Chase You

37; time changes people

"Me too, please find it in your heart to not put me through something like that again, you can just bluntly say 'sorry' and I'd be fine with that." Karen said, getting up. "How about we make a dessert for tonight's dinner with Wendy and Tash, then?"

"I thought you'd never ask." I grinned. "What were you thinking?"

"What does Tasha like? She mentioned it the other day..." she narrowed her eyes and stared at the blank white wall of the living room, lost in thought. "Ben? Do you know?"

He whipped his head around in surprise. "Oh.. uh.. some kind of mixed berry ganache? She had it at a restaurant we went to on holiday and fell in love with it."

Karen shrugged, thinking about the execution probably, before heading into the kitchen and calling my name. I almost felt like dancing as I followed after her. I liked cooking and baking, especially a dessert to satisfy my sweet cravings, but since shunning Karen, I haven't had the opportunity.

She opened the fridge and piled up some boxed berries, there were plenty in the fridge because usually the two of us would pile on the berries when we had pancakes or granola.

Ben walked into the kitchen as he finished putting on his jacket. "I'm heading out, I'll be back later for dinner with my mums."

"Alright sweetie." Karen said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, "catch you later."

He came up to me and caught my lips with his, he pulled away begrudgingly and left out the door.

Karen and I started getting the ingredients we needed from the cupboards and laying them out on the dining table, it was quiet between us. The only sound was the radio that blasted 80s anthems that Karen swore by.

"You and Ben, huh?" She grinned. "I want to know the details."

Although Karen resembled a friend more than a mother figure, I still found it odd to talk about this stuff with her. This isn't the first time she's asked about my love life, she's always wondered about what kind of tragedy occurred between Marcia and I, and with her content with thinking Ben was only an acquaintance to me throughout school, rather than an enemy, I didn't feel like ripping open old wounds.

"Is that a good idea?" I smiled.

"Come on! You guys remind me of me and your dad."

"Oh god," I rubbed at my forehead, images flooding my mind, images that I don't think I could unsee. One of the most treasured memories of Ben and I, in the shower just last week, was now completely and utterly ruined.

"Well? How is it going?" She asked, pausing to look at me.

I smiled, finding it pretty hard to hold back. "It's... great."

"Oh yeah? He seems to be benefiting you a lot."

Once again, I burst out in a big, fat smile.

She took on glance at me while she sifted the flour she had just weighed. The look on her face said it all - I was smitten. And hopeless. And she was pretty happy for me, and I cared about that fact alone way too much than I really should. Karen was growing on me, why else would I feel so glad of her approval?

*.*.*.*

"You take so long to eat." I muttered to Ben. He sat next to me on the rectangular table. Opposite us, Casey and Harry argued over who was the better dancer.

As of recent, Tasha and Wendy had been coming over to our house for dinner quite a lot because they hadn't had the time to cook with all the wedding preparations.  It wasn't anything formal, Karen was more than happy to cook for them even though she made her own vegan version of whatever it was on the side.