Alden was back with Maine again after settling his Granda in his room. It was now time to brief Maine on her responsibilities and find out more about her. He got sidetracked by her appearance and something undefinable. He definitely knew it wasn't love at first sight, he was too old for that, and too jaded to believe in crap like that.
Alden was wary of falling in love. He knew about his parents' story, of how his dad found his mother during a disaster when she was just a newborn, and how, through the years, they developed a love for each other that encountered so many hardships and sacrifices, but ending sadly for him. The whole story gave him a negative connotation of love.
He was the sacrificial lamb, left by his mother at childbirth. He didn't miss them though, he was far from pining for real parents because one cannot miss what one never had. His grandfather more than made up for whatever parental love he lost. He was raised with a lot of love and companionship, and the bond between Grandfather and son could not be severed, not even by marriage.
"Maine, so sorry about that. Don't let Granda's ramblings freak you out. Please sit down, let's discuss the job."
They sit across each other. Maine hands him her documents and allows him to skim through the pages of her resume.
"You've been highly recommended by Dr. Diaz, he said you have experience caring for old people in a nursing home. Is there any reason why you chose to leave your job for this assignment? This is a full-time job, Maine. You will be living here with us, with only Sundays off."
"I need the money to pay off a bank loan. I worked my way through college but needed to use our house as collateral for my final two years in nursing. The job at the nursing home was not paying me enough, so I thought this job might help."
"You don't have any family left?"
"No, no siblings or parents left. I was raised by a single mother, but she died when I was in my first year in college and left me the house we lived in. I lived alone since then."
"Are you ok with living here? No boyfriend to visit you here? That won't be allowed, you know. I'm perfectly fine with you taking all of Sunday off for that but no visitors please."
She laughed shyly. "No boyfriend, don't worry."
Smooth, Alden, he thought ruefully, you really had to ask about the boyfriend bit. He looked at her, wondering. How can such a winsome and pretty girl like her not have a boyfriend?
"Ok. Maybe I should take you on a tour of the house."
He took her through the ancestral home, showing her the kitchen and the living room, where a grand piano took centerstage.
"Granda likes to play until now. Do you know how to?"
"A little. My mom used to give piano lessons at home and she taught me how to play too."
"Good. That's something you and Granda can share."
He took her to Granda's room, which was also on the ground floor. They took a peek and saw Granda dozing on his chair. The room was spacious and light, the curtains drawn back to let in natural sunlight in. There was a TV set inside, a lot of books on an antique bookshelf.
"There's a folder here containing all of Granda's medication and the times he needs to take them."
He then took her elbow and led her to her room. His touch sent a current through her again, which he must have felt too, when he suddenly let go of her elbow. They looked at each other, and laughed.
"I don't know what there is between us but something funny goes through me when I touch you. This is the second time."
"We need to keep our distance then," She said.
"Touche. Noted on that."
Her room was beside Granda's, a modest space with a double bed, a dresser and a TV set, almost like a generic hotel room. It was a generous space really for someone like her, and she appreciated the privacy of her own bathroom.
"There's wifi if you need it, just let me know so I can setup your laptop or gadgets. Come, let's tour the exterior."
The grounds were lush with greenery and flowering plants, neatly manicured lawns and some trees lined against the concrete walls. There was a hammock tied between two trees, and a bench surrounded by different colors of hydrangea. They passed a carport containing two vans and three cars, and then were back to the patio area. Her glance went to the small structure she saw earlier. Looking at her line of sight, he guided her to the area.
They entered through the grill gate and into a small space, enough for four people to sit. There was a rug and floor pillows, three ornate urns in what looks like an altar. There were incense and candles in a wooden box by the side of the urns, and photographs mounted on the wall.
"Meet my family, Maine. That's my dad and my brother Basti. And this is my mother."
She held her breath upon seeing his mother's picture. Except for the dimples in her cheeks, the angular face shape where hers was more oval, they looked exactly alike. Her hair was a lighter color than Maine's, whose hair was brown, but the eyes were the same caramel brown. She quickly looked at Alden to see if he noticed the resemblance, and saw him looking at her.
They didn't speak, it was like they weren't alone in the room. His hand reached for hers, fingers twining, her hand involuntarily curling around his.
"You look just like my mother, Maine."
"And you look just like your father, Den."
His thumb began to draw circles around the back of her hand, they are drawn imperceptibly together, arms touching.
"What's happening?" She said, her heart beating fast.
"I don't know. I think you better go now." He let go of her hand reluctantly.
"I...I'll be here on Monday early. Thank you for giving me the job, Den."
She walked out quickly, wanting so much to glance back but stopped herself from doing so. Weird shit, she thought to herself, shaking off the notion that there might be a reason why she was guided to accept this job.
Back at the nook, Alden looked longingly at Maine's retreating figure. He was so close to stealing a kiss from her, and he almost did if she didn't speak. Somehow, kissing her felt like it was the most natural thing to do, even if he had met her for only an hour at the most.
He looked at the photos of his parents, especially the picture of them gazing at each other. So many times, he gazed at this photo, feeling a little envious of the look they shared. Skeptic that he was, he wondered what would make him look that way at a woman, what would it feel like to be totally captivated, enough to make sacrifices for love. Maybe it was too late for him, his heart's tenderness was only for his Granda.
