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“You’re going to be late for work!”
“Fuck,” I whisper, annoyed that I can’t admire myself for a minute longer. I pull on my work uniform and grab my dress, which is protected in a plastic bag and dangling from a hanger in the wardrobe.
“Have fun, beautiful,” Mum adds as I race to kiss the kids and tie my hair atop my head. “Did you spray your face to make it stick?”
“Yep, I have backup makeup in my bag too.”
“You’re nailing this vanity thing like a pro.”
I give her a finger wave and skip out of the house and to my car, my beautiful little silver baby as I call her.
Gwen: Starting work now. I have SO MUCH to tell you and show you. ;) Call me tonight if you can. I miss you.
Nathan: I miss you too.
His response is almost immediate; it seems I’m not too far from his thoughts thankfully.
I wonder what he’s doing right now.
*****
“Are you going to explain to me what exactly it is we’re doing tonight?” I ask loudly over the sound of pots clattering and concoctions on the stove bubbling. The chatter from the restaurant is louder than usual tonight too, though I believe it has a lot to do with the celebrity guest over on table sixteen. I can’t see them; they’re in a private area and I’m not entirely certain who they are. Long since gone are the days that I followed any kind of pop culture.
“Later,” he calls back, his forehead shining in the bright light. It’s too warm in here.
Always later. I hate that word.
My hands make quick work of the plates before me. I admire how good I’m getting at preparing the food. I remember the days when doing this made me nervous. Now I get creative and just flip Kerim off when he tells me he doesn’t approve. I try not to deviate too much from the set plans but sometimes I can’t help it. I get a vision and I act on it.
“What’s going on tonight?” Patience asks, her tone cheery, but I can tell it’s forced to cover up her annoyance. It’s been obvious since the beginning that she has a thing for Kerim. It’s a shame he doesn’t reciprocate; they’d make such a pretty couple.
“Kerim wants to take me to an opening night restaurant thing. That’s about as much as I know.” I don’t look at her as I say this; I simply slide the dishes onto the opening so a waitress can take them.
“But… he always takes me.”
I shrug, still avoiding her with my eyes. “I think it’s just because we’ve never been to one before.”
“Oh.”
“We’ll be an hour tops… I think.” This time I do look at her. “You should just ask him out, Patience.”
Her eyes widen, startled.
“The longer you leave it, the less likely he’ll be to reciprocate.”
“You think?” I’ve never heard her sound so timid.
“Just go for it.”
“I’ll lose my job.”
“Then go for it in a subtle way. I don’t know. I’m not good at this stuff. I’m marrying my fiancé’s brother, so don’t ask me.” I giggle and then realise what I just said. I’ve never laughed at the situation before. Has enough time passed for me to be permitted a laugh about it?
“You’re what?”
I wave her off. “It’s complicated and we’re busy. I’ll tell you another time.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
We share a smile and I notice the softened stretches by her eyes. I think I may have finally bonded with Patience. This is good. This makes me happy.
“Right, GWEN!” Kerim yells and I watch him throw his hat into a box in the corner. “You have sixty seconds!”
“Kay,” I call back and drop what I’m doing before racing into the staff area, locking the door behind me.
I rip my leggings down, careful of the stockings which still seem to be in place and carefully hang my white coat up on my designated hanger.
As I’m reaching up on my tiptoes to grab my heels from the shelf, I hear the door open.
What the fuck? I locked it. I know I did.
My entire body freezes, my eyes closing as I pray for sudden death or anything to help me escape this situation.
He clears his throat and I release the breath I’m holding. “The lock is broken.”
I look at Kerim over my shoulder, expecting to find his back facing me or at least his closed eyes. No such luck. Instead I’m greeted by his eyes, looking me up and down like only a man can look at a woman. His pupils are dark, huge spheres set behind heavy lids. Parted lips release a slow breath.
“Kerim!” I chastise and try to snatch my coat to cover my lower half, but it gets stuck on the hook it dangles from. “Fuck.”
He seems to ignore my ire as he strolls across the room and to his own space. “Quickly, we have little time. Pray there’s no traffic.”
