Caught In A Name

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Nicomaine woke up the next morning to the brightness of the sun peeking through the crack on the drapes of the large bay windows facing the east side of the bedroom. She slowly opened her eyes while stretching languidly on the bed. Her body felt sore as if she did a jiu jitsu tournament the day before. Hmmm. That's odd. I haven't joined any tournament in years. As she tried to lift her head off the pillow, she felt the intense pounding as if someone was drilling a hole on the back of her skull. Classic hangover symptom. That's when the events of the night before came rushing back and she suddenly realized where she was, what she did and why she has the intense headache. Richard's house, Tequila and sex. In that specific order. Glorious, rewarding and OH MY GOD! I had sex! For the first time! OH SHIT!

Nicomaine scrambled out of bed as the realization of her actions hit her. Big fuckin mistake! She nearly threw up on the side of the bed as the pounding in her head became 100 times more intense due to the sudden change in position. She slowly lowered herself onto the floor and placed her head in between her knees in an attempt to calm the churning of her stomach and manage the spinning of the room.

It took about a minute or two before her stomach and the room started to settle down. Nicomaine slowly got up from the floor while holding on to the edge of the bed. She managed to stand up without any incidence. As she finally straightened herself, she realized that she was butt naked like the day she was born. Oh no! I left my backpack in Charmaine's room. That means I have to walk over there to get my clothes. Charmaine! OH GOD! CHARMAINE!

Despite her nakedness and her hangover, Nicomaine forgot everything else and she ran to the nursery. That's a bigger mistake! The world all of a sudden took a twirl and a dip and she found herself sprawled on the plush carpeted floor. And as she was struggling to get upright again, the door to the bedroom opened and in walked this total stranger.

The stranger was humming softly as she walked in with a carrying tray. Once she saw Nicomaine on the floor, the look of pure concern passed her face. She placed the tray on the floor and quickly ran to Nicomaine's side, kneeling beside her.

"Oh no hija! What are you doing on the floor" she asked, her English perfect but with a very thick Mexican accent. "Come, come. Let's get you back into bed" she added with a tsk tsk.

"No. My baby. Where's my baby?" Nicomaine asked softly while trying to get away from the older lady.

The stranger seeing that Nicomaine looked like she was about to bolt for the door, in her condition, strived to reassure the younger lady.

"She's safe mi hija. My niece is with her downstairs. Calma...calma hija. My name is Elvira. I have been with the Faulkersons since Daniel was born. And now I am mi hijo Ricardo's housekeeper. I assure you, you are safe and your baby is safe. Now, please, let us get you back in bed before you catch pneumonia."

It took another minute before Nicomaine finally trusted her gut instinct and believed the older lady. She let herself be assisted back into the bed. As soon as she was under the covers again, Elvira helped her recline herself with the use of the many pillows on the bed. The older lady paused and stepped back to admire the younger one on the bed before she resumed humming again as she went to pick up the tray on the floor.

Nicomaine watched Elvira bring the tray closer and as she got a waft of the freshly brewed coffee, her stomach gurgled so loud that she actually felt a little embarrassed. Sure Nicomaine. You are butt naked in front of a total stranger but you're embarrassed because your stomach made a protesting sound? Sheesh!

"Well someone's hungry" Elvira began with a smile. "First of all hija, here take these two advils and drink the glass of orange juice with it. It will help with your dolor de cabeza [headache]" she instructed as she handed the items to Nicomaine to which the latter readily took. The older woman then took the cover of the plate on the tray to reveal a mouth watering omelette.

"Thank you."

"De nada."

"Uhhm, perdoname señora Elvira pero donde es Richard?" [Uhhm, pardon me señora Elvira, but where is Richard?]

Elvira looked up with an impressed smile. She lived with the Faulkersons most of her life and being the Faulkerson siblings nanny, she taught all four of them her native language. They all speak Spanish fluently. But never had she encountered someone who can speak Spanish the way Nicomaine does. Fluently and with the perfect intonation. As if she was born with it. Like a purebred Latina. This got her a bit curious.

"Tu hablas Español hija?" [You speak Spanish hija?]

"Si señora. Con fluidez." [Yes señora. Fluently.]

"You learned it in school?"

"No señora. Viví en españa por cinco años cuando yo era una niña [I lived in Spain for five years when I was young]" Nicomaine explained as she took the mug of coffee that Elvira was extending to her. She took a sip and gave out a contented sigh to which made the older lady laugh. "Uhhmm, where is Richard?" Nicomaine asked again.

"Oh. He went to see to his caballos [horses].

"Caballos?"

"Si. All sies de ellos [Yes. All six of them].He has been away for so long that as soon as he woke up this morning, he headed straight to the barn. He's been there for over 3 hours now. But not before he made sure that your bebita [baby girl] Charmaine was fed and changed."

And just the mere mention of Charmaine made Nicomaine feel guilty as fuck. She hasn't seen or touched her baby since she put her to sleep last night. She hasn't heard her baby since that time last night when Charmaine cried out after Richard placed her in the tub. Nicomaine remembered Richard saying he'll take care of the baby and she should enjoy her bath. Sheesh! I don't even remember how I made it to the bed! Oh this is getting better and better.

Elvira, seeing that the younger woman tensed up when her baby was brought up, took pity on Nicomaine. She used to feel the same. Whenever her baby was out of her sight, she couldn't sit still. So she totally sympathize with the mujer joven [young woman].

"Hija. Finish up your breakfast so you can see your bebita. I'll bring you some clothes to wear" Elvira ordered while standing up and heading to the room beside the bathroom.

Nicomaine ate the omelette as quickly as her stomach could allow while wearily watching for the older woman to appear again.

When Elvira came out of the room to which Nicomaine assumed as the closet, her hands were laden with clothes. She laid them at the foot of the bed while humming to herself. There was a pale blue dress and a black sweater. There also was a black lacy underwear with the tag still attached. Out of pure curiosity, Nicomaine asked.

"Señora? To whom do those clothes belong to?"

"Oh these? They belong to Ricardo's wife" answered Elvira nonchalantly. As if she didn't just drop a goddamn bomb in the middle of the room!