The night before, I convinced Marcia to let her kids stay up later and, long story short, we stayed up until eleven o'clock playing board games and drinking hot chocolate. Perhaps it was an hour too far from what might be considered late, but for Kyle and Travis it was not.
I thought they weren't going to wake up that early, but I knew I was wrong when I heard footsteps approaching the woman who was the big spoon in the position we had slept in.
"Dang! They sleep like bears!" The older boy exclaimed, and I had to bite my lip to hold back my laughter, "let's go, they might wake up in an hour or maybe a month."
With my eyes closed, I rearranged myself, facing Marcia and as I hugged her and I kissed her lips. Even though she was sound asleep, I felt how almost by inertia her grip around me got stronger. Each time my love for her grew, it was as if somehow the magical night caused these feelings to increase.
I had rested enough, and I didn't plan to sleep anymore, but it was so hard for me to separate from her in this position, so I stayed a little longer. My heart was heavy, not knowing where I ended and she began because our souls seemed to unify and fit together in a perfect synchrony, a synchrony that I would never quite understand and so it was so hard for me to separate from her, even for a second. Everything inside us agonized for the moment when we would meet again.
After about ten minutes, I carefully climbed out of bed and made my way towards the living room, where the faint sound of the television in the living room was coming from. There were the kids on the couch watching She-Ra intently.
"Good morning, one of the bears has woken up," I greeted both boys as soon as I approached the room.
They both let out a giggle and replied, "Good morning."
"Do you want to cook breakfast together?" I asked them, and pursed my lips as I noticed they were so focused on the cartoon that they didn't even turn to look at me.
Since working for the brown-haired woman, I've tasked myself with getting more recipe books so that it wouldn't be monotonous but would stick to healthy without being boring either. It was quite a challenge, I must admit, however, I have kept myself busy and entertained by experimenting in the kitchen.
I was just about to finish when I felt a pair of arms around my waist. I was so focused that I got startled, but I relaxed as I processed and realized that it was my beautiful love who had already woken up.
"I want to kiss you good morning," she whispered, swaying to the music I had placed. Not loud enough to interrupt the cartoon the kids were watching, which they haven't left since I arrived downstairs.
"Do it, they're too focused on the TV to notice," I prompted her, keeping in mind that her children were the most important thing to her and it was too soon to tell them whatever was going on between us.
Honestly, I was also very afraid of what they would think, there was no way I wanted them to know unless I was sure they would approve of me, because their mother is just as important to her as they are to her.
"Oh, you're missing my point, I don't want a tasteless peck in the lips, I want us to kiss until we wear our lips off," she clarified, and it made me shudder at such sincerity and boldness in her words.
I turned off the stove and led her to the guest bathroom, which was a few steps away, then locked it and pulled on the back of her neck, she immediately attacked my lips. And she did fulfill her commitment, as I lost track of how long we stayed that way, but I did notice how her breathing gradually quickened and her cheeks became warmer as I touched them from time to time.
I took a minute to appreciate the atmosphere. I could get used to more mornings of making breakfast, either for her or with her as I find myself listening to music, after a whole night of sleeping next to her. Everything I ever imagined was in the present time, on this plane of consciousness.
"Are you happy now?" I laughed, feeling my lips swollen and pulsing from the intensity, hers were equally so.
"Very. Now that's a great way to start the morning," she stated, taking my hand to kiss it, "I'll help you with the rest of your breakfast."
We took advantage of the small wall between the kitchen and the rest of the area to dance together, stealing a kiss from each other, having a little privacy. Once we finished, we sadly turned off the CD player that had immersed us in a small universe full of joy.
"We should eat at that table you have outside. It's a beautiful day," I suggested.
"I'd love to," she agreed.
The kids finally turned off the TV once they noticed that we were carrying the plates of food outside, and excitedly ran to sit down. Marcia sat next to me, and both of us were across the boys.
"Wow, this is delicious!" Kyle commented, once he tried the first bite.
The older woman held my hand, making me turn to look at her, noticing that her eyes were a little glazed over, but she regained her composure in seconds.
I laced my fingers with hers, as I frowned at such an adamant expression on her face. I knew they were tears of happiness, or excitement, but what brought it on? I guess I was going to find out when we were alone.
"Thanks, buddy," I replied, "what about your weeks?" I asked to distract Marcia next to me and also to make conversation.
"My best friend told me yesterday that he's going to Go Kart World today, he says it's a go-kart park, bumper cars and there are arcade games too, I was wondering if we could go too, mom," he adopted a hopeful look. At his mother's silence, he continued, "I turned in all my homework this week and my teachers complimented me on it, plus I ate all my food," he justified himself, implying that he had made an effort to improve and deserved to be rewarded.
She smiled and nodded, "alright, if you both eat your food and get ready quickly, we'll go to that place."
