Fan Fiction
This story has been set to a rating of R. Age verification is required to proceed.
Eternal Flames-Chapter 10
Login to add story to favorites
Just then Carson came bursting into the kitchen, backpack half-zipped, his hair sticking up in three different directions. “Mom, Emma’s bringing in her model volcano tomorrow, and we’re gonna test ours next to hers so we can compare explosion height!”
Tina laughed, reaching out to smooth his hair. “That sounds… slightly dangerous.”
“It’s science,” Carson said with mock seriousness, “and Emma says science is worth the risk. Oh—and I’m gonna put some toy dinosaurs around the volcano so it looks like they’re watching the explosion!”
Tina shook her head with a smile. “Of course you are. Because what’s a science experiment without dinosaurs?”
His eyes lit up, and she was reminded yet again how deeply he loved anything prehistoric. Just last week he’d spent an entire Saturday afternoon sketching a T. rex family in crayon, complete with speech bubbles.
He was thriving here. His teachers praised his curiosity, his kindness, the way he made friends so easily. Watching him come home every day with new stories had become one of Tina’s quiet joys.
And she knew Bette had noticed, too.
In the evenings when they exchanged brief texts and phone calls about Carson’s schoolwork or his soccer schedule, Tina could feel Bette’s pride slip through in the way she worded her responses. It was a small thread of connection between them, but it mattered.
More than Tina could say.
~~~~~~~~
Across town, the restaurant was quiet enough for conversation but busy enough to offer a layer of anonymity. Bette preferred it that way. She’d chosen the corner booth, away from the main flow of servers, where her client could speak freely.
Across from her sat Melissa Greer, a poised woman in her late forties with a neat blonde bob and a tailored navy suit. She looked like someone who kept her life meticulously organized—at least until the moment it all came apart.
Melissa stirred her iced tea absently, her gaze flicking toward the window before returning to Bette.
“You know, the funny thing is, we used to be best friends,” she said. “My husband and I. Long before we ever dated. We… never admitted how we felt back then. He went off and married someone else. I thought that was it.”
Bette kept her expression neutral, the way years of practice had taught her. “And then?”
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Happy to see an update.
I’m a little disappointed Bette cancelled the lunch but i understand her fear, especially after her lunch with her client who experienced almost the same and trusted her once friend and now husband only to be left again.
Tina, stay patient, Bette will get there but it takes time.