Chapter 8
Like most of her rare days off, Jodie takes the opportunity to visit her mother at the nursing home. Every time she crosses the threshold, she feels a knot in her stomach because, out of the last fifteen visits, Amanda Claris has only recognized her daughter twice. During the others, sometimes she looked at her as if she were just another piece of furniture in the room, and other times she screamed, thinking she was a stranger coming to attack her. The doctors warned her these situations would come, but Jodie can't get used to them, and each time it happens, she leaves the facility in tears.
"How is she today?" she asks one of the caregivers in passing, head down.
The woman, somewhat plump with skin so dark that Jodie always finds herself fascinated by the contrast with the pure white of her eyes, has been caring for Mrs. Claris since she arrived and has witnessed several times when she didn't recognize her daughter.
"She's more lucid than I am," she responds, winking at Jodie, who stops dead in her tracks while feeling her heart pound.
"Really?" she asks hopefully.
"Very really, honey, so don't waste time talking to me and go see her."
"Thanks, Gladis," Jodie says before running down the hallway.
Indeed, as soon as she opens the door to the room, her mother recognizes her immediately, and when Jodie hugs her, she feels as if they've gone back in time. For a moment, she loses herself in memories of those years when her brother wasn't hooked on drugs and the whole family worked harmoniously running the family restaurant.
"You're thinner, honey, are you sure you're eating well?" her mother worries.
"Yes, I'm just a bit stressed with work, you know."
Her mother sighs, and Jodie can tell by the sadness reflected in her gaze that she's very aware of their current family situation. Again, she thinks of her brother and has that mix of conflicting feelings. On one hand, she misses him, and on the other, she hates him because she considers him responsible for everything that happened after his death.
Marvin Sinclair entered the world of drugs, and from there everything went downhill for the entire family. They tried everything possible to help him, but addiction turned her brother into a liar who knew how to manipulate and handle them as he wished. By the time they realized he wasn't just stealing money from the restaurant but had mortgaged it, it was too late, and within months, they entered an unstoppable spiral that ran toward a precipice that ended with Marvin's death by overdose, the loss of the family restaurant after selling it to avoid losing the house a few weeks later, and their father's suicide within a few months.
Jodie and her mother were also left with several debts that Jodie still pays today, but the worst part was that her mother let herself be overcome by sadness and dimmed in such a way that she became another burden for her daughter, until Alzheimer's also arrived a few months ago and Jodie had no choice but to place her in a nursing home.
"But I'm fine, Mom," Jodie adds immediately, taking both her mother's hands while drawing a genuine smile. "I'm not working at that bar you hated anymore."
"Really?" Amanda's eyes widen as she asks.
"Really," Jodie confirms. "The owner of the hotel where I work in the morning offered me to clean her penthouse in the afternoons. Just imagine the change - I went from being behind that filthy bar surrounded by creeps while serving drinks non-stop to get paid always late, to being in a luxury penthouse, cleaning what's already clean, working fewer hours, earning three times more and..."
Jodie stops just in time before saying she works next to a stunning woman.
"And what?" her mother demands to know with great interest.
"Nothing, just that Mrs. Taylor is lovely, nothing like that bunch of perverts."
"You make me so happy, Jodie," her mother sighs. "You're fighting so hard and you don't deserve what you've had to live through."
"It is what it is, Mom, none of us chose it, but it's what happened and now you and I are still here," Jodie says with her lower lip trembling.
"I know," her mother smiles and hugs her.
"With this new position, I think I'll be able to save a bit to try to cancel the debts as soon as possible. Today I asked Mr. Kumar to let me do overtime in the afternoon at Mrs. Taylor's penthouse and he gave me permission," Jodie smiles.
"No wonder you're so thin," her mother huffs.
"I'm fine, Mom, besides, I told you everything's very clean. I just have to maintain it and do basic things like the bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen."
An hour later, Jodie enters the Mallois hotel radiating happiness from every pore after visiting her mother. Not even running into Marjorie before reaching the elevators and having her almost pierce her with her gaze manages to dampen the joy that spending quality time with her mother has produced.
Once changed and pushing her cart, Jodie exits the elevator on the top floor with the same smile she entered with a few minutes ago, but it vanishes instantly when just before reaching Katherine's penthouse door, it opens and she finds her boss dressed in a silk robe, barefoot, with damp hair while letting out the same sophisticated woman from the other day, Annie.
Jodie can't hear what the two women say to each other when they kiss cheeks, but something burns in her chest without her being able to control it, and she feels she could turn into a dragon and breathe fire when both women notice her and Annie passes by her side, looking down at her as if she were nobody. The cleaner follows her with her gaze until Annie reaches the elevator and enters, at which point Jodie turns and meets Mrs. Taylor's surprised look.
"I didn't know you were coming today," Katherine says, caught off guard.
"I'm not scheduled," Jodie responds harshly, "but I asked Mr. Kumar to let me do an extra shift and he approved it, I thought he would have notified you."
Katherine pushes a strand of hair behind her ear thoughtfully. Jodie would spit another fireball at her if it weren't for how incredibly seductive she finds the gesture.
"Maybe he did by email, but I haven't checked," Katherine says.
"It doesn't matter, it's obvious I caught you at a bad time, I better leave," Jodie says, turning the cart.
"Don't be silly, you're already here, come in, after all, I..." Katherine catches herself just in time before saying something inappropriate.
Jodie clenches her jaw and turns the cart back around, though she tries, the fury inside her grows unstoppably because jealousy is eating her alive. It's the second time in three weeks she's seen that woman with Katherine. Are they officially a couple? Just thinking about it makes her want to run out, find Annie, and wipe that stupid smile off her face by dunking her head in the dirty laundry basket; she's sure she'd never recover from such trauma.
"I suppose you want me to start with the bedroom," she says as she passes in front of Katherine, without looking at her face while pushing the cart forcefully.
Katherine follows her, observing her defiant attitude and that furious look the cleaner has had since she arrived, and immediately believes she can guess what's happening. While closing the door, a twisted smile forms on her lips and she tells herself she shouldn't play this game, but before she knows it, her tongue has already loosened.
"Actually, no," she responds sharply, making Jodie turn in surprise, "today we fucked on the couch."
Jodie holds her gaze for a few seconds while swallowing, then glances sideways at the couch and thinks about how much she'd enjoy setting it on fire.
"Fine, I'll start with the kitchen then," she says, feeling that if she doesn't get away from Katherine, she might throw something at her head.
"Suit yourself, make yourself at home," Katherine smiles, walking to a table full of documents, grabbing her laptop, and sitting on the couch to check her email.
Jodie busies herself emptying the dishwasher and filling it with dirty dishes while trying to calm down, but she can't stop imagining Annie with her hands on Katherine's body and finds it impossible. She leaves what she's doing and goes decisively to the cleaning closet to, after a minute, appear in front of Katherine with the steam cleaner ready.
"I need you to move from there, I have to disinfect that couch."
Katherine raises a defiant look and connects it with Jodie's, causing a surge of tension in the penthouse. Both women maintain it for a few seconds until Katherine nods, calmly closes the laptop lid, and rises very slowly until she's standing in front of Jodie, who feels her heart has just dropped between her legs.
"You're very bold speaking to me like that," Katherine says, approaching her ear before walking away and disappearing down the hallway, leaving Jodie drowning in her own desire.