I nervously bit my lip before answering.
"I am Amy."
She arched up her eyebrow, clearly not satisfied with my answer.
Recalling James's words about my false introduction, I made an effort to provide a further explanation. "I am James's distant cousin from London. I am here to study in New York and I needed a place to settle down." Still, there was no change in her expressizon and the air was gradually reaching the peak of crispiness. I smiled subtly and pronounced, "James has been a great help to me."
The old lady pressed her lips together into a firm line and uttered, "Miss what's your surname?"
"Uh-," I scratched my head for a minute and answered back, "Black."
Certainly, I was sure with the conclusion that James's neighbours were super bothering.
"Have we met before on any family occasion before?"
"Yes, I suppose. Last year we shared a small encounter in one of our aunt's wedding." I lied.
"What's the name of your hypothetical aunt?" Her voice was strict and firm.
I led out a nervous chuckle and said, "Aunt Jenny."
It was a common name and the close possibility of the names clashing against each other's was high.
"Ah I see JENNY!" She cried out hysterically.
I sighed in relief. My nerves began to relax and I patted my mind secretly for the witty answer.
"Whom did she marry?" The moment I thought the round of interrogation was terminated, her monotonous voice hit my ears again.
"A man." I rolled my eyes.
The rhetoric answer was her least expectation. She crossed her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes, sending me death stares.
I gulped as I gaped my lips to proceed talking. "Umm-mmm I- "
She nictated in a row, observing me fumble and stutter with the response.
"You claim to know my niece Jenny but why can't you answer a simple question?" Not breaking the intense eye contact, she mocked with sarcasm. "Are you suffering from
dementia, honey?"
Fuck!! Caught badly on the charge of lying.
She recognised me to be a stranger a long time back and I was confident that no amount of excuses were sufficient to establish myself. However, depsite of knowing this fact, she didn't wish to miss a chance to bombard questions about a subject alien to me. Perhaps, my bundle of crappy hilarious answers was a source of entertainment for her.
"We do have relatives in England, but none of them is from London." She confirmed boldly.
My mind was pondering with thousands of questions. I tried to stress my mind to recollect James's exact words.
Fuck! He asked me to introduce myself as a person from England and I was a fool to add some extra details to the statement. The fault was all mine.
"I'll insist you to put forth a clarification about how do you guys know each other. What are you doing in James's house? Wait-" Her eyes travelled down and paused on my ring finger. Her eyeballs widened immediately as a horrible idea might have flashed through her mind "Did you marry my son?"
"Son?" I jolted back at her reply.
The word only seemed to indicate the fact that the old lady was none other than James's mother. It was obvious for her to catch my false statements.
She strongly shook her head in disaggrement and said, "That's a subject of less importance. You have a gold ring wrapped around your finger."
"Oh no! You misunderstood the entire thing ma'am." I protested back in a polite tone.
"First answer tell me," She inhaled deeply before speaking out again "did you marry my son?"
"I am a married woman."
We expressed our mind simultaneously and to add insult to injury, I answered out of my turn to make the situation worse.
Her eyes and mouth were frozen wide open in an expression of astonishment. Soon, a transformation from the stage of surprise overtook her. She bursted with anger and it thrummed through her veins.
"But James Black isn't my husband." The situation was gradually slipping out of my hand and I realised that the only way to get on a grip was to be honest.
She nearly barked at me, "What the hell is a married woman doing in my boy's room?"
She scrunched her brows together and shot another question at me, "Are you involved into a polyandry arrangement?"
"Hell no-"
She interrupted me with her fluent Italian accent, "You're freaking me out. I'll call the police."
She tucked out her smartphone from her golden coloured handbag dangling around her shoulder and switched on the device using her fingerprint.
I gasped at the mention of cops but I was quick to act. I snatched away the phone from her hand and kept it out of her reach.
She stood on the doorway with a dumbfounded reaction. Her face was steadily glowing with a suppressed rage.
"If you give me a chance to explain, I would be very pleased."
She clenched her white knuckles into fist, and gritted teeth struggling with the effort to remain silent. Her hunched form exuded an animosity that was like acid - burning, slicing, potent.
"I'ld like to begin by apologising for my unwelcomed behaviour. I'm married to Adam Scott and not to your son. I am from Boston. I am not a British Woman as you can clearly see."
"Why are you here?" She tapped her feet on the floor with an eagerness to hear my explanation.
"On our first anniversary, I discovered my husband was cheating on me. After abandoning my house, more likely the correct word is 'his', I landed up to the conclusion of a fresh start."
She nodded and remarked firmly with an emphasis on the words, "My Phone."
I handed back her property and resumed speaking in a soft tone.
"Owing to my bad fortune, I had no place to settle down."
I filled her with all the details. Her eyes softened and her lips slowly curled into a smile.
"I am out of words my child. I am ashamed with myself for not giving you a chance to explain." She grinned. "But you freaked me out for a minute. I'm glad to know my boy decided to help a woman in deep trouble. But my child, you should the path of honesty."
The guilt was like gasoline in my guts. My insides died slowly in the toxicity, needing no more than a spark to set it ablaze. "I'm sorry ma'am. It shows how much of a bad person I am."
