If Someone Asked Me

I test the temperature of the water with the tips of my fingers, and deem it perfect. I place my robe on the wall hook and grab a towel.

If somebody asked me a year ago what it meant to relax, I probably would have told them that it meant an afternoon off from the restaurant, a pleasant walk in the park, or being left alone for a few hours to read a book. Sometimes it meant spending the afternoon with Cinta in idle conversation.

But today, it means a bathtub.

I slip into the nearly scalding water with a sigh. It almost hurts as I submerge myself, but the heat enveloping my aching muscles is delicious, and there's nowhere else in the world I'd rather be. I rest my arms on the lip of the tub, and drop my head back against the towel I placed there. Everything is quiet around me except for the gentle slosh of water, and I close my eyes and breathe.

I almost don't hear Maite come in, but the quiet creak of the door gives her away. I keep my eyes closed, but a small smile tugs on my lips.

"Hola," I say softly.

"Hola," I hear in reply, as she steps into the room and starts moving around. She's been in the back room painting most of the day, and I listen to the sounds of her washing paint off her hands and brushing out her hair so she can tie it back loosely like she usually does at night.

"How was your day?" she asks as she goes about her tasks.

I groan in response.

"That bad, eh?"

I crack an eye open and see her turned toward me.

"Mmmph," I respond in the affirmative, before shutting my eye again. "Professor Bernard had us painting this awful still life for hours. I thought my hand was going to fall off it was so cramped. And it was ugly on top of everything else."

"You didn't use to mind painting still lifes."

"Maite," I explain, "Professor Bernard is hardly a beautiful brunette who is slowly seducing me. Professor Bernard is the guy you warned me about – a middle-aged fat man with dirty fingers who wants to torture the entire class into giving up."

Maite laughs lightly.

"I wasn't trying to seduce you. I was trying to do everything not to seduce you."

"Mmmhmm," I say, rolling my neck slightly to work out the kinks from standing in front of an easel for hours. "Well, I hate to tell you this, but you didn't do such a good job."

I hear the rustling of Maite's skirt, and then her voice is nearer.

"I'm sorry you had a rough day, amor mío."

This time I open both my eyes to find Maite perched on the edge of the tub, looking down at me. She strokes her fingers tenderly along the back of my hand, and I have the distinct urge to purr at her touch.

I shrug a little.

"It's okay. I am learning a lot. It's just overwhelming sometimes."

She leans forward and touches her lips softly to mine before straightening back up.

"I'm very proud of you, Camino. I know this isn't easy – a new life, a new language, new people. But I knew you would thrive here. And I know some of your classes are tedious, but they will help, you'll see."

I nod. "Lo sé."

Maite's fingers leave my hand to dip slightly into the water. She raises her eyebrows at me. "That's not too hot?"