Indiana and Grace stood docilely by the door.
My hold on the doorknob intensified, I was afraid to look behind me to Margaret who sat gracefully asking at intervals who was there.
I stepped down shielding my best friends from her view. Margaret had warned me against bringing intruders into her household—and by intruders she meant my two best friends.
“What are you guys doing here?” I whispered-yelled.
I closed the door behind me.
“We decided to visit you, since you know—” Indiana started.
I knew I was a shitty best friend. I rarely hung out with my friends. Margaret was to blame for it, she made sure I had no time to spare. I go to bed late everyday and wake up early in the morning to continue with the house chores.
Grace was looking down. She was the sensitive one out of us all. I couldn’t help but be guilty.
“This is unfair,” Grace whispered. I looked behind. Somehow we were all waiting for Margaret to emerge behind the sealed doors.
“We don’t hang out anymore because of your mom.” It was when Indiana mentioned that I recalled who Margaret was to me. She was my mom—Juliet’s mom.
“I have chores.” I said like all the times I did before. I couldn’t permit my best friends in the world to talk ill of Margaret no matter how mean she was—she was still my mother.
“You always say that.” Indiana rumbled. “Stop it Cheryl, she isn’t going to love you. You need to stop wishing she will.”
Grace reached out for me, engulfing me in a hug. She knew how I was hurting. She understood what it felt like to love someone unconditional—hoping that some day they would love you back.
“It’s fine Cheryl. We can—” Grace wasn’t able to complete her sentence because Margaret was standing by the door glaring intensely at us.
Indiana and Grace bid me goodbye before running out of the gate into the neighborhood.
“Didn’t I warn you not to bring over intruders?” Margaret questioned.
I wiped my sweaty hands on my tattered gown. I couldn’t utter a word nor move. Just when her hands could come in contact with me, Juliet interfered.
“Don’t waste your time on her mother. Remember how daddy sounded serious over the phone. It’s nearly 6:00pm, and the guest will be arriving soon.”
I thanked my lucky stars. Twice did Juliet saved me from Margaret. Almost as if she liked me.
I mustn’t be deceived. Juliet was just joyful over meeting with Allen, and I just happened to be fortunate.
“Yes, yes my dear.” Margaret smiled sweetly at Juliet. To me she uttered with disdaine. “Go and prepare dinner, don’t slack.”
And I cooped to the kitchen.
______•••••______
Dinner was made after intense cooking. I had prepared four dishes, fried rice and chicken, cheesecake, pretzels, lobster rolls—chocolate fondue for dessert.
The dinning room was neatly set. Plates and cutleries placed at their respective positions. Not to forget wine.
Margaret informed us that our guest would be arriving any time soon. Juliet was dressed in a dark-colored pink princess dress. Atop her head was a crown that complimented her looks although she appeared ridiculous. Her hands were hidden by the matching gloves. Her hair was in a bun—only Juliet could pull out such a look and nail it.
I was standing by the kitchen door with spatula in hand ready to serve any moment. Margaret strictly ordered to stay out of her hair except stated otherwise.
Their arrival was announced by Juliet’s squeals. “Good evening Daddy.”
Her voice echoed in the corridor.
Father’s replies weren’t audible. I fought the urge to run and evolve him in a deadly hug. It had been five months since he was home. Sometimes I knew Margaret wouldn’t treat me as horrible as she did if Father stayed home. I remembered when I was young and he would obliged to go on another business trip, I would spend the night hugging my stuffed bunny to my chest and crying my self to sleep.
Father walked in the room majestically like he always did. He sat down and whispered sweet
nothings to Margaret who was overwhelmed with joy.
Juliet lead a young good looking guy to his seat, I guessed that was the Allen she was fanning over. He was tall, strong built with an oval shaped face, his lips were thin and pink. I wondered how soft they would feel. Stop it, Cheryl, he won’t notice you.
“Mr. Ian,” father acknowledged the middle-aged man. His hair had long succumbed to age—greyish. Unlike Allen, he smiled at Margaret and shook hands with Father with a delightful aura.
I observed them through the half opened kitchen door. I needed to make sure that I was there when Margaret needed me.
It was hard to depict what they were saying, they were a few feet away from the dining room. I watched intently as Juliet flirted with Allen, rubbing her hands on his shoulder and fluttering her eyelids. Allen looked peeved, yet he didn’t push her away.
Juliet had that effect on people; she tried hard to impress whenever she could. It wasn’t difficult considering the fact that she had recherché outfits and fit with the elites.
I closed my eyes, my body felt sore all over. I cross-checked that the plates were carefully kept and the trays were at reach.
“I love your shirt,” Juliet chirped. Allen looked at her with a frown adorning his handsome features.
