Chapter four
New rules

Chloe enjoyed the walk to the school; she originally had left the apartment in a foul mood. Since Mickey had taken this new job, he would come home early hours in the morning and sleep all day, she didn't like that he'd become less useful around the apartment. He said he would only work Thursday to Saturday, but then went out drinking to celebrate with his friends, so he was home late and still sleeping.

Walking into the playground of the school, she didn't talk to any of the other parents as she was feeling alone, she would normally come here with Mickey, but now she was on her own, and she felt exposed.

"Geia (Hello)," Chloe heard someone say to her.

"Geia(Hello)," was all Chloe glanced over the woman, she wasn't tall, her hair was blonde, her body was something she'd see in a beauty magazine. "To ónomá mou eínai Chloe. (My name is Chloe.)"
"To ónomá mou eínai Cassandra, (My name is Cassandra)" she gave a genuine smile to Chloe. "You're American." She added.

Feeling relief, "You too?" She asked the other woman.

"No, Canadian," She couldn't help but laugh, "Who are you picking up?" She asked curious to the woman she'd only seen now.

"Hector," Chloe she put her eyes back on the doors, she knew it was going to open soon.

Hesitating Cassandra glanced to the doors, "Kali is my little girl," She stopped, "Are you Hector's mother?"

"No," she said, "I'm the girlfriend of his dad." Her reply quick as the doors opened and the children started to exit, "He's a man child." She pointed out bitterly.

"Aren't they all," Cassandra laughed, "But I'm happy enough to not have to worry about that." She gotten into the pattern of making a joke, because she didn't want to think of the alternate.

"Kali's dad leave?" Chloe asked watching Hector making his way over to her.

Cassandra shook her head seeing that Kali was with Hector holding hands, "I'm a widow," She pointed out trying not to get upset, "I've been too busy being a mother to really care about dating since." She now smiled as Kali approached, "Geia sou agápi mou. (Hello my darling.)"

"Boreí o Éktoras na meínei gia deípno apópse? (Can Hector stay for dinner tonight?)" Kali was speaking sweetly to her mother.

Chloe couldn't help but give a grin, but Cassandra shook her head, "I think it's a bit too last minute, maybe another day." She turned to Chloe, "Sorry, my daughter knows how to make people feel guilty."

"It's okay, maybe tomorrow, we can make it a play date." Chloe smiled to Kali, "I mean if you can wait until tomorrow?" She asked softly.

"That's okay," Her eyes going to Hector, "Ávrio boreíte na deíte to spíti mou kai boroúme na paíxoume sto domátió mou.

(Tomorrow you can see my home, and we can play in my room)." Kali was quick with her words.

Hector laughed, "Tha íthela pragmatiká, boró na féro ton ántra drásis mou mazí mou, kai boreí na eínai fílos me ton barbie sas. (I would really like that, I can bring my action man with me, and he can be friends with your barbie.)" he said feeling good about the next day.

Chloe felt odd, while she did speak Greek, she still wasn't as strong as she'd like to be trying to keep up with the children's conversation, she glanced to Cassandra going into her bag, "You don't mind?"

"No, it's fine, I've been so busy last week, it'll be nice to have people over," She now reached into her tote bag grabbing her phone, she giggled to a message from Mickey quickly replying to him. "Can give me your number so I can plan tomorrow better."

Chloe took the phone typing in her number, she quickly called it so she could also have Cassandra's number. "It'll be nice," She took her own phone out saving the number seeing that Cassandra had already put hers back into her bag. "I've never done a playdate before."

"It's kinda like a normal date, but no sex, and sometimes a nap is involved, but there will be wine." She held a hand up, "The wine's for us!" Cassandra laughed, "We can gossip, while the kids pretend their dolls are dating." She glanced to Kali having her own conversation with Hector.

Chloe not noticing they were the only ones left on the playground. "Well, I will message you later," Her hand on Hector, "It was nice meeting you Cassandra."

"Cassie," She corrected, "And it was nice meeting you too Chloe," She gave a smile watching the woman walking away, but deep inside she couldn't think of what to do, she didn't want to land Mickey in trouble, but at the same time they weren't doing anything wrong, they were just friends.

Opening the front door she could smell food, and she sighed as Hector ran into the kitchen to hug Mickey. Chloe wasn't jealous that Hector showed more love for his father, but as she glanced to see Mickey talking to his son, she noticed he was getting better at Greek.

"Hey, I decided to cook," He waved a spatula and pointed to the stove, "Burgers," he a waved his hand magically, he was happy he finally talked to Aspa into letting Hector be bilingual in both Greek and English, as long as Mickey learnt Greek better.

