As the sun crept up over the horizon, Steph and Lisa stood in front of the still-closed salon. Lisa, who had lost eleven pounds since February, was dressed in a pair of green and while cotton sweatpants that hadn't fit her since high school. She had steadily been losing around five pounds per month until May, when she'd gained five of them back. That fact was making her anxious and irritable, which was not lost on Steph, who was also wearing her old school colors.

        "We don't have time to wait!" Lisa said.

        "Five more minutes Leese," Steph begged.

        Chugging down some Gatorade, Lisa insisted, "The wedding is on the nineteenth. Today is June fourth. I need to lose nine more pounds, so that works out to like one pound PER DAY."

        "It doesn't matter if we start jogging right now, or fives minutes from now," Steph tried to explain calmly, "You're still INSANE!" She again surveyed the barely populated street and saw Christina come around the corner. "There she is," she said testily. She grabbed the blue bottle of liquid from her friend, saying, "And for the last time, this stuff is full of corn syrup!" She took a quick drink from the bottle then put it down next to the door of the salon.

        Lisa whined, "I thought you said it was all corn syrup!"

        "It is, but I'm comfortable with my body," Steph joked.

        "I'm sorry I'm late," Christina apologized as she reached her friends.

        "No problem, Stretch." Steph wrapped her arm around Christina's shoulder, walking Christina in a small circle. While their backs were to Lisa, Steph whispered, "Isalay is driving me azycray."

        Christina snickered as Steph brought her full circle to face Lisa.

        "We have some big news," Lisa said, momentarily losing the manic frustration that had gripped her only moments before.

        Christina looked puzzled. "What's going on?"

        "Remember Patty?" asked Steph.

        "Preggers Patty?"

        "Patty, preggers no more," Steph corrected.

        Lisa clarified, "Patty had her baby last night around three in the morning."

        "Preggers Patty popped," Steph clarified further.

        "Wow," Christina said.

        "So ... " Lisa started, "... She's not going to make it to the wedding. We're kinda hoping you could fill in for her."

        "You want me to be a bridesmaid?"

        "That's right," Steph said. "You're off the bench; we're sending you in to play."

        "I mean ... I guess I could."

        "Great! We just need to get your measurements for the dress and we're all set." Lisa went to the door, retrieved her Gatorade, and took another drink.

        Christina put her arm around Steph and led her into another circle-walk. "Does this mean I have to wear one of those hideous orange dresses?" she asked.

        Steph remarked, "Funny how your perspective changes when you're the one in the dress."

        As Steph and Christina faced Lisa again, Lisa put down her drink and insisted, "We have to start. I need to lose two pounds today."

        "Don't ask," Steph whispered.

        Crouching down, Christina adjusted the laces on her sneakers then looked up. "Okay, I'm ready."

        Before Christina could rise, a thin woman dressed in an expensive and coordinated spandex running uniform jogged up beside them. Diana tapped the iPod strapped around her left arm and removed her earbuds. "Local Girl," she proclaimed as though they were old friends, "Richard told me that this was THE spot to go jogging."

        "Wow," Christina sneered as she stood up, "I didn't know you were back in town already."

        "I got into town late last night," Diana explained nonchalantly. "The inn was booked, so I'm staying at Richard's."

        Christina's mind attempted to digest that piece of information and arrange it in some way that would reconcile it with the world as she understood it. The entire result of that arduous process was summarized when she shrieked, "You're staying WHERE?"

        Ignoring her, Diana continued, "And now I'm told there isn't a proper health club in town and this is the place where everyone runs."

        "By everyone," Steph answered, seeing that Christina was too flustered to speak, "you would mean us. And we just make a circuit around a few blocks."

        "Then you won't mind if I join you?"

        Steph looked at Christina, who was turning crimson, then back to Lisa. Seeing no clear indication that she should even answer the question, she did nothing other than maintain the confused look on her face.

        "Excellent," Diana said as she lined up next to Christina. "Try and keep up, Local Girl!" She took off jogging down the side walk.

        Closing her eyes tightly, Christina muttered, "I'm gonna kill her ..." When she opened her eyes, she saw that Steph and Lisa were staring at her, waiting for any cue as to what they should do. "Come on!" Christina groaned as she started running to catch up.

        Steph shot Lisa a worried grimace, and they too started jogging.

        It wasn't long before the girls caught up with Diana. When she saw Christina jogging next to her, without any strain in her voice, she said, "Not bad. What do you say we make it interesting?" With that she broke out into a faster sprint, leaving the three girls behind her.

