Chapter 14
He's actually in his office on some calls. I’m on my device searching through some inspiration for earrings. I need something new.
It’s annoying because when you try to be creative and put yourself out there, here comes the copycats.
My designs were unique to me. But the other opportunists, especially those outside the country decided, ‘eh, why reinvent the wheel?’.
So they started using my earring concepts.
I’m only one person. With everything that was going on with me emotionally, that is yet another reason why I took a break.
I’m quickly reminded of that when I notice five of my competitors pumping out new earrings every two weeks.
Getting up, I start making my way to the stairs to check on Danny. See if he needs anything.
Then the doorbell suddenly rings.
I’m very confused at first. Daniel runs straight down the stairs and heads for the door.
"Who's that?" I ask.
"My interview," Danny replies.
When he opens the door, it sounds like a literal snowstorm out there. The wind is just blowing and howling. Standing right there at the door is someone wrapped in a coat. My heart instantly leaps into my throat when I hear a very tiny, feminine voice.
As the woman steps inside, her cheeks are red and rosy from the cold.
She's very fair-skinned with freckles. At first glance, I thought this woman was Hispanic or something, but looking at her now, it's very hard to tell exactly what she is.
She looks like she could be from Spain, but mixed with something else…
I'm not really sure. Her hair is pitch-black and pulled into a long, curly ponytail.
The front is slicked back so stiffly that it looks shiny like water.
It's Saturday. Why would Danny be doing an interview on a Saturday? And for what reason?
"Nice to meet you," Danny says, holding out his hand to the woman with the biggest smile on his face.
She looks at him and smiles right back. She’s very tiny. She looks like she's in her early 20s, hell, I don't even know, she looks like she could be 15. As she comes further into the house, Danny offers to take her coat. I blink fast, standing up and just waiting.
The woman greets me, and I say hello back, but it's like my voice is completely disjointed from my mind.
She introduces herself as Kara. As I listen to her speak, I realize I was wrong about where she's from, she actually has this German lilt to her words. Danny says something to her, and then he leads Kara into one of the spaces in the family room.
"Hey babe, do you think you can put on some tea for Kara so she can get warm?" he calls out to me.
Catching myself, I nod and then do this weird headshake-nod thing. "Yeah, sure, of course. Sorry," I say, moving over to turn on the electric kettle.
Danny is already in the other room asking Kara a bunch of questions about how long she’s been working in the house-sitting and cleaning business, et cetera.
He did mention he was getting a maid, but really?
This is not what I wanted. For all that is holy, call me insecure all you want, but why does the maid have to look like that?
Even though Kara is very petite, she has a tiny waist, large breasts, and a voluptuous set of hips. Not to be mean, but she looks less like a maid and more like someone who is cosplaying as one for a gentleman's club.
In the absolute dead of a winter storm, she’s wearing a cute skirt that, no kidding, looks exactly like one of those doll costumes I bought for Danny one time so we could role-play.
He obviously isn't really into that stuff anyway.
He always gets so stiff whenever we try it, and I have to do all the work.
But here she is, dressed just like one. She looks cute.
Part of me is seriously wondering if this is all a ruse or a front for some girl that he already knows, because there is no way he can be having her work here. Why couldn't he just choose an old woman? Really?
I bring the tea in to Kara, and she looks up at me with the prettiest blue eyes. They're so icy blue that they look like literal glass.
I smile, standing there ready to ask Danny if he needs anything else, but he just looks at me.
"Is everything okay?" he says.
"Yes, I was gonna ask if you need anything else," I reply.
Danny just looks at me. "No, I'm fine. Is everything okay, Kara? Do you want anything else?"
"No, thank you. I'm fine. Thank you very much," Kara says, looking straight at me.
Then Danny just stares at me as he sits on the couch across from Kara. He looks at me as if he doesn't want me there, as if I'm a mere inconvenience, or as if I'm the help.
Giving him a stiff smile, I take my leave, and I head somewhere else in the house. As my back is turned and I'm heading away, I hear him continue questioning her about her hours and things that she's done before.
Are they only doing that because I'm here?
You see, I hate being paranoid like this. But if Danny wasn't giving me a reason to be paranoid, I wouldn't be. Still, I do have to try to remember that things have been great between us lately. These past two weeks have been almost magical, it seems.
While Daniel is down there talking to his interviewee, I'm up on the second floor in the loft painting. It’s that little open space on the other side of the top of the staircase where I've relocated my gerbils' cage.
I look outside. There is a house far in the distance with its lights on, barely visible through the cloudy, buffeting movement of the snowstorm.
"You look really angry. Are you worried about something?" Greece asks.
"What's there to be worried about?" I say.
The gerbils look at me through their wire enclosure and smile.
"I would say that there's lots to be worried about if you're concerned about a female dethroning you," Georgia adds.
