Welcome back my Queendalers! It looks like many of you are still struggling with the code word, so I will give you until the end of my Valentine’s day posts (yes, there will be one more after this) to figure it out. So keep at it my friends! Now onto the news!
So, I was a pretty busy bee on the night of Valentine’s day, as you all can assume. It took a lot of multi-tasking to keep an eye out for all my couples. But lucky for me on my way out of The Maxwell, I spotted Brian and Marian Nelson being seated at a table outside. I was a bit surprised to see them, seeing as how things still seemed far from great for those two, yet here they were. Though truth be told, Marian didn’t look exactly that thrilled to be out with him.
Not wanting to miss a beat, I found a spot nearby to get my “people watch” on. A few minutes in, Brian and Marian were glancing quietly over their menus. No conversation or anything. Seriously. If you had dropped a spoon, the sound would have filled the area.
I was on the verge of heading out, when Brian finally spoke.
“See anything you like?” he asked.
Marian sighed. “Well, the chicken alfredo looks good.”
“Marian, you always order that when we go for Italian. You sure you don’t want to try something new?”
Marian shrugged. “Well, I guess I am just used to eating that. It’s the one dish I know I will like no matter what.”
A few minutes later the chef arrived at their table with a pen and notepad.
“I will have the seafood supreme and my wife will take the chicken alfredo pasta,” Brian then said to him.
“Actually, no,” Marian commented, causing Brian to look a bit surprised. “I think I will have the sweet basil pasta with shrimp. It might be nice to shake things up.”
The chef then wrote it down on his pad and then went back inside the restaurant.
“Sweet basil? That’s an interesting choice,” Brian said with a frown.
Marian then smiled. “Yah, it thought so too. I guess I have been so used to ordering the same thing all the time that I haven’t really thought to try something different. But you made a good point. Sometimes in life, change is a good thing.”
Boy is it ever. Especially for Marian. Somehow, I think she was talking about more than just that pasta.
The chef then presents them their meal, and they eat in totally silence. No joke. After that little small talk, they eat their entire meal without saying a word to each other. It was a bit nerving to watch. I was even wondering if it was such a good idea to stick around.
After they finished, Marian wanted to head out, but Brian convinced her to stay for dessert. They then ordered cherry pie, which I can’t deny, smelt amazing from where I was sitting. I was afraid they would eat in silence once again, but then Brian finally spoke up, confirming my initial thought about what Marian had said earlier.
“So, um, what you said earlier, about trying something new?”
Marian nodded through a bit of pie. “Yes?”
“Were you just taking about the meal?”
Marian smiled. “Why, did you think I was talking about us?”
Brian shrugged. “Well…yes. Were you?”
Marian looked at him for a moment and then raised her shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe. Sometimes I just wonder.”
“Well I don’t want you too,” Brian says firmly. “I know I made a huge mistake and I am willing to do whatever I can to repair the damage between us. I love you, Marian.”
Marian sighed again. “I know Brian. I love you too, but I just don’t know if-”
“Just trust me,” Brian interrupted. “Everything is going to work out. I just know it.”
They then eat in silence for a few minutes before Brian gives her some news.
“So I thought maybe we could talk some more about this, after dinner. Maybe somewhere special?”
“Oh?” Marian looked at him curiously. “Not at home?”
“Well, I thought it might be difficult with Paul and Emilie there. I thought maybe we could talk elsewhere. I rented a room.”
Marian then coughs on her bite of pie. “You what?”
“I rented a room for us so we could be alone together and talk.”
Marian shakes her head. “Brian, I don’t think that is a good idea. I am still trying to sort all my feelings out and us spending the night together is still a bit much for me.”
“Marian it has been months since we have been together. Don’t you think we could just give it a shot? Just throw care to the wind and just be together? I miss being with you.”
Okay, this was getting a bit much for even me to hear, but I managed to hold on.
Marian, however is quiet for a moment and then exhales.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
“Look we don’t have to jump into anything. We can just start off talking and see where it goes from there.”
Marian stares at him for several seconds, and just when I think she is about to turn him down, she surprises me by agreeing to go! Maybe there is hope for them yet!
No sooner had I thought this, when Brian pretty much spits all over his progress.
“So where did you book the room?” Marian asked, and guess what his response was? The Marmalade Inn! Yes! I am totally serious! The Marmalade Inn. The exact hotel where he had had his affair with Erica.
Marian, as I could tell, had registered that fact as well.
“The Marmalade Inn?” She said. “You booked a room at the Marmalade Inn?”
Brian frowned. “Yes, why?”
“You are seriously asking me why? Seriously?” When Brian just stared at her in confusion, Marian rose from the table and then picked up her purse. “Forget it. I’ll be in the car.”
She then walked off toward the parking lot, with Brian calling after her. When she did not return, Brian quickly dropped a few twenty dollar bills on the table and then hurried after her.
Although I wanted to just leave it there, I couldn’t resist following the drama to their next destination. Sure enough, they pulled into their home driveway, with Marian already hopping out of the car before Brian could even finish parking. He stopped the car and followed her to the door step, begging her to tell him what he had done.
“I can’t believe you are still asking me that!” Marian snapped.
“Well I wouldn’t if you would just tell me what I did!”
“Isn’t it obvious? I shouldn’t have to!” She exhales loudly. “But why on Earth would you ask me to go spend the night with you at the hotel in which you consistently broke our marriage vows?!”
Brian looks dumbfounded. “I-I, um-”
“Didn’t think about it? No, I’m sure you didn’t. Just like you taking me out to a restaurant that is run by the woman you cheated on me with?” Oooo! That’s right! I almost forgot that little detail.
“Marian, I’m so sorry-”
“Yes, I know Brian! You’ve said it so many times! But that doesn’t change what happened! And it doesn’t help with the little reminders of it.”
“Marian-”
“I just don’t know what I was thinking, telling myself things would be different-”
Before she can finish, Brian pulls her into his arms and plants a kiss on her! Marian is taken off guard, but she doesn’t resist.
When he pulls away, Marian looks a bit dazed, but she shakes her head.
“That’s not going to work, Brian. You can’t just kiss me and think all our problems are going to float away.”
“Why not? We still love each other, don’t we? Why can’t we just put everything in the past and just move on?”
“I wish we could. I really do. But sometimes, love just isn’t enough.”
That seems to end the conversation. With a final look at each other, Marian goes inside and Brian follows after her. I can’t help but feel a bit sorry for them. The Nelsons have always been the picture-perfect family. It sad to see them falling apart like this. At least Paul and Emilie weren’t around to see.
Well, afterwards I headed back over to The Maxwell, and guess who I saw finishing up their dinner? David and Erica Maxwell themselves. They seemed much more in tune with each other than Brian and Marian. Go figure.
After finishing up their meal, they walked over to the restaurant overhead speaker and started waltzing to the music. It was so strange to see them so blissfully happy when Marian and Brian were falling apart. I tell you, Erica seems to always find her way out of trouble. I still wonder if David even knows about the affair she had had with Brian. But then again, it is Erica. It wouldn’t surprise me if she was able to talk her way out of that one too. Smooth operator, that one.
Well that is it for this week’s post. I know, I know, I seem to be stalling with my post on Damien and Henrietta. But I promise, next week will be the week!
Kisses,
Lexie
-Evanglina
Kisses, Lexie 