Everything was going swimmingly, at least as far as Keshav was concerned. All around him, his new neighbors were eating, drinking, and making merry at the housewarming party that he'd arranged. Now all he had to do was smile, make jokes, and familiarize himself with the people that he was going to be seeing in the morning and evening for the next few decades.
Across the room, his wife was delicately holding a drink while politely laughing at something that one of the housewives had said.
Lauren had never looked quite as beautiful as she did at that moment, and Keshav could barely even believe his luck. What had he done to deserve such a charmed life?
He promised himself that he would get up in just a few minutes and lend her a hand. After all, she may have looked perfectly at ease on the outside, but he knew that she had been stressing out about this party even more than him.
But that could wait another few minutes. For now, Keshav could just enjoy another beer and get to know the other husbands and fathers that he was going to be chatting with on lazy Sundays and after mowing the lawn.
***
Lauren, on the other hand, was near her breaking point. Her husband understood on a basic level that she was terrified of the party not working out and some disaster befalling them, but he didn't understand the depths of her anxiety.
She stole another glance at him, sitting and relaxing as he was on the couch. Smiling, laughing, drinking, he was having the time of her life, and here his wife was, navigating dangerous minefields of conversations where even the slightest wrong answer could leave guests going behind her back and gossiping about her and her husband.
"And is your youngest still in elementary, Mrs. Robinson?" she asked the portly, cheerful woman that was currently monopolizing her attention.
"Oh yes he is, I'm so glad you asked!"
That bought Lauren a few more minutes to regroup. Mrs. Robinson could talk endlessly without any real input from anyone else around her, but it was hard to be annoyed because her friendliness was so infectious. In other circumstances, Lauren might have come up with an excuse to flee, but this was just what she needed right now.
The last few weeks had been positively exhausting for Lauren. For Keshav too, she admitted to herself, but he was finally getting a chance to unwind, while she was left watching the room like a hawk, smiling at the appropriate times, and trying to identify any disgruntled neighbors that could turn into serious problems if left alone.
"Oh dear, which way is the washroom?" Mrs. Robinson said suddenly, a pained expression on her face.
"Just down that hall, first door on the left," Lauren said immediately. It was a response that she'd memorized in front of the mirror earlier in the day.
That
was how stressed out she was about all this.
Mrs. Robinson hurried off, a grateful wave over her shoulder as she went. She was clearly in distress, and Lauren couldn't help but get paranoid over the possibility that some of her hors d'oeuvres might have been responsible.
"Great," she muttered to herself. "One more thing to fret about."
"Something the matter?" a deep, bemused voice asked from right behind her.
Lauren spun around, finding herself face-to-face with someone who she had absolutely no recollection of seeing before. And she
would
have remembered a man like this.
The first thing she noticed was that he was tall. Not just taller than her, but even taller than her husband, and quite a bit broader at the shoulder.
The second thing she noticed was the mocking gleam in his eye. He was practically smirking at her, and she immediately disliked him on a deep, visceral level.
What right did he have to look at her like that? If she didn't know better, then she would have described him as possessive and demanding.
But she had to be wrong, right? There was no way that a stranger would look at the hostess of a party like that, not unless they were a vain, overconfident teenager that hadn't yet learned the rules of polite society.
"Something the matter?" he repeated, and the corner of his mouth quirked upward.
He was
definitely
smirking at her.
"O-of course not," Lauren said immediately, biting down a much less polite question about whether he'd forgotten his matters at home. "Are you enjoying yourself at our little party? I'm afraid that I didn't catch your name, Mister..."
"You can just call me Saul," he said smoothly. "And yes, it's not too bad. There are a few things about the neighborhood that you'll need to learn, but that can wait until later."
The way his eyes were burning into her, Lauren was left with no doubt that there
would
be a later, whether she wanted it or not.
"Saul then." Lauren smiled, but her instinctive urge to not back down had left her with the small problem of having just done precisely what he wanted.
She knew it, and more importantly,
he
knew it.
"I take it that's your husband over there?" Saul asked with a tilt of his chin towards the couch where Keshav was sitting.
Lauren swallowed, realizing that she'd watched the curve of his jaw for just a fraction of a moment too long.
"Yes, that's Keshav," she said, pouring as much fondness into her voice as she could possibly muster.
