Page 30 of The Marriage Pact
Maybe a collective wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Having finished unpacking and with Maurice still sobbing, Kaitlyn decided it was time to leave. She felt disappointed. She’d been looking forward to creating something, to letting her inspiration take over, and yet the studio now felt unwelcoming. No one else had come to say “hi,” and there was no one there she recognized from the previous day. It was obviously the sort of place where people came and went, and Kaitlyn reminded herself she could do the same if she wanted.
I’ll find somewhere, I’m sure.
She said goodbye to Anna-Marie and left the studio, walking back toward the subway and wondering what the evening would hold. She didn’t know when Alex would be back or what was expected of her now. She could do as she wanted, of course; there were no restrictions. And yet she’d half-expected him to be in touch with plans. She wasn’t expecting another evening at Gill’s— twenty courses had proved more formidable than she’d thought, even if each plate was just a mouthful — but it would surely be nice to do something together.
We could go to the movies or get takeout. Didn’t Alex say something about a Korean place?
Back at the apartment, she found the whole place had been cleaned from top to bottom. The bed was freshly made, new towels were on the rack, and the mess on the coffee machine was gone. It was immaculate. She’d been planning to do it herself and felt guilty at the thought of someone else having cleaned up after her. Sitting down in front of the television, she checked her phone. There was still no word from Alex. It was past five o’clock. What time did he finish? Kaitlyn hadn’t eaten since the morning, and her stomach was rumbling. There was nothing in the apartment apart from some protein shakes, and Kaitlyn wondered what was best to do.
I don’t want to order something he doesn’t like. Or let it get cold.
She realized she didn’t have a clue where to actually order from or how getting it to the apartment would work. She thought about messaging Alex, but if he was working, he wouldn’t want to be disturbed with trivial questions. She’d spent the whole day amid the hustle and bustle of the city, but she hadn’t had a proper conversation, a real interaction. Back in Cedarhurst, there was always someone to talk to, someone she knew, evencasually. Reluctantly, she pressed the intercom, and a moment later, the phone rang.
“Hello?” she asked, feeling slightly nervous.
“Good evening, ma’am. Brett here. How can I help you?” the voice of the butler replied.
Kaitlyn felt embarrassed. She’d never even ordered room service before, let alone asked her personal butler for takeout suggestions.
“Um… I was just wondering… if you knew when I might expect Alex back? I’m just thinking about ordering food in, but I don’t want to waste it if he’ll be back late,” she said, imagining the butler rolling his eyes as she was speaking.
“Mr. Lancaster usually arrives home by nine o’clock. I have his schedule here. He doesn’t have a client dinner this evening. But if you’d like to place an order, I’ll deal with that, and Mr. Lancaster can choose later on.”
“Two deliveries?” Kaitlyn replied.
“It’s no trouble, ma’am,” Brett said.
“Well, if that’s the case, I’d like… Korean food,” she said, not really knowing what specifically.
“I’ll bring up some menus immediately. Just let me know what you’d like. It can be here within twenty minutes.”
A moment later, the elevator bell rang, and Kaitlyn went to answer it, finding the butler standing in front of her. He was a lot younger than Kaitlyn had imagined him to be, dressed immaculately in a blue suit with a matching tie and a white shirt.
“Oh, thank you,” she said as he handed her four different menus.
“Might I recommend Coco-Kwang? It’s Mr. Lancaster’s favorite. The kimchi fried rice is very good,” he said.
Kaitlyn smiled and nodded, taking the menus and wondering if she was supposed to tip him or invite him to wait. “Shall I… phone down when I’ve decided?” she asked.
“I’ll be waiting,” he replied with a curt bow, and the elevator doors glided shut.
Kaitlyn chose seafood pancakes, the kimchi rice, and chicken dumplings. It arrived as quickly as Brett had promised it would, though rather than a plastic bag and Styrofoam cartons, Brett delivered it on a tray with plates and cutlery.
“Oh, you didn’t need to do that,” Kaitlyn said, for she’d been hunting through the drawers for chopsticks and had finally found a pair in the utensils drawer.
“I took the liberty of bringing up a bottle of cola, too,” Brett replied as he set the tray down in front of the television.
It was like no other takeout Kaitlyn had had before. Kaitlyn had hoped for a lazy night in front of the television with Alex, like in high school days when they’d gone to the drive-thru and watched horror movies in her mom’s front room, scaring themselves silly. But here she was, sitting with a tray laid out like some fine dining restaurant, alone.
“Thank you,” Kaitlyn said. It wasn’t Brett’s fault. He was just doing his job.
The butler left, and Kaitlyn sighed. It was almost nine o’clock. Was Alex ever going to come home? He’d probably have eaten. She poured herself a glass of cola and flicked through the channels. There was nothing she wanted to watch, and, turningoff the TV, she toyed with the pancakes, not really feeling hungry. Was this it? Were their days to be lived like ships passing in the night? It was almost ten o’clock when the doors of the elevator slid open, and Alex appeared. He was holding an enormous bunch of roses that obscured his face, just like on prom night.
“I’m sorry I’m late. There was just so much to catch up on,” he said, coming over and kissing her.
The roses had a sweet perfume to them, heady and overpowering. Kaitlyn smiled.
