A One Night Stand to Remember

"Aaaahhh!" Kelly flails.

Black coffee stains the breast area of her white blouse. Her cleavage reddens to the shade of her cheeks when she wakes from her reminiscence of wine and pleasure. Lost in thought, she missed her mouth, and instinctively rubs at the dark wet spots that appear.

"Mom, get your life together." Sarah teases. She bounces into the kitchen, her ponytail whipping around from cheek to cheek.

"Shouldn't you be at school by now?" Kelly gives her accusing motherly-tone and lifts an eyebrow.

"Nope. Terms almost over, so my morning class is essentially a study room for today." Sarah sticks out her tongue and claps back, "Shouldn't you be at work by now?"

"That's none of your business, young lady." Kelly rolls her eyes but hastily changes her top and glances at the clock. Sarah throws a winning smirk in Kelly's directions before bouncing to the counter's eggs and sausage feast.

"I should just let you starve, you little brat."

"You couldn't do it. Orange doesn't suit you."

"I think you're five years too old to threaten me with child endangerment, Sarah."

"I think you're a decade too old to participate in pointless bickering with a twenty year old."

"Ugh. You got me, I don't have time for this," Kelly hurries to her car in laughter.

"Don't be late tonight!" Sarah yells out the door, "I'm not kidding. I'll disown you faster than the speeding ticket your about to get." Kelly nods and waves dramatically.

Sarah and Kelly have grown considerably close since Robert left. Their mornings often consist of laughing and teasing before school and work. Despite her many attempts to keep her family together, she is now a single middle-aged woman who isn't quite sure where she fits in anymore.

Robert left almost three years earlier, and although she has gone on a number of dates, none of them were worth much more of her time than she'd already wasted. However, they were a nice getaway and essentially a free meal and drinks on a Friday night - not that she needed it, she's been very successful in her career. One of the reasons Robert felt the need to leave.

One meal wasn't free, however she still laughed at the disaster that night turned into in a matter of an hour. What was his name?

Kelly rounds her work building, racking her brain, but it refuses to relinquish the info. Her eyes survey the ground beneath her so she doesn't fall but her attention remains too distracted to stop her from bumping into a co-worker.

"John!" His name comes out in a reluctant groan instead of honest surprise. She hastens to sound more upbeat, but it's too late, he's running in the other direction with his head between his tail.

"That's riiiiiiighttt," Kelly draws out the recollection dramatically despite its wasted potential in the empty air around her. Her fingers snap and she giggles when he's out of earshot, which is fast despite his size. His name is John. The poor guy was a disastrous date from her office. Don't date a coworker, people. When it doesn't work out, you can't get away. It's a constant reminder.

She met him at Sandy's for dinner and drinks just months after Robert divorced her. He was persistent and she was bored and lonely - not a good combination for rational decisions.

There were many reasons to end the night early and yet Kelly stuck it out like a champ:

1. He yelled at the teenage hostess and demanded a table right away on a busy Friday night. Kelly was flushed with embarrassment.
2. He started telling sexist jokes that Kelly didn't know how to respond to.
3. When seated, he began listing everything that was going wrong with the date. Yes, the date they were on.
4. Just as Kelly started to suck in a spaghetti noodle, he hit her with the oh-so romantic, "so are we gonna have sex tonight or what?"

She choked. Not the startled, let-me-catch-my-breath choke, but the hands to the neck someone-save-my life kind. Their waiter jumps into action while John looks around dumbfounded. Her life is saved and her date is rethinking his decision to take her out. He mumbles excuses to leave and Kelly is rescued from a night of bad conversations and regrets.

That's when she meets Andy. The one night stand that has followed her around the past three years. Every time she thinks back on it, her stomach flutters and flips.

There was kissing, touching, laughing, and lots and lots of drinks. Although she'll never admit it out loud, there was also an age difference that would undoubtedly label her a Cougar. It is a memory worthy of spilled coffee, but not worthy of Sarah's ears. So, Kelly has happily taken to pretending it never happened outside of her memory.

