A week had passed since the incident with Susan. Claire for her part had kept a low profile. She pretended not to be home the two times that Sarah had casually dropped by to pay her a visit. While she wanted to make friends in the neighborhood, she just couldn't face anyone. Part of her hoped that if she disappeared for a long enough period of time, people would just forget about anything that may have happened.
There were times when all of this just seemed ridiculous. Although Claire had assumed Susan would never say anything about what had happened, part of her remained paranoid. This paranoia combined with the shame and embarrassment of her own behavior at Susan's house had left her somewhat paralyzed.
Eventually the outgoing Claire could no longer tolerate her self-imposed isolation. She was determined to live her life and decided to spend a few hours in the afternoon working on her flower beds. One of the joys of having a flexible job meant that Claire had breaks during the day in which she could pursue this passion.
The prior homeowner had left flower beds in the yard, but they had clearly not been tended to in quite some time. It ended up being a much more labor intensive project weeding out the beds in order to get them ready to plant flowers. Even though it had not been that hot, Claire was dirty and sweating as dinner time approached. She was so focused on getting the grunt work over that she did not notice a car stop in front of her house.
A woman stepped out of the car and approached Claire. "Hello," she said as she stood in front of her.
It was only after the woman spoke that Claire realized she was there. Given that she was kneeling on the ground the first thing Claire noticed were the woman's expensive pumps. Her gaze worked its way up. The woman standing before her was dressed very formally in a tailored navy blue skirt suit. From what Claire could tell the color of her shoes and suit perfectly matched. She also noticed that her hair was done in a tight bun and while she wore makeup, it was more to eliminate blemishes then garner attention.
"Hello, can I help you?" Claire said as the two women made eye contact.
"I wanted to welcome you to our wonderful little neighborhood," the woman replied. "My name's Jacqueline."
"Oh... nice to meet you Jacqueline. I'm Claire. I'd shake your hand but as you can see I am a bit dirty. I really wanted to get these flower beds in order today."
"I completely understand. The weather is perfect for it today. It sounds like we are getting a heat wave later this week."
"Actually I am trying to get ahead of that. I want to get these flowers planted because I'm not sure how they'll hold up in their plastic boxes."
Jacqueline smiled down at Claire, "Well it will be nice to see everything when you're finished. The last owners really let their yard go wild. It was a bit of an eyesore."
"Trust me I know. I've already spent multiple hours clearing out these weeds."
"Well please don't let me keep you from your work. I just thought it might be nice to have you over for dinner. By chance are you free tomorrow night?"
Claire felt something in the pit of her stomach. What in the past had been a rather straightforward invitation had been turned into something far different. Was Jacqueline simply being friendly or did she hope that Claire would get on her knees and pleasure her like she had done for Susan? Nothing in the woman's expression seemed to imply anything but her spoken words, yet Claire still felt unsure of herself.
There was a rather long awkward silence. At least it felt awkward to Claire. She really needed to stop second guessing herself. "Ummm.... that sounds great. What time would you like me to come by?"
"Let's say 6 o'clock," answered Jacqueline before pointing her house out to make sure Claire knew where to go. "I will see you then."
"I look forward to it." Claire watched her neighbor get into her rather expensive looking car and drive away.
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The next day as Claire got ready to head over to her neighbor's house she felt a growing sense of nervousness. The last thing she wanted to do was find herself in the same situation again. On the plus side, Jacqueline had not mentioned tea, which if Sarah was right, was the code word. The new homeowner could not believe how bizarre her world had suddenly become.
To help calm her nerves she focused on what to wear. Given that she was going to dinner, Claire felt it was appropriate to dress in something a little nicer than a pair of leggings. She elected to go with a light blue sundress which she paired with some brown leather sandals. It was casual enough to be comfortable yet dressy enough to not cause a negative impression.
About 5 minutes before six she headed out carrying a bottle of wine. It wasn't particularly fancy, just a nice rosΓ© which seemed appropriate given the heat of Summer. Under normal circumstances, Claire would not have thought anything of it, but a part of her worried that it may send the wrong impression.
Jacqueline's house had an immaculate yard in front. Each bush and tree was perfectly spaced in a most delicate manner. Claire rang the doorbell and waited nervously. When the door opened she was surprised to see Jacqueline still wearing her work clothing, "Welcome Claire. Please come in."
Jacqueline led Claire into her home. Not only was she wearing a gray skirt suit, but the woman still had on her black hosiery and heels. It was a bit intimidating because even without her heels, she was quite tall, at last 5'8" or 5'9". With them still on, she was closer to 6 feet.
"I'm not sure if you're a fan of rosΓ©, but I thought given the heat, it might go well with dinner." Claire handed her the bottle.
"No, this is great. It will go with the meal. I ended up getting pulled into a last minute meeting which meant I was unable to cook. I hope that you are okay with Chinese food."
"That sounds delicious." Claire followed the woman into the dining room and saw a couple plates laid out. Although everything about her home was exquisite, the table was quite humble. It almost felt out of place. Jacqueline had laid out a couple plates with silverware. There appeared to be a pitcher of ice water as well.
"Please make yourself comfortable," the business woman said as she opened up the wine. She proceeded to pour two glasses before bringing them over and handing one to Claire.
"Cheers." They both said as glasses clinked.