Both boys got up from their seats and ran to hug their mother, I smiled at such a scene and was surprised when the younger one pulled me to join them.
"And please, you come with us," Travis asked.
"Oh, okay, but I won't spare any of you in any of those games," I joked and we all laughed.
When we all finished our meal, Travis set out to shower first and Kyle stayed in the living room, watching TV again while he waited, as for me, I did the dishes and Marcia got busy drying them.
"During the O.J. Simpson case, I used to sit at that same table and take out my anguish on my cigarettes," she explained, referring to why she was about to cry earlier, "to see you, whom I love so much, and to see my beloved children so excited about the food, at that same table. You don't know how much I missed this. Despite the circumstances, we are happy, aren't we?"
It was my turn to feel my eyes become teary, and unlike her, I didn't hold back. Maybe I hadn't met her at the best time, but if it wasn't for having become a suspect, I would remain in that same routine where, after work was over, I felt so lonely no matter where I was. She had brought color into my life since she allowed me to get to know her better.
"That's right, I am equally grateful because you have pulled me out of an abyss of loneliness that I had resigned myself to plunge into. You have saved me from all that, now every day feels like a gift and not just another feat to complete," I responded, I took her face in my hands and kissed her lips, "today we will have a wonderful day, we will have a lot of fun."
She nodded in agreement and held my legs to lift me up, making me laugh, "I'm so happy, so happy!" She exclaimed, spinning around the small kitchen, as I wrapped my legs around her waist in fear of falling.
"So am I, but put me down, you're going to make me fall."
She paused, "then we'd be even, remember yesterday?"
"Let it go! It wasn't on purpose!" I argued, wrinkling my nose. I looked up and noticed something over the fridge, there was a Polaroid camera which was already a little dusty, it was obvious she didn't use it that much. "Hey, would you mind walking towards the fridge, I want to get something."
She looked to where my eyes were focused and furrowed an eyebrow, perhaps from the angle she was standing at she couldn't decipher what had caught my attention, however, she didn't question me and walked to where I asked her to.
When I took said camera, she smiled, "wow, that thing. I've been meaning to buy the cartridges for months, but I forget," she finally put me down, and the cold floor made contact with my socked feet.
"Obviously, if you left it in a place where anyone would forget about it," I responded.
I closed my eye and with my other eye open, I looked through the view finder, pointing at the tall woman. She looked beautiful in those silk pijamas, no matter what she was wearing, she looked like she was out of a magazine. Truth be told, no magazine would be worthy of having such a woman. "Say cheese!"
She playfully posed for the picture, making me laugh, "I'll lend it to you if you want. This week I'll try buy the cartridges."
"The place Travis wants to go is almost an hour away, we should stop by the photo shop, and take some nice pictures when we're there," I proposed, thinking how precious it would be to capture memories of even one day with the ones who became of great importance in my life.
"Sure, that's a given," she readily agreed, "now go take a shower, stinky, do you have any clean clothes here?"
"I'm not stinky! I shower every day after you and you know it!" I defended myself, crossing my arms, "and yes, I have clean clothes, I did the laundry yesterday."
"Oh! What I would do without you?!" She kissed my cheek and let me go.
I headed for Marcia's room, which contained her own bathroom with a single bathtub that I hadn't had a chance to use yet, and apparently it had been a long time since she had taken a relaxing bath there either. Nevertheless, I decided to hurry up and take a quick shower.
Once I got out, I decided to wear a dressier outfit than my usual jumpers and jeans. I had packed one knowing that I would eventually need it and how grateful I was for that decision.
Even though I was just a guest in the lawyer's house, I felt at home, probably because she already had a part of her closet cleared out for my clothes, my hygiene products rested on her sink, and most importantly, I hadn't set foot in my apartment since I started working for her a week ago.
It was Travis' and my turn to wait for Kyle and Marcia to shower in their respective bathrooms. During that time, we watered the plants in the living room and filled in the alphabet puzzles from the newspapers that were beginning to pile up on the coffee table. As expected, the youngest boy was the first to come out, he had his shoelaces untied but besides that, his hair was already combed and he was wearing clothes that he had chosen very well.
"Let me help you," I knelt down and tied his left shoelace, while patiently explaining how to do it, "now try the right one."
Kyle hesitated a bit, proceeded to remember the steps to get it done, and when he did, Travis and I did a celebration and then gave him a high five.
"I have to tell mommy when she gets out!" He exclaimed proudly.
My heart was overflowing with tenderness, causing me to also think of all the things we've deprived ourselves of as we've grown up. Little by little, we stopped celebrating an achievement by running around the house or high-fiving, we stopped throwing tantrums to vent our frustration and not to mention that appreciation for simple things like eating ice cream or watching a cartoon. We grow up and think it's all overacting, but it's just expressing ourselves without that fear of judgement that was instilled in us.