5

Chapter 5. Dinner Party

Neil sat in the kitchen and silently tapped his finger on the countertop, listening to the sounds coming from the second floor: water gushing; something landed with a loud thud on the ceramic surface of the sink. Then for a few minutes Leah became completely silent. And he, too, sat, frozen like a predator before the decisive throw, even reducing his breathing to a minimum. He lowered his eyelids and became fully alert.

Careful steps. The tap water began to rustle again; The pipes hummed dully. Finally, the door swung open, and the steps became more distinct: she was heading towards the stairs; the steps sometimes creaked under her thin legs. A couple more seconds - and Neil opened his eyes, looking with a half-smile at Leah, frozen in the doorway.

“I’m done,” she said shortly.

The red spots had disappeared from her face, and the swelling had visibly subsided. But still, simple cool water cannot wash away all traces of half an hour of sobbing. She couldn’t do a