She was seeing him everywhere, at work, at the grocery store, at her lunch restaurant, and she didn't know why, he didn't seem to genuinely know that she came to these places and yet there he was. As of right now he was sitting across from his brother, drinking from a light blue mug in her café, he looked damn cozy too, his legs extended, in a slouched position over a newspaper, he didn't even seem to notice her. She wasn't sure what irritated her more, the fact that he was there or the fact that he wasn't looking at her.

"He is not the center of my life, I can let him go." She said to herself, trying to vanquish the feelings that welled up inside of her. "He isn't the center of my life."

She repeated it like a mantra in her head, praying that it would be true because more than anything she didn't want to think about the fact that her husband was right there.

"Um…. Excuse me?" a voice said in front of her.

"Oh, god, I'm sorry." She said, looking at the customer in front of her. "Betty, how are you?" she said, recognizing the plump face and bright, merry blue eyes.

"Why, I'm just fine. And how are you, dear?"

"I'm fine, loving the paint job your husband did for me."

"Oh, it's nothing, although that gold color looks beautiful, it's bringing quite a brisk business, although with your cooking who needs bright colors?"

Althea laughed. "I try my best. So your usual?"

"Yes, please." She said enthusiastically.

Althea smiled at the older woman with a genuine smile and wrote it on a tab sheet, with a few button presses on the old-fashioned cash register she wrote down the cost and a number then handed the paper back.

"It should be ready in twenty minutes."

"Well worth the wait."

Betty walked away from the counter with the ticket in her hand and sat down at the booth behind Sam and Dean's, the color left her face, Betty's booth was her station which meant that she would be coming close to Dean. Taking a deep breathe she closed her eyes and turned to the kitchen, leaving one of the younger employees at the counter, it seemed that the kitchen was the only place that she could relax and just be herself, especially in these times. Everything seemed to melt away when the smells of freshly baked bread and warm pies entered her senses, it was just her and the ingredients already forming recipes in her head. In the freezer was the Sweet Potato Pie for Betty made last night before she had left the store, she pulled it out and pushed it into the already hot oven and started to make the Café Macchiato (coffee). Ten minutes later she was pouring steamed milk into the frothy coffee confection and pulling the delicious pie out of the oven, the smell of nutmeg and cinnamon filled the air, she paused for a moment with the pie near to her face.

Althea's eyes closed in pleasure, a sense of accomplishment and anxiety overcame her, what if the customer didn't like it? What if they didn't enjoy it the same way she did? What if…. She pushed the thoughts away, they only covered the real problem, she wasn't feeling upset over the pie but over the man. It wasn't even his pie for Christ's sake! Mechanically she began to decorate the slice of pie she had cut, swirling chocolate sauce over the top in a lattice pattern and around the plate, then very carefully she placed the plate and the cup of hot coffee on a tray and whisked it out the door of the kitchen. Reading in her booth Betty looked relaxed and calm, her face a mask of contentment while Althea herself was breaking up.

"You're being ridiculous." She said to herself.

Carefully she brought the tray to Betty and placed the plate a long with the coffee in front of Betty, her back resolutely to Dean and his brother, Betty looked up gratefully and nodded politely. Ignoring the flutter of her heart she walked away, almost back to the counter when she heard someone calling her, she froze.

"Althea!" It was Dean. "Althea come here!"

She wanted to walk forward, wanted to ignore him and just let it go but he wouldn't let her, he kept calling her name until she thought she might just explode, walk over and ring his neck.

"What?" she practically growled at him.

"We're ready to order."

"Sorry, Dean, but this isn't my station, you'll have to wait until Tara is done with the rest of our customers."

"Why would I wait when you're right here, wife."

Althea gritted her teeth, she knew he was doing it to piss her off, knew that he was purposely baiting her to get a rise, but she wasn't going to show how mad she was, instead she was going to get revenge.

"What would you like then?" she said in a sugary sweet voice.

"Pie." He said with an unnerving smile.

"What kind?"

"Pecan."

"And you?" she looked to his brother with a genuine smile.

He looked between the two with a frown. "Um…. just coffee." He said with a hesitant smile.

TBC