Shilo Eeich was sitting around a round table with three other men. He lifted a paper with one hand to scan it. His other hand lifted a small white tea cup. But he paused before the hot drink could pass through his lips.
"You did what you could. I will finalize the rest." He said in a tone neither angry nor happy.
"Thank you, senor." said the middle-aged man who looked the youngest among the bunch.
"Seeing the decorations reminded me of an important matter." The other middle-aged man said. "Congratulations senor, it's only a matter of time before your granddaughter works for an affluent Lanceworth family."
"We have other matters to attend to for now." Shilo didn't change his tone, but internally he was angry. This vermin was reminding others of Eeich's family condition. If Naomi also were to go to Lanceworth Castle, then there would be no one to handle the business after Shilo.
After a while, the meeting was suddenly interrupted by a middle-aged woman. She was the caretaker of the Eeich household. Her pointy eyebrows and crusty brown eyes discredited her hardworking personality. She respectfully whispered something in Shilo's ears.
"Well, gentlemen. I will have to cancel this meeting right here." Shilo put down the cup, he failed to take a sip again. He had a smile on his face for the first time since the meeting started.
"Good, good, my back was killing me out here." The old man, who was silent all this while, said. The two middle-aged men could not raise their opinions anymore.
***
Naomi and Arnacia walked through the deep clover colored hallway to the other end of the house. There were a few green plants to complement the walls, but nothing extraordinary. They saw Shilo walking towards them.
"Abby," Naomi walked ahead and hugged her grandfather. "You look well. Seems Elda is not letting you overwork anymore."
"Did you leave the training?" Shilo asked, hope was apparent in his voice. If Naomi stayed home, then he could easily teach her about business and make her a undisputed successor.
"No, some things happened, and the training ended early." Naomi gently pushed Shilo to get out of the hug.
"What happened?" Shilo asked. He wasn't clear if Naomi had passed the maid training or not.
"I will tell you later." Naomi turned to look at Arnaica. "Let's go to my room." she said.
"Naomi, you are leaving to be a maid soon. Spend the little time you have with your grandfather." Shilo said. He also looked at Arnacia for a second. But what he wanted was to have a proper eye contact with her granddaughter.
"I am not leaving anytime soon," Naomi avoided Shilo's eyes. She held Arnacia's hand and moved towards her room.
Arnacia was looking at Shilo' face. The sadness in it was clear. But when their eyes met, she immediately looked away. Honestly, she did not know how to act or what to say in front of Naomi's grandfather.
***
Arnacia could only see half of Naomi's face, but she could tell that the latter was a little sad. Or perhaps a little too serious. They walked inside a room, but Naomi didn't eagerly close the door.
"You should spend time with your grandfather." Arnacia said.
Naomi, however, did not reply. She let go of Arnacia's hand and turned around to face Arnacia. The usual smile wasn't on her face anymore. Instead, she defenselessly walked forward and rested her head on Arnacia's shoulder.
The two girls were alone in the room. This was what Naomi wished for again and again. But right now, her hands weren't perverted enough to touch Arnacia's body.
"Naomi, what happened?" Arnacia put her hand on Naomi's head.
"If you give up on your mom, then I gave up on my grandfather, too. Let's be alone together forever." She slowly lifted her hand and held Arnacia's waist.
"What are you talking about?" Arnacia said, as if what Naomi said was silly. She could somehow tell that Naomi was referring to the conversation from earlier today. "I won't tell mom about my memory because she'd be worried to death. I am not giving up on anyone."
Arnacia felt the hands on her waist. She heard the breaths. She could understand Naomi' feelings. All of it was too real for her to ignore.
"It's not how you think it is. You can take care of your grandfather while.. Caring about me at the same time." Arnacia said. She felt Naomi nod, so she continued, "Let's make him something to eat."
"But I don't know how to cook." Naomi said.
"Neither do I." Arnacia couldn't help but chuckle along with Naomi.
***
Arnacia and Naomi went to the kitchen. It was fairly spacious with a white polished concrete countertop. Arnacia saw many utensils that she had seen in her previous life. She scanned the place for any unfamiliar object.
In the opposite corner of the kitchen, ingredients were neatly kept in baskets and shelves. She couldn't think of a dish they could prepare. Luckily, she saw a few bottles of milk in the corner.
"Let's make milk tea!" she said. Naomi only smiled at the proposal.
Arnacia picked a bottle of milk and kept it on the countertop. Then she looked around for tea bags. There were a lot of wooden and metal containers and she was at a loss. But Naomi helped her to find the tea leaves.
"Where do we heat the water?" Arnacia asked.
Naomi pointed out a flat slab of brown stone. Arnacia inspected the stone without touching it. At the very least, she wanted to help Naomi by finding the ingredients and teaching her how to prepare tea. But this piece of stone was just a stone. There was nothing special about it.
"Just put the kettle on top of it and it will start heating." Naomi got closer and put her hand on Arnacia's face. "You forgot how this works. It's very cute."
"Don't tease me when you are the one who is supposed to prepare the tea." Arnacia put her hand on top of Naomi's hand and gently lifted it. She handed her the kettle. "Boil the water and add the tea leaves. I am going to bring the snacks we bought earlier."
***
Shilo Eeich was sitting around a round table, alone. He had a paper in his hand but his thoughts were elsewhere. He lifted the tea cup, put it closer to his lips but then suddenly remembered the tea was cold.
When Elda told her about Naomi's return he was elated. This year's Veon wouldn't be so lonely like the last three years, he had expected. But it seemed like his granddaughter was more distant than ever.
He picked up the cup again. It was cold like his old life. Life is like tea, he thought. It takes time to boil and tastes best when served. If you couldn't drink it due to external reasons, then it will eventually turn cold. He was just about to drink the cold tea when Naomi's loud voice sounded.
"Abby! I am home and I made some tea."
Shilo put the cup back on the table. He got up from his chair and suddenly coughed. Few tears emerged in his eyes, but he was smiling. Family is the only thing that can keep the tea warm.
He helped Naomi put the wooden tea tray on the table by clearing away the papers. Arnacia put down a paper box filled with cookies. They sat down, whereas Elda watched from a distance.
"Elda, come here," Naomi called out. The shy housekeeper approached and luckily there was enough tea for her too. The group chatted for a while. Naomi told the story of Arnacia's visit to the Women's Court of Justice, while Arnacia cleared the misunderstandings.
"I am happy that you finally visited our house." Shilo said at last. "I hope you can bring your family next time."
"Oh right! Abby, can we borrow a few of father's clothes?" Naomi asked.
"No, we won't need them." Arnacia awkwardly smiled at Shilo.
"No, trust me. I have it all planned. Archie's clothes would be too small and your father's clothes would be too big. Let's pick a few clothes before you go home."
Arnacia did not know what to say. She didn't even wish to imagine what could be going through the heads of Shilo and Elda. Naomi had planned it all. What could go wrong? She couldn't help but smile wryly.