Clarity filled the room.
It was everything she needed to hear and be said.
On both of their parts.
The hefty burden of the truth being lifted freed a part of her she’d been waiting for.
She knew more about him and had more to understand.
He could say the same about her.
She got her answer about why things had been dull and boring and didn’t even have to ask.
It all made sense and she felt better with his thoughtful reasoning.
“Let me clean up,” she said. He was picking up the plate and she pushed his hands aside. “You did all the work. It’s my turn.”
“I’m not even going to argue with you.”
She gathered the plates. “Good. You won’t win.”
When she got to the kitchen, she noticed how messy of a cook he was.
Empty bags that the seafood were in, the box of pasta upside down with half the top ripped off in frustration. The can of sauce with drippings down the side and on the counter.
The stovetop, not much better. Multiple utensils lying on it, leaving a baked-on residue.
She rinsed the plates, put them in the dishwasher, then gathered all the trash to dispose of that.
Twenty minutes later, the kitchen was in order and Arik was on his phone in the living room with a frown on his face.
He looked up when she came in with the box of cookies she’d bought open and in her hand.
She set them down on the glass coffee table and joined him on the couch.
“What’s in there?”
“Take a look,” she said. She moved the box closer; he reached in and snagged a chocolate chip cookie. She went for the frosted brownie. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Just a message from my old job.”
“The one that made you Willy Wonka rich?” A giggle escaped. “Sorry, it’s holding the chocolate in my hand that had that slipping.”
“It’s funny. And yes. That job. They’ve had some turnover and were asking if I would consider consulting.”
Did that mean he’d have to go there for that?
After everything they’d just said to each other and her confession about not wanting to put pressure on him, the last thing she could do was ask. Not now.
“Have you done that before?”
He’d shared how the last job had affected him, and the thought of him going back made her fear he’d fall into those same habits all over again. Even if it was temporary, didn’t he just acknowledge that was a flaw of his?
“I haven’t.”
“But you want to? There is part of you that is thinking of what you did that someone else is ruining?”
His ego.
