Strings

Chapter 3

 If the outside already qualified to Jack as perfect in his vocabulary, then the inside of the house completely undermined it. The floor was all polished marble in a clear white pearl-ish shine. The interior design-- well it wouldn't be wrong to assume that Chris had hired professionals to do it. Probably some feng shui specialists, seeing how furniture were facing a certain direction, and several Chinese-themed displays on some shelves, like the ones that Jack occasionally sees in home-owners' TV shows.

 From what Jack can recall, Kellie never liked all those environmental-balance, and energy stuff. Which begs to question all of those things that she used to tell him about herself. That or maybe, he was too blinded by her to even see what she really was. A moment from the early years of their marriage unintentionally came to light in Jack's mind. They had just moved into their (now only his) house. It was when they were arranging the little pieces of furniture themselves in the between-period before the movers came.

 "So, what you think?" Jack had asked, taking in boxes from outside and piling them up in a corner of what they had made to be the living room.

Kellie was just beginning to put up the curtains then.

"I think that the movers are way overdue, and that the idea of a tip is slowly slipping my mind." She answered.

"I meant the house... What do you think?"

Kellie made that little sound between uncertainty and hesitation.

"It's cute... Kinda snug and warm. Like a cottage.." She said.

"But do you like it?" Jack persisted, because Kellie was a woman, and like all other women, everything they said was just a small extension of what they really thought.

 Kellie moved away from the window to look at her work. When she knows that she had done it right, she turned around to meet her husband's expectant gaze.

"I think that this house is perfect for us. Perfect for you, since the store you'll be working for is only a couple minutes away."

She had approached him slowly, taking his hand and coming to stand in front of him.

"And perfect for me, 'cause I'm going to need a nice warm home to stay in and play with our baby." She said that and then gave him a kiss, to which Jack had held onto her neck to prolong. 

 "I'm getting kinda warm myself." He whispered, wounding his arms around Kellie's waist.

"How about we try making the baby now?"

 Kellie laughed so adorably, that Jack did nothing but kiss her. It was all great back then. When she didn't need a rich man. When she didn't need a big house. When she loved and believed in him. Until a few more years later, and the baby did come. The tinkling sound of a glass being tapped by a utensil brought Jack back to reality. He was standing near a table set up with appetizers and different kinds of food. He went for the rows of small glasses near the bottles of some big xxx brand champagne.

 The glass-tinkling was coming from a short set of stairs that lead to an even longer one to the second floor. Chris was standing there, with a champagne glass half-filled with sparkling, gold liquid. Standing there, with Kellie beside him.

"First of all, I would like to thank the company who practically payed for everything that you're enjoying right now." He began, sounding like a complete mafia boss.

 Everyone gave a small laugh to what he said, but not Jack. He just drank another shot of the champagne, and placed the glass upside down on the table, making it his 5th shot.