As we entered the living room, Valentina was sitting on the couch, watching some show that was playing on the TV. The sound of our footsteps must have alerted her because she turned her head towards us, a faint smile on her lips.
We got closer to the couch and Valentina hastily got up and said hi with a smile. I looked at Mary-Kate. She had a small awkward smile plastered on her face. This entire night was unfolding itself more unexpectedly each second after another.
"Mary-Kate, meet Valentina," I introduced. Mary-Kate nodded, offering a polite smile.
"Hi," she greeted softly.
"It's very nice to meet you-" Valentina began, but I quickly glanced at her; preventing any potential embarrassment, such as her saying, "Ana has told me a lot about you!"
"Likewise," Mary-Kate replied.
A moment of silence settled in the room until Valentina began, "Do you want to stay for a while? We've got cookies and hot chocolate, I'm sure this will help you change your mind a bit from whatever was bothering you earlier."
Mary-Kate's mouth opened slightly, and she looked at me. My eyes met hers.
"Do you want to stay?" I murmured.
She shrugged. "I- I mean... You're with your friend, I don't have anything to do here. I should leave I've already been enough of a bother tonight."
Valentina shot me a subtle glance, silently urging me to say something to persuade Mary-Kate to stay. I knew there was something more than just professionalism weighing on her mind.
"Mary-Kate, you're not a bother" I interjected, my voice soft yet firm. "In fact, I..." I paused and sighed, "Nevermind..."
Mary-Kate hesitated, her eyes flickering between Valentina and me. There was a vulnerability in her expression, a glimpse of the woman she was behind the professional façade she often wore at work.
"Please stay," I said in a gentle, yet sincere tone.
Finally, Mary-Kate relented with a small nod, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Alright, I'll stay for a while."
As Valentina bustled off to fetch cookies and hot chocolates, Mary-Kate turned to me, her eyes betraying the poker face she was trying to pull off.
"I'm sorry for intruding like this," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "I just needed someone, and..."
"You're not intruding, Mary-Kate" I whispered.
Her gaze softened, and for a moment, the weight she had on her shoulders seemed to have lifted. Our eyes locked for a moment.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice barely audible. I was about to say something, but Valentina reappeared with a tray of cookies and steaming mugs of hot chocolate.
We settled on the sofa, Valentina on the left, me in the middle, and Mary-Kate on the right, close to the wall. The atmosphere between Mary-Kate and me became heavy once we settled on the sofa. I couldn't fathom how we had gone from her not looking at me in the eyes once while we worked opposite each other, to us sitting on the sofa next to each other. It was almost as if I could sense her perfume. Valentina got me out of my trance when she started talking. I looked up and Mary-Kate had had had the same reaction as I did when Valentina had started speaking. We both looked at Valentina.
"So, what movie are we watching?" Valentina asked excitedly.
I smiled a little and looked at Mary-Kate.
"Is there a movie you want to watch Mary-Kate?" I asked.
She shook her head and shrugged so I looked back at Valentina.
"Well then, The Devil Wears Prada?" Valentina suggested, but I felt like it was more of a statement than a question.
I heard Mary-Kate giggling which made me smile. I thought that as fashion designers, The Devil Wears Prada was a movie we could all somehow identify with. Valentina opened Netflix and turned on the movie.
We watched the movie silently while enjoying our snacks, feeling Mary-Kate's gaze on me from time to time. I ignored it, thinking that she wasn't probably actually looking at me but just zoning out a little. At some point, the movie was approaching to its end and I was starting to overthink about what was going to happen next.
"Ana?"
I looked to my left. Mary-Kate's eyes were smaller than usual as sleepiness was taking over her a little bit more minute after minute. "Yeah?"
"I think your friend here is asleep," she said, pointing at Valentina with a funny smile on her lips. I giggled, looking at Valentina who had fallen asleep in the middle of her favorite movie.
"She always falls asleep during every single movie we watch. I swear, every time!" I said which made Mary-Kate laugh.
"I mean, it makes some sense, it's midnight," she said.
"Oh, so you're defending her now?" I asked playfully and she rolled her eyes, switching her legs to a criss-cross position.
"What if I am?" She said with a teasing yet sleepy gaze.
"Yeah right" I rolled my eyes back at her.
"Hey, Mary-Kate?" I asked after a small moment of silence. There was something that had been on my mind for quite a while now that I wanted to ask her.
