“I made dinner,” Jude says. “Come down when you’re done. Save your bubble bath for after. Gotta talk to you, so we’ll talk while we eat.”
Damn it. He already knows I like to take a bubble bath after a bad day. He’s figuring me out, isn’t he?
I feel sour about it. And like a bitch, because of my ignoring him.
Basically, I’m feeling all sorts of feelings and failing at processing them in an adult way.
“Okay, so you’re still not talking to me, I guess, so knock once if you’ll be right down. You don’t have to talk; you just need to listen. And eat since I already know from Rex that you haven’t had anything since lunch.”
“Who’s Rex?” I ask, after opening the door.
“The guy that drove you home.”
“That was Fred.”
“It’s Rex. If you were introduced as Fred, that must be his cover.”
“Oh. You know him? I thought Aiden hired him.”
“He did. Rex freelances. Works for me sometimes, does his own thing. Aiden called me and told me he wanted to hire someone to keep an eye on you while you’re at work, so I recommended Rex. I’d trust that guy with my life. I trust him with your life.”
“I still don’t know why Aiden would do that.”
“He likes you for one. And also, he loves his wife and she was fretting about your safety.”
“Oh.”
“Comin’ down then?”
“In a minute.”
“You look good today, baby.” He leans in and kisses me before I get the chance to close the door, then he turns and goes.
I blink rapidly a few times and then give my head a shake and close the door.
I’m dressed in black. Black power pantsuit, black silk blouse, black stilettos. Today was a colorless day for me in more ways than one.
I use the facilities and then wash my makeup off and change into black jersey shorts and a black tank top.
Yeah, it’s a theme today. My clothes match my mood. I considered dyeing my hair black again today. Or shaving my head. I feel like I should do something drastic.
I head down the stairs and pull out some cat food to feed Georgie.
“I fed her,” he says from the table.
“Oh.”
“You feed her this morning?” he asks.
“Yeah. She’s my responsibility; not like I would just expect you to do it.”
“Well I fed her this morning too,” he says. “Seems she likes food. She gorges herself when she eats. What’s up with the cat with the operation?”
“Ralphie is recovering nicely.”
“When does he need to be picked up?”
“Thursday. Why?”
“Just checking. Come eat.”
I walk over and see it’s that bami goreng dish he made at my place, the stuff I dumped on the floor. He’s clearly been talking to Baka again since asking her about grocery pickup.
When I sent her the shopping list I put down the ingredients for my cupcakes with a variety of center fillings and also, since I’m not a real cook, I put down:
-the stuff for bami goreng
-the stuff for stuffed peppers
-the stuff for lasagna
-the stuff for tacos!!!!
-deli stuff
-fruit
-cookies
-more cookies
-more Baka bread
-more Baka wine
And sent her the text message.
She responded with a thumbs up.
I sit down at the spot he set up for me across from him at the left and right side of the head of the table, though I’d much prefer more distance. Looks like I won’t be getting that.
“I spoke to your mother today,” Jude says.
I gasp.
“You what?”
“Remember that time you told my mom on me?”
My chin must be touching the floor. It feels like it is.
“I did that today too. Told your mom on you.” He smirks.
“Wh-what? You did what?” I shoot to my feet.
“Look.”
He points his phone screen at me, and I see a picture of my mom. Her blonde hair in a ponytail. Her red lipstick. A smile on her face. It hasn’t even been a year since I’ve seen her, but it feels like ten.
“It’s a video.”
I shakily touch the screen, emotion clawing its way up my throat.
Hi Alyssa, I was really glad to hear from your new guy. Don’t give him a hard time about protecting you. I love you, sweetie. I know we’ll get to see one another soon.
She blows me a kiss.
I stare in shock at the screen.
Jude puts the phone down. “They’re all leaving for a trip to Europe with John’s parents Sunday. They’ll be gone three weeks. She’s gonna check in daily with me with a phone I’m having sent to her overnight tonight to let me know all’s well. I’ve given her key words to use to let me know if she actually is good or is in danger. I’ll have their itinerary, and my goal, baby, is to have this all taken care of before they get back.”
I stare.
“Eat up.” He forks into the noodles on his plate.
I’m speechless.
“When they get back, might even be safe enough to go visit them.”