The Eternal Community

by J Meverington

  ‘Are you sure? What about Chas?’

  ‘Ah, he won’t mind, absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that!’

  ‘Hey, as long as you don’t mind, I’d love it if you could.’

  ‘It would be my pleasure, helping out an old mate.’

  Chapter 29

  Five weeks prior to Damion’s visit

  Alice loved living in Charles’s large and trendy apartment which had spectacular views over the Manhattan skyline. They spent their first night sitting in the spa bath which overlooked the city, drinking champagne and listening to romantic music. Alice couldn’t believe she’d had second thoughts about moving in with him. This life of luxury was going to suit her quite nicely!

  The next morning after Charles had gone to work, Alice sprang out of bed and went for a run around Central Park. The sun instilled its rays of happiness into her as she jogged along, loving that she lived in this beautiful city.

  After her run, she stopped at a juice bar and ordered a detox delight. It was time to start on a health and fitness regime as she’d realised her diet had not been the healthiest. After her juice, she went to the communal gym in the basement of her apartment complex, then headed upstairs for a shower.

  Charles came home at 6 pm with a large bunch of flowers for her. She looked at them, stunned. ‘These are for you,’ he said, and handed them to her.

  ‘Um, thanks.’ She took them, but felt awkward. How was she supposed to feel? She’d seen other women get all gushy about being given flowers, but she felt nothing.

  ‘Why don’t you put them in some water? There’s a vase in the cupboard over there,’ he said, then disappeared into the bathroom.

  Alice took them over to the kitchen and laid them out on the counter, then grabbed a vase from the cupboard. She’d never been given flowers before and didn’t have a clue what to do. Did she remove the wrapping first? She didn’t want to ruin the display, so she decided to wait and ask Charles.

  After a few minutes he came back.

  ‘I’m taking you out to dinner tonight, there’s an amazing Thai place I want you to try.’ He looked at the flowers still sitting on the countertop.

  ‘Are you okay there?’ he asked.

  ‘Um, just wondering, do I take all the packaging off first?’

  He walked over and embraced her. ‘Oh Allie, have you never been given flowers before?’

  ‘Nope, never.’

  ‘Oh dear, you have been missing out,’ he said, a hint of amusement in his eyes. He removed the flowers from the packaging and arranged them in the vase. ‘There you go, that’s how it’s done. They’ll last a lot longer this way.’

  That evening they went out for a Thai meal and the food was delicious, but a little too hot for Alice’s taste. She ended up drinking a lot of wine to counteract the burn and as a result, got quite drunk. Her health and fitness regime hadn’t even lasted a day.

  The next morning she woke up with a vicious hangover and her body ached from her workout the day before. Charles had gone to work, so she took a couple of Tylenol and went back to sleep. She crawled out of bed at midday, ordered a pizza, and watched soaps on the telly.

  Charles called her at 3 pm to see how she was doing and she told him about her hangover from hell and he laughed at her.

  ‘Hey, I know the perfect cure. How about a pizza and a movie tonight in front of the TV?’

  ‘I had pizza for lunch,’ she admitted.

  ‘You can never have too much pizza. See you around six,’ he said, then hung up.

  ***

  The next two weeks continued on like that, either eating out or ordering in. He continued to bring her flowers, and she still didn’t see the point of it. She thought it was sweet, but perhaps a little unimaginative.

  It was the second Friday since she’d moved in with Charles; she’d been living with him for almost two weeks. It had been fantastic, just the two of them, spending as much time together as they could. Alice thought it was odd that she hadn’t met any of his friends yet, but figured they were still in the honeymoon stages of getting to know each other.

  The morning was overcast, so she lazed around the apartment, watching TV and drinking coffee. Around 10 am, the sun peeked through the clouds and it looked as though it might brighten up. Around midday, bright blue skies appeared, brushing away any trace of the dreary morning.

  Alice put on her sports gear and headed out for a run. The office workers were out eating their lunch and enjoying the sun. A few couples lazed around on the grass cuddling and enjoying a picnic. She imagined herself and Charles doing that, drinking champagne and eating strawberries. She would suggest it this weekend.

