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Before she got out of the car, she checked herself in the rear view mirror. She regretted not putting on a little bit of lipstick, so she got out her chap stick, and used that instead. She frowned at herself once she was done, but that was that.
She sighed one more time, then got out of the car and walked up to Hyde’s porch. She raised her hand and knocked hard three times. Rene always knocked, even when there was a perfectly fine and visible doorbell. She just preferred the sound of knocking to the sound of a doorbell.
“Hey!” The door opened and Hyde greeted her cheerfully. “Come on in.”
“Thanks.”
She took one step in, careful not to make too many. The hallway was deceptively long and she knew that it only took a few more steps for her to end up in the living room or in the kitchen. That was dangerous territory. Being offered drinks would be a dangerous territory, too.
Little droplets of sweat started forming on the outlines of her hair, and she slowly trailed that line with her index finger, ending the motion with a curve around her ear, trying to calm down a loose curl.
“You don’t plan on standing there in the doorway, do you?” Hyde eyed her weirdly.
“Actually, I…” she lifted that same index finger to give him an excuse, any excuse as to why she couldn’t stay, but he had already gone into the kitchen.
“Come on in!” he shouted loudly, much louder than when Parker was there.
She looked at her feet. She wished them to be frozen in space, unable to move, but tough luck. It was pleasantly warm at Hyde’s place, as usual, and everything seemed to urge her to stay. The soft cozy lights, his cheerful voice. She had all the time in the world to spend here this evening.
“You coming?” His head popped out of the kitchen and his hand gestured her in.
Flown over there by some invisible force, she felt like she was walking without touching the ground. Sounds became distant, smells became more prominent, lights more powerful. When she entered the kitchen, she could see that he was cooking something.
“You’re cooking?” she wondered, enjoying the aroma of fresh basil thrown into the minced meat that was boiling in tomato sauce.
“Yeah, just spaghetti,” he smiled, pouring water in a big pot, then putting it on the stove.
She turned to the kitchen table and saw that it was set for two people. A small blue vase was placed right in the middle and out of it peered a few fresh, yellow sunflowers. Only now did she realize that soft music was playing in the background, some jazz that didn’t seem to belong to the modern times. She liked it.
“I’ll just grab my pocket book and get out of your hair, I see you’re having company,” she said, grabbing her pocket book like a life line and counting the breaths until she was out of there.
How stupid could she be to think that he’d invite her in to spend some time with her? Of course he had plans with someone else. A guy like that probably had girls queueing
for his attention. Her cheeks were flaring. She could only hope he wouldn’t notice her anxiety and disappointment.
“That’s actually for you,” he said, and she immediately felt weak in the knees.
He turned to the fridge, and got out a chilled bottle of wine, then two fancy glasses.
“I hope red is OK,” he showed her the bottle.
“It’s… fine,” she nodded quickly, not even looking at the label.
Not like she would recognize it anyway. Rene wasn’t much of a drinker, but she didn’t shy away from having a glass of red.
“Please, sit down,” he pulled up a chair for her and she obliged, like a sweet little obedient child, who always did what she was told.
“I’m actually very glad you called to drop by,” he continued, “I feel like we never get to talk, you know, like grown-ups. And, I know I’m boring you with this already, but you have no idea how grateful I am that you walked into our lives, and made everything easy again, like both me and Parker can breathe after a long time of inhaling air little by little.”
Rene smiled. That blushing in her cheeks became even stronger now, because she realized how silly she had been. He wanted her here, just like she wanted to be here.
“It’ll be ready in 5,” he told her, pouring her some wine.
“It’s fine, I have no plans,” she told him, watching as the deep red liquid filled enough space inside her glass.
“Now, you do,” Hyde grinned.
When he was serious, Rene was surprised to notice that he looked younger. His face was smooth, as if it didn’t have a single wrinkle. But, when he smiled, that was when all of his achievements were written all over his handsome face. All of his crow’s feet revealed him to be a remarkable man who wasn’t afraid to go after what he wanted.
