Somewhere Between Two Houses Continued

Right now, he just needed to survive the next couple hours. Once he got out of the house and away from them, he would be fine. Sighing, he got up, straightened his clothes and went to the kitchen. Christi would be serving supper right about now and would be expecting him to be there on time. As he roamed through the kitchen, the smell of chicken assaulted his senses. Grinning, he went in search of everyone else. Hearing laughter from the living room, he headed that way. Just as be turned the corner into the living room, he ran into Christi. Looking down at her, he quickly reached out to steady her. Out of habit, he reached for her hand but quickly stopped himself when he realized what he was doing. Andrew held his breath. Christi was bound to say something about him touching her, but to his surprise she simply smiled and slipped past him. He shrugged it off and went to greet Erin and Thomas, Christi's parents.

    "Hey Thomas, Erin, how did today go?" Sitting down across from the couch they were on, he smiled and propped his feet up on the coffee table.

    "It went really good. Thomas and I rarely get time to ourselves so it was nice being able to be by ourselves." Erin smiled and shook her head at his on the table. "I don't think Christi will like your feet being on the table, she's real picky about that... if you haven't noticed yet."

    "Yeah, I guess I better." As if on cue, Christi appeared in the doorway. Taking one look at him, she stomped over to the couch and frowned.

    "You know I don't like feet on my coffee table. We've been married how many years and you still have not learned that yet?"

    Andrew knew she was teasing, but her words still cut deep. You're just being over sensitive, he told himself. Just because tonight is your last night here doesn't mean you can act like a baby. She was just kidding and you know it. Despite how much Andrew tried to convince himself he didn't care, he knew the truth. He was losing everything he had worked for and more. He was losing everything he had ever really cared about. Pushing those thoughts away, Andrew smiled and moved his feet. "Your mom and I were just discussing that." Grinning, he turned to Erin and winked. She just shook her head and tried to hide a smile. Andrew turned back to Christi and started to do the same, but when he saw the frown and icy glare she gave him, he decided against it. "Yes ma'am, I'll remember that next time." Christi nodded and headed back to the kitchen.

    Christi sighed and checked the chicken pot pie in the oven. It was almost done. Calling Mandy, she opened the fridge and looked for the tea. Not finding any, she found some tea bags in the nearby cabinet and pulled them out. Just as she was putting them in a sauce pan, Mandy came bounding through the kitchen door.

    "You called me?" Mandy screeched to a halt just inside the door.

    "Yes, I was wondering if you wanted to make tea."

    "Sure!" Mandy took the sauce pan and filled it up with water then carefully walked to the stove, set the pan down and turned it on.

    Christi shook her head and grinned. For some reason, Mandy had this obsession with making tea. She loved to make tea and if anyone else made it, she would be mad. Her thoughts turned to Andrew and she frowned. Even though he had cheated on her, he still made her grow weak in the knees when he smiled and made her skip a beat when he touched her. If only him leaving would solve all the problems, but she knew it wouldn't. They were Christians and Christians didn't have these kinds of problems. Christians were happily married, their spouses didn't cheat on them and they didn't get divorces. This was not how it was supposed to be. Christi shoved those thoughts away. Andrew had to go and that was just the way it was going to be. Her parents may not agree with it and it may not be the "Christian" thing to do, but she couldn't live with a liar. She had been lied to way too many times and she was not about to put with that from him. Christi stood up and checked on the food. A few minutes longer and it would be done. She got a stack of plates from the cabinet and began to set the table. She had just finished when Andrew and Mandy came running through the kitchen.

    "It’s time to eat guys!" Christi took the chicken out of the oven and set it on the table. Pulling the salad from the fridge and the tea, she called them again. After she had put everything on the table, she went in search of everyone. They were in the living room bent over something that Andrew was holding. Curious, she walked behind them and tried to see what Andrew was holding. Mandy squealed and jumped up. Andrew glanced up and saw her standing there.

    "Look at this." Andrew moved his hands where she could see what was in them. Christi peeked over his shoulder and shrieked.

    "Get that thing out of my house!!!" Andrew laughed as she scooted past him and flew out of the living room. He handed it to Mandy and stood up.

    "You better get it out of the house before your mother comes back in here and sees it again."

    "But it’s so cute!! It has really long legs and a tiny body! Can I keep it? PPllleeaassee??" Mandy jumped up and down and put on her puppy face.

    "That's up to your mother and from her reaction earlier; I doubt she will let you keep it."

    "He is absolutely right! You are NOT keeping that thing. You know much I hate bugs," Christi hollered from the other room. She came stomping into the living and her hand went to her hips. "There is no way we are keeping that! It could be dangerous! We don't even know what it is."

    "I know what it is, it’s a daddy long leg." Andrew walked over to Christi but didn't dare touch her. "Oh, and it’s perfectly harmless. Its legs are too long for it to bite anyone."

    Christi frowned and crossed her arms. "Look, I don't care if it harmless or not. I don't like bugs in my house and that's final."

    Andrew knew he was getting nowhere. "Ok, ok. The spider goes." Turning to Mandy, he got down on her level and told her, "Mandy, it’s going to have to go outside. Your mom hates spiders."

    Mandy frowned but complied. "Ok, but he's going to be really lonely."

    "Well, I'm sure there are lots of other daddy long legs that he can make friends with. He won't be lonely after he finds some friends." Andrew glanced at Erin and Thomas. He had forgotten they were there but now he grinned at them. They smiled back and burst out laughing. He turned to speak with Christi but found that she was no longer standing there. Did Erin and Thomas know about what was going on between them? Would they approve? Andrew went in search of Christi so he could ask her. It would probably start another fight, but at this point, he had nothing to lose.