The Perfect Husband (#wattys 2015)

22

"Yeah well," Elena smiled, she then pushed some cookies that she had bought and placed on a tray in the woman's face.

"I thought that I could come say hi. I baked cookies if you would like to try some. You seemed to be the only one home at this time of day." Elena smiled.

The woman smiled back at Elena, both feeling awkward.

Elena was freaking out in her mind, to be so up close and personal with Malik's mistress or was she the mistress.

"Might as well," the woman said, stepping aside for Elena to enter.

"Wow, you have such a lovely home." Elena said, she then cleared her throat because she didn't know where the southern accent came from.

"Thank you my husband and I bought it like two years ago," the woman informed, she was beaming when she said that.

Elena nodded, and handed the tray to the woman, that was obviously older than her.

She squinted her eyes, trying to assess how old the woman was.

"Oh, I didn't catch your name." Elena said, her eyes were all over the place.

The woman came back with the cookies on a plate and two glasses of milk, "oh sorry, it's Leona Swan."

The two women stood there for a while, "would you like to sit?" Leona asked, gesturing to the sofa.

"So, I heard that you are a single mother of two," Leona tried to strike up a conversation.

Elena looked at Leona then said. "Oh yeah, my husband passed some time ago."

Elena felt choked up, and to know that Malik wasn't really dead made it worse.

Honestly she didn't know if she was brave or stupid to be in his house, talking to his wife, but she was his wife too.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. I don't know what I would do if Joshua should ever die, we have been married for nine years and to lose him would be like losing my world." Leona said, she had a distant look.

And Elena gave her the best fake smile she could muster up.