Perfect Strangers

Veronica smelled the bacon starting to burn but again didn't say anything.

"Well, that's very sweet of you Greg," she told him.

Greg smiled brightly and Veronica gave him a half-hearted one back. He turned to the stove and swore when he saw the bacon, quickly turning off the burner.

"Ah fuck," he said, then quickly turned to face Veronica. "Er, sorry," he apologized.

Veronica softly shook her head in reply.

"So, uh, what are your plans for the day?" he asked, taking the bacon out of the grease it was in with a fork.

"Just cleaning," she told him. "I might go shopping if we need anything, but I don't think we do."

"Just cleaning?" he repeated, dumping the hot grease into the sink. "Why don't you get out and do something fun instead?"

"Like what?" Veronica asked.

"I don't know, whatever you did last night."

Veronica almost laughed, but she held it back. Her mind flashed to her and Jason saying goodbye at her car, to the look he gave her just before walking away. She shook her head, clearing the thoughts.

"No," she said, "I don't think that's going to be happening again. I'm fine just cleaning, don't worry about me."

"Oh, okay then," Greg said lamely. He finally transferred the eggs onto their plates just as the toaster popped for a second time. "Ah, perfect timing!" he said, grabbing the toast and almost dropping it again. He brought the two plates over and placed one in front of Veronica, one in front of himself as he sat down.

Veronica looked down at the plate of food. The eggs looked rubbery, the bacon was crispy, and the toast was dry and slightly burnt.

"Looks good," Veronica lied. "I'll grab some knives and forks," and she got up out of her seat before Greg could.

"Oh, fuck, I forgot," Greg said, and he turned in his chair. Veronica opened the cutlery drawer and grabbed what she needed.

"It's okay," she said. "You did enough already."

She came back and placed the cutlery in its proper place before sitting down again.

"Well," she said, "bon appetit."

The two began eating in silence, the only sound between them being the scraping of knives and forks on the plates, the crunch of too-dry toast.

"The eggs are overcooked," Greg said. "I'm sorry."

"No, they're fine," Veronica lied once again. "I love them."

"Your eggs are much better," he offered.

Veronica took a bite of the bacon. "Years of practice," she said through her food, to which Greg said nothing.

The rest of the meal was held in silence, save for a few comments on Greg's part, and when they had finished he looked at the clock on the wall.

"Jesus, it's later than I thought," he said. "I still have to get showered and changed." He looked around at the mess of a kitchen. "Umm ..."

"It's okay sweety," Veronica said. "You go ahead. I'll clean up."

"Okay, thanks honey," Greg said, pushing his chair back as he stood up. "I'll make it up to you tonight, I promise."

"Okay Greg," she said, and he left the kitchen to dash up to the bedroom.

Veronica looked around the kitchen. It was as though a hurricane had hit it. She slowly finished the rest of her coffee, then got up from the table and cleared the dishes. Twenty minutes later Greg came back into the kitchen just as Veronica was draining the sink.