Date Night (Closed)

Debra loved having company. Once upon a time, she hadn’t been very good at preparing for it. She’d been a modern woman. She didn’t believe in having to do all the cleaning, all the prep work and putting on a show for company. So she’d always had one or two people over to a pretty messy house and had ordered pizza. And that had worked, until she’d started realizing that her waistline was getting a little…wider, and her friends weren’t looking impressed. So then she’d gone to her grandmother, who had patiently taught her how to sew, how to make appetizers that looked and tasted good, how to clean a house and where to stash things so they didn’t show. The only thing she hadn’t managed to teach her granddaughter was how to cook in large quantities. So whenever they had company, Debra would smile at Walter winningly, and then help him out happily as he prepared the food. Today was no different. The house was clean, Debra was dressed fairly nicely for company, and the downstairs smelled like delicious food, just in time for company to arrive.

“You’re wonderful,” she told her husband, leaning over to kiss his cheek and then, just for grins, his mouth too. Then she grabbed some plates to set out on the table. It wasn’t the first time she’d had Sean and/or Josh over. She enjoyed their company, and it was nice to swap stories about students and to compare protesting techniques with Josh (not exactly the ideal dinner topics, but Debra couldn’t help that she felt strongly about her causes, right?). Plus, it was good to see people. Inviting people over made her feel part of the community, and she liked it here. She stepped back to examine her handiwork, then glanced at the clock. “I think they should arrive soon, don’t you?” She called to Walter. “Thank you so much for cooking. You are wonderful. Did I say that already? Well, I just mean it two times over.” The doorbell rang, and she grinned and walked over to it—grown women didn’t skip—and tugged it open.

“Hello!” she exclaimed. “So nice to see you.”