Chapter - 13

In the evening, when Martha and George returned home, they were greeted by the fascinating aroma of the food made by Alex.

The dinner was already served and placed on the dining table, and Alex was busy in the kitchen with the last of his masterpiece, the tomato spinach soup with saffron.

"Why are you the one making dinner? Where is Mrs Flores? Wasn't she supposed to get dinner ready before she leaves?" Martha asked as soon as she saw Alex working in the kitchen.

"I was done with my interview quite early, so I bought a bunch of stuff on my way back and decided to cook for you guys," Alex said, picking up the soup and carrying it to the table.

"But you must be tired. You should have let Mrs Flores do the cooking," Martha said.

"It's fine. Now you better freshen up before the food gets cold," Alex urged her to leave.

"Fine, we will..." Martha turned around to look for her husband, but he was long gone, 'That good for nothing...' muttering to herself, Martha too left for her room.

After fifteen minutes, the whole family was sitting around the table, enjoying the hearty meal prepared by Alex.

"Delicious as always," George said, taking the last bite of the food, "Burp! the girl you are going to date will be the luckiest one out there,"

"..." Alex just nodded to what George said. He looked lost in his own thoughts.

Martha and George felt something was off. If it were normal times, Alex would shy away and blush, but he was nonchalant this time.

"How was the interview?" Martha asked, diverting the topic.

"It was fine, but I don't think I will make it," Alex said.

"Why? Did you bomb the interview?" George asked only to receive glares from Martha.

"I think so. They didn't look to enthusiastic after seeing my resume," Alex told them.

"So what's there to feel down about? You know I have my own company. Tell me whenever you want to join, and you will be the boss of hundreds of people," patting Alex's back, George encouraged him.

"That's right, Alex. For once, I agree with your father," Martha said, putting her hand on his and comforting him.

"Thanks, both of you, but I am not really that concerned about the interview," Alex said with a smile.

"Then why is this gloomy aura seeping out of you," George asked.

"It's nothing," Alex shook his head.

"Tell us, maybe we can give you some advice even if we can't help," Martha urged him to say.

"It's about..." Alex opened his mouth to say but paused. He couldn't figure out the right words to explain his situation to them. He thought for a while before saying, "Leave it, I will figure it out on my own slowly,"

"Here, try this. It's a new recipe," Alex forwarded a bowl of soup towards George.

"What is this?" George asked, taking a spoonful of it, "It's absolutely delicious," George drank another mouthful of it.

"It has spinach, tomato and a bit saffron as the main ingredients," Alex said and then bent a bit forward and whispered to George so that Martha could not hear it, "It is supposed to help build up your vitality."

George had his eyes wide open, and Alex winked at him in return. He heard the talks between George and Martha earlier this morning, and this is how he cheered for him.

Though he whispered, Martha, with extraordinary hearing being a woman, heard him loud and clear. She was as much as surprised as George to hear Alex, and when George looked her way, she averted her eyes.

After dinner, it was Martha and George doing the dishes while Alex was busy watching a game of Football. A diehard fan of CR7, Alex never missed his game since he came to know about him. On the other hand, Martha wanted to talk about something with George, so she pulled him to do the dishes, which was usually done by Alex and Martha.

"Something is definitely wrong," Martha whispered to George.

"You too felt it? I also noticed it during the dinner," George agreed.

"What do you think it can be?" Martha asked as she peeked at Alex making sure he was not listening to them.

"If I have to guess, I would say that the amount of black pepper in the soup was a bit more than required. I feel a burning sensation around my chest," George replied, rubbing his chest over his clothes.

"Are you serious? Did you just say that?" Feeling disgusted by her husband's words, Martha asked.

"I mean, yeah... there was a bit more..." George stammered as he tried to justify himself.

"Shut up... Just shut up... Don't say a word more," Throwing the gloves she was wearing at George, she stormed out of the kitchen. But when she came to the living room, Alex was nowhere to be seen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By now, Alex was strolling in the park near their house. He was watching the match just fine when he heard his parents fighting. Not wanting to be a part of it, he stepped out of the house to clear his mind. Things have changed between his parents for some time now. They end up fighting most of the time they open their mouth, and it's mostly Martha getting annoyed by his father. If it was any other day, he would try to solve it out for them, but today he was already occupied by the thoughts of Margaret and that man. So he had no more energy to spare on his parents.

'I am sure they will be back, laughing it off in no time,' Alex thought as he took a deep breath.

It was not that late, and young boys and girls were still playing in the park, couples could be seen cuddling, and the elderly were out there taking a stroll.

'If not for what happened today, it would be great to have Margaret accompany me,' Alex thought, looking at the couple walking hand in hand in front of him.

"Alex," Someone called out to him from behind.

'I am already missing her so much that I am even hearing her call out for me. Lunatic! I need to see my doctor," Alex reprimanded himself.

"Why didn't you stop... when I... I called out for you, huh...?" Alex was pulled by his arm, and in front of him was Margaret, breathing heavily. Wearing a black sports bra, tight pants and her hair done in a pony, she was breathtaking. Her face illuminated in the dim light with all the sweat, and her larger than life chest was moving up and down every time she took a deep breath. What was most distracting was the fact that because she was a head shorter than Alex, and when he looked at her, he could not take his eyes of the deep cleavage presented in front of him.

"Hello... Earth to Alex. Where are you lost?" Margaret asked, snapping her fingers in front of him.

Coming back to his senses, Alex became nervous seeing Margaret in front of him. 'Not today, god. Not today,'

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