December 13th, 2010
Henry Spencer smiled slightly as he flipped a steak and stirred some vegetables quickly to keep them from burning on one side.
"You okay in there, Mary?" He called through the screen door.
"Yep," a voice answered brightly. Henry waited another moment for the steaks to finish and plopped them onto a dish, putting the vegetables into another.
"Those look delicious," said his date, smiling. "You're a much better cook than you let on."
"Wait until you've tried it to make that declaration," Henry said, dishing her out some.
"I'm sure it's delicious," Mary insisted cheerfully. He had met her a few days previously at the supermarket and they'd decided to try having dinner. So far it had gone very well, and Henry liked her.
But, as he always did, Shawn showed up, and things suddenly became much less pleasant. he and Mary had finished eating and were talking over some nice wine, and Shawn came barging into his house with some proclamation about a new case that he wanted Henry to give him.
"Dad-" His son quickly broke off when he saw that Henry wasn't alone at his table. Henry saw that strange frozen look come into Shawn's eyes and he looked at Mary apologetically.
"Excuse me a moment," he said, standing and taking Shawn's arm. He led the would-be Psychic out of the dining area and crossed his arms. "Yes, Shawn?"
"You have another woman here?" Shawn regained his ability to form coherent sentences quickly.
"What do you mean, another?" Henry asked, frowning.
"I mean-" Shawn stopped himself, letting out a breath. "You know what? Never mind. Forget I said anything. Forget I even came by."
"Shawn, don't-" Henry tried to explain, but his son was already out the door. The man heaved a sigh, disappointed.
"Henry?"
He made an effort to sound cheerful as he returned. "Sorry about that, Mary."