Chapter 25
Catherine checked the chicken. "10 more minutes," she said and closed the oven door.
The table was set. Everything else was ready. The main course? In a few minutes, it was also going to be ready.
Catherine looked at the clock on the wall. 6:30 pm exactly. "Where is she?" She turned off the oven. Just she was going to sit down at the table, she heard the doorbell buzzing.
"Hey!" she happily exclaimed while opening the door. Jackie was standing with a stern face.
-What happened?
-On my way here, a kid saw and recognized me while I was catching a cab. He started yelling and calling my name. Seeing that everybody around is turning at me, I ran two blocks and jumped in a taxi passing by.
-Oh god...
Catherine put her arms around Jackie and tried to console her. Jackie immediately freed herself from Catherine's arms and went inside continuing to grumble.
-TV executives and other people believe that I should avoid going on the streets. Apparently, I might catch too much attention.
Catherine did not want to say anything. She felt offended. For the past a few hours she was cleaning the house, setting the table and cooking meal for them to enjoy the evening. Now that Jackie is here, she did not even say "Hello". Moreover, she is kind of blaming her for getting out of her hotel suite.
Without saying anything, Catherine went to the kitchen. She opened the kitchen cabinet and took the bottle of wine she bought especially for the evening. She opened the bottle, poured wine in one of the glasses on the table, and started slowly drinking it. She suddenly felt a hand on her back. Since she did not expect it, she almost spilled the wine because of surprise.
-I am sorry. I am sounding like an annoying little brat. It is just; I am very tired and exhausted because of what happened.
Catherine smiled.
-It is OK.
-Did you make something special for me?
Jackie grinned.
-A new recipe. You are going to love it. Wine?
-Sure.
Catherine poured wine to the other glass and turned to the oven.
-That's interesting…
-What?
Catherine turned back and saw Jackie watching the kitchen cabinet with the open door where she took the wine bottle.
-That empty bottle. Since when do you keep empty bottles in the cupboard?
It dang Catherine like a thunder. It was the empty bottle from the night Alexandra came to her apartment the first time.
-It was a good wine. I kept it just to remember the name and everything. But I should probably throw it.
-Why?
-I couldn't find it in the city anyways.
Catherine took the bottle to throw it. But Jackie suddenly grabbed the bottle to examine it.
-It looks like an expensive one. Where did you get it if it is not sold in the city?
Catherine turned back and opened the oven door. She did not want to look into Jackie's eyes when she is lying again.
-A colleague gave it to me.
-Wow. Then you must really have been bounded with the university staff. Quite a fancy gift.
Catherine faked a smile and turned back with chicken in her hands.
-They are good and interesting people.
-Do you miss Bloomington?
Jackie was like on fire that day. She was shooting serious questions that made Catherine uncomfortable.
-At first, I did. Now I am used to being here.
Jackie was looking at her with a question mark on her face.
-Don't judge me. After you left, I spent the whole year at home. I was not invited to the places where they were happy to see me before. People I used to talk were trying their hard to change the route when they were seeing me from a distance. Here, they respect me. They really want me to develop here. I can easily find funds for my researches and publish my articles in many local and international journals. Probably I will easily enhance my career here. Since there are no rumors etc., I can even feel myself as a decent human being.
Jackie hugged Catherine saying, "Everything is going to be great." Catherine hoped for it. She kissed Jackie while the latter was holding her.
The evening went well. After the dinner, they moved to the bedroom. Although Catherine was breathless from all the passion, she realized something. There has been a change in Jackie's demeanor in bed. She did stuff she never used to do. She kissed her the way she never did before. Apparently, she had an extensive experience after they broke up. It was normal but Catherine was not very happy about it. She missed her little porcupine. She knew also that it would be crazy to open a talk about this. Thinking that she would better hush, Catherine decided to conceal her feelings within inside.
The next day, while going to class, she saw Alexandra from a long distance. She was standing in the hall and pressing her back against the wall. A few female students surrounded her around and they were talking to her. "Probably they are asking her questions", she said to herself. She continued to watch. Girls were flirtatiously talking to Alexandra and she was explaining something with hands and gestures, the same way she would talk if she is only passionate about the topic. Catherine felt sudden clutching in her stomach. She did not want to watch the scene anymore. Therefore, she went to the class and plopped the door.