Thank you for reading! Constructive criticism always welcome.
I couldn't pinpoint the exact moment that everything had changed. All I knew was that my life had stretched into two distinct parts, before Candace and after Candace. I remembered the before.
My wife Leah and I often joked that we lived the perfect life. Gone were the days of barely making ends meet, moving in with his mother when things were tight or bread and mayonnaise sandwiches. We had finally made it. I was the manager of a five star hotel in the city and Leah had worked her way up to senior partner at her firm. We were having sex at least once a week and went on a quarterly vacation to my parent's house in Florida.
That was the before.
After came when Leah began mentioning a new part time legal secretary at the firm. She talked about how easy she made her life, how hard of a worker she was, even though she was balancing work and school. Curious and intrigued, I extended an invitation to the woman who seemed to make my wife's workload lighter.
Candace Billings showed up to our home promptly at 6:45PM. I hadn't specified a dress code as I knew they left work at 5 and might not have time for her to stop off at home, but when I opened the door, I was surprised to see she was wearing a little black dress.
"Candace, hello!" I gushed, welcoming her inside. "I have heard such lovely things about you." The woman flushed. She was much younger than my wife implied, probably in her early twenties. She was petite, both Leah and I towered over her, with vivid red hair, bright green eyes and a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She was positively adorable.
"Thank you for inviting me to your lovely home." Candace replied formally. I smiled, taking her coat and handing it up in the hall closet, fully embracing my role as host. "I've heard a lot about you too."
"All good things I hope."
"Of course." The girl laughed. She exchanged a look with Leah that I didn't understand but I led them into the dining room. "I can't believe you two have this massive house all to yourself."
"It has its perks." We all sat down and dug in. I had taken the afternoon off in order to prepare a delicious beef minestrone soup with garlic bread and a simple salad. It was my favorite thing to make and Leah's favorite thing to eat. We made inane small talk and when the meal was done, I refreshed our wine and I took Candace to the back patio while Leah cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher.
"I hope Leah hasn't been working you too hard," I joked to Candace and she laughed politely, taking a sip of her wine. We sat down on lounge chairs, the sounds of night time all around us.
"I've actually been so grateful to Mrs. Gordon." Candace confessed. "I've had some family drama happening and she's been so supportive."
"That's my wife." My curiosity was piqued. "What's going on with your family, if you don't mind my asking." I had always loved good gossip.
"I came out to my parents as bi and introduced my family to my girlfriend and my mom kicked me out."
"Oh no!"
"I've been basically couch surfing all week long." Her shoulders shook. "And of course I now live on the other side of town so it takes me twice as long to get to work, but Mrs. Gordon has been a literal angel."
"I'm so sorry to hear that, Candace." My voice was laced with genuine dismay. I too had come out as bisexual to my family and received a similar response. My father hadn't kicked me out, but he stopped supporting me completely, causing me to drop out of college. "Believe me I am." An idea lighted in my mind and I excused myself, hightailing it to Leah in the kitchen. She was bent over the island, scrolling through her phone, the dishwasher open and poorly stacked behind her. I rolled my eyes.
"Lee," She looked up and eyed the dishwasher guiltily. I waved a hand dismissively, knowing I would probably have to run it twice. "I think I'm going to ask Candace to stay here until she can afford a place. I wanted to make sure it was alright with you."
"It would sure make the poor girl's life a little easier." She commented and I nodded. "And of course, whatever you want to do is fine." She strolled up to me, kissing my cheek. "I love how much you care."
I told Candace that she was welcome to stay as long as she needed to get back on her feet and while she was wary at first, it didn't take her long to warm up to the idea.
She worked from eleven am to five pm. She had a morning class that ran from eight to ten and then a night study group from six to nine. And even with all of that, she found time to tidy up around the house and unload the dishwasher in the mornings. I didn't know where she got her energy from but I was grateful. I hardly had any work to do around the house and could finally make time to relax.
I found myself liking her more and more. We were kind of like kindred spirits and I felt sympathy for her, having been in her shoes once upon a time. I was also a big fan of the way she called me "Mr. Gordon" like I was a school teacher. After being married for twenty years I had to take my thrills where I could.
I didn't fully realize anything was changing until a red thong ended up in my laundry. I stared at it for a moment, a little confused. I knew it wasn't Leah's; her days of thong wearing were long behind us. Folding it as best as I could, I took it upstairs. I knew Candace was taking part in her study group so I knocked softly.
"Come in,"
She was seated on the bed, wearing a short pink night dress and long knee high socks. She looked up at me, green eyes shining in the light of her laptop screen.
"I found this in the laundry." I held it up and she frowned. "Any idea how it got there?"
"No clue, Mr. Gordon." She leapt up and pulled the underwear from my hands. "But thanks for washing it for me."
"Candace."
"I'm telling the truth."
"No." I told her matter of factly. "You're not." I put on my stern manager's voice and glared down at her. "I won't tolerate any lying in this house, Candace." A little bit of pressure was all it took
"I wanted you to find it!"
"What?" I stepped back in shock. Candace walked to the bed and closed her laptop, effectively exiting the study group. "Why did you want me to find your underwear?" I braced for the worst, my mind immediately running into overdrive. Had she been hoping Leah would find it to cause some kind of rift between us?