"Yes?"
"A while ago, you told me you didn't like hanging out with your employees."
She looked away and sighed. "What about that?" She said.
"Look, I'm sorry to bring this up because I know I already asked this question but-"
"I don't understand why you keep asking me this question when I'm the one that should ask you this." She said firmly, interrupting me and still keeping her eyes away from mine. I frowned at her statement, confused as to why she would be the one who were supposed to ask me why I was hanging out with her.
"Wh- why would you be the one asking me why I'm hanging out with you?" I asked.
"Well- Ana, I... As you once said to me I'm... I'm not quite the nicest person you've ever met."
"I never said you weren't nice, I said that's what other people said about you." I corrected and she sighed.
"Remember the first time you came to The Row when I first saw you down the hall? I was so impolite and rude when it was only your first day. And then, when we worked in the same office, I ignored you for a week," she said. I could hear from the tone of her voice that she was feeling ashamed, but also guilty and mad at how she behaved.
"That doesn't matter Mk," I said. She was about to say something back but paused for a moment and looked at me. Then, she continued.
"It matters to me," she muttered. "I could have wasted everything."
I frowned and tilted my head. "What?"
"Never mind..." she shook her head and took a deep breath. "Maybe deep down you hate me, but you invited me to stay over just because you're too respectful to let a crying woman alone." She murmured.
"No, I don't hate you Mary-Kate, and that's not the reason why I invited you to stay over either."
"Well, maybe it is" She insisted. I didn't know that side of her where she was stubborn. It would be quite amusing in other circumstances.
"It's not" I repeated. She took a deep breath while looking at her feet which were still crisscrossed. "Do you really think I'd let someone I don't like blowing smoke on my face?"
As I said this, she looked up at me. Her eyes were teary, and I could sense that her emotions were really getting over her given how tired she must have been. I didn't know what to do at that instant. I wanted to take her into my arms because of how fragile she looked, but I was sure she would back away. I looked at her, not moving or saying anything.
After a moment, she sniffed and got up. "I'm gonna go now, it's late," she said.
"It is, but-" I said as I stood up.
"Thank you, Ana, for everything. It was really nice. And you'll tell your Valentina 'Thank you' when she wakes up okay?" She said swiftly.
"Wait, I'll walk you to your car at least."
"No, no. You stay here, I'll be fine," she said, heading toward the front door. I followed her and grabbed her coat. I handed it to her, and she thanked me before pulling it halfway on her shoulders.
"I can walk you to your car Mary-Kate" I offered one last time.
"I just need to take the elevator and the car is right in front of the building. It'll be okay Ana, you've already done enough. I sighed and nodded.
"Okay... Then, text me when you get home at least?" I asked.
She nodded slowly and grabbed her bag that had stayed next to the door the whole evening. She opened the door, and I watched her as she walked through it. She looked at me before leaving.
"You know, you called me 'Mk' and not 'Mary-Kate' two times instead this evening. My mouth went agape. I didn't realize that until now.
"I- I'm sorry I didn't realize I did- I won't do it again" I stumbled over my words, taken aback by what she had said.
Her eyes softened and she let out a breath. "No, please do," she said.
"Uh?" I asked, confused.
She smiled, amused. "I said, please do call me Mk." I knitted my eyebrows even close together which seemed to amuse her. "You know, you're very smart at work, but when it comes to all of this, you're not" She laughed. My jaw fell and the corner of my mouth turned upwards.
"What do you mean 'all of this'" I asked.
"Nothing Ana, nothing..." She giggled. "I'll see you on Monday, okay?"
I tiled my hand and nodded. "Yeah, see you on Monday"
As I said this, she smiled and walked out the door. I didn't quite understand what she meant, but I was too tired to think it through. I just wanted to wait until she texted me, she was home and then go straight to bed.
I went back to the living room and saw Valentina still sleeping on the couch. I didn't want to wake her up so I placed a blanket on top of her and turned off the TV. I went to the guest room, changed into the pjs I had brought with me and slipped into bed. I scrolled on Instagram to kill time until Mary-Kate texted me, otherwise I would just fall asleep.
After a good fifteen minutes, a notification popped up on my phone. I smiled and clicked on it.
Mary-Kate Olsen
I'm home :)
Thank you again for tonight, I couldn't have asked for more.
Don't forget to thank Valentina for me.
Sleep well,
Mk