Love at First Night - Chapter 141

Her eyes filled with tears, “Then who can I blame?” Her voice sounded desperately ridiculous as a baby who cried because her mother didn’t buy her favorite toy. Her face tensed up holding back the sadness that overwhelmed her, she almost grew ugly as her facial muscles contracted to limit the damage that the distress caused her.

She clenched her fists, for some instants I feared she would cry, scream or even yell at me.

But she didn’t, her effort not to do so created some vertical creaks on her forehead. She walked toward the door with her fists still clenched, taking a long step to the door.

Then again she turned around, facing me, “you’re right. But it hurts.” The way her voice creaked reflected the pain she was in. I could see the same desperation in her eyes that I had when Carl told me he cheated on me.

This time she didn’t seem afraid to be seen that vulnerable and wretched, unlike the first times I talked to her when she pretended she was unbreakable and emotionless as a surface to protect her from the entire world.

“It hurts to know that you can’t control it and that not even a glimpse of love touched his heart when he was with me. It hurts knowing I am still holding onto it and hoping it would change even if it had been years. But you’re right, I have to accept it. Despite everything, I am glad he met someone wise and mature like you.” She forced a painfully smile and her lips trembled as her eyes blinked, even more, a few times to drive away from the tears which tickled to break out.

“Thank you.” I returned the smile, so she walked to the door slowly as if she was carrying her heavy past with her.

I watched at her crossing the door’s threshold and when she finally got in the car I closed the door.

I took a long deep breath, I am still alive.

Now that I survived her I had to survive Cameron after telling him about Madison’s visit and if I’d succeed, I could consider myself immortal.

I laughed at my thought and then began to do the housework to keep me occupied in the hours Joanna was still away.

When Joanna came back I told her what happened during her absence and when I was over with my explanation she commented with only a word, “crazy.”

“She is crazy.” She repeated after a brief pause.

I chuckled, “she is just in love.” A side of me agreed with Joanna and thought Madison was way too exaggerated, but another small side of me understood her and sympathized with her. Maybe I would have done the same if I was her.

“If she ever comes here again, tell me please.”

I laughed loudly, “okay. Thank you for your concern.”

“We should make homemade pasta!” She walked to the kitchen and took flour and eggs out of the pantry.

“Alright, I will follow your orders then.” I pretended to be a soldier standing at attention.

She poured the flour on the table and then carefully dug her finger on the top of the mountain to create a hole. She added the eggs and began to knead, firstly more gently, and then, when the dough grew stiffener, she kneaded more energetically.

Her hands were so small and her fingers thin and short yet she handled the dough as if she was a practiced cook, she energetically pressed her bodyweight against it and then shaped it into a ball, she crushed it against the table and worked it energetically until the consistency got softer.

She dusted flour on the work surface whenever the dough got sticky.

After about ten minutes the dough was soft and smooth enough to work with it.

That’s when she pointed at me, her breath was slightly shortened, for working it too much. “your turn, you can use the rolling pin now.” She headed it to me so I grabbed the extremities of the rolling pin and carefully rolled it over the dough, flattening it.

Then again and again, until it was as thin as a paper.

“Perfect!” She exclaimed clapping her hands.

claimed.

She took the dough and ran it through the widest setting of your pasta maker. Not satisfied by the thickness she ran it through the first set two more times and then three times on the second set too.

When it reached the perfect thickness she sprinkled the pieces of dough with flour before proceeding in cutting.

The final result looked so great and I already couldn’t wait to taste it.

When we were done cutting the pasta we added it to the boiling water waiting for it to cook.

Meantime Joanna melted some cheese in a pot for the sauce.

“I wonder if Madison will ever get over it.”

She broke the silence to brighten the subject back on Madison’s visit.

“I just hope she won’t bother me while she figures it out.”

She laughed at my response, “where did the woman who took her side go?” she raised an eyebrow reminding me I used to take her side at first.

I did the best I could do to fix her problems but now it was time for her to walk on her own and fix her issues.

Meantime I cut some tomatoes to add to the sauce.

The truth was that I couldn’t stop thinking of Cameron, wondering what he would think if he discovered I let that woman walk in my house and I even gave her advice on her personal life. I knew how private Cameron was and how hard it was for him to open up.

As the thoughts gathered at the bottom of my mind and overwhelmed me, the knife I carried slipped out of the tomatoes I was cutting and mistakenly hit my skin.

“Ouch,” I whispered in protest as the cut began to blood slightly.

I rolled my eyes and walked to search for a bandaid.

Joanna helped me to put the bandaid on, then she glowered at me.

“Be careful please.” she rebuked me in a scolding tone of voice yet sweetly concerned about my health.

I went back to the cutting station and this time I wore gloves before continuing to cut the tomatoes.

When the pasta was ready we mixed all the ingredients adding the sauce and the Parmigiano on top.