the oven door again. Pulling off the oven mitts and throwing them onto the counter, I opened my kitchen cupboard and reached out to pull out a few plates, only to halt for a moment. Was it a bad idea to invite Arvin over for dinner tonight?

I'd made far more food than I needed (with Wesley included) - mainly because I was planning on leaving it in the refrigerator - so it wasn't like there wouldn't be enough food to go around. Arvin could have said no, he could have driven away without any response; and yet, he had agreed, though probably because of my insisting.

"God, I can't believe I invited him," I muttered to myself, finally drawing three plates out of the cupboard and setting them down beside the steaming lasagne dish.

Before leaving the kitchen, I dusted my hands and peered into the hallway mirror. Unnecessarily checking my appearance and straightening out my top, I took a deep breath.

Who cared if he winded up thinking I was a freak for asking him to come over? At least, that's what I was telling myself.

After hesitantly inviting both of the boys over to the dining room, I hurried over to the room myself and began to set the overly used dining table.

When the two boys entered the room, Wesley hurriedly took his usual seat beside me at the end of the table, while Arvin looked around the small room with inquisitive eyes, otherwise not making any comments.

"Have you been to this part of town before?" I asked, knowing that I would have to be the one carrying most of the conversation. Holding up two bottles of wine; one white, one red, I waited for Arvin's answer.

I didn't tend to drink. In fact, I rarely ever did, especially not in front of Wesley. And whenever I did, it'd be one small glass only, as I didn't want to wake up with a severe hangover the next day. But since we had a new guest today. . .I thought I'd take a bottle out in celebration?

"I have," he said shortly, gesturing towards the red. "My folks used to take me here as a kid."

Wesley called my name, averting our attention to him. "For me too?" I gave him a sarcastic smile, mouthing out a small 'no'.

"My parents loved to travel, so while it was just me and them, they would take me everywhere around the city," I confessed as I popped the cork and poured Arvin a generous glass. Pouring Wesley some juice and helping myself to some water, I sat down in my seat, both boys directly across from me. I had work tomorrow, and although I knew my limit with alcohol, I also knew that I didn't want to risk anything.

When Arvin hesitated to help himself to some fettuccine alfredo and salad, I decided to help him with it; he looked like he hadn't ever seen this dish before, much less tried it. "It takes some getting used to," I said to no one in particular.

"Thank you," he said eventually, picking up his fork.

Raising my drink to my lips, I watched Arvin for a long moment, wanting to make sure that I hadn't just forced him to eat something that he didn't like. But, when there was no grimace that he tried to hide, I figured that the food was decent. And then, when he nodded slowly to himself, I figured that it was quite good.

"Why are you making the effort to get to know me?" Arvin asked abruptly, raising his eyes to meet mine. Caught off guard by the sudden focus on me, I swallowed nervously.

"Because you never know what people might be going through behind closed doors; they could be struggling and you wouldn't know," I said, looking down at my food, "I want to be kind for that reason."