        "Let's go!" Christina barked as she increased her speed.

        Steph started to speed up, but slowed a bit when Lisa huffed, "We ... never ... run ... we ... just ... jog ..."

        "I know Leese, but I don't think we want to miss this!"

        Christina caught up with Diana, while Steph and Lisa lagged behind. Steph was holding her own, but she held back to remain closer to Lisa, who was flailing and struggling to maintain her pace. Though Christina was running side by side with the older woman, Christina was beginning to struggle while Diana still swung her arms in effortless synchronization with her legs.

        Casting a menacing look over her shoulder at Christina, Diana again increased her speed to a full out run and pulled ahead.

        Not willing to give up, Christina shortened her stride and pushed as hard as she could to keep up.

        "Enough!" Lisa coughed from behind as the other pair turned the corner. Her feet pounded against the pavement as she brought herself to a halt. Leaning over, she supported her palms on her knees and breathed in as much air as she could.

        Looking back over her shoulder, Steph slowed from a run back to a jog, then turned around to see if Lisa was okay.

        Christina did not even notice that her friends had given up. All she could see was the woman running three paces in front of her, and all she could think of at that moment was beating Diana back to the salon.

        The two sped past the grocery store and down the block. Diana was the first to make the second turn, but Christina was not far behind. As they progressed down the street, Christina edged ever closer. It was a fight for every inch, and she was not about to concede any ground to the woman in front of her. It took two and a half blocks, but eventually she regained her position beside the older woman.

        Looking over her right shoulder, Christina shot a triumphant sneer at Diana. As soon as that taunt was given, Diana leaned into her forward stride and rammed her shoulder against Christina's arm.

        "You psycho!" Christina screeched as she was knocked off course. She avoided colliding with the brick buildings which lined the street, but when she regained her footing, she was again several feet behind her competitor.

        Even more determined to win, Christina pushed harder, and once again found herself at Diana's side. She wanted to scream at the older woman, but she couldn't find any spare air in her lungs to use for speech.

        Again Diana threw her shoulder into Christina. It knocked her slightly aside, but a second blow nearly knocked the girl off her feet.

        Gritting her teeth, Christina again struggled to catch up. Diana was both ahead and on the inside of the third turn. Christina's sneakers dug into the pavement as she rooted herself on her right foot and swung her body around the corner as fast as she could. Diana was now very far in front of her, but there was no way she was going to give in.

        As she turned the final corner, Christina had still not caught up to the woman. She pushed with every once of strength she had; there were only two more blocks left until they reached the salon, and all she could see was the woman in her crosshairs.

        She clenched her fists as she approached Diana from the outside. She was running as hard as she had ever run, and she again caught the older woman. As she pulled up beside her, Christina lurched over and slammed into Diana with her right shoulder, and didn't look back or stop. She was finally in front and she was almost at the finish.

        Pounding at the sidewalk with her feet, Christina's legs strained as she brought herself to a stop before the three people waiting in front of Steph's salon. Much as Lisa had done earlier, Christina leaned over and coughed as she tried to inhale as much air as possible.

        "What the hell are you doing?" said Richard in an angry voice.

        Looking up, Christina saw that Richard was standing next to a very shocked Steph and Lisa.

        "Winning," Christina bragged, though she was barely audible as she huffed and puffed.

        Richard stormed past the girl, but Christina was too worn out to follow him. Still gasping for breath, she looked up at her friends. Lisa's mouth was frozen open while Steph's face was stuck in an awkward grimace.

        "What?" she asked as she stood up straight and held the stitch in her side. Turning around, she saw that Richard was walking towards Diana, who was sitting on the curb, clutching her leg.

        "... That was a little hard core," Steph said.

        "Oh, she's faking!" Christina complained angrily. Still holding her side, she walked over to where Diana was lying. As Richard helped the woman up, Christina again accused, "She's faking!"

        "Christina!" Richard said, "I saw you push her over!"

        Shaking her head manically, Christina insisted, "No! She was the one who pushed me- three times!" She looked back and forth between Diana, who was doing an excellent job of playing the victim, and Richard. She accused, "She set me up! She PLANNED the whole thing!"

        Richard barked, "Christina, that's enough!"

        "It's fine," Diana said in a wounded voice. "We were having a friendly competition. I guess one of us wanted to win a lot more than the other."

        Christina's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped as she stared at Diana. "Oh come on!" she pleaded to Richard. "You're not gonna fall for that?"

