Chapter 6 #3
“Are you completely, fully exhilarated, to be marrying the man of your dreams?” she asked, grinning.
“The man of my dreams... you’re being melodramatic.” Angela thought her line of questioning a bit odd.
“Well, is he not? Should he not be the man of your dreams if you’re marrying him?”
“Well-”
“Or is there another man who would better fit that description?”
Angela sat, speechless, motionless.
“Because, it would be quite acceptable if there was. The heart wants what it wants.”
Again with the drama. Angela found her amusing, yet was guarded as she thought maybe Dot was trying to communicate something that should very well be left alone.
Dot got up slowly from her chair.
“Do you need help to the kitchen?” Angela asked.
“I’m not an old hag, please.” She would let Ellie help her but was apparently too proud to let Angela do so.
They made their way slowly to the kitchen.
Dot settled at the table and Angela took a seat beside her.
The kitchen had a quaint rustic charm; rustic slate flooring, grey marble countertops, black cupboards below, white ones on top; accentuated with stain glass.
The modern steel appliances managed to blend in perfectly.
Her favorite part of the kitchen was the old rustic pine table.
She loved the character of it; the charm.
“I love this table.”
“Thank you. That’s been in my mother’s family for ages,” Michael told her as he served the steaming soup from a crock-pot and had the sandwiches almost ready to go.
“Dijon mustard on the rye?” he asked.
“Regular mustard for me. I’m a simple girl,” Angela joked.
“Look at that light fixture on top of your head.”
She stared at the gigantic black upside down lamppost.
“That’s an old converted English streetlamp,” he explained.
He served the sandwiches with pickles and they ate in the beautiful solarium kitchen looking out the lushly treed front.
The soup was great. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was.
The dinner conversation started out with small talk; about the lush trees, the warmer days and her lack of a decent car.
But then, the conversation took an interesting turn when Dot became a little mischievous.
“So Michael tells me you speak French?”
“Yes. I studied in French immersion for eight years.”
“I had this brilliant idea,” she said, slightly mischievous, looking at both of them. “Michael’s kids will be out of school soon and we’re all going to the cottage.”
Angela was intrigued.
“Since you speak French, wouldn’t it be great if you were there to bridge any communication issues.”
“Mum, I don’t think Angela-” Michael tried to interrupt.
“You could help Michael with his French and the kids with their English,” she added.
“I don’t think that would be appropriate.” Angela said. “I’d feel like a fifth wheel.” She knew it would be completely inappropriate to be in such proximity with a man she just wanted to jump on; literally.
Michael felt both relieved and disappointed at the sound of her words.
But... Dot would not be deterred so easily.
“You could keep me company. I get so lonely up there. Nobody pays any attention to me. We could read our stories.”
Angela had never been good at saying no to people, especially very pushy people.
“You’ll come?” Dot pleaded.
“I don’t know. I guess I could.” She felt literally caught in the corner waiting for Michael to free her. He was useless; frozen.
And, although Michael had made the soup, Dot hadn’t finished stirring the pot.
“So Michael, you’ve had a lot less work on your plate lately?” she asked.
“Yeah, it’s not been too busy lately,” he said, spoon mid-air.
“It’s wonderful you can relax like this,” she added.
“I guess.” He was intrigued by her comments.
“You’ve had a lot of free afternoons lately.” She looked at him suspiciously.
“Well, I’m taking it easy,” he said, looking down at his bowl of soup.
“It’s interesting. You’ve been around every Monday afternoon,” she said, smiling and looking at them both. “Every Monday... since Angela has been coming to read to me.”
There it was, on the table, their meals half eaten. Angela had never been more uncomfortable in her entire life but was quick on her feet, changing the subject as fast as she could.
“Is there a gas station near here? Last thing I need is to get stuck on the side of the road.” Her tank was full.
Michael was quick to give her directions, even jotting down a map on a napkin.
Both of them were furious; Michael, even more so.
They ate the rest of the meal quickly. Michael got up from the table with bits of his sandwich on his plate.
“I’m sorry to rush off like this but I do actually have a lot to do today. ”
Angela had never seen a man finish a sandwich so quickly. Ellie offered to clean up. Angela offered to help but Ellie insisted she was fine on her own. Angela took the opportunity to get out of there as fast as she could. She gave Dot a dirty look as she left the room. Dot gave her a smirk.
That little cunning trouble maker, she thought. Maybe I won’t come by at all next Monday.