"Burgers," Chloe laughed as she walked into the kitchen feeling Mickey wrap his arms around her, he kissed her gently as he put his attention back to the cooking.

Chloe turned to leave the kitchen, "I have to do some paperwork, also I finally talked to another parent at the school today." She carried on talking as she got into the lounge finding her laptop.

"A parent?" Mickey stuck his head into the lounge, he was curious to this news.

Turning the laptop on she glanced up, "Yea, Cassie," She started to relax on the couch, "She's Kali's mother," She pointed out.

"Sounds nice," Mickey didn't know whether Cassandra had told Chloe about them knowing each other, so he nodded, "Hector talks a lot about Kali," He added trying to keep cool.

"Yea, she's really sweet, sad her mother is a widow." Chloe thought of it, "I said that Hector can go after school tomorrow, so me and Cassie are having a wine date." She said hoping Mickey wouldn't object.

"Sounds cool," He was back in the kitchen cooking, he saw Hector now at the small table with a drawing book and pencils, he smiled to his son, but was quickly messaging Cassandra, he didn't mention anything about Chloe.

The next day Chloe felt confident as she entered into Cassandra apartment, and the first thing she saw was a pile of clothes on a side, and then trying to ignore the little messes over the place. "This is a nice place." She found a place to sit.

Kali and Hector has already rushed to her room, and Cassandra entered the living room with two glasses of wine in hand, "Sorry about the mess, I am pretty much catching up with everything." She passed Chloe a glass sitting on an armchair, she knew that from the other woman's face she was judging her home.

Chloe snapped out of her stare, "Sorry, I just am a bit of a neat freak." Taking a sip of her wine, and then relaxed onto the couch. "So how long have you lived here?"

"Only two years," She pointed out, "I used to live with my husband's mother, but then after a few months after he died, I had to move out." She drank half the glass of the wine and sighed.

"I meant in Greece?" Chloe repeated the question, but she adding what she really wanted to know.

Cassandra drank some of her wine, "Twelve years," she said placing her glass down.

"Oh," She didn't know how to think of the next thing to say, she glanced to the pictures around the lounge of Keli and an older woman. "But then how come you stayed in Greece."

"Because I was twenty when I came here, and my mother told me if I married Angelino, that I wasn't welcome back." She picked the glass up thinking Chloe really liked to ask questions, "My mom never approved of our online relationship, and he was older than me, so she assumed he was an online stranger danger."

"I mean I can understand some of her points," Chloe held her glass close to her chest, she didn't want to be offensive, but at the same time she wasn't going to lie.

Cassandra shrugged, "My mom was a single parent, and to be honest she was controlling as shit, all she wanted to do was influence everything I did." She said with a smile. "So, when I came to Greece and Angelino proposed, I said yes." She laughed about it, "Because I really wanted to piss her off."

"But you loved him?" Chloe knew she was pushy, but as she finished her wine, she kept a close eye on Cassandra.

Placing her now empty glass down, "I do," She stopped walking to the kitchen, "Did love him." She brought the bottle back pouring more wine into their glasses. "It's just sometimes I wake up and think it was all a dream, he's going to walk into the bedroom." She exhaled, "But I have to carry on."

"I'm so sorry," Chloe stared into her glass, she twirled the glass in her fingers.

Cassandra watched her, she knew that Chloe was just trying to get to know her, "But we are two woman who are getting to know each other, so what brought you here?"

"I moved here two and a half years ago," She drank her wine, "I was in a bad relationship, when I finally ended it with him a year ago nearly." She said drinking the wine, "I was all set to go back, I had this job set up for me in Chicago, I was going to one last party…" She sighed, "I met Mickey." She thought about how her life would have gone if she just went home. If she didn't follow him out of the airport. "And it's been like half regret, and half hoping he'd be better, but it's like he's never going to change into an adult."

"Ah," Cassandra nodded, "I think I know now why I stay single," She placed her glass down, she was smiling to Chloe, "But I love it here."

"I'm still not sure," Chloe looked into her wine glass, she was still trying to work through it all, "I guess I am all work no play."

"You should be a little play," Cassandra asked.

"I am, I am holding a party at my place," She placed her glass down, "You should come!"

Cassandra tilted her head to one side lightly, "I think I will," She giggled, "Have any decent single men going?" She joked with a wink.

Chloe was relaxing more now, she forgot about her first impression of the other woman. Cassandra was a down to earth, funny woman she could see herself being good friends with.