        Holding Diana upright, he scolded, "Diana came here this morning to get to know you better. And she wanted to take the BOTH of us out to breakfast."

        Her lower lip quivering, Christina pointed at Diana and whimpered, "This is what she does! The only reason she's here is to break us up! She set this all up to make me look bad!"

        "I'm so sorry," Diana said to Richard, "This was a mistake."

        Christina started to cry as she asked, "You don't believe me?"

        Richard let out a deep sigh before speaking. "In spite of my constant reassurance, I know you feel threatened by Diana, but this is too much. If you can't behave in a mature fashion, I think it would be best if you didn't come to the meeting tonight."

        Wiping her eyes with her hand, Christina sniffed, "That's so not fair." She said nothing else while Richard looked at her. Eventually, he stopped waiting for a further response, and helped Diana as she limped down the road towards his office.

 

        As she worked in the grocery store that morning, Christina felt both angry and hurt. She was furious with Diana, but what was worse, was how Richard had taken her side. She knew that he hadn't seen everything that'd happened, but still, she felt the sting of betrayal.

        Though she'd stayed with Steph and Lisa until she'd stopped crying, her uncle had noticed that she was not her usual self. Christina didn't tell him what had happened; she feared it would only make the man dislike her boyfriend more than he already did. She did, however, stay close to the man. She found a dozen excuses to wander into the back room, and Alek seemed more than willing to spend time with her rather than focus on work as usual.

        Around noon, Christina made another excuse to wander into the back. Alek was busy removing cleaning supplies and detergent from a crate that had been sitting in the corner since the weekend. When he heard Christina enter, he stopped what he was doing.

        "Hey," Christina said in a feeble voice.

        "Hello again, Tina," he said warmly. "Did you need something for a customer again?"

        "No," Christina shrugged. "There's no one up front, so I thought I'd see what you're doing." She let out a sigh and added, "Working, it turns out ... so I won't bother you."

        "You are never a bother."

        Christina smiled weakly at her uncle then turned to leave. Before she reached the door, she looked back at him and asked, "Uncle Alek, if you saw me do something, and I said it wasn't what you thought it was, would you believe me?"

        "I do not think I understand your question," he answered.

        "I mean ..." Christina struggled to think of an example. "Never mind," she mumbled as she went back towards the front. Stopping again, she spun around and said, "If I told you something, and all you had to go on was my word- everything else said I was lying, but I gave you my word, would you believe me?"

        "Tina," Alek said without a moment of consideration, "I do not believe you would ever lie to me."

        "I wouldn't," she insisted.

        "So, yes. I would believe you."

        Christina went over to the man and gave him a hug. "Thank you," she said.

        Patting his niece on the back, Alek asked, "Is there anything you wanted to tell me?"

        "No ..." she said as she leaned against him. "Well ... someone was picking on me today."

        "Who?"

        "It's not important," Christina covered, not wanting to go into detail about any situation that involved her boyfriend. "The thing is, I was trying to stand up for myself."

        "You should always stand up for yourself, Tina," Alek commended. "When someone pushes you, you must push back."

        "That didn't work," she sighed.

        Alek gave the girl a squeeze and said, "Then you must be the better person. No one may take that from you."

        Christina seriously considered her uncle's advice and wondered how things would have turned out this morning if she hadn't let Diana goad her into racing. "I think you're right," she concluded. She gave her uncle another hug and said, "I have to go."

        "You said that you were to stay all day, did you not?" Alek asked.

        "I did," Christina answered as she went to the doorway, but I think should try to be the better person." Going into the front of the store, she picked up the phone. Dialing Richard's office number she waited for him to pick up.

        "Hello?" Richard answered.

        "Hey."

        Richard repeated, "Hello."

        "So ... about this morning. I shouldn't have knocked Diana over ... and I'm sorry." Christina gritted her teeth as she said the word "sorry", though she didn't relay any of her anger to the man on the phone.

        "You should tell that to Diana."

        Christina punched the wall, and answered, "I will ... when I come over tonight."

        "Christina-"

        "Richard," she interrupted, "You know it's too late to book a room for tonight, and I already said I would cook. It'll be fine ... better than fine. I'll cook the best meal these people have ever had and you and Diana can have your business thing."

        "Are you sure you want to do that?"

        "Yes," Christina answered sincerely. "I said I would, and I still want to help."

        "Alright," he conceded.

        "Great. I have to run an errand and stop at home, so I'll be over in an hour or so."