  After her run, she headed back to the apartment and showered, then spent the afternoon watching TV while she waited for Charles to come home. He usually rang her around mid-afternoon to let her know their plans for the evening, but she’d heard nothing from him.

  It was now seven o’clock in the evening and he still wasn’t home. He’d never been this late before and nerves flittered inside her as she wondered what might have happened to him.

  Since leaving Kentucky, she’d never spent a Friday night alone, realising how much she missed the buzz of working at the bar and also her friends.

  Charles arrived home in a bad mood at eight o’clock. She got up to give him a kiss, but he dismissed her.

  ‘After the day I’ve had, I need to sit down and unwind. Can you get me a glass of wine?’ he said, completely forgetting his manners.

  She let it slide and poured him a glass, not wanting to upset him any more. He took the glass and flicked the TV to a sports channel. Ten minutes later he asked, ‘What’s for dinner, Allie?’

  ‘Dinner?’ she repeated, wondering what he meant.

  ‘Yes, what have you cooked for dinner?’

  ‘Cook? I don’t know how to cook.’ She wondered why he was asking.

  ‘Ah, don’t tell me I’ve ordered a dud,’ he said, with no sign of humour whatsoever.

  Alice wondered what he meant.

  ‘Charles, is something wrong?’

  ‘Is it too much to ask my girlfriend to make me a nice home-cooked dinner? Go on, rustle something up will you?’

  He was acting differently from how she’d ever seen him, and it scared her. For the past two weeks they had eaten out at restaurants, or ordered take-out, so what had changed?

  ‘I’ll run downstairs and pick something up. What do you feel like? Steak? Curry?’

  He looked her directly in the eye. ‘No Allie, I want you to cook me something.’

  ‘Do you have a death wish? Seriously, I don’t know how to cook!’ she said light-heartedly, hoping to snap home from his mood.

  ‘Well, you’d better learn fast.’

  He wasn’t kidding, he actually wanted her to cook. A wave of panic swept over her, having no idea what to do. She’d never needed to cook before; meals were provided for her in the bar where she worked, and other times she would eat takeout.

  She searched the kitchen to see what they had in. In a cupboard she found some dried pasta and a tomato and basil sauce. That would have to do, how hard could it be? She read the instructions on the pasta and emptied the packet into a saucepan of water and brought it to the boil.

  Once the pasta was cooked, she drained it, added the sauce and stirred it together. She scooped some out and slopped it into a bowl. It didn’t look appetising, but she handed it to him anyway.

  He picked at it with his fork.

  ‘The pasta’s overcooked.’ He placed it back on the table untouched. ‘I’m going to bed. You can sleep in the spare room.’

  What a jerk. What was wrong with him?

  She polished off his wine and took herself off to bed in the spare room.

  The next morning, Charles apologised about his behaviour the previous evening, telling her he’d had a terrible day at work and shouldn’t have taken it out on her. She still had no idea what he did for a living, as he always evaded the question when she ask
ed.

  Charles promised he would make it up to her tonight by cooking her a wonderful meal. In fact, he said they could cook it together; he would show her how. Alice felt a lot better knowing it was just a blip in the relationship.

  They both headed out for an early morning run, then stopped at a cafe for brunch where they sat, sipping coffee. Charles read the paper and Alice read a magazine. They picked up some supplies for dinner, then went home for a shower followed by an afternoon nap.

  That evening, Charles took her through the steps to making garlic prawns.

  ‘First, you open a bottle of chilled white wine.’ He retrieved the bottle from the fridge and opened it.

  ‘Then you get two glasses from the cupboard. Pour wine into them, take a sip.’

  Alice followed his instructions. So far, so good. Perhaps cooking wasn’t so bad after all.

  ‘Then you put some butter in.’

  He cut off a chunk of butter and threw it in the pan.

  ‘While you are waiting for butter to melt, crush six cloves of garlic into the pan.’

  ‘Six cloves?’ Alice was appalled. She would have terrible breath.

