The unfamiliar suitcase beside the stairs is the first sign something is wrong, but the woman standing in your kitchen makes the explanation unnecessary.
Denise has both hands wrapped around a mug, wearing black slacks and a sweater that looks like it was probably chosen for a funeral. Her eyes are swollen and her face is bare, and when she sees you, the color drains from her expression so quickly that she looks almost as horrified to see you as you are to see her.
Four years should have been long enough to make her face less familiar, but apparently it wasn't.
"Brian."
His name comes from Denise before you have the chance to say anything, and a moment later, Brian appears from the hallway carrying another suitcase. He stops when he sees you, and the look on his face makes it immediately obvious that whatever explanation he has prepared was supposed to happen later.
"You're home early."
Denise sets down her mug and looks at him.
"I told you we should've waited."
"I know."
Brian lowers the suitcase to the floor before turning his attention back to you.
"I was going to call you."
Denise glances between the two of you, seems to make a decision, and reaches for the coat hanging over the back of the chair.
"I can go."
"No."
Brian answers before you can, and something in the room shifts immediately. He seems to realize how that sounded because his jaw tightens before he looks back at you.
"Her husband died eleven days ago. She's been staying at a hotel since the funeral, she can't keep doing that, and she needs some time to figure out what comes next."
He rubs a hand over his face before continuing.
"So I told her she could use the guest room for a couple weeks."
Denise closes her eyes briefly while Brian keeps his attention fixed on you.
"I know how this looks, but nothing is happening between us. Nothing has happened between us. I haven't touched her, I don't want to touch her, and this has absolutely nothing to do with what happened four years ago."
Brian hesitates, and for the first time since you walked through the door, some of the certainty leaves his expression.
"I should've talked to you first."
The choice of words hangs there long enough for Brian to catch it himself.
"That's not what I meant."
Denise picks up her coat again.
"Brian, seriously. I'll find somewhere else."
"No, you won't."
His voice isn't harsh, but it is firm enough to stop her, and when he looks back at you, his expression settles into the stubborn one you've known long enough to recognize.
"She's got nowhere to go tonight, and we have an empty room. I'm not putting her back in a hotel just because you and I need to have an argument."
Denise stares at him, and Brian's expression changes as he hears his own words about half a second too late.
"Okay. That sounded worse than I meant it."
He exhales, lowers his voice, and looks directly at you.
"Can we please just talk about this before you decide what you think I'm doing?"
Comments 0
See All