"Oh, yes," Germany pipes up. "As you said, it is evening time, and he's brought a female, younger, into your home in the dead of winter."
"Probably so she can't leave. How anxiety-inducing," Greece says.
"Or maybe it's just because, like he said, he's bringing her some help," Ghana argues. "This is good. Melody can have more time to do, well, whatever she's doing right now."
"I'm painting," I tell them.
"Yes. That," Ghana says.
"If you wanna sit there and let him play in your face like that, that's up to you," Germany scoffs. "But I would have pulled him aside immediately. Did he even tell you she was coming?"
I put down my paintbrush.
"He mentioned that he was getting a maid."
"Oh, that's nice of him," Grenada says softly.
"And then you also said that you saw him looking at sites where he's giving females other resources instead of you," Germany reminds me.
"It's not like we don't have the money," I mutter.
"But clearly, you're upset about it," Germany points out.
"Yeah. Very upset," Ghana agrees. "Well, maybe there's no need to be. Maybe you can use some space."
I look up at the liver-brown gerbil. Her eyes are as black as night.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
The gerbil cleans her face.
"Don't listen to Ghana. She doesn't care about anything," Georgia snaps.
"On the contrary, I do care about a lot, but you must learn the art of not caring," Ghana replies.
"Excuse me?" I say.
"You must learn the art of—" Ghana begins.
"I know," I cut her off. "What do you mean?"
"Well, the more you care about something, the more it slips through your little fingers," Ghana explains, sitting back on her haunches.
"When you care too much, you lose your control.
You're telling me to turn off my feelings about something that I do care about.
You're telling me to act and pretend as though I don't care about it.
How am I supposed to do that? But it's not that you don't care or you don't worry.
It's about getting the one-up in the situation.
It reshapes your mind. When you turn your back, you make the things want to follow you.
There's a season for chasing and a season for luring, and you've only been chasing.
And that is not very feminine of you at all. "
"Who are you to say what's feminine or not?" Germany snaps, glaring through the bars. "You're the ugliest of all of us."
"I may be ugly," Ghana replies, completely unbothered. "I may be ugly, but I'm not masculine."
"Neither is she, you turd," Germany barks back.
"Germany, that's not very nice," Grenada squeaks.
"All of you, quiet," Georgia says, stepping forward. "What Melody needs is encouragement. Melody, there's a very simple solution for this."
Shaking my head, I continue to paint, but I'm letting my emotions do the talking.
I'm talking quietly enough so they can't hear me downstairs, but the house is big enough anyway.
With all the wind whistling and everything, and with how wonderfully insulated the house is, I doubt they could hear a thing.
Looking into her eyes, I wait for Georgia's reply.
"Talk to your husband," Georgia says.
"I've done that to death," I whisper back bitterly. "What do you think is gonna come of that? Every time I try to speak to him, he either makes it my fault or, I don't know..."
"But everything was going well," Georgia reminds me gently. "Maybe he only has your best interest at heart."
"Or maybe he's cheating on you," Greece chimes in.
All the gerbils collectively yell out, "Greece!"
"What?" she asks, throwing her paws up. "We're all thinking it. Or else why would he bring a female looking like that? He's really rich. You don't think he has a pool of females to choose from that look like they're ready for breeding?"
Rolling my eyes, I stand up and put my palette down.
"I'm gonna go take a nap," I announce.
"Dear, I'm so sorry," Georgia says softly. "I can see how this is racking your emotions. Maybe there is something to what Ghana is saying."
"Exactly," Ghana brags.
"Be quiet," Georgia huffs at her, then looks back at me. "Keeping your mind off of it for a few might help."
"Yeah, sure," Germany sneers. "Leave your man all alone downstairs with a strange woman that looks like every man's fantasy. Real smart."
"What do you want me to do?" I snap, turning on her. "Go sit down with them and have tea and cock-block them the whole time?"
"Are you hearing yourself?" Germany asks, her eyes wide. "You're wondering why it would be weird to go down and cock-block your husband from sleeping with another woman inside of your own house!"
"If Daniel was sleeping with anybody, I doubt I would stop him, seeing how everything was," I say flatly.
"I can’t believe I defended you. You are the worst person I have ever met," Germany groans.
"That's not very nice," Grenada whimpers.
"It's true," Germany insists. "Even if he is gonna sleep with other females, for goodness' sake, don't let him think it's okay to do it right under your nose. Have some dignity."
Walking away, I head straight to the bedroom. It always feels a little better talking to them, but right now, I just feel so lonely and horrible.
The guest bedroom I'm standing in has two small twin beds, mostly for friends when we have them over, but the truth is, this room was originally supposed to be for kids. Things I don't think I'm ever gonna have with Daniel. And now, honestly, I don't even want them.
I head back over to our master bedroom instead and just collapse onto the bed.
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