The children went to bed, and Jane sat down in the second kitchen, which didn't get used to this evening. This was the perfect spot for Jane to have dinner, calm down and process the day. She tidied the study room and the kitchen she used. Now she was waiting for the bus.
Jane yawned and rubbed in her eye, but froze. I'm wearing makeup. Her eyes widened, and she grabbed her phone, opening the camera. She scanned her face, it looked normal. A relieved breath rolled over her lips, and she put her phone away.
Her eyes closed, and she yawned again. Once she started to yawn, she never was able to stop. Jane blocked the noises from outside; everyone was talking or laughing. She never was a fan of huge dinners with unknown people. Dinner with just her family or friends was fine.
"Hey."
The eyes of Jane shot open, and she looked around her, only finding a man standing in the door opening. "Oh, hey," she said as casual as possible and cleared her throat. She straightened her bag and crossed her legs.
"I didn't mean to scare you," Marcus softly chuckled.
"You didn't, no worries," Jane assured him and gave him a smile. "What's up?"
"My plan was to go to the bathroom, but I am kinda lost?" He leaned against the doorpost. "This house looks massive on the outside, but it's a maze on the inside."
A soft giggle rolled over Jane's lips. "Tell me about it."
"What are you still doing here? I thought you said you would leave a few hours ago?" His eyebrows raised.
"That was my plan." She looked away when she realised she copied him. "But, err... yeah. Housekeeper got sick, I had to put the children to bed, and now I'm waiting for my bus to go home."
Marcus nodded. There was a short silence. "When does your bus leave?"
"Forty-five minutes." Jane looked on her phone; forty-five. more. minutes.
"That is long..."
"Yeah."
"I can bring you home," Marcus offered, he didn't even think about it, he just said it. "I'm the driver for tonight, so I haven't drunk alcohol."
Jane looked at him. "No, thanks. You really don't have to do that. You're a guest here," she politely declined his offer.
"They won't miss me."
They stared at each other. "It's really kind of you, Marcus, but I can't accept it," she softly said. She didn't want to bother him, he was a guest and she the nanny.
"I insist."
Jane bit her lip and looked down. "Fine," she muttered.
"Alright, cool. But before we go, do you know where I can find the bathroom?" Marcus uncomfortably chuckled and ran his hand through his hair.
It made Jane softly laugh. "The hallway to the left, second door on the right," she instructed him.
He nodded. "Thanks. I will be right back."
Jane took a deep breath. This was the second him he helped her. She looked around her and nodded. "Yep." She grabbed a paper and wrote down a short note she had left, with the time of departure in the top corner - just to clarify the time she left and how much money she earned that day. Jane got up and walked to the hallway, bumping into Marcus. "Oh, hi."
"Hey," Marcus smirked. "Shall we go?"
They left the house and stepped into Marcus' car, leaving the dinner behind.
"Shall I give directions or type my address in Google Maps?" Jane curiously asked and fastened her seatbelt. "And thank you."
"Maps is fine," Marcus replied and gave her his phone, unlocked. "You're welcome. I can see you're tired, and I honestly needed a break. There's so much information flying around, I can't keep track of it anymore."
She smirked and typed in her address. "What about your friends?"
"They will enjoy themselves. Don't worry about them." He placed his phone in its standard and followed the directions.
Silence fell in the car. There was some music playing in the background from the radio, but the chats did stop. Marcus has left the property, entering the motorway. There was no need to talk, but it didn't feel awkward as well.
Marcus quickly looked at Jane, her eyes were closed. He had to admit, he thought she looked tired. He didn't blame her for closing her eyes, perhaps sleeping. A memory showed up in Marcus' head; she was a student. And he knew from friends the semester was ended at college/university. Besides that, the two children were a hand full this evening.
A small smile curved on Marcus' face, and he left the motorway, entering the city.
The car stopped, and Marcus switched the gear from driving to parking. "Jane," he softly said. If she was asleep, what should he do? Wake her, duh. But how? By talking to her? Putting his hand on her shoulder?
Luckily, her eyes opened. "Hmm, what?" Jane hummed and looked around.
"We're here," he replied.
"Ow." Her eyes were scanning the dark street in the centre, she was indeed home. "I'm sorry," she apologised for sleeping.
Marcus was shaking his head. "It's alright."