        "I'll see you then."

        Christina hung up the phone, then went back to the stock room. "Uncle Alek," she called, "I'm leaving." She grabbed Andrei's old backpack off the floor and slung it around her back.

        "Do you not need a ride?" Alek asked.

        "No," Christina answered. "I'm getting my car from Andrei."

        "He did not mention that."

        "That's 'cause he doesn't know yet," Christina smiled.

        She gave Alek a wave as she went through the front of the store and out the door. Between her uncle's advice, and the surprise visit she was planning for Andrei, she was almost able to stop thinking about Diana and how much it turned her stomach that Richard expected her to apologize to the woman.

        Those thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind as she saw Mr. Conrad's service station. An ancient green station wagon was parked in an open garage, and the giant boots poking out from underneath the vehicle could only belong to one person.

        When she reached the side of the car, she knocked on the fender and asked, "Is it done yet?"

        Andrei rolled out from underneath the car and looked up at his cousin. Above the waist, he was wearing only a tank top, and he was covered by a mixture of oil and sweat.

        "Hiya," Christina beamed.

        "Hey," Andrei answered. "What are you doing here?"

        "We're having lunch today. Did you forget?"

        "When did we plan that?"

        "Just now," she said with a wide grin.

        Andrei gave her a stern look that said he did not want to be interrupted which Christina answered with a pout. Letting out a groan, Andrei rolled himself back under the station wagon. After a few seconds, he rolled back out, only to see that Christina's pout had not left her face.

        "Fine," he surrendered. He stood up and looked back over his shoulder towards the office. "Conrad!" he shouted, "I'm going to lunch!"

        "Didn' you already have lunch?" the man screamed back.

        "That was yesterday!"

        Andrei turned back towards Christina, but stopped when the old man shouted, "You sure?"

        "Yes!" Andrei shouted in an exasperated voice. He turned to Christina and started to speak, but he was cut off when Mr. Conrad added, "Don't take all day!"

        Consciously releasing the tension in his brow, He asked, "Where are we going?"

        "Right here," she said, looking around at the filthy driveway that was covered with pools of oil. "Maybe over there," she corrected as she pointed at a bench across the street. She and Andrei went to the bench, and sat down.

        "I have something for you," Christina said as she opened her backpack.

        "Sweatpants?" Andrei joked as Christina shuffled items around in the sack.

        She took out a plastic bag from which she removed two sandwiches wrapped in tin foil. "Tuna or P B and J?" she asked.

        "Peanut butter," he answered. He wiped his hands with a rag before taking the sandwich from his cousin.

        After Andrei had taken a few bites, Christina said, "We need to talk about your job situation."

        Andrei put down his sandwich and made a disgruntled face.

        "This is why you're hard to talk to sometimes," Christina joked.

        "Christina," Andrei started in an irate voice, "When are you going to let this go? Please, just get off my back!"

        "Hold on," she interrupted. "I have something else for you."

        "Is it another sandwich?" Andrei asked.

        "Even better," Christina answered as she took out a stuffed envelope and handed it to her cousin.

        "What's this?" he asked as he opened it up. He pulled out a stack of checks and started flipping through them; each one was made out to "Andrei Levchenko". "What IS this?" he gasped.

        "That's all yours." Christina said as she nibbled on her tuna sandwich.

        "For what?"

        "I sold some of your stuff from the barn."

        "Some of it?"

        "Most of it, technically."

        "... How? ... Who did you sell it to?"

        "First," Christina said as she stopped eating, "I took pictures of everything ... then I made a website where people could shop ... and then I placed a lot of ads in some magazines ... built another system to track ad campaigns, another one to track shipping ..."

        "Wait. In English."

        "I sold all your stuff," Christina laughed.

        "... I can't believe it ... People really wanted my work?"

        "Andrei," Christina explained, "I have a dozen emails from people who want to commission you to build custom pieces. You're really talented, and there are a lot of people all over the country who will pay a lot of money for hand crafted furniture."

        Still staring at the checks, Andrei asked, "Where did you learn how to do this?"

        Christina smiled as she explained, "I was never anyone's secretary."

        "Why didn't you tell me?"

        "Because someone has a habit of biting people's heads off when we talk about what you do for a living."

        "I'm sorry," Andrei apologized. Dumbfounded, Andrei shuffled through the checks and noticed the memo on one of them. "This is for the gateleg table. That's not even done yet."

        "Then maybe you'd better finish it," Christina shrugged, "'cause they're sending the second half of the money on delivery."

