Fred
"Okay, I'm not trying to make a joke out of it," Alexis laughed out, leaning forward to place her wine glass on the table in front of us, "but maybe me leaving was the best idea for your culinary skills."
I laughed, nodding. "Seriously. I've become quite the cook."
"I mean, you were never bad," she said, "persé."
She folded her legs on the couch, smiling at me.
"I was never good either," I said, taking one last sip of my wine before I stood up.
I grabbed her plate and she shook her head, standing up. "Cook don't clean."
She looked up at me with a smile, grabbing the plates from my hand.
"I was just going to put them in the sink, thank you," I said, looking down at her.
She walked into the kitchen, placing them in the sink after rinsing them off. "Isn't it weird you haven't even seen my apartment?"
"A little bit," I said, but in all honesty, I had no desire to see her apartment.
"You should drop by one day," she said, looking over her shoulder at me.
I nodded, smiling a soft smile.
My phone began to vibrate, making me grab it from the counter.
[From: Henry]
Staying at Hero's
[From: Josie]
Gonna stay with Ana. Goodnight love you
"What is it?" Alexis asked, making me look up from my phone.
"U-uh, both of the kids just texted to tell me that they're both abandoning me for the night."
She laughed. "You know, it's funny. She and Henry usually text me at the same time. I guess it's a twin thing."
I smiled, leaning against the counter as she dried off the two plates.
"I really wish you wouldn't have," I said, watching as she placed them in the cabinet.
"Well, it's the least I can do," she said, "I mean, after that gourmet dinner."
"I'm glad I could be of service."
She brushed her damp hands off on her jeans, picking up the bottle of wine. "This was really great."
"Brand new, too," I said, "well, after staying in the cellar for fifteen years."
She tilted her head over. I knew she had something to say, but she wasn't saying it.
"Ask your question," I said, nodding.
"Did I," she began, shaking her head, "i-intrude?"
"What?" I chuckled out, "why would you think that?"
"Well, I mean, you had two steaks cooking, you made all of this food, opened a new bottle of wine-"
"You didn't intrude on anything," I said, "I was practicing self-care. Isn't that what you call it?"
She smiled down at the bottle of wine. "Yeah."
We stood in silence, my eyes locked on her. Alexis, over time, had turned into a painfully graceful woman. Every move she made was almost perfect.
And maybe that's why she had to leave, because she couldn't take the thought of anyone seeing imperfection from her.
She walked into the living room, grabbing her glass of wine. "Thank you for dinner. It was a really great time."