"Thank you so much," Jane said gratefully and grabbed her bag from the floor. "I really should be doing something back. This is the second time now... How can I thank you?"
The light of the street lanterns fell inside the car, it was enough light to see each other and look each other in the eyes.
"You don't have to thank me, Jane," he said again. "Give me your phone."
Jane gave him her phone, unlocked. "We can go out for a coffee? Or eat a chocolate cake?" She remembered from that evening he liked the chocolate cake. "It's on me. I have to thank you for all of this."
He put his phone number in Jane's phone and gave her back her phone. "Are you free tomorrow morning? Or that morning after that?"
"The morning after that." Jane opened the door. "I will message you the details. And thank you again." She looked at him and tiredly smiled. "Drive safe."
"I will, Jane." Marcus smiled back. "Good night."
"Good night."
Jane got stepped out of the car and closed the door behind her. Marcus didn't leave, he waited until Jane was inside of her house. He followed her with his eyes and waved at her once she opened the door. She waved back, giving Marcus a happy feeling. The door closed, the sign for Marcus to leave. He put the gear in drive and slowly drove away, back to the dinner, with a gigantic smile on his face.
»
Jane quietly walked on the stairs, she didn't know if Luna was still awake. She lived on the third floor, the top apartment, together with Luna, also having the privilege to own a rooftop terrace. Jane opened the door.
"I'm awake," Luna said when she saw the door opening.
"Oh," Jane hummed and opened the door at an average speed. "Hello. Where's Chiara?"
"Home, just left."
Jane nodded and kicked her shoes off. She threw her bag on the dinner table and made a ponytail in her hair. "How was your evening?"
"Fine, just talked for a bit. Chi is leaving this Friday again, so we talked about that. Nothing special. Yours?"
"Federico was a pain in the arse today," Jane groaned and grabbed a glass. She got something to drink and walked to the sofa. She sat down across from Luna on the sofa. "It was a busy evening. Birthday of Emma, the investor's dinner, trying to keep Federico busy. Phew. What a day." She took a sip from her drink. "Don't get me wrong, Emma and Giuseppe are the nicest people I have ever met. But they make weird decisions sometimes. Like, not wanting your children at the dinner? Yes, they can be loud and annoying, but they are also part of that family. The housekeeper is sick, and who's there to fix it? Jane, the tutor."
Luna nodded and lowered the volume of the tv. "But you get paid for it, right?"
"Yeah, but still."
"How did you get here so fast? You texted me thirty minutes ago saying you would be home in two hours or so."
Jane unbuttoned the button of her jeans, since it was hurting her stomach as she sat down. "Oh, right. You remember Marcus, right?"
"Yes. That dude who saved your arse when that dickhead didn't show up. Why?"
"Turned out he was at the dinner too."
The eyes of Luna widened. "No way?! Did you two talk? Or didn't he recognise you?"
"He drove me home," Jane shared, and her cheeks heated up. "It started in the afternoon, when Federico wanted to play football. Marcus and his friends joined, we had fun, but didn't talk much. He was a guest, I was a tutor." She grabbed her phone. "But when I was waiting for the bus, he got lost in the house, and he offered a drive home."
Luna nodded, impressed. "Alright, alright. And now?"
"I have his phone number, and I still have to set up a meet-up."
Luna clapped in his hands. "You go, girl." She sat up. "I still have no idea who this Marcus dude is. Does Marcus have a profile photo on WhatsApp?"
"Let me look." Jane created a chat with Marcus. "I don't know if he has a profile photo. He doesn't have my number saved in his phone, so I can't see it."
"Ugh," Luna groaned, disappointing. "Send him a message then."
"What should I say?" Jane stressed and looked at Luna in a panic.
"Just say you want to meet up. Keep it simple, casual. Don't overthink it." Luna didn't have a relationship, went on quite some dates every month, and just enjoyed her life without rules. "Just say: Hey Marcus, thanks again for this evening." It was silence. "What did you say to each other?"
"Morning after tomorrow."
"Breakfast date it is. Alright, type that and: I know this fun cafe that serves amazing breakfast. Shall we meet up at 9:30? Ciao, Jane." Luna looked at Jane. "Smiley emoji. Oh, and add the cafe. Antonio's is a nice cafe."
Jane nodded and typed the message. "Whatever, we will see what happens. Thanks, Lun."