Accidental Housemate

30: hoping

home was never the walls.
it was the warmth left behind
when he touched my hand.

HOPING

 . . .

Eggs and butter were a match made in heaven.

I never thought a mixture that simple would taste that good. I had always made my eggs with a spray of avocado oil to reduce calories, or boiled them, rarely having the courage to fry them in a decent amount of butter. A lot of time had passed since I had last fried my eggs well. The delicious plate in front of me sent the middle finger to the whole modelling industry and its diets.

After I finished my breakfast, I joined Mrs Baker in the kitchen to help cook breakfast for customers. I had grown to love those vibes too much to think of ever leaving. Not only could I bring joy to my taste buds, but I could do it for others too... in the right way. I loved having a job closer to the people.

“So... how did your friend like the food?” Mrs Baker asked.

My face dropped. “He didn’t get to try it while I was around. I don’t know whether he liked it. I hope to God he did.”

“That’s a shame. What happened?”

I sighed. “His mother died suddenly. She had stage four cancer but didn’t tell him. He’s mourning. He has a little sister to take care of now, too.”

Her face dropped. “I’m so sorry, darling.” She rubbed my shoulder. “Hope things go well between you two.”

I stopped midway through kneading dough. “I hurt him,” I admitted.

“What happened?”

“I didn’t believe his kindness. We got too intimate, and I felt scared and ran away. We used to live together.”

She hummed. “Did you apologise and give him time?”

“That’s exactly what I did.” I hit the dough with all my might.

“Now wait. That’s all you can do. You should also be prepared for both rejection and acceptance.”

Rejection. I wasn’t so prepared for that, and she’d highlighted it. What if Dave rejected me? Would I forget and move on? Moving on the first time had been hard. I wondered how much time it would take to forgive and forget, and if I’d ever be the same again.

I almost felt rejection when I saw him in front of the building with Serena, and it was like a punch in the gut. After the roller coaster of events, I realised why she was there, and why she said what she said while Dave stared at her blankly. His friends must’ve known about his mother’s situation when I didn’t, and they were by his side. Hence, I decided not to bring it up to him ever. Not that I had a valid reason to do it before.

The little bell at the restaurant’s door jingled, so I took the chance to excuse myself from the uncomfortable conversation to take the customer’s order. I put on a smile and prepared my notepad. To my surprise, it was a very familiar customer.

My smile dropped. “Courtney?” I scrutinised her.

Her fists were balled, and her brows were furrowed. She looked as if she hadn’t been sleeping well recently, even though I’d seen her head into her bedroom some nights. When Mrs Baker appeared behind me, Courtney’s eyes looked between us as if she were framing us for a crime.

“I thought I made it clear last time we talked,” she started without any greetings. I wasn’t sure if she was merely in a bad mood or genuinely angry with me.