"Its no big deal,baby. Her foods are just irresistible"
"Okay I get that you don't know how to cook and no one was here to cook for you all this while. But its different because I'm here now. So what is the need to go over there? "
"Chill. Its no big deal"
"Stop saying that, " she said with slight irritation in her voice. "Isn't the food I cook enough?"
"Have you heard from your mom? " he asked changing the subject and ignoring her.
"What's that got to do with anything? " she asked sharply.And then she stood up, grabbing her purse without a word.
"Where are you going? Come on. Marissa? Marissa! " he called after her but there was no response.
>>>>>>>
The water faucet was turned on, gushing out water into the sink. Marissa was brushing her teeth in the bathroom when she heard the sound of the vacuum cleaner coming from the living room. She thought it might have been Justin. It was Saturday after all.
On getting there, she was surprised at who she was seeing.
"Karen?" she asked blinking a little."Oh wow, you're here. Good morning "
"I see you finally decided to wake up." she replied after taking a glance at her.
"Well actually I was.." A short pause as she looked at the wall clock. It was freaking 7am! "Um.. Do you always come here to clean? And this early? "
"On Saturdays, yes.I believe you do not have a problem with that"
"But,Justin can clean the house on his own, can't he?" Marissa creased her forehead.
"I'm not dead now, am I?" she asked back.
At that moment, Justin walked out of the kitchen with a glass of water. "I got you water,Mom"
"Gracias,Juan Miguel , " she said with a satisfied smile, taking the glass from him and lifting it to her lips.
Marissa looked at Justin and mouthed the words, "What is she doing here?"
Justin just looked at her without saying anything and shrugged indifferently.
"Excuse me Karen, we'll be back soon." Marissa said pulling Justin to the bedroom.
"What's wrong? " he asked.
"What's wrong? " she asked back quickly. "Why the hell is she cleaning your house?"
"She does this every Saturday. Its really helpful, don't you think?"
Marissa crossed her arms over her chest. She was getting pissed. "That's not even normal first of all. Secondly, I'm here now for God's sake! Don't you think we can both keep the house clean together?"
"But Mom already does that--"
"That's the thing Justin! " she cut in through gritted teeth. "She isn't supposed to doing something as little as that for you. These are things you can do for yourself"
Justin just looked at Marissa as if she had grown a second head. "You're getting worked up over nothing. Just relax, " he squeezed her shoulders.
She inhaled deeply. "You know what? She's already here so let's just do the rest."
"Huh?" he furrowed his brows.
"Just go set the dishes in the dishwasher while I clean the room."
"I don't know how the dishwasher works Marissa. Just let Mom do it."
Marissa was awestruck. A grown ass 27 year old guy didn't know how the dishwasher worked and was waiting for his mother to come wash the dishes? The hell!
"How is that even possible?" she asked in a half whisper.
"I told you that I'm always at Mom's most of the time. I only got this house in the first place cause I could get to work earlier.Or else, I ought to still live with her" he said simply.
Marissa opened her mouth but no words came out.
He ought to still live with her? As what? His wife?
It was time for breakfast. Marissa found Karen already busy in the kitchen,cooking . Okay, this was totally weird. Hello-o! Did she forget this wasn't the kitchen in her mansion!
"I was actually going to make something for breakfast" she said cautiously.
"But I'm here now , so don't bother " Karen responded without bothering to even look at her.
"Let me help you with anything you need then," Marissa offered.
"I don't need anything. What I need is for you to leave the kitchen, "
"But I'm here too and---"
"Marissa," Karen interrupted, looking at her sternly. "I do not need your help. I always handle my son's needs without any help. "
Marissa was about to say something but Karen indicated that she shouldn't utter a single word. The last thing she wanted was any trouble so she trotted out.
Karen announced over the breakfast table that she had an hair appointment and wanted Justin to tag along.
"Sure mom," Justin assured her.
