Authors notes: None of the people in this little story are under 18. At the time of this story Alex is 201/2 years old.
"Get some spiced herring, Marlene."
A crushing silence descended over the table.
It was summer lunch at my parents' villa, and one of my mother's old friends had finally come to visit. Unfortunately, she had brought her husband with her. Marlene was a beautiful woman in her early 40s, with sparkling black hair and a shapely body that was unfortunately covered by too many clothes. Especially here in the summer heat.
My mother hadn't seen much of her in the last few years and now we knew why. Her new husband was 15 years older than her, but at the same time he was also an extraordinarily stupid, tyrannical pig. He had his own company and was apparently used to getting his way.
I remembered Marlene mostly for her sarcastic humor and eternal good mood. She was an outdoors person and was always tanned. now she was pale and wearing something that was more uniform than dress. she couldn't stand herring and her husband knew it, he just wanted to humiliate her in front of her friends. The silence was broken when I took the herring and carried it out. I just managed to see his hateful pig eyes about to order me back, but then he remembered he wasn't at work and found something else to harass her with instead.
As I stood out in the kitchen putting the herring in place, I heard her run past sobbing in the hallway and run into my parents' bathroom.
As I gently knocked, I heard a faint sob and a gasp from inside. I knew very well what she was thinking.
"It's just me, Alex."
The door was ajar, and I crept in cautiously.
Marlene sat on the toilet and sobbed. She was still incredibly beautiful, and it was not without some awe that I saw. that her one stocking clad leg was exposed. I had been fantasizing about this woman all through my puberty, so it was a little difficult to suddenly play mature and understanding.