Chapter 18 - Margaret’s Terrible PlanMargaret decided subtlety had failed.
So she invited both of them to dinner.
Separately.
Clare arrived first.
Nathaniel arrived seven minutes later.
They stared at each other.
Then at Margaret.
“You lied,” Clare said.
Margaret sipped wine.
“I am seventy-two. At my age it's called strategic omission.”
Nathaniel sighed.
“Mom.”
“Sit.”
Dinner became unexpectedly hilarious.
Margaret told stories about Nathaniel as a teenager.
Including the time he tried to impress a girl by repairing her motorcycle and accidentally destroyed the transmission.
Clare laughed until tears appeared.
Nathaniel glared at his mother.
“You're enjoying this.”
“Immensely.”
After dessert, Margaret disappeared upstairs.
Clare and Nathaniel stood alone in the kitchen.
“She planned this.”
“Obviously.”
Clare smiled.
Nathaniel moved closer.
“Can I kiss you?”
The question surprised her.
Once he would have assumed.
Now he asked.
Clare looked at his mouth.
Then his eyes.
“Yes.”
The kiss was gentle.
Almost painfully careful.
No desperation.
No ownership.
When they separated, Clare whispered:
“That felt different.”
Nathaniel touched his forehead to hers.
“We're different.”
She kissed him again.
Upstairs, Margaret silently celebrated.
Andrew, who had been hiding near the staircase because Margaret had bribed him with expensive bourbon, whispered:
“Are they kissing?”
Margaret slapped his arm.
“Stop spying.”
May you like
“You recruited me!”
“Quiet.”
Related Stories