~

Kelly pushes open the front door, not sure what to expect of the evening. It must be significant because she insisted on making dinner. This gesture may not be weird for many twenty-two year olds, but Sarah has been known to burn boiled water at times. Kelly wasn't sure how edible the result would be but kept her suspicions to herself when Sarah squeaked and squealed. Aromas of spices and bacon invade Kelly's senses. Her mouth waters and her stomach growls hungrily for a taste of what lies inside.

"Sarah, I don't know where you learned to cook in a matter of hours, but I can't wait to eat until it makes me sick!" Kelly yells into the kitchen from the hallway.

Sarah rounds the corner with two glasses of wine and a hopeful smile. Kelly accepts without hesitation.

"I boiled spices and cooked bacon to make that smell," she gives a secretive wink, "I ordered dinner from Sandy's and put it on fancy plates."

"You did all this for me?" Kelly pushes away all the bad things that would warrant a fancy dinner and wine in exchange for being forgiven.

"No. Definitely not. I want you to meet someone, mom," Sarah sways with a bliss that suggests this isn't her first glass of the day.

Sarah pulls Kelly to the kitchen table that held her stiff arms and coffee that morning, while she drifted off into a leisurely trance of kisses with Andy. This was not the right place to recall such steamy memories, though.

As if she conjured him up in just the thought of that night, Andy taps his fingers on her kitchen table. He hasn't looked up at her yet, but Kelly's heart beats in her throat and lunch threatens to leave her body like an exorcism.

"Mom, this is my boyfriend, Andy." Sarah obliviously opens her arms between the two figures in introduction, "Andy, this is my mom Kelly."

Andy only let's an inkling of recognition cross his face, before glancing over to Sarah for help. She mistakes his worry for Kelly's disapproval, so she's keep to pick up where she left off while Kelly looks out the window in shock.

"I know, I know. I should've told you I was seeing someone but I didn't think it was right to brag since...you know." Her stammers whip Kelly back into shape and she quickly waves it off.

"No, no. Stop it. It's really nice to meet you." Kelly holds out a hand to Andy. He takes it in compliance and his eyebrows smooth into a sophisticated (yet, sneaky) college boy manner.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Hannon," His eyes don't quite meet Kelly's, but they're impressively disguised.

"How'd you meet my daughter?" Kelly inquires, but doesn't stop long enough for him to answer, "I imagine it takes a life-saving effort to get a Hannon woman's attention."

"Uh, I...well, yeah." Andy rubs the back of his neck, but to Kelly's dismay Sarah saves him.

"Actually, yes. He saved a woman almost three years ago while I was at dinner with Ell and I guess he just grabbed my attention."

"Ah, you don't say?" Kelly makes eye contact with Andy and her eyes harden just a fraction. "I assume you didn't take her home that night? Must've had other plans."

"Yeah," Andy shifts his attention to Sarah and smiles wanly, likely realizing the inevitably ending relationship between them.

"Wow, what a brave soul," Sarah looks at Kelly questionably. Is there hurt in her eyes? She doesn't even know the half of it. It's so much worse than a mom's disapproval but none of it is her fault. In fact, it wasn't really Andy's either. All the fault was Kelly's. "honey, I'm just starving."

Now is not the time.

Kelly pulls back from her interrogation, knowing much more will invite questions she wasn't ready to answer for Sarah.

Three things were for certain: He's here and there's no way to get away from that revolting fact, her one night stand to remember will never be remembered in the same light, and Sarah must know about it.

Kelly's stomach aches with regret as she digs into the meal Sarah sets in front of her.

~

"I think it best you leave my room."

Sarah's words are sharp and hurtful but Kelly knows she deserves every bit of it. The future of their relationship remains unknown for an uncertain amount of time. Time will heal her wounds and the day will come when she'll begin to forgive, but for now, she couldn't look at her.