"Sweetheart, you are rather strong." She took me in her embrace.
"Being a mother, I was extremely worried. The reason is James doesn't have a habit of hiding any matter from me."
"Yes I can understand the feeling ma'am."
She broke the contact and chuckled lightly before stating, "Call me Lucy. 'Ma'am' seems so outdated."
I was beamed with floods of happiness on the remark. I guided her inside and offered her to settle down on the couch. She placed her shoulder bag on the couch. Crossing her legs, she began to flip the pages of the magazine.
After locking the door, I collapsed down on the seat opposite to her.
"How long have you known each other Amy?" Her gaze was rooted on an article. She had no spectacles unlike any other women of her age group. Even though she appeared to be in her late 50s, she was a woman with grace and wit.
"Quite recently."
"He must be a pain the ass."
"He is sweet and at times, stubborn." I swirled my tongue to sound in the most appealing way.
"You hardly look 18 dear and the minute you mentioned you are married, I was of the notion that it was an underaged marriage case." She focused her gaze on me and flipped her hair.
"I'll always get to hear this comment even after turning 23."
It was a good thing to hear such sweet compliments; to look younger than your age but sometimes the consequences weren't always fair. People might judge you in a wrong way and would categorise you into a different age group.
A heavy silence settled over us getting thicker followed by the uneasy tension in the atmosphere. I was never good in engaging myself in a good conversation.
"Would you like some tea, Lucy?" I used this pick-up line as an effort to break the ice.
"Sure child. Ginger tea would be great."
"Right at your service." I raised up from my seat and strolled in the kitchen.
"Tough lady!" I huffed and sponged away the sweat drops which had formed on my face during the entire length of our conversation.
I picked a fresh ginger the vegetable basket. Peeling the ginger root, I sliced it into thin slices and positioned a saucepan on the stove. I added cups of water and appended the slices. After turning on the stove, I plucked out my phone from my gown and quickly start typing a message for James.
Hello James, sorry for plugging in but I wanted to let you know about your mother's sudden arrival. Looking forward to see you home soon.
I clicked on the send button and spent my time waiting for his reply.
My mind hovered around the question "Why didn't James pre-announce and warn me beforehand concerning such a serious matter?"
The rich peppery sharp pungent aroma of ginger crammed the atmosphere. It averted my attention and I rose up from the chair, heading towards the oven. To add taste to the beverage, I poured drops of honey in the saucepan and stirred it well.
"Do you need a hand sweetheart?" She shrieked.
Pouring the drink into two cups, I hurriedly walked out of the kitchen with my hands supporting the tray.
"Oh!" She cried out and ran to assist me.
We sank down on the couch with our cups.
"A much needed treat!" She giggled taking a sip of the refreshing libation.
"Tastes awesome. Tell me about yourself Amy."
"There's nothing much to know, Lucy."
I wasn't interested in sharing my tragic life with everyone. I had to provide my reasons to James to prove the fact that I didn't flee from my house.
"I believe every person has some story to cook." A grin spread over her face, wide and open, showing her over-whitened teeth.
"I am deficient of the flavours."
I wasn't ready for the flashback in a new way.
"As a matter of fact, I don't think James will be able to make it home early." Honestly, he had not replied to my messages and it was, indeed, a good way to beat around the bush.
The old woman sat there, dominated by a profound sadness, fatigue engraved on her worn face.
Ah! I was charged guilty once again.
Did I sound a little rude?
"I'm disappointed to hear this. My little heart was desperate to get a glance of my James." The sorrow was quite evident in her dry words.
"Should I call him?" I enquired timidly.
"No dear, he must be busy running major errands in his clinic. I will pay another visit sometime soon."
I was convinced that James was clueless regarding the random visit. If he was assured with the announcement, he would have positively informed me the next minute.
Her face enlightened as she chirped out, "Tell me about your hobbies."
"I love to sing, knit and cook."
"That is so awesome. You and James are kind of on the same page." She seemed glad to hear my response and happily added, "I can imagine how perfect you two would be as a couple."
I turned my head to the side to avert her gaze, but the sudden rosiness of my cheeks betrayed me.
"Sorry Amy for the unpopular opinion. Nevertheless, I always prefer speaking the truth on the face."
I poured myself another cup of hot tea, hoping this would help to regain my composure.
"James was a brat in his childhood." With that comment, the mode of conversation was directed on the topic of James Black. She filled me in with the details of his childhood days, his bad habits and his first love.
I sipped my tea and cackled loudly when I heard James's first crush turned out to be a lesbian.
"Poor James!" I exclaimed.
I was enlightened with a multitude of facts concerning my life saviour. James and his family belonged from Italy. His willingness for higher education brought him to NYU. The man had a deep passion with other fields like football, writing books, cooks collecting Avengers' merchandise.
Nevertheless, the juiciest tea was spilled alongside.
Nope, you raunchy readers, it wasn't anything concerning his sex life.
I would have died out of embarassment if I had to hear such gossips.
She caught a glimpse of her watch and exclaimed in sorrow, "Ah! I'm afraid that my flight is at 3."
