The Perfect Husband

Elena threw her handbag on the table in the foyer and yawned the moment she stepped inside the house; she had a hard day at work today. As the roving reporter, she drove around with a camera crew and gave hourly updates on traffic and road incidents.

She then sighed in content as the warmth of the house seemed to thaw her chilled bones.

‘’Much better than the damn frigid weather outside,’’ she grumbled to herself.

Winter was coming, which means it's almost time to get out the warm clothes and Christmas decorations.

Just as Elena turned on the coffee maker to get a freshly brewed cup, the doorbell rang. She thought about ignoring it, thinking that it might be either door to door sales men, or Jehovah Witnesses.

Elena groaned out and the bell rang again, she was exhausted from the day and wasn’t up to making a conversation with anyone.

She liked being a loner, and never really let people get too close to her anymore.

Because as it seemed, they always got jealous of her life and gossip behind her back once they hear about how much her husband showered her with gifts and took her out to fancy places or on lavish vacations.

Once she tried to be friends with a few females from Malik’s office, but as it turned out. They only talked to her because two of them had eyes on him and wanted to find out their ‘secrets’ so one could steal Milke away from her.

When that didn’t work, they called her a bitch and had the CEO come up with a stupid rule that no spouse or significant other are allowed to any office parties.

Another time it was at her own work place, this one female tried to mimic Elena so much in attempts to get Malik that she changed her style completely to look like Elena.

She dyed her hair red, wore the exact clothes as her and even tried to talk like her.

The doorbell rang several times, and Elena knew that whoever it was, was getting impatient and not willing to leave anytime soon.

She went to peek through the peep hole, and noticed a woman standing there, the doorbell rang again, and Elena decided against making a run for it and to indulge herself in ice cream and chocolate.

“Yes?” Elena swung the door open, thinking that the woman was being very persistent.

The unfamiliar female smiled at her.

’’Hi, sorry to bother you, but this came to my house this morning. I opened it thinking that it belonged to me, but I don’t recognize the content. So, I check the address again and realized that it was for here.”

The short ginger haired woman with bright brown eyes held out the package with a smile.

Elena smiled back, “thank you.” She took the package and looked through it.

She didn’t recognize the contents of the package either, or the name on the front was also unfamiliar to her.

Only the address was right, so, she passed it off as one of Malik’s colleagues.

They always sent packages to him about new clients and business deals.

The woman was still stood there, and Elena felt kind of awkward.

‘’Hmm, do you need anything else?’’ Elena asked.

“Sorry you must find this odd, but did you just move here?” She asked, the look in her eyes showed her curiosity.

Elena looked at her, feeling even more awkward, “umm no, my husband and I have been living here for three years now.” Elena told her.

“What really?” The woman seemed genuinely shocked.

There was another awkward pause.

Elena was ready to slam the door in her face, but she spoke again.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you in any way. I mean I would feel the same too if a stranger came up to my door in her pajamas. It’s just that this is maybe the second time seeing you. I’m Belinda by the way.” The woman said.

“I live two houses down,” Belinda offered a hand and Elena gingerly shook it, she was still skeptical of the woman.

‘’I’m Elena.’’

Belinda smiled. ‘’You look so familiar though.’’ Then she stared at her for a while.

‘’So, I’m doing it again.’’ Belinda shook her head.

The girl who waved at Malik earlier jogged by and Belinda followed Elena’s eyes.

‘’Oh, that girl. She is married this old rich guy down the street, he is like in his 60s and her, her early 20s.’’

‘’Really?’’ Elena asked.

The women struck up a conversation right there on the porch, gossiping about all the single moms and cheating wives and husbands. Then one conversation made Elena ask a question she never thought she would have.

“Umm, would you like to come in and have a drink?” Elena asked Belinda.

Belinda looked down the street then back at Elena and nodded, “my husband isn’t home yet so I have to pass, also my kids are still at dinner and might make a mess.’’

‘’Oh, ok, I just want to know more about that Jasmine girl. I can’t believe she is married and is selling her body to the rich men in this community.’’

Belinda giggled and covered her mouth. ‘’Ok, maybe I can spend five minutes.’’

Elena stepped aside.

‘’Would you like some coffee?’’ She then offered.

‘’Sure, nice place you have here.’’

‘’Thanks, I never wanted to move here but the husband insisted. So here I am.’’

‘’Wow, this place was selling for a crazy amount.’’

Elena nodded. ‘’My husband, his line of work pays him well.’’

‘’Nice.’’

After talking about those in the community, Belinda talked about herself.

‘’It’s good to have someone to talk to, after having my last daughter. I haven’t been out much and the few people I used to talk to grew distance.’’

Belinda sighed. ‘’It’s not easy being a stay-at-home mom, it gets boring at times. But I love taking care of my three girls, and my husband he is a doctor.’’

‘’That sounds interesting.’’

Belinda smiled.

‘’Don’t you have any kids.’’

That seemed to dampen Elena’s mood.

‘’No.’’

She and Malik have tried over the years, but nothing they did seemed to work. No amount doctor visits, pills, or sexual positions could help them conceive.

‘’I’m sorry,’’ Belinda offered a smile.

‘’Any way, with Malik aways gone and my busy schedule as a reporter, it would be hard to raise a child.’’

’’Oh, that’s why you looked so familiar. From channel 5 right?” Belinda asked.

Elena nodded, “yeah. It’s no big deal, just reports here and there.’’

Belinda gave a big smile that profound her laugh lines. “No big deal? My middle daughter finds you so inspiring and wants to be just like you when she grows up.”

Elena was surprised at that but held it in, “really?”

Belinda nodded. ‘’You should see her whenever you come on, it’s just the cuties things. Then one day she declared she wanted to be a reporter just like you.’’

Suddenly Belinda’s phone rang. ‘’Oh, it’s my daughter. Gosh, I haven’t noticed how much time has gone by. I should get going, it was lovely meeting you.’’

Elena showed her out and bid her farewell.

While Elena was clearing the table, her phone rang.

“Hey honey.” She said with a smile on her face.

“Two more days? Ok. Just be safe until you get back. I love you too, good night.”

Elena sighed, leaning back on the counter. She was hoping that her husband would have come back home soon, only for him to call say that they extended his stay in San Francisco.

After showering, Elena got dressed in one of Malik’s shirts then lay in bed, ready to sleep the day off, but her phone buzzed with a message, she smiled after seeing who it was from.

“Thoughtful as ever, they look lovely.” She sent a message back.

Then ran a hand over the screen that displayed a pair of diamond earrings.