THREE MEN AND A LADY
Chapter Fourteen
As a group, the housemates made
their way to the door. Ruth stayed behind. They stood tensely in front of it.
Finally, Jack spoke.
"Shouldn’t we open it?"
Cal nodded. "Yes. I believe
we should." No one moved. "So, are we gonna open it?"
Rose groaned. "I will."
She leaned forward, careful not to the leave the circle they had formed.
The door swung open easily. Tommy
Ryan stood on their front porch, grinning from ear to ear. They stared.
Fabrizio was the first to break
the silence. "What’re you doing here?" he asked.
"Well, after I got out of
jail and paid up my alimony, I decided I’d look all you people up." He
stepped into the house; the housemates simultaneously took a step back.
"So, what’s for dinner?"
*****
They sat at the table, each occupied
with their own thoughts. The food lay untouched, save Tommy and Ruth’s
portions. They were eating like it was their last meal.
Cal glared at Tommy and then he
glared at Fabrizio. When Rose asked him what the hell he was doing, he glared
at her. Jack threw a plate at him. That was the end of his glaring for awhile.
Tommy and Ruth took no notice of
this.
In between bites of sausage,
Tommy was carrying on an animated conversation with Ruth. "So, how’s
Vegas?" he asked.
Ruth giggled girlishly.
"It’s all right."
She batted her eyelashes at him.
Jack and Cal felt themselves becoming nauseous. Fabrizio alone was unaffected
by these new arrivals. He sat happily in his usual chair, playing cat’s cradle.
Rose scooted closer to Jack. She
wanted to sit in his lap, and was trying to find a way to accomplish this
without attracting the attention of the visitors.
A moment later, she slid into his
lap.
Jack hugged her tightly. "At
least you’re here with me," he whispered into her hair.
Rose smiled and cuddled closer to
him.
Cal grunted.
Her head shot up from where it
had settled on Jack’s chest. "Don’t you dare start that."
Cal just grunted again.
Meanwhile, Ruth and Tommy flirted
on. Jack wrapped his arms tighter around Rose. This was going to be a long
night.