It was time. I knew it would come sooner or later but dreaded it.
We grew find of each other in no time.
"You are a great woman, Lucy. It will be a pleasure of mine to be able to catch up again. I hope I am better than your boy in so many ways." I winked.
"Definitely you are Amy. I'll highly appreciate it. I flew here in New York for my annual health check-up of asthma. Next time, I will announce it in advance about my next visits."
"He is workaholic." I grumbled like an old lady.
"He needs a wife who can teach him good lessons like ignite the feeling of jealousy."
For the last time we shared a good laugh together. With a final hug, she left for her destination.
Clearly, James had inherited his good manners from his beloved mother.
I switched on my phone to check whether I had any messages or calls on my recent activity folder. Nothing! No new notifications.
I began with the preparation of dinner. I cooked his favourite dish, Kadai Mushroom.
I plucked in my ear plugs and surfed through my playlist in search of the best song to suit my mood.
Wait. Wait. Sounded easy, right? Full boredom. Thirsty. Hungry. Cold. Aching muscles. Bored. I was supposed to wait here until Mr. VIP would decide to make his appearance. I peered at my screen, still in the search of the most suitable song. I was so wounded up that I'ld probably punch him once he would walk in through the door.
The clock ticked and hit 10. That was when I hearkened the doorbell. DING DONG! DING DONG!
"10. P.M is what he meant in the message secretly."
Hastily, I pulled off my plugs and sprinted to answer the door.
"Whoa man, you are so early today?"
I attempted to put on a sardonic smile while speaking.
"Amy, I apologise. At the last hour when I was packing my things, a pregnant woman barged in my clinic and was on labour."
"I totally understand James. I hope the mother is healthy now and so is her baby."
"Everyone is in a good stage except me. My mind and body is on the five percent battery." He suspired in exhaustion.
"Your mom came by to say hello."
His eyes broadened immediately. He was left dazed by my words.
I flipped my hand back and forth infront of his eyes to bring him back to his senses.
"What did you introduce yourself as?"
"Friends with benefits" I smiled slyly.
He ruptured into an explosion of laughter.
"What?" I drew my eyebrows closer dramatically and pouted my lips.
"You don't have the guts."
He shoved me gently and stepped inside.
It felt like someone had suddenly turned on an internal heater inside my system, and my pale skin slowly turned from a ghastly white to a shade of a ripe strawberry. He was conscious about my boundaries.
He headed to the washroom and washed his hands with water and soap. Later, he slumped in his favourite armchair in a relaxing posture, all four limbs flying in four different directions.
"I know you well." The moment his voice reached my ears, I pivoted my head and replied him, "I narrated her the truth."
Another roar of laughter followed by.
"Well...this isn't a joke. Your mother is aware about my true identification."
I could say he wasn't prepared to hear such a forward response. He gulped down the glass of water and invested an ample amount of time in regaining his composure.
"I kind of messed up our plan. I was left with the only option to utter the truth."
"Friends with benefits was rather a preferable option." He provoked me.
"Or what about the option of being a married couple. She misjudged me as your wife because of the ring."
"She can be a pain in the ass at times."
"Exactly that is what she pointed out about you. Apparently, I learnt a lot about your childhood. As a matter of fact, she was disappointed not to find you home."
"I bet you were a better company." He confirmed as he proceeded to loosen his black tie.
"She is really cool if you ignore the part where she completely freaked me out with calling the cops."
He laughed at my comment.
"Are you hungry James?"
"I am badly exhausted right now. I'll prefer a quick shower. But before we split our ways, I want you to fill me with the details. How much do you exactly know about me?"
He unbuttoned his shirt and stood infront of me expecting to fill him with the details with a distraction.
"Well," My eyes were naturally trailing over his naked body and I stammered, "S-she told me."
"Continue. I am all ears."
My sharp pointed canine pierced through my bottom lip drawing blood. All of the adrenaline in this world seemed to be of no good.
Mr. Life Saviour was attempting to kill me with his moves. HELP!!
"Is everything alright?" He cocked up his eyebrow and flashed his million dollar smile.
"I suppose a little edgy."
Fuck! I spoke out my mind. I was definitely a moron.
"Did I make you nervous?" The left side of his faint pinkish lip tugged upwards creating a sinister smirk on his god like face; casting a spell of lust to eyes that dare look his way. I was no different; I was smitten by his charisma.
He stroded closer to me, making sure not to break the eye contact. I was jostled against the wall by this muscular man and he pinned my hands above my head in the Christian Grey Style.
I stared deep into his ocean blue eyes.
His eyes sparkled and twinkled with the reflection of a tint of light. Placing his finger on my tender lip, he leaned forward and whispered in my ears.
"DON'T SPEAK."
I gulped down the pool of saliva that had formed in my throat and seductively licked my lips.
With my heart thumping loudly against my chest, I was afraid on the thought whether he could hear my heart beats. It was a pure torture!
Using his one finger, he lifted my chin aggressively and said with a smirk, "Miss. Johnson, I think you really need to be punished badly."
My mind was occupied with one and only question 'WILL HE KISS ME?'
TO BE CONTINUED...