"Lei honey, why didn't you tell me that you will come home today".
Oh! Jesus, Mary and Joseph you gotta be kidding me.
"No mum...um..I changed my mind and I was busy to tell you... You know..."
"It's ok honey, just come home, I sent a driver"
"Oh boy no, no, Danny will come to pick me up." Lei said glaring daggers to whoever came to pick her.
"Danny has a job sweety, I told him not to tire himself coming." Stop there, that is enough, so That piece of cake Danny sold me out and oh my!Lei mentally screamed and for sure she will backstab Danny too.
"Yeah!mum" she whispered on the phone not knowing what else to add on and switched off the phone , there is no way in the world she was going to receive another call, whoever and whatever they want to talk about not even her ingrate called friends who made her have oxymorons.This is the dream coming true,"spend a day at a Pizza shop."
She positioned her glasses well on the nose bridge and there she saw a chauffeur, Miller's drivers or workers are apparent, you have only to notice the black clothing and black aura they hold to prove your guess right. "This was a new chauffeur" she thought appreciating her mother's choice.
"You are Miss Lei Miller" the chauffer standing next to a black SUV like an operating robot asked Lei who was now glaring at him.
"excuse me? You said who?" Lei asked acting all innocent.
" You match the description I was given Miss.
"Oh dear heavens, "I forgot my wig or to dye my hair pinky" she thought to herself.
"Oh! a lot of people resemble nowa- days, if you will excuse me." She said as she walked past the chauffer leaving him dumbfounded to spend the hell whole day at the airport searching for the so called Miss Lei Miller.
"He made me sound like a character in an animation movie, poor boy" she said as she took a taxi to a pizza shop near her clinic
"Where to Miss?"the chauffer asked adjusting rearview mirror
"Auntie's pizza, street avenue 15" she said as she sat comfortably in the taxi. And for unknown reason she felt happy, not because she acted like bacchanal person to the chauffer but the fact that she was now free to do whatever she likes, home was a disaster to her, having cooks, butlers, guards, and whoever her dad thought could be placed at home to make it lively was exhausting. For God's sake she hated ordering people around, even she isn't good at asking favors, it is tiresome, maybe that is the gist of being independent, you have to even count all people out in your problems and consequences it will bring, and you hate interference in what you do if you are independent.
"Destination reached Miss" the driver made her snap out of her thoughts as she handed him twenty dollars.
" It's only ten Miss" the driver said making her lean on the taxi's light window.
"Keep the change and don't get all the way in this road acting too authentic around people, it will make you old sooner than expected" she said as she watched the driver look at her abashed,
"Am going crazy, what kind of speech was that?" She whispered to her self as she took her luggage hurriedly to escape her burning cheeks,She got carried away giving a piece of advice to an old man.
"Screwed."
"Oh my! beautiful princess" aunt Windy noticed Lei at the door as she ran to embrace her in a tight hug, Lei didn't care that she had a suitcase she returned a hug in its full.
" I missed you like crazy."Windy cried on her shoulder and she found herself dropping a tear too.
Windy Manson was in her fifties, smart, sweet and vigilant , her pizza shop being called auntie's pizza, everyone called her aunty, few new her real name and that's what boosted her energy, to wake up everyday and get to be called aunty by everyone, she felt as if she had a wide family after her married daughter made her an lonely queen as she always say when she feels alone. Lei was like a blessing she received. A lot of highschool classes were ditched so that she could come and help her clean and even take some workers shifts. Not because she needed money, her family was rich enough to satisfy her needs and unwanted stuffs she could desire, but at least in her lifetime she had a place to act like a stupid, reckless teenager and at Aunty's she was herself, innocent, softie and funny without pretending to be tough.
"Missed you like a mad woman" she answered after an unbearable and suffocating hugs she was getting from Windy.
" Give me that" Windy said pushing her aside to take her suitcase.
" You can't be serious?" She said eyeing her, " I am stronger than you" "here, I got this." she said removing her hand which was arleady on the case.
" Hey Mark, I got my daughter back, come and take this at the back" she half yelled as Lei noticed a black guy with a crewcut, dressed in simple black torn jeans and an apron with auntie's brand on it, and she assumed that it was Mark. Aunty changed aprons to pink.
"I am jealous" she said loudly to get Mark's and Aunt Windy's attention.
"What?" Windy eyed her suspiciously because she knew her well that she was going to give them a full blast of her jealousy.
"I told you to change aprons to pink, when I was still here and you refused, uh! and know I see a betrayal in front of me while I have sacrificed my life, sneaking out of home every weekend to do shift, and now this? You award it to this Mark guy, you gave him a pink apron, a pinky apron auntie"...she said emphasizing her distress,
" no way in the world did I trust you for you to betray me, you gave it to Mark guy...yyyy" Lei screamed out of her lungs stressing y's over and over, her right hand touching her chest showing how hurt she was.
"Lei?" Aunty Windy called her loudly and by that she was back from her acting zone to see the whole shop looking at her and Mark's mouth shaped in an ooh! Lady.
"I am screwed, i knew it."
She immediately smiled at the crowd and marched to hide herself behind the counter, "I never do something right."
"Here", bang! Aunty pressed coffee where she was now sitting hiding her shame, hands covering her eyes
" Engulf your embarrassment" Windy said as she patted her on the shoulder.
"Yeah!" She half whined as she sipped on her coffee silently,
"I think your pizza will do" Lei said as she lay on the table.
"Let me chop and engulf it, huh?"
" Don't give me those puppy eyes, Mark is bringing it..., Aunty stopped to look her from head to toe, now everyone think I got a crazy daughter, not only did she repeat college but also she have got no brain cells" Aunty Windy murmured acting all hurt.
" Aunty!" Lei whined, "please, lend me some brain cells you have got when you gave birth to me" she said sarcastically to gain a shoulder slap from Windy.
" Stop it! you must be all worn out, eat quickly and go to sleep, I made a room for you" and "don't sneak out" she warned earning a glance From Lei.
" What would I do without you?" Lei said leaning on her shoulder.
" You would be probably seven feet under or far."aunty Windy said caressing her hair.
"no way." Lei said aversely, but she knew that she could be way worse without this crazy woman Windy Manson.