Marge was making the finishing touches on dinner when she glanced back up at the clock. It was after six and Homer was supposed to be home from work an hour ago. This was typical of him though. He would go straight to Moe's after work then come home drunk and then pass out in front of the television. She couldn't remember the last time she sat down and had a conversation with him.
"Well, I guess I'm eating alone again, "Marge mumbled to herself as she put food onto her plate. This was a common occurrence. Homer would be out drinking so she would be alone for the evening until he came home so drunk, she had to take care of him. Unfortunately, this was the reason that she had to watch her favorite show the day after it originally aired. She was half way into eating her phone ring so she grabbed it and answered it, "Hello"
"Hey Marge its Charles." A smile suddenly came over Marge's face.
"Hello Charles, this is a surprise that you called."
"Yeah, I was just thinking about you and thought I'd call. I hope I didn't interrupt anything," Charles said with a hint of concern in his voice.
A sudden blush rose on Marge's cheeks as she realized he had been thinking about her. She felt flattered that someone she had just met would be thinking about her. "Oh no, you didn't ruin anything. I was actually eating dinner. Homer's not home yet so that probably means he's out drinking. Which means I'll miss Upton Rectory tonight because I'll be taking care of him."
"I'm sorry Marge. If it makes you feel any better, my father has a charity event he wants me to plan tonight so I'll have to miss it too," Charles said with a sigh.
"That's life I guess," Marge said as she took another bite of her food. She figured she might as well finish eating while she had some company, even if it was over the phone. "What kind of charity is it?"
"It's a charity for the homeless, especially the mentally ill that are homeless. I have to plan the menu and find a venue."
Marge smiled, one of her favorite things to do was plan menus. "That sounds great Charles. Listen, I love planning menus, maybe I can help you out with that?"
Charles chuckled on the other end, "I would love that Marge. Maybe we can get together tomorrow and plan it together. Then we can watch the new episode of Upton Rectory together."
Marge felt her stomach jump at the prospects of seeing Charles again. Her sad mood was suddenly lifted as the excitement took over her, "That sounds great Charles."
"Great, you can meet me at the palace in the morning, whatever time works best for you is good for me."
Marge didn't know why but she knew she wanted to be there first thing, she just wanted to spend time with him. "Well, Homer leaves for work at 7:00 in the morning. If that's not too early, I can just come over after he leaves," Then a sudden realization hit her, "Um Charles? What do you wear to a palace?"
Charles laughed on the other end. "Whatever you want Marge, nothing fancy. What you wore today would be perfect or you can wear jeans and a shirt."
"Oh ok, I was just making sure, I don't want to be underdressed," Marge said, all concern leaving her worries behind her.
They continued to talk for about an hour before Marge decided she needed to clean up dinner and let him get back to work. She hesitantly hung up the phone and took her plate to the sink. She couldn't explain what she was feeling about him. He made a great friend and seemed to genuinely care about her. She loved talking with him and how it was so easy. She was putting the leftovers away as she heard the front door open and something that sounded like a thump in the entrance way.
"Homer?" Marge called out. When she didn't get an answer, she quickly dried her hands and walked to the front door. The site before her almost made her sick but she also had a feeling of anger.
Homer was currently lying face down on the floor but she could tell he was too intoxicated to get up. She sighed and tried to get him off of the floor but his weight was causing a strain in her back. "Come on Homer, help me out here."
"I don't need your help." Homer said with his face still in the carpet.
Normally Marge wouldn't have paid attention but something tonight came over her. She didn't know what it was but after spending time with Charles, she didn't have the patience for Homer.
"Fine then just lay there. I'm going to bed."
Marge turned around and stomped up the stairs, leaving a drunk Homer on the floor. She got ready for bed and looked at herself in the mirror.
People would probably ask her why she stayed with Homer for so long. She did love him, in the beginning. Then after they had kids, things seemed to change. He would go out drinking all the time and never stopped to consider how it hurt her and the kids. Then he would flirt with other women, it didn't matter if it was in front of her or not. She felt so insecure about herself at times because those women were younger and prettier looking.
She was still ashamed to admit one of her lowest moments. It was when she meant to get liposuction but got boob implants instead, all to please Homer and get him to be happy with just her.
She still remembers looking into the mirror at the time and feeling ashamed. She knew this wasn't her. If her younger self could meet her, she would be ashamed. She was always talking about the importance of being a strong and independent woman who didn't need to change anything to please the man she loved.
She cried every night after that but she only staid for the kids. But the kids were grown now, and she still didn't leave. She needed to be needed and with Homer, she felt like she was still needed even if she didn't love him anymore. She was afraid of being alone.
She slowly crawled into bed and grabbed her tissue box as she usually did but then her mind drifted off to Charles.
He made her feel like the woman she used to be. A woman who had her own opinion and he seemed to genuinely care about her. Sure, she had only just met him a few hours ago but she felt comfortable with him and she hadn't felt that in so long. She leaned back with a smile on her face and closed her eyes just thinking about him. She put the tissue box on her night stand and laid down and dreamed about Charles.
For the first time in a long time, she didn't use that tissue box that night.
She heard shuffling around the next morning. She cracked her eyes open and saw Homer getting ready for work. She could tell he had a hangover. The anger from last night quickly came back and she also knew she should get up and make him breakfast. She didn't though and opted to lay in bed. For the first time in a long time, she was thinking about herself.
She heard him leave at about a quarter to seven so she slowly got out of bed and put her house slippers on. She felt an extra spring in her step when she realized she was going to see Charles. She went to her closet and opened it.
"Hmm, what should I wear today?" She knew Charles had said that what she was wearing yesterday was fine but she wanted to look nice so she shuffled through her clothes. She decided to dress a little fancy so she picked out her pink Chanel suit that she had gotten at the mall.
