Michelle placed the pancakes on the plate and cut several pieces of banana and strawberry, placing it next on the plate. She set it on her kitchen island next on top of the mat and silverware she had already arranged. She also placed her coffee there as well and turned to clean up while Max sat on the other side of the kitchen island, reading over her schedule for the week. She threw everything into the sink and ran water to soak it and then glanced in the direction of the guest bathroom.
The door was still closed with the light peaking through the crack at the bottom. The water had stopped running about five minutes ago so she expected Anntonia to come out at any moment now. She smiled when she saw the woman's heels sitting right outside the door that Max had retrieve for her from the side of the pool moments ago where she had left them when she trailed inside after her.
She had changed into an oversized band shirt that topped her messy cut shorts, hair still wet from showering. She hasn't had anything since she woke up, not even an instant protein shake so she had been hungry when she finished showering and decided she would make herself and Anntonia something to eat. She hoped the woman liked pancakes for her snacks since it's already late afternoon, it's still a breakfast for her. She looked at the bathroom door again and thought that she was taking much longer than she had expected so she didn't get a chance to ask what she would like to have.
But, everyone likes pancakes, right? At least she thought so.
"So are we still canceling the ad shoot with Emerald?" Max asked and she shook her head as she took a sip of her coffee, then retrieved the maple syrup from the cabinet and placed with the pancakes.
"No, let Glaiza know everything will go as planned and that I apologize for the inconvenience. Also, send an apology email to Charlotte."
Before Max could say anything. She heard the click of the lock and looked in the direction of the bathroom just as the door slowly opened.
"Max," she whispered as her manager's attention was also drawn there. "Please leave."
"Huh?"
"I said, leave. I will meet you on set later as scheduled." She ordered, her eyes stuck to the other woman as she approached the kitchen.
Max sighed, and after a moment, she heard the stool slide across the marble floor and footsteps as the other woman walked out and Anntonia walked in. She saw them nod at each other until Anntonia stood there watching her as she only stared at her, trying not to drop her jaw on the floor. She heard her front door open and close and the only woman that's left chose her seat across from where she was standing at the island, exactly where she had placed her plate.
"I assume this is still breakfast for you." The woman stated with a smile.
Max sent her clothes in the laundry after their dip in the pool. She offered her new clothes, fresh from her brand sponsors but Anntonia had chosen one of her sleep shirts to wear so that she be comfortable. It was a loose goose-grey shirt paired with a gray cotton jogger. Her hair was wet though she had told her about the hair dryer in the bathroom and sat over her shoulder. She had washed the make-up off her face, the sunlight and her skin glowed anew. She had padded over to her with bare feet, in her house as if it was the most natural thing. Now she perched herself on the high stool, her feet dangling several inches from the floor.
"Yes," she replied, surprised she could still found her voice. "I woke up late and went for a swim before you came so I didn't get a chance to have something. I didn't know if you liked pancakes for snacks."
"Thanks," Anntonia hummed. "I love pancakes anytime of the day."
She watched her speared a piece of banana on her fork and put them in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully as she looked around. "Nice place," she complimented.
It was, she thought. And now that the woman was here, the place looked less empty and suddenly it's warm. Suddenly, it felt like home. She had bought this place a year after she started her career. It's a small second hand house but that made her buy it was the pool. She just had an interior designer refurnished and redecorate it. She only had little of her personal things and a handful of necessities. The place was painted in colors of gray, white and black. Aside from the kitchen and her bedroom that's full white, she rarely spent any time in any other 2 rooms and kept things tidy wherever she was. She hadn't even put any photos so the house still looked like it was hardly lived in. She saw Anntonia had tracked water on the floors when she came in earlier, threw her purse on the couch where it still lay until now, and just those little things made it look like someone lived here, finally. She had no doubt that if she went into the bathroom now, she would see the toiletries and towel that she had used as well as the fogged mirror. In years, she hadn't felt like this place was a home and that's why she thought to move. That's why she bought the penthouse, at least from there she could see a lot from below. At least, it would make her feel less alone with the city under her feet.
Michelle smiled and rounded the kitchen island to find her own seat beside Anntonia. She then leaned over her to pour maple syrup on the top of the pancakes.
"Let me know when to stop." She told her and the woman nodded and stared at her plate as the syrup accumulated on the pancake top. She waited but she said nothing so she tipped the bottle upright to slow down. The woman hummed in disagreement, so she continued pouring. It wasn't until her pancakes were drowning that she pushed her wrist away and she chuckled and moved to pour a tenth of that amount onto her own plate.
She smiled to herself, realizing how much she miss the feeling of having someone other than Max to share the table with.
"Sorry, I didn't prepare something for your drinks because I have no idea what do you prefer with pancakes. Coffee?"
"No. Thank you. Never developed a taste for it. Life is too bitter already to force yourself to swallow bitterness or pour sugar into a cup to make it more palatable." She scoffed and took another bite of her pancake, making her smile.