  ‘That’s correct.’ As if reading her mind, he said, ‘As long as we both eat it, we won’t notice it on each other. And it’s Sunday tomorrow, nobody at work need know.’ He smiled at her.

  ‘When the butter starts to bubble, we pour in some of the white wine.’

  He must have seen the shocked look on Alice’s face.

  ‘Don’t worry, this is why we have a backup bottle in the fridge.’ He smiled at her.

  Phew, can’t be wasting all the wine in the cooking! Alice tentatively poured in a little wine.

  ‘Don’t be afraid, give it plenty. It is a white wine sauce after all.’

  She poured more in, but would rather be drinking it.

  ‘When the wine starts to boil, add prawns in a single layer and cook for one minute on each side,’ Charles read, from his recipe.

  Alice placed the prawns in the pan in an ad hoc manner. Charles butted in to help. ‘If you place them in a clockwise direction, you’ll know which ones have been in the longest.’

  She complied with his instructions. By the time one minute was up, she started turning them again in the same direction. After the second minute was up, Charles poured some cream in, brought it to the boil, then removed the prawns and set them aside. He picked off a few leaves from a basil plant that sat on the window sill, shredded them with his hands and added them to the sauce.

  ‘Now we wait for the sauce to reduce.’ He grabbed his glass of wine and took a sip.

  ‘It smells delicious,’ Alice said.

  Charles put a pot of water on to boil, then added some rice. ‘Should only take ten minutes or so. Pretty simple huh?’

  It certainly was. Alice had no idea cooking could be so easy, and so much fun. To dish up, Charles got out a small bowl and filled it with rice. He turned it onto a dinner plate, so that the rice formed a perfect circle, then did the same on the other plate.

  He then dished up the prawns around the rice and topped with some micro-greens. It looked like something she might be served in a posh restaurant and it tasted delicious. What a great idea it had been, moving in with Charles.

  Chapter 30

  Three weeks prior to Damion’s visit

  Alice woke up the next morning cuddled in Charles’s arms, feeling happy. The previous evening they’d cooked a wonderful meal together, finished off the backup bottle of wine, then made love in front of the fireplace, with candles burning all around. Charles made her feel complete.

  She carefully unravelled herself from his warm embrace so as not to wake him, and crawled out of bed. In the kitchen, she put on a pot of coffee and made some toast, then took it in to him. He was already awake and scrolling through his phone. He looked up as she walked in.

  ‘Oh, you’ve made me breakfast. You’re a sweetie, but no food in the bedroom I’m afraid. I’ll get up shortly and eat it.’

  Alice’s happy feeling evaporated, feeling she’d been chastised like a small child. She took his breakfast into the kitchen and dumped it on the counter. What’s wrong with food in the bedroom? Okay, crumbs in bed might be a little annoying, but he didn’t have to be so rude.

  She drank her coffee while she waited for him. He was taking a long time and his toast was going cold. When he finally emerged, she noticed he had showered and was dressed, the fresh soap smell wafting from him made her think she should freshen up as well.

  ‘Charles hun, do you fancy catching up with Jenna and Luke today?’

  ‘Not today sweetie, have you forgotten about the game this afternoon? We don’t want to miss that.’ He turned his back on her and poured some cereal into a bowl, totally ignoring the toast she had made him.

  Game? What was he talking about? Did we plan to go to a game? I hate sports!

  After breakfast, Charles said he had some work to do, and disappeared into his office.

  Great, what do I do now? She would love to have visited Jenna and Luke, but wanted to spend the day with Charles.

  She sat down and turned on the TV. She found a Friends marathon, so she settled down to watch it. Around midday Charles came out of his office, ordered a pizza for the two of them, opened a beer from the fridge, took the remote out of her hand and changed the channel. Never mind the fact she was in the middle of watching a program. Football. Surely he’s not going to make me watch this, no idea what it’s about.

  The pizza arrived, the game started, and she settled down on the couch with him. She ate a couple of slices and drank a bottle of beer. Charles patiently explained the game to her, but it made no sense.

  Bored by it all, she got up and texted Jenna.