It was perfectly normal, she told herself, for there to be objectively, superficially attractive people in the world. And it was also perfectly normal for some of them to be massive assholes. It wasn't a sin to think someone was attractive in a visceral, primal way, not even if they were clearly an arrogant asshole.
And then Saul snorted and shook his head.
At her husband.
No, that was the last straw. She would not put up with this in her house, not even if it was her neighborhood welcoming party, and
especially
not from a man who happened to tick every box in a place a little lower than her heart.
"Have you tried any of the food yet?" she asked tightly. "Please feel free to go enjoy some at your leisure."
And with that, she turned and strode away, not daring a single look back. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction, but more importantly, she was worried just how long a single look might last once she laid eyes on him once more.
***
The last few weeks had been absolute paradise. Moving into the neighborhood hadn't been nearly as stressful as Keshav had feared, and he even had a couple standing invitations to go over and drink with some of the other men that he'd met at their party.
Sure, Lauren was having a tougher time adjusting, but she'd always been shyer and more uptight than him. She'd get into the swing of things soon enough.
"How's the meatloaf?" she asked across the table.
"Delicious." Keshav grinned. "And so are the potatoes. Done to perfection, my dear."
"That's good," Lauren said, but she was still frowning. Something was clearly on her mind, and it wasn't going away anytime soon.
"Do you think you might go to that knitting night that the other housewives are organizing?"
If Lauren heard him, she gave no sign of it. She just kept pushing her peas around on her plate, staring absently at nothing at all.
"Dear?"
She blinked, then laughed guiltily. "Sorry, did you say something? I don't know where my mind has been lately."
But just as Keshav was opening his mouth to ask what had been bothering her, there was a loud trio of knocks on the front door. They had a doorbell, but their visitor had made the conscious choice to instead rap upon the wood.
"I'll go--" he began, but got no further before his wife shot to her feet. For some reason, her cheeks were red.
"I'll get it," she muttered as she hurried out of the dining room to tell whoever it was to come back later, after they'd eaten.
But then the seconds stretched on, and she didn't return. Keshav heard the door open, and he could hear low voices, but that was it.
How odd. His wife had some very strict rules about nobody bothering them during meal times. She'd even said that it would be a rule for their family and all their children until they were grown adults, just so they could make sure that they got some quality time together.
One minute passed, then another. Keshav couldn't help but watch the clock as he strained to pick out any words that were being said. He ended up mirroring his wife from before, aimlessly pushing the food around on his plate while he waited for her to return.
Possibilities raced through his mind, and he allowed himself to entertain even the most insane and unrealistic.
What if she was actually cheating on him with one of the neighbors? What if she was angrily telling him to leave her alone while he was trying to blackmail her into doing even more with him?
Keshav chuckled to himself. He couldn't take that scenario seriously for even a single moment. Lauren was simply too prim and proper to ever be that kind of woman. It was impossible for him to even imagine her being pulled into such a sticky situation.
But certainly not because she was unattractive. Oh no, his wife perfectly maintained her appearance, taking meticulous care with her makeup and hair each and every day. He never saw her take a day off, even when it was just the two of them together.
God, what had he done to deserve such a woman? He really should show her just how much he appreciated her one of these days. Maybe they could have a date out together, just like they'd used to enjoy.
He was so lost in his daydreaming that Keshav actually jumped when the front door slammed shut. At first, he thought it was just an accident and that Lauren had closed the door a little too hard, but then she stomped into the dining room with rosy cheeks, hands clenched into fists at her sides, and a murderous expression on her face.
"Good lord, what's wrong?" Keshav surged to his feet.
But Lauren just waved him away and took her seat once more. She took a few deep, steadying breaths with her eyes closed, until Keshav finally settled down into his own chair once more.
"That was Saul," she said tersely, returning to her meal with barely leashed aggression. Each stab of her fork clacked on the plate below, and she vigorously chewed each bite exactly ten times.
"Saul? I don't recall meeting a Saul. Did he come to our party?
"Yes. Taller man, a little on the older side, maybe around sixty. He's... he's come by several times while you were at work."
"Did he now?" Keshav asked, trying to keep his voice level and calm. His wife wasn't in any danger, was he? Why hadn't she told him any of this before. "What did he want?"
"He's been
informing
me about the rules of the local HOA."
"Have we been breaking any?"
