“Did you know Alexandra’s marriage is falling apart?” Tímea asked her friend.
“Where’d you hear that?” Bea’s eyes widened with excitement.
The two women, both in their early fifties, were sharing the latest gossip over a few sips of plant-based coffee and orange-flavored cookies. As usual, they were seated on the balcony of Bea’s third-floor apartment, enjoying a carefree afternoon chat. The tiny terrace of the suburban apartment building overlooked a lush green park—an ideal setting for early summer girl talk. Tímea usually brought the juicier stories, while Bea, who worked from home, had less access to that kind of intel.
“From Alexandra herself,” she replied mysteriously.
“No way. She complained about that sleazy idiot?”
Tímea slowly shook her head with theatrical weight.
“Then what?”
“It came up in a totally different context… but she said she sleeps with him at most twice a month. At. Most.” She drew out the words dramatically.
“Oh my God,” Bea gasped. “No wonder the poor guy vents through dirty jokes all the time…”
“Right? I’ve always said he’s a hopeless mess. Now we know why. That woman’s destroying him. She was never meant to be someone’s wife…”
Alexandra carefully centered the wide, white porcelain vase on the table, then gently arranged the small-headed, vibrant blue flowers inside.
“They’re beautiful,” she said with delight.
“I’m so glad you like them,” Tímea smiled.
She had deliberately chosen flowers that matched the color and style of Alexandra’s tastefully decorated living room. The hostess swiftly folded the silky wrapping paper from the bouquet and took it to the kitchen. Tímea smiled. She could almost picture her colleague pulling out the bottom drawer of one of those glossy white cabinets and slipping the paper neatly among the others. She never tossed out the delicate wrapping from flower bouquets — she always filed it away with the rest, right where it belonged. She had an extraordinary devotion to order and cleanliness.
“It’s just so different having tea in a place like this,” Tímea sighed.
“What do you mean?” Alexandra asked curiously.
“You know… Bea.”
“I’ve never been to her place. Is it that bad?”
“Worse,” Tímea waved it off. “I can’t believe someone can live in such a pigsty. Dirty laundry everywhere, forgotten dishes all over. And the smell…” She wrinkled her nose.
“How does her husband stand it?”
“Exactly!” Tímea burst out. “I ask myself that all the time.” She paused. “The poor guy works so hard, and every night he comes home to that mess.”
“Unbelievable,” Alexandra shook her head disapprovingly. “Especially since she works from home. I can’t believe she doesn’t have time to keep that little apartment tidy.”
“I mostly feel bad for her husband. He doesn’t deserve that. I’d die of shame if I made mine come home to a place like that.”
“What a view!” Alexandra exclaimed, clasping her hands together.
Bea, her cheeks flushed with pride, followed her former colleague’s gaze toward the park.
“I love it too.”
“I totally get why you left us and started your own business from home. I’d work better with a view like this too,” she laughed.
“Well… it’s true,” Bea admitted shyly. “I don’t miss the office at all.”
“Tímea and I are always jealous of you—outdoor office, handsome and successful husband… what more could you want?”
“Yeah, well…” Bea muttered sarcastically. “She envies everyone’s husband — not just mine…”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Alexandra asked cautiously.
“Absolutely. She gets all hot and bothered over everyone’s partner the second she sees them.”
“Right? And she’s always bringing up sex!” Alexandra huffed.
“As if that’s the only thing that keeps a marriage together,” Bea agreed.
“She keeps hinting that they’re doing it all the time. Who even wants to hear that?”
“And she talks to that poor guy like he’s her butler, not her husband.”
“She says,” Bea whispered, “that she’s the dominant one during the day, but in the bedroom, he’s in charge…”
“Yeah, right,” Alexandra scoffed.
Both women reached for their homemade elderflower cordial, shaking their heads with tight-lipped smirks.
“I think they’re only staying together for appearances,” Bea said quietly but firmly.
“Definitely. And I know firsthand she’s jealous of your relationship…”
Bea nodded.
“And yours too.”