  ‘What are you guys up to?’

  ‘We’re sitting outside at Milly’s wine bar. Gorgeous day, come join us.’

  Alice gazed longingly at the clear blue skies outside, then at Charles slumped in front of the TV drinking beer and eating pizza. She knew what she would rather be doing.

  Charles was engrossed in the game, so she waited for a quiet time before interrupting him.

  ‘Do you mind if I go out and catch up with my friend Jenna?’

  He glared at her. ‘Are you not enjoying the game?’

  ‘I don’t understand it. Plus it’s a sunny day outside and I haven’t seen her for two weeks.’

  ‘Hey, the game will be over in a couple of hours and I’ll take you out for dinner. I’d like to spend Sunday with you. You can see your friend anytime.’

  Alice reluctantly agreed as she texted Jenna to say they were going out later and couldn’t make it. She sat down on the sofa, wondering what she had gotten herself in for; twenty-three years of age, sitting inside on a sunny day watching sports!

  It was now Monday morning and Charles had gone to work. Alice got out of bed and wandered around the apartment, not knowing what to do. The first two weeks of lazing around had become a novelty, but now she was bored.

  She made herself a cup of coffee and gave Jenna a call, knowing she had a day off.

  ‘Hey Allie, whatcha up to?’

  ‘I’m bored. Do you guys wanna come visit me?’

  ‘Oh, we’d love to, we’ll bring beer! Looking forward to seeing your new digs!’

  Alice gave them her address then hung up, pleased her friends were coming to visit, and excited about showing off her new apartment.

  Jenna and Luke arrived around lunchtime with pizza and beer.

  ‘Wow! Check out that view! Allie, this place is a-maaaa-zing!’ Jenna gushed.

  ‘Yeah babe, no wonder we don’t see you anymore. If I lived here I’d never leave either,’ Luke said.

  They drank beer and ate their pizza while continuing to marvel at the view. Luke pulled out a joint and went to light it, but Alice managed to stop him just in time.

  ‘You can’t light that in here, Charles is anti-drugs and anti-smoking.’

  Luke pouted and shoved the joint back in his poc
ket.

  ‘Game?’ he asked, extracting a pack of cards from his other pocket.

  Alice laughed; she missed playing games with these guys. They sat down and watched as Luke shuffled the cards. Alice, already onto her third beer, felt tipsy.

  ‘I miss you guys. I miss this, drinking beer, playing games, having fun.’

  Jenna and Luke looked at each other, not sure what to say.

  ‘Aren’t you happy here?’ Jenna asked.

  ‘I am, I love Charles, but he’s not much fun. It’s great when we go out for dinner, but the other night he expected me to cook.’

  Jenna screeched with laughter. ‘You, cook! That’s hilarious.’

  ‘I know right! What am I? Some 1950s housewife?’

  ‘You should ditch him and come back and live with us, shouldn’t she Luke?’

  Luke glanced up from his cards. ‘Nah, I reckon you got it good here. I mean, that view! If I lived here, I’d never want to leave. Wanna swap places? You can have my room and I’ll move in with Charles.’

  ‘No thanks, I like it here, but I’m going to come visit you guys more often.’

  They spent the rest of the afternoon drinking beer, playing cards and ducking outside for the occasional smoke.

  Charles came home at 5 pm to find them all sitting there, laughing and joking. The relaxed vibe was sucked from the room, replaced with a tight-rope of tension.

  ‘What’s going on?’ he asked.

  ‘Charles, grab a beer from the fridge and come join us,’ Luke called out, trying to welcome him in to the group.

  Charles ignored him, instead he spoke to Alice. ‘Allie, a word please.’ He signalled for her to follow him to the bedroom.

  ‘Oh-o, looks like someone’s in trouble,’ Luke said, and Jenna burst out laughing. They’d both had way too much to drink.

  Alice wasn’t sure what she’d done wrong as Charles pulled her into the bedroom.

  ‘What the hell’s going on?’ he said.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I’m not happy about you inviting strangers into my home.’

  ‘They’re not strangers, they’re my friends.’