Chapter 11
They were sitting across from each other at the dining table. Jolie fiddled with the cutlery in front of her, and her toes were flexed in her shoes. Their housekeeper was serving them their five course meal and they were already in their second. Other than her mom, neither of them had spoken much.
Jolie still couldn’t believe that she was sitting in front of him again.
“Are you still working at the magazine?” her mom interrupted her thoughts and Jolie turned to her, still feeling like she was in some kind of cruel nightmare. Most of her food remained untouched on her plate.
“Yes, I’m still there mom,” she said and noticed the way Brandon kept stealing glances at her. He was sitting beside her mom, who was leaning purposely towards her husband, trying to make it clear to her daughter that they were in a loving relationship.
Jolie on the other hand, had received a first-hand demonstration of how loving that relationship actually was.
Despite how sick the situation was making her feel, seeing Brandon again had knocked the breath right out of her. Try as she might, she still couldn’t bring herself to hate him. The man who had cheated on her mother…
“I’ve flipped through the magazine, it’s too high fashion for me. Who knows? Now I might be able to actually afford some of the things you people write about,” her mom said and threw back her head and laughed. Jolie’s eyes met Brandon’s briefly, and he dragged his gaze away to look at his wife.
“Of course,” he said, in a quiet and courteous voice and Jolie watched, with her stomach turning as her mother leaned towards her husband and planted a long wet kiss on his cheek.
Jolie had to grip her fork tightly, to stop herself from screaming. That’s what she wanted to do. She wanted to scream till her throat was chaffed and her lungs were completely empty of air. And she couldn’t even blame him. Brandon was being attentive to his wife and the perfect host to her.
“Which magazine do you work for, Jolie?” he asked her then, laying special emphasis on her full name. As though calling her that might change what had already happened between them.
“Dot,” she replied bluntly, keeping her eyes on the plate. She wondered if her mother had any idea that there was a tension in the room. A sexual tension. That Jolie’s body was trembling with desire for the man her mother had married.
“I’ve heard of it. You guys do a stellar job. A lot of my friends’ wives swear by it,” Brandon said, as he popped a carefully cut piece of steak into his mouth.
Hearing him praise the magazine, made Jolie’s cheeks flush and she gulped down wine from the glass beside her. When she looked up, she caught Brandon’s eyes on her again, watching her drink.
“Maybe I’ll start swearing by it too. Fill my closets with those gorgeous clothes and jewelry,” her mom said, and turned to her husband and pouted. Jolie watched as Brandon forced himself to smile at his wife and then continued to eat.
They ate in silence for some time longer, till the third course was brought in. Then he rested his cutlery on his plate and pushed his chair back.
“What’s the matter?” her mom turned to him, looking aghast.
“I’m full. The dinner was lovely, Alice. I think I’m going to go set up my study now,” Brandon said and then stood up from his chair. Jolie felt her throat run dry. The whole time that he was sitting there, she had tried to avoid his eyes. Now that he was going to leave the room, she was desperate for him to stay. She didn’t even know what she wanted.
“Okay, honey, you go ahead. We girls will chat,” her mom said and Brandon smiled at her, before turning to Jolie.
“I might retire right after, so I’ll see you girls in the morning. Goodnight, Jolie,” he said and without waiting for a response, he had left the dining room.
Jolie felt like the food had turned to rubber in her mouth. She couldn’t taste it anymore. All she wished for was her mom to disappear, so that she could just scream in peace. Get it all out of her system.
“Isn’t he a handsome devil? He hasn’t fully moved in yet, he has to travel so often for work. But his only criteria for the new house was that there should be a big private study for himself,” her mom was speaking again and Jolie tried to concentrate on the words.
“Why did he say he’ll see you in the morning? Won’t he see you tonight?” Jolie blurted out, and immediately turned her face to her plate. She didn’t want her mother to see the tension in her eyes.
Her mother laughed nervously, searching for the right words to use.
“Oh, it’s just a silly thing. He has his own bedroom in the house. He said that we both need our privacy, and since he’s rarely ever here, I didn’t mind. It doesn’t really affect our sex life of course!” her mother was laughing and Jolie felt the back of her neck burn up. The last thing she wanted to hear was a testimony from her mother, regarding their sex life. And from the fidgety expression on her face, Jolie had a feeling that the testimony was untrue. It definitely affected their sex life.
She couldn’t help but feel a small sense of victory, a guilty pleasure at that, and she tried to wash it down with some more wine.