"I appreciate chocolate milk if you have, please." Anntonia added and she immediately stood up to prepare the drink for her.
"So, how do you stay that small drinking hot chocolate milk and pancakes bloated with syrup? Isn't that more fattening choice than the bitter black coffee?"
Anntonia stuffed another piece of pancake into her mouth and shrugged at her, loosing her oh-so-lady-like composure in front of her. Instead, she turned into a hungry little pancake devil.
"I eat according to my mood. I don't eat when I'm stressed or unhappy, so I guess it balances out."
She took her seat again, putting down the cup of chocolate milk in front of the woman and started cutting her own pancake into small pieces absently, watching as Anntonia happily dug into her food, her legs dangling off the stool. She couldn't help but marveled at how she can look glamorous, powerful and child-like depending on the day she saw her.
Mentally, she went back to her self five years ago that used to stand outside Emerald headquarters, waiting for the opportunity to get just a glimpse of Anntonia Porsild and give her a tap in the shoulder and tell her to go home because the wait was finally over, she got to sit with her in the same table, looking so relaxed and comfortable with her pancakes.
"Why do you still wear make-up if you have a perfect skin?" She asked and suddenly it was so random. But maybe not? Because all she did was stare at her and she could see how flawless the woman was.
Anntonia almost spit out her chocolate milk and she quickly grabbed tissue from the container on the side of her and handed it to the woman. She watched her wiped her mouth and brushed her hair away from her shoulder. She was seeing the hues of brown and gold return to the strands as it dried and natural waves were starting to form as the water evaporated. She had always thought her hair was styled to make effortless beach waves, but it was evident now that it was just air dried that way.
"I don't have perfect skin. Never had. That's the reason why Emerald was built, right?" she corrected. "But to address the why, I'd say I like it. It is like playing with paint as a kid. I like being able to put together an outfit and wear a different color of lipstick and give a different vibe. Kind of like playing different characters in a movie, which I'm sure you fully understand. At this point in my life, it is enhancing who I have become inside. At one point in my life, it was covering up for how down I was."
Michelle placed her utensils down and turned her body toward the woman. She looks at her too, her hands now in her lap thoughtfully.
"I had Max look into your past," she confessed after she cleared her throat couple of times. Surprise flickered across Anntonia's gaze but didn't show any trace of distress or discomfort. "I know I should ask you directly, but I don't want you to have relive the trauma to tell me what happened. I was also told that you refused to press charges against the girl Heidi. In fact, you provided her legal counsel and sent a letter to help plead with the judge to reduced her sentence. The police wanted to know if I would follow your lead or press charges for assault." She said and reached out to held both of her hands with her, bracing one of her elbow on the island counter.
"Can I ask you not to?"
"Why? Why do you want to defend the girl when she could've killed you?" The she flipped her palms up and gently traced the bandaged area with her fingertips. She's damn sure that the wound underneath wasn't that fully healed.
"Because I've been there," Anntonia answered, looking at her with sad and pleading eyes. The woman look so vulnerable again and it melts her heart to see it. "Heidi is just a girl. She's alone and someone exploited that. And it disappoints me to know it's him. If Charlotte hadn't been there that time ro save me, I could've very well been her, you know? So, what the girl needs is help, not condemnation."
Michelle closed her eyes for a moment, pushing the terrible images that were developing in her head. It was so uncanny but physically, the girl named Heidi resembled Anntonia. The similarities were only becomes less when the woman in front of her was the elegant Anntonia Porsild of Emerald Glam Cosmetics but as she sat here in her house, free of designer clothes and a speck of make-up, the resemblance was bizarre. She thought, that bastard was still obsessed with the woman and he found another victim to replicate her.
"Okay. I will ask my lawyer not press charges anymore," she reassured. "However, when we find that person who did this to you and Heidi, you cannot ask me to spare him and give away forgiveness."
"I would not think of asking anyway. If I forgive him, he would only do this again to another person. He will have another victim again." Anntonia said after shaking her head. Then, she brought her injured palm up as she dipped her head to place a soft kiss just on top of the bandage, carefully not to hurt the wound underneath it.
"I'm glad we are in agreement," she whispered as her eyes lifted up on the woman, still her lips brushed the warmth of her skin.
"Since when was it?" Anntonia asked, a sudden change of her tone to a playful smile growing on her lips as she tugged her hand away from her. But she caught her by the wrist and pulled it into her lap, forgetting about her breakfast long ago.
"Since when was what?" She asked in confusion, she had sat with her back to the glass sliding doors that led to the backyard and pool and the sunlight already reached in, lighting the fair tone of the woman's skin.
"I feel like I got pulled into this trajectory ever since the first time I saw you sitting in my meeting room opposite to my best friend. When did you start chasing me, Michelle?"