        Andrei's jaw dropped. He turned slowly to look at Christina. "Second half?" he repeated.

        "Yeah," Christina laughed. "So, I think maybe you should stop playing around at the garage and get back to work at home."

        "I guess so," Andrei said as his expression of shock rose into a smile. Putting the checks back into the envelope, Andrei asked, "How much time did this take?"

        "Months," Christina answered.

        "And how much did it cost to advertise?"

        Christina's only answer was a shrug.

        "I thought you were saving your money so you could move out."

        "... Maybe I don't want to go yet," Christina defended.

        Andrei handed the envelope of checks back to his cousin and said, "You have to take half of this."

        "I'm not taking half of your money!" Christina protested.

        "Our money," Andrei insisted.

        "It's your money."

        "No, it's our money," Andrei repeated. "You have to go into business with me."

        "What?"

        "I don't understand half the things you just told me, and I don't think I can do this on my own. You need to keep doing ... whatever you did ... so ... you have to be my partner."

        "Your partner?" Christina said.

        "Yes," Andrei said seriously. He was now brimming with enthusiasm. "Levchenko and Chase," he said as he moved his hand in front of an imaginary sign.

        "... That's actually a great name for a company that sells swanky furniture."

        Andrei insisted, "You have to say yes."

        Christina thought about the prospect of going into business with her older cousin for a minute or so, then answered, "Okay."

        Andrei reached over to hug Christina, but she threw up her hands and squealed, "There's no hugs from greasy boys!"

        "I don't know how to thank you."

        "You don't have to," Christina said as she stood up. "By my count, I still owe you twelve favors."

        As she and Andrei went back across the street, Christina added, "I need the car though."

        "No problem. I'll get a ride home with Dad tonight."

        When they had reached the garage, Andrei went into Mr. Conrad's office, and Christina hung by the doorway within earshot.

        "Conrad," Andrei said.

        "If you're thinkin' about askin' for a long lunch, you can ferget it!" he snapped.

        "Conrad," Andrei repeated, "I'm quitting."

        "What?"

        "I am quitting."

        "What fer?"

        "I'm going into business for myself."

        "Not fixing cars!" the man shouted as he pointed a bony finger in Andrei's direction.

        "No. I'm going back to making furniture."

        Conrad took a filthy rag out of his pocket and wiped his forehead, leaving a wide grey streak. "I'm sorry to see you go," he said.

        "What?"

        "You're a good boy Andrei, and a hard worker."

        "... Thanks Conrad," Andrei said, unsure how to feel about the unexpected comment.

        "Can you give me another week?"

        "Sure ..." Andrei answered, "Whatever you need."

        Andrei stood there waiting for Mr. Conrad to say something, and after a moment, he did, shouting, "Well, there's no accountin' for standin' around, get back to work! You ain't quit yet!"

        "Okay Conrad," Andrei said with a small grin.

        As Andrei left Mr. Conrad's office, he took out his car keys and handed them to Christina.

        "Wow," she said.

        "Did you ever have one of those days where you thought you knew how things worked, then it all just changes in an instant?"

        "You just described every single day of my life," Christina joked as she left.

 

        Richard opened the door to his house and let Diana in. "Let's get everything set up in the den," he said.

        "Are you sure it's a prudent idea to have Christina over tonight?" she asked in an almost clinical voice.

        "If you're upset about this morning-"

        "Don't be silly," Diana interrupted. "This is about business." She went to Richard and adjusted his tie as she continued, "It's all about making the right impression; projecting an image of strength."

        "I don't see how having Christina here would be a problem."

        "You're probably right," Diana agreed. "I'm sure this morning's incident was an outlier. She seems very centered for her age."

        As Diana went through the living room and into the den, that last comment tugged at Richard. As he followed her in he admitted, "She has her moments."

        Diana paid no attention to Richard as she started arranging papers and folders over the desk.

        "I mean, she's only twenty-one," Richard continued.

        "She seems very sweet," Diana said, not once looking up from her work and with almost with a lack of interest in the conversation. "I'm certain she's mature for her age."

        "She is," Richard said as he opened his briefcase and started looking through his files for anything that might be needed for the meeting. "Sure, she has her moments," he said mostly to himself. "She's very ... emotional."

        "The passion of youth." Diana agreed, still not making any real investment in their discussion.

        "So, she's young," Richard conceded, again talking more to himself than his guest. "I just have to be patient."

        "What's that?" Diana said, looking up from her work.