How ridiculous. And then Marissa heard Justin say, "Nena, you're coming with us right? "
"Huh? Me? " her fork dropped to her plate noisily as she lifted her head up.
"Of course. It would be fun. You're coming with us so get ready " he said.
Marissa shot him a murderous look that he didn't even notice because he attention was fixed on Karen. And they continued chatting away.
Wasn't it bad enough that she wasn't comfortable around Karen? And it was also obvious she didn't like her very much. Now, she had to forcefully go with them.
Could this day end already? She whined inwardly.
They went together for her hair appointment and Marissa couldn't help but feel like a third wheel. They paid little or no attention to her and would communicate in Spanish and laugh about things she couldn't understand.
They were both Hispanic as Karen originally came from Mexico. That was why she always referred to Justin as Juan Miguel.
"Sabía que había algo turbio en ese tipo" Justin said with a look of seriousness.
"Nunca haré negocios con él nunca" Karen replied and exhaled.
"Es bueno que te hayas enterado lo suficientemente temprano"
"¿Yo se,verdad? "
They were talking about a man that tried to dupe Karen of some money but was unsuccessful. But of course, Marissa didn't understand a thing. She felt like some sort of alien and couldn't wait to get home.
*****
Marissa had already started her job at Gia Germani and it was really exhausting. The office was super sized and dirt free that allowed stretching out fabrics and cutting patterns. The space was pretty much illuminated and there were ample clothing racks and dress forms.
She had team members that consisted of fellow fashion designers, layout makers and seamstresses. Only a few of them were friendly. The head designer overseeing the team was a lady named Alicia Thorne. She looked somewhat familiar but Marissa couldn't figure out where she had seen her face before.
Over all, it was a competitive atmosphere and deadlines had to be met in order to avoid complications and money loss as well as clients. Marissa had to keep her head in the game and prove herself. Because she was a newbie, it didn't mean she lacked talent.
Marissa returned home all tuckered out from a day's long work. Thankfully, Justin was home. He always knew how to make her feel better.
She emerged from the room in a night gown and found him in the living room watching television. He seldom did that as he always loved working on his laptop even when he got home.
"Hueles muy bien," he told her in Spanish the moment she cuddled up against him.
"What does that mean? I hope you didn't just insult me," she withdrew from him a little and squinted her eyes at him.
"Of course not," he chuckled. "I just said you smelled so good"
This brought a little color to her cheeks. She smiled softly and said nothing, laying her head on his chest again.
He traced his fingers gently on her arm, her back and then her legs then told her how much he loved her skin and how cute her tiny feet were.
"I need a massage, " she told him as she kissed his dimple lightly.
"I need one too. We'll take turns? "
"Me first, " she hastily agreed and got into position. Justin changed the action movie he had been watching into a relaxing slow music to set the mood. Marissa was excited. He gave the best massages while she sucked terribly at it.
He started giving her the massage and a soft moan escaped from her lips. It felt like second heaven.
"I know when its my turn, you would end up doing absolute rubbish," he pursed his lips and gave her a smack on her ass.
"Ow! Its not my fault! " she was giggling and then urged him to continue.
Halfway through, she remembered to ask if he had eaten.
"Dimples? Did you eat already? "
"If I haven't eaten, I wouldn't be happily giving you this massage knowing I'm not getting any in return"
She gave a subtle smile. "What did you eat?"
"Some chicken nuggets by you know who"
Marissa adjusted, stopping him to face him.
"Who? " she probed.
"Mom of course. She was here earlier. She even made desert too. Don't worry, I did keep your share"
"Karen came to cook in the kitchen while I was away? " she asked, sitting upright, her face getting ready to twist in a frown.
"Yes Nena," he responded quietly, unsure of what her reaction would be next.
"How could you let her do that Justin?I mean you eating at her house is a different thing entirely but her coming into the kitchen when I'm not here to cook? What the hell is going on? "
"Calm down, its really not--"
"Lord knows if you say its not a big deal I'll punch you in the face," she interrupted, bluntly.