Maybe Someday

Roll 3 Scene 15 - A Family Dinner, Take 3

December 20th, 2019

The tart was forgotten on his plate.

His brain was scrambling to make excuses for him to leave, to flee.  Anything that would make this conversation stop. Anything from Kate finding out. And running away seemed like the only way left. It was something that he was good at, wasn't he? 

Beth waved her hand, the wrinkles around her carob eyes indicating just how much she was enjoying seeing Nith squirm in his seat.

"All are good. I enjoyed them well. Though the one that I like was a bit problematic."

Nith looked down at his plate. The tart sat there, staring at him with all of its sinful chocolaty goodness. But his appetite was gone. This, he realized with bitterness toward the older blonde sitting across him, was how things would end.

Beth had arranged this dinner just to let him know that she knew.

No wonder his mother and Beth were best friends. Their love for theatrics was always too much.

His hands racked through his hair. The three glasses of wine he had throughout the dinner were finally in his system. And his perspective changes. He took another sip, stopping the laughter that was trying to make its way through because of the absurdness of the situation. He wrote a book about her daughter. Let it get out of his hand, sell millions and somehow he expected Beth - the woman who introduced him to reading, who finishes books like wine - to not know. To not be angry when he made her the villain.

Kate was right when she picked Dodo as his nickname. He really was one.

"Won't you ask which one it is?"

Nith finished his wine. He forced a smile, there was no point crying over spilled milk. He knew this day would come one day. It might as well be now. "I am sure I already know. But I'm always happy to receive criticism."

"Hmm ... I am sure you do." She looked right through his buff. "But you can hardly call it a criticism. Though I am curious if you would still call it criticism when they find out and decide to ask you regarding that. Knowing their temper, it won't be just a simple conversation. Like this." Beth smiled at him.

A very mean version of Kate.

Kate placed her glass on the table, loudly. "Mother, that's enough for now."

"I wonder if you would still say that after finding out Katie."

A silence followed as the mother-daughter engaged in a stare war. Blue eyes bored into carob ones.

The maids stood in their place, glancing at each other awkwardly while they tried to figure out if this would be a good time for them to leave or not. They didn't want to be on Beth's radar, not after this. Ian sighed. Someone coughed, probably Lia, almost choking on her glass of water; yet no one gave her a glance. Even Clide had put his newspaper down, his hand on his chin as he watched with his piercing blue eyes whatever his wife was stirring up.

"Do you really want to do this now?" Kate asked.

"I don't know what you are talking about, darling." She glanced at Nith. "I haven't done anything yet."

"Mot-"

"I will tell her myself." Nith looked her directly in the eyes. "When the time is right."

"And when will this right time come?"

"Soon."

Beth laughed, it was humorless and cold. "Nithan," her voice mimicked the coldness. Nith didn't look back down. "It has been eight years. Your concept of time seemed very different from ours."