        "Nothing," Richard dismissed. "Christina is a wonderful person, and I just need to make certain allowances."

        "For what?"

        "Really, it's nothing," Richard insisted.

        "Richard," Diana said, now paying full attention to the man. "It's me- Di. We've shared much more than a few secrets," she intimated.

        "... We haven't had ... "

        Diana searched his face for the missing word then concluded, "Ah. Well, as you said, she is very young."

        "She is," Richard agreed almost defensively.

        "How long have you been seeing her?"

        "Depending on your definition, on and off for the last year or so."

        Diana joked, "That certainly beats your previous courtship record of thirty seconds!"

        "Funny," Richard jabbed.

        "I'm sure you know what you're doing, Richard," Diana said dispassionately as she went back to work. "It's not as though Christina is a child."

        "Certainly not," Richard concurred after a pregnant pause.

        As Richard looked over what Diana had laid out, he was not entirely sure that having Christina over was a good idea; especially in light of her behavior that morning.

        The sound of the doorbell echoed in from the living room, and Richard excused himself to answer it.

        "Christina," Richard said enthusiastically as he opened the door. "Let me take those." He took several of the bags she had been struggling to keep aloft.

        Standing on her toes, Christina stretched over the bags in Richard's arms and kissed him on the cheek. "I have a lot of cooking to do, so just show me where the kitchen is."

        Richard led her through the living room with its impossibly high ceilings. They went down the hallway, emerging into a large kitchen with a marble topped island in the middle. Perfectly clean stainless steel pots and pans hung from the rack above.

        "Wow," Christina gasped.

        "What?" Richard laughed.

        "Even the kitchen in this house is huge." Touching one of the hanging pots, Christina asked, "Are you some kinda master cook, and you didn't tell me?"

        "No," Richard laughed. "I suppose they're more for decoration than anything else."

        "Not after I'm through with them,' Christina joked.

        "Thank you for helping out tonight," Richard said sincerely.

        Turning around from her preparation, Christina said, "You don't have to thank me. I want to help." She shot Richard a smile, then went to his refrigerator and started pulling items out.

        "I see everything is under control in here," Diana said as she entered.

        "Yes it is," Christina responded with a manufactured smile that almost rivaled the older woman's. Making sure that Richard was watching, Christina said, "I'm very sorry for the way I acted this morning."

        "Don't give it another thought," Diana said with a smarmy grin. "It's my fault for making it into a race."

        Christina, who was gaining some skill in Diana's form of covert sparring, countered, "No, it's really my fault, I'm the one who pushed it too far. I guess I really just wanted to win. I didn't consider your feelings."

        Diana gave the girl a knowing smile. It was as though this was the first real conversation she and Christina had ever had.

        "Richard, dear," Diana said without looking away from Christina, "I left your file about the '78 Conservation Act back at the office. I'll have to run back and get it."

        "I'll take care of that," Richard offered. "I think I know where we left it; I'll be there and back in ten minutes."

        "Thank you," Diana said, "That will give me some time to get to know Christina better."

        Before leaving, Richard took Christina by the waist and kissed her on the cheek. All the while, Christina and Diana had never broken eye contact. The two of them stood there, horns locked, and neither said a word until they heard the front door close.

        "I know what you're doing," Christina said as the smile she'd forced sank into a sneer.

        "Do you, now?" Diana jousted, her false grin still intact.

        "You'll do anything to break me and Richard up."

        "Is that what you think, dear girl?" Diana said as she casually examined what Christina had brought over to cook.

        "Yes. And it's not going to work."

        "I don't have to do anything."

        Somewhat surprised, Christina answered, "What?"

        "You heard me," Diana answered without losing an ounce of her composure. "I don't have to do a thing. The truth is, that you know you and Richard don't belong together. Did you honestly think that you were going to amuse him forever?"

        Christina had expected the woman to scream at her; perhaps even attack her physically. In a way, what she'd just said hurt more than anything else she could have imagined.

        "Come now, this can't be news to you," Diana continued, "Did you really think that Richard would stay with an uneducated little girl?"

        " ... I-"

        "Do you really think that you can stimulate him intellectually? ... Sexually?"

        Christina wanted to say something back, but she merely looked down at the floor.

        "Face it, Local Girl, you're just another fling. I've known old Richie-Bear a very long time. He and I are the same. We have our adventures ... but we always manage to find our way back to the same bed."

        Christina did not say a word; she felt completely crushed.

