Last Man Standing

Chapter 20

Being home was something Marylinde loved. Her mother would cook the most amazing things – all within Marylinde's diet thankfully. It was one of the best things about having a family friend as a trainer.

"Mom, can I help you with anything?" The kitchen already smelled amazing. Denise was cooking her own recipe for pasta pesto, one of Marylinde's favourite things to eat. She had tried it countless times in Italy on her own, but she never got it to taste the way her mother made it taste. Mick and Arthur had told her time and time again it was good, but Marylinde knew something was off and at some point, she had made it so often, Mick and Arthur started to complain every time Marylinde had cooked it.

"You can set the table for me and add three more plates." Marylinde frowned.

"What are you up to mom?"

"George is coming over for dinner, as are Lando and Callum, that's why I asked Alex to come as well, it's a shame he won't be able to come. It has been so long since all of you were here." Marylinde smiled, wrapping her arms around her mother.

"You miss those days, don't you?" She asked, inhaling the soft smell of her mother's perfume. It smelled like home.

"I do, now let me just have this chance. I don't get it that often." Denise kissed the top of her daughter's head and continued to stir in her sauce. Then Marylinde chuckled. "What is it?"

"Something Alex told me, but I promised not to tell anyone in case someone would kill him for telling me."

"So he told you the three boys who I've invited all have liked you?" Marylinde's eyes widened. "I'm your mother darling and the boys came over often enough for me to get to know them well enough to like them. On top of that, I'm not blind." It must have been the instinct of a mother, for Denise to even know what Marylinde was thinking of.

"Then I am, I have never noticed any of it!" Marylinde exclaimed and seconds after the doorbell rang. "Now, no words of it, or I will be haunted by Alex's ghost for the rest of my life."

"Well, technically, you wouldn't have said a thing, I would have." Marylinde rolled her eyes and walked to the front door. It was George.

"How many times do we have to tell you to just come through the back door? It's always open whenever we are home and you are basically considered an extended part of the family." Marylinde greeted him with a tight hug. "I am happy you are here though." George ran his hand through her hair and smiled.

"I'm happy as well. How are you feeling?" Marylinde took a deep breath, contemplating whether she was going to lie to him.

"I am coping." George squinted his eyes together. "I'm not lying, I swear. If I would have, I would have denied my struggles altogether." Marylinde stepped back into George's embrace, the warmth of his body as comforting as always.

"Have you talked to someone yet?"

"No." Marylinde shook her head and George groaned. "But I will, I promise. Have I ever broken a promise?" George looked down at Marylinde as she looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Have I ever broken a promise to you?" Marylinde corrected herself.

"No."

"Then there you have it." She smiled, quickly pecking his cheek before walking towards the kitchen. "I think Lando did walk through the backdoor in the meantime." She laughed, hearing his squeaky laugh ringing through the house.

"He has been doing that since the first time we came to your house. You had taken too much time opening the front door and he just barged through the back door." They laughed.

"Finally." Lando sighed when the two entered the kitchen. "What were you doing there? Smooching or something?" George's cheeks flushed red while Marylinde laughed.