Grant and I had been together for three years, and although he was a bit hard to deal with sometimes, he was a decent man with a good job and a future. I learned to deal with his rough edges, knowing that he worked hard and just wanted certain comforts that any person would want. I was a freelance writer, so I was able to move my schedule around, making time to take care of Grant, which I had to admit was almost like a full-time job. He had a serious temper, and I found it easier to just do what he wanted, rather than fight through one of his explosive tantrums. We didn’t live together, per se, but he came to my house for dinner whenever business didn’t interrupt, and it had become a routine of ours.
“Why don’t you come out with me tonight?” Hailey really wanted to see me. “It’s Thirsty Thursday at the pub we used to go to. We can relax, let our hair down, and have a few drinks.”
“Aww, I really want to see you.” I sighed. “And beers do sound amazing, but Grant and I have plans already. I’m cooking dinner as we speak, spaghetti, meatballs, and garlic bread with his favorite kale salad.”
“You are aware that Grant has two hands and a brain, right?” she asked. “He is more than capable of cooking his own dinner for once.”
Hailey had never liked Grant, especially after the Christmas incident two years ago where she walked in on him berating me for messing up the ham right before dinner. No one else noticed the different glaze, but he was furious. He was under a lot of stress because that was the year that his boss came to dinner. Either way, she pretty much wrote him off at that point. But as much as I loved Hailey, I knew I had to be faithful in my relationship with Grant because we were together, and it seemed like something that wasn’t going to change.
“Hailey,” I said with a sigh. “I know he is capable of doing things himself. I just want to stick to my word.”
“You mean so he doesn’t treat you like a child again? I’m sorry, Bea, I know we’ve had this conversation before.” She sighed.
“Then just let it go,” I replied, not wanting to argue.
“All right,” she said. “Letting it go. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“For sure,” I replied.
I hung up with Hailey and tossed the phone on the counter, finishing getting dinner ready. I wanted it all to be ready and on the table when he arrived. By the time I was nearly done putting the last touches on the table settings, Grant walked through the door, putting his briefcase down and taking off his jacket. I smiled and walked toward him, readying myself for a kiss. Instead, he looked over at the table and tossed his jacket in my arms, completely ignoring my ploy for affection. I hung up his jacket and sighed, figuring he was just preoccupied from just getting off work. I walked up beside him and looked down at the spread.
“I made your favorite,” I said, beaming. “And it just got off the stove, so it will be deliciously hot.”
I looked back at the large dish of spaghetti still steaming in the pan, lying next to the crispy garlic bread, and two individually plated kale salads with my homemade raspberry maple dressing. My stomach growled slightly, and I realized I had been so busy at work earlier, and then panicked to get dinner ready when I got home, that I hadn’t had anything to eat except for a piece of toast that Grant hadn’t wanted before he left for work. Either way, I was proud of my hard work, and I hoped that he would enjoy it.
“Yes, it takes a gourmet chef to put together spaghetti and meatballs,” he said with a smirk, sitting down at the table.
I ignored his comment, but not the hurt feeling in my chest and crossed around, sitting down in the seat on the other side of the table. I held the bread out for him, but he ignored me, going for the spaghetti and meatballs. I set it down and waited, picking at my salad.
“How do you like it?” I asked.
“You know,” he said, wiping his mouth. “This reminds me of a lesson I learned at work today. So many people come to my office, so proud of a project that they put together, a project that is absolute shit in my opinion. But today, watching Marcy Bower from marketing beam about her work during our conference, I realized that not everyone is me. Not everyone can work hard and produce brilliant work. I had to learn to humble myself a bit and give them props for a job well done, even if it was something I could do in my sleep. So, thank you for dinner, Bea. You did a lovely job. I can see you are very proud of yourself.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a putdown or a compliment, but it didn’t feel good in the least. We sat silently eating, with Grant occasionally asking me a question, but cutting me off before I could fully answer it. I sipped at my glass of wine, watching him across th
e table, texting away on his phone. He was completely in another world, lost in the digital conversation he was having with God knows who. Every once in a while, he would smirk or chuckle at the person on the other end of the phone before glancing up at me and tossing his phone to the side, just to pick it back up when the little chime would come through. I was eating dinner to the sound of cellphone rings, but I kept my irritation at bay and just enjoyed my dinner. When his phone rang, I glanced up, watching him answer.
“Hey there,” he said, chuckling. “No, no, you’re not pulling me away. I wasn’t doing anything of importance. Yes, that does need to be taken care of… Absolutely… All right then, give me ten or so minutes, and I’ll head over there.”
I looked up at him and watched as he took a big swig of his wine and wiped his mouth. This was just like him, always leaving in the middle of the dinner or shortly thereafter, especially lately. He took in a deep breath and stood up, straightening his clothes and glancing over at me.
“Sorry, love,” he said. “Work calls. Like always. I promise this weekend, we will have some time, just you and me.”
I smiled and tilted my head upward, ready for that kiss I’d been after since he got here. Instead, he leaned over and kissed my forehead before turning and grabbing his coat. He smiled at me with that charming smile that had hooked me in the first place and walked out the door. I jumped slightly as the front door slammed shut, the rush of cold air from outside hitting me in the face. I sighed and filled my wine glass, looking out the window across the room. There were small snowflakes lightly falling from the sky, and the window was fogged from the temperature difference. It looked like it was going to be just another quiet night with me and my thoughts. I was actually getting pretty used to it. but I was still unsure of whether he was completely telling me the truth or not.
I shook my head, trying not to question his integrity. I had fallen for Grant a long time ago, with his pretty eyes and English accent. I had agreed to be in a relationship with him, which was a huge move for me. Doing that, I knew that I couldn’t question him, or have any ideas that I couldn’t trust him because trust was the foundation of a relationship. With Grant, if you didn’t have trust, you were pretty screwed because he came and went as he pleased, with little to no explanation. I had known that from the beginning. It was only now starting to get to me a bit because he no longer made the effort to spend time with me like he used to. It was more than a little bit frustrating.
I sat there at the table and finished my dinner, and the bottle of wine, for that matter. When I was done with my food, I took my glass of wine and walked over to the doors leading out onto the terrace. I wasn’t about to go outside. It was winter in Basalt, Colorado, which meant temperatures were below freezing. I didn’t have a huge place, but like so many others in Basalt, my windows spanned my living room, from floor to ceiling. I had an amazing view, which was why I chose this place to begin with. It was white outside, and I knew that skiing had begun, bringing tourists to the area. I, myself, had never skied before, but I loved the winter wonderland around me. Luckily, I had a job that allowed me to work from home, so I didn’t have to deal with the whole issue of driving in the blustery conditions, unless, of course, I ran out of wine. Then, it was definitely worth an emergency trip.
I sighed, taking the last gulp of my warm, red cabernet and walking back to the table. I started to pick up the dishes and take them to the kitchen, scraping Grant’s half-eaten plate of mediocre spaghetti into the trash. As I washed the dishes and put away the leftovers, I thought about the future, knowing I had reached a point in my life where I was tired of searching.
I had a great job, that I had managed to become extremely successful at, and an amazing house. My boyfriend wasn’t always such a dick, and I knew that this was probably the best that it was ever going to get for me. I was never looking for a fairy tale, but I was looking forward to the day when Grant finally proposed and I could start building a family. This house would be a lot nicer with the sound of little feet slapping the wooden floors.
When I was done cleaning up, I sighed and walked into the living room where I flipped off the lights, turned on the gas fireplace, and snuggled up on the couch with a warm fleece and some old black and white movies. This was the part of the day I really enjoyed, whether Grant was there or not. I could finally relax.
Chapter 3
Cameron