        Seeing that her words had found their mark, Diana started to walk out of the kitchen. On the way out she added, "Don't take it too personally. Oh, and good luck with whatever it is you're making. I would stay and help, but then ... I ... have something important to contribute tonight."

        After the woman had left, Christina wiped the tears that had formed in her eyes. Ignoring the tightness in her throat, Christina returned to her work and started chopping vegetables.

        Once Richard returned, Christina made her best effort to disguise the way she was feeling. She didn't allow herself to even frown in front of her boyfriend, but inside she was falling apart, and grateful that she was able to spend most of her time hiding in the kitchen. Richard and Diana were busy preparing for the meeting, and it occurred to her just how disposable she was to the evening's plan.

 

        Hours later, not too long after Christina finished cooking, the guests started arriving. When she heard the sound of the doorbell, Christina went into the living room to see Richard walking towards the door.

        "I'll start setting up the dining room," Christina called.

        "That is an excellent idea," Richard answered.

        As Christina started setting the plates and silverware on the table, she heard Richard greeting people at the front door. She went back into the kitchen and returned with the roast on a large serving patter. She'd gone all out arranging potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables along the sides of the platter; it appeared to have been professionally prepared.

        Just as she entered with more items for the table, she saw Richard, Diana, and four strangers talking in the living room.

        "... We would have been here earlier," a portly man said, "The GPS showed we were only two more towns away."

        "Then I said to Allan," said the woman in a red suit by his side, "the problem with driving through the country is that they put everything so far apart!"

        The room broke out into what Christina thought was far too enthusiastic laughter.

        "That's just darling, Maggie," Diana gushed.

        The tall, think man in the group said, "Should we get right down to business?"

        "Of course not!" Diana said, taking control of the situation. She led the visitors into the dining room and said, "Never discuss business on an empty stomach."

        "For all the lack of amenities," said the woman with the tall man, "I see it's not impossible to hire good help."

        Christina looked up from her duties and her face flushed.

        "Oh, she's not the help," Richard corrected as he went to the other side of the table and took Christina by the waist. "This is my girlfriend Christina."

        "Excuse me," the woman said.

        Christina merely shrugged as Richard led her out from behind the table to meet everyone.

        "Christina," he said as he presented her to the tall man, "This is Tim Bergman. He sits on the board of Bergman Industries, and this is his lovely wife, Constance."

        "Hi," Christina stuttered. She almost waved at the man, but then awkwardly corrected herself and shook hands.

        Moving on to the other couple, Richard said, "And this is Allan and Maggie Staffel. Allan is the CFO."

        Turning to Richard, Christina mumbled, "I should finish setting everything up."

        Richard gave Christina a reassuring squeeze of the hand, and let her go back to work.

        While Christina finished bringing everything out to the table, she heard the conversation start back up. Everyone had sat down as couples; Diana and Richard were next to each other with a seat saved for Christina on Richard's left.

        When each and every item was set on the table just right, Christina took her seat and joined the conversation.

        "So, the two of you met in college," Maggie said to Diana.

        "It seems like just yesterday," Diana said with a casual wave of her hand.

        Turning to Christina, the woman asked, "And where did you go to school?"

        Not paying full attention, Christina answered, "School? Um ... my aunt taught me to cook."

        Constance laughed, thinking Christina had made a droll joke, "Where did you go to college?"

        "I uh ..." Christina started, "I didn't go to college." She again felt extremely uncomfortable and inadequate around the older people.

        Though it felt like minutes to Christina, it was only a moment later when Richard chimed in, "Not everyone has to go to school."

        "At least not ours," Diana said, "The world doesn't need more lawyers!"

        "You got that right," Allan said as the table erupted into laughter without Christina.

 

        That was how the night progressed. Christina sat in silence while the group talked. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was five years old and she'd somehow been accidentally seated at the grown-up's table.

        She waited for hours for the nightmare to end, but it seemed that everyone seemed to have some anecdote with some strained punch-line. Christina was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to retire to the den to discuss business; that would be a good time to excuse herself and escape. But all they did was talk, and she was trapped. It was as though she were in a play, and everyone else knew the lines but her. She didn't know what to say or how to act. Diana, however, was playing the lead role.

        It was getting late when Richard emerged from the cellar with another bottle of wine. As he began refilling all the glasses, the phone rang. Grateful for an excuse to leave the table, Christina sat up and said, "I'll get it." She dashed into the kitchen and grabbed the receiver. "Hello?" she said.

        "Tina," Alek said on the other side of the line, "It is already nine fifty-five."