The question made her scoffed and shook her head, finally realizing what the woman had meant. But she kept quiet for a moment, just staring at her beautiful face, taking every details in and etching them all in her memory. Anntonia was undoubtedly the epitome of perfection in physical aspects because no matter how many times she run her eyes all over her, she find no flaws in her. The woman was staring back at her but her face was demanding her an answer. So she took a breath and lift her hand to the side of her face, gently tucking the strands of stray hairs behind her ear.
"I don't really know, but I should've chased you when you walked away the first time we met five years ago," she replied, remembering how many nights she spent thinking about this; how it would've unfolded if she had gone after her rather just take her business card.
Will she ever got the chance?
Will that ever get the same result and led them to this very moment?
But back then, she was just a tiny weeny dust particle in the foot side of Anntonia's rising empire. She had nothing to offer. She was literally nothing. And probably, she couldn't even afford to buy the woman this pancake ingredients that they just had.
"Was it because I spared you from Mr. Ramirez and paid for your car repairs?" She questioned, incredulous.
That made her laugh and stood up, pushing her stool back with one foot. She then turned Anntonia's stool so that she was fully facing her and her back to the kitchen island. Their faces were almost close but she maintained a decent distance.
"No. It was because you humbly showed kindness and you thought nothing of it. You stood up for someone who couldn't and became a ray of hope for that person who was drudging to get by with life hours by hours. And because you are Anntonia Porsild and your name haunted me and led me in a circle just to end up outside your building again, hoping that one day, you spare a second and would look down at me from your steel and glass throne." She had as she caged her in on by bracing herself on the island counter on either side of her. Anntonia leaned back and craned her neck to meet her eyes.
"Dramatic," she commented but not in a mocking way. Teasing, maybe? But she thought, if the woman understood how far of a journey she had taken to stand before her right now and how she affected her, she did not let on. "What if you built me too high in your head that I supposedly am? Michelle Dee was driving a car that was more suitable for the junkyard then, But Daniela Marquez Dee today drives the latest cars, lives in a beautiful house and is about to move in the most luxurious penthouse that overlooks the whole city and is higher that Emerald headquarters, the confidence embodied. So don't talk like you can't match me—"
She stopped listening and dropped to her knees in front of Anntonia, causing the woman to nearly jump from her seat. Then she placed her hands on either side of waist, keeping her seated, though.
"What the— Michelle, get up!" The woman admonished, trying to pull her up by her elbows, which she found ridiculous, considering how much she outweighed her.
"I am being dead serious with you, Anntonia," she said, now in a very serious tone and she saw her froze at that. "I am not sure of many things and how long will I have them. I'm still not even sure how I got so lucky as to get this career, but even 5yrs ago, I am very sure of one thing; this. This may sound creepy and absurb but I wanted nothing but you. You in whatever form you want to be in. You five years ago. You right now. Or you 50 years from now if we ever be lucky to live that long. Oh God, even after this lifetime!!! Even if we ever get to be reborn, I still want you no matter what I need to go through. I haven't built you up too high in my head. In fact, coming to know you more and realizing how truly genuine you are, I haven't built you up high enough, because I don't think I would've been able to stay away if I knew then. It would kill me now to hear you want us to be just friends because friends don't want their friends the way I want you to."
She saw Anntonia's eyes softened at every word she said until she just smiled at her, her grip loosen on her arms.
"Ask me," she commanded her and that made her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Ask you what?"
"We'll, I'm only hearing words but what are you really asking me, Michelle Dee?" She laughed and that made her grin at the realization of what the woman was saying.
"Hmmm, if I'm going to be honest, I want to ask you a lot but how about we start with a date between more than just friends?" Then she wiggled her eyebrows at her that earned her a wide and beautiful smile with a lighter smack in her shoulder.
"Isn't that what this is? Do you think I'm in your house, alone for breakfast in a late afternoon as if it's a common occurrence?" She whined at her and that made her let go of her waist and captured her hands as she rose to her feet.
"I didn't know you were this whiny; like a baby. Is that a yes?"
"To the date or to more than just friends?" She teased her, trying to turn her stool away from her and back to her now cold left over pancakes. But she yanked on her wrists and she was forced to stand, her slim figure slamming into her body with a yelp.
"Both please," she insisted, wrapping her arms around Anntonia's torso. She placed her palms on her chest and her hearty laugh echoed through the house. Now, it was too late to keep this house that filled with their first memory since she had already placed it on the market and bought her new home, but she was sure it wasn't the house that was magical, but this moment.
"Okay." Anntonia answered, still holding a wide smile on her face as she leaned her head against her chest, hugging her warmly while she place a feather soft kiss on the crown of her head. As the woman her that lovely gesture, she looked up at her with eyes lazily opened. Elated, Michelle leaned in and planted a more firm peck on the woman's lips and she smiled again but pulled away from her after few moments.
"Let me finish my pancake." Anntonia said and dived back to her own plate with a more relaxed look in her beautiful face and she could feel her heart beating as if telling her that this is what happiness truly feels like.