        "Is it?" she asked. "I guess I lost track of time. We're still in the middle of dinner, or something. I dunno what it is honestly, so-"

        "You are to come home." Alek interrupted.

        "Can I just stay a little while longer? I'm sure this has to end soon."

        "No Tina," Alek said firmly, "Tell them you have to leave."

        "Yes sir," she said before saying goodbye. The truth was, she was grateful for an excuse to go home. Returning to the dining room, she put her hand on Richard's shoulder and said, "That was my uncle."

        Looking at his watch, Richard answered, "I didn't realize it was getting so late."

        "You don't have to go, do you?" Diana asked in the same tone she used in the kitchen earlier. "It's a shame you can't stay with Richard."

        "I can stay," Christina defended.

        Richard rose and placed his hand on Christina's waist. "If your uncle said you have to-" he started to whisper.

        "No," Christina interrupted. "Of course I can stay." She glared at Diana as she sat back down.

         The conversation started up again as though nothing had happened. Christina, as per the rest of the night, was not engaging the other guests, but she did keep a steely eye contact with Diana. She felt the same urge to push her as she'd felt that morning. It was as though they were racing again, and she was struggling to catch up.

        After about fifteen minutes had passed, the phone rang again. Christina looked nervously Diana, but she did not get up. After it had rung a few more times, Richard stood and said, "I'll get that."

        "No," Christina insisted. "Um ... I'll get it. You stay and talk." She went back into the kitchen and picked up the phone. "Hello?" she said uneasily.

        "Christina!" Alek barked.

        Hearing her uncle call her by her full name in that tone made her whole body tighten.

        "Did I not say that it was time to leave?"

        "Yes," she defended, "but-"

        "And you did not do as you were told?"

        "Well, no, but there's a-"

        "You are to come home at once," Alek said with an air of finality.

        "Uncle Alek, I really need to stay just a little while longer, you see-"

        "Christina," he scolded, "this is the last time I will tell you it is time to leave. If you are not home in the next ten minutes, I will come to get you."

        "Yes sir," Christina squirmed. "I'm leaving right now." She hung up the phone and returned to the dining room. Without taking her seat, she turned to Richard and mumbled, "I have to go."

        Richard stood and put his arm around Christina. He said, "Let me walk you to the door."

        "No," she said as she slipped out of his grasp. "You stay and talk." Addressing the table, she said, "It was nice to meet all of you." With that, she went quickly through the living room and to the landing by the door with her head down. She quickly made her exit and got into her car.

        Her body burned as she drove home. She felt completely humiliated. She heard Boris barking as she got out of the car and walked towards the side door. The dog was waiting for her on the other side with his tail wagging, though all she could muster was a defeated, "Hey" for a greeting. She shuffled through the dark kitchen and into the living room where she saw Alek was waiting on the couch. He immediately rose upon seeing her.

        "Tina," he barked, "You were supposed to be home a half an hour ago."

        "I'm sorry Uncle Alek," she frowned, "I had a good reason, see-"

        "Tina, your infatuation with that man is clouding your judgment."

        "My what?" Christina balked. "I've never once been late before," she complained.

        "That is enough," Alek said, halting Christina's protest. "You are grounded."

        "Grounded?"

        "Yes. For one week."

        "You've got to be kidding!" she whined. "Uncle Alek, I'm twenty one years old!"

        "Two weeks," he said forcefully.

        "But ..." Christina tried to argue with the man, but she found it difficult to argue with someone who'd actually spanked her. Her throat tightened up and she felt a tear escape out of the corner of her eye. Without saying another word, she went upstairs, taking no notice of the large German Shepherd who followed her, and nearly caught the dog in her bedroom door as she shut it. Slightly miffed, Boris decided to sleep in the corner as opposed to on the bed.

        Getting undressed, Christina replayed the day in her mind. She felt alternately devastated and furious. After putting on her pajamas, she got into bed, knocking aside the bear Richard had given her for Valentine's Day. Once she was settled, she took the bear and held it against her chest. The events of the day still fresh in her thoughts, she looked at the bear.

        "Richie-Bear!" she fumed at the toy. She let out a loud shriek and threw it across the room. It crashed into the picture of Anastasia that was on the chest of drawers, and both it and the bear fell to the ground.

---

Edited into coherence by Holly H. Hart.
Thanks to Sephrena Miller for taking an early read.
Hope you enjoyed it. If you liked it or hated it, please leave a tasty comment.
Krunch Away!