It was the first time since he came that I took a good look at him. From where I stood I could see his green eyes illuminated by the bulb.
My heart was beating fast, the kind it did whenever Margaret got mad at me. I couldn’t stop myself from gazing at his blonde silky hair that was swept back. I knew it was silky because Indiana’s brother, Jaret, used some products and it made his hair silky.
I looked away afraid to be caught in the act.
“Cheryl” Margaret yelled from the table.
I had a tremendous feeling that this evening was going to be eventful—a life-changing-one.
Margaret called for me with a flicker of her hands. I took a hold of the dishes and placed it at the center of the table. Allen’s eyes were still on me, his presence was making me awfully uncomfortable. Yet, I ignored his stares and poured the elderly man—probably his father—wine. “Sister,” she announced. Her eyes were looking so intensely at me that I squinched. I wasn’t surprised that I was acknowlged. After all, father was present and any form of degrading would only cause trouble to Margaret and Juliet. Juliet took Margaret’s pampering tendencies towards her for granted. She showed it off whenever she got the chance to do so. In all this, I never blamed her for taking our parent’s attention.She raised her head high and elegantly sat watching intently at Allen. She would nudge him and point at a random dish. Allen would nod without saying a word. I rarely saw dad, he was always travelling abroad dealing with one business or the other to earn a livelihood. Yet, he never got the
Margaret dismissed me for the night. I should be grateful that I was left off the hook, but I couldn’t shake the suspicious glare Juliet sent my way. It was a warning to stay away from Allen. We all knew Allen wouldn’t settle for anything less as me. Juliet was up to his standards, she fit all the requirements to stay beside him. I lied on the soft bed, my back was hurting from the beatings and standing while they ate. I felt bad for declining father’s offer to join them, at least I could’ve eaten something. My stomach growled, I pressed a hands suppressing it. The guest were probably downstairs or gone, I didn’t know what time it was. I had no clocks on the wall or a phone to look at. It had been a few minutes not sure but I suddenly felt thirsty and decided to stroll to the kitchen. The dinning room was empty, which meant the guests had called it a night. As for Margaret and Juliet I had no idea where they were but I hopped they were asleep. I looked at Juliet’s picture that
It wasn’t a surprise that Juliet would take a liking to Allen at the first meeting, but the request for marriage took me off guard. My hand shook and I did all I could to stay balanced, and hidden from their view.Juliet knelt down before Margaret sobbing while the latter comforted her by running her hands through her hair. They were waiting for father who after the departure of our honorable guests had taken the pleasure to escort them out. My eyes flickered between Margaret and Juliet. I couldn’t comprehend why I felt so disappointed when Juliet declared her interest in Allen. Those glances he stole my way during dinner was nothing, I was a nobody and he couldn’t possibly fancy me. Juliet had everything he desired in a woman, yet I couldn’t help the jealously in me. It was the first time that someone had taken the time to look at me with keen interest. Father appeared disheveled, his tie was loosened and it looked like he would pass out any minute from fatigue. We were all wa
“Get up witch,” Juliet seized the duvet, the sun shine through the half-opened window, goosebumps were all over me as I struggled to get myself warm by tightly hugging myself. “Good morning Juliet,” I murmured. Curtsey was on one of the many things Margaret emphasized on. “Didn’t you hear me the first time? I said wake up witch.” And I thought Father considering to meet with the Ian’s for a marriage proposal was supposed to brighten her mood. I rushed out of the bed and ran like my life depended on it to the kitchen—I wouldn’t take any chances with Margaret, not after getting on the phone with my best friends. Oh no, Indiana, I felt like a terrible friend. I always knew I wasn’t entitled to have companies but deep down, I wanted to have friends like a normal young adult. As much as I enjoyed cooking, I couldn’t ignore the soreness from running errands. “Good morning Father,” I greeted while placing the plates on the wooden family dinning table. He hummed in acknowledgement. Jul
Dinner was grilled fish served with sauce and plenty lemons. And for dessert it was chocolate cake. What I learned about the Ians was their love for elegance—everything must be in order. Also, the unspeakable of eating without talking. I devoured the dishes without appearing too desperate. Not having proper meals for days and then sitting at a large table, accompanied by all varieties of foods that could be swapped for another within the blink of an eye. I also learned that Allen detested garlic. He also had a habit of smelling the food before eating to detect the presence of garlic. Juliet was her usually cocky self, laughing in an unnecessarily high pitched annoying voice every few minutes. She also tried to engage Allen in conversations as much as she could. I knew what Allen and I had was nothing. It was the spur of the moment, but it gave me hope. I knew I was a hopeless romantic when I went through all the books in the library during high school. “Here,” Allen handed me
I was on the phone with Indiana three days after the dinner. To cut the story short, Juliet got engaged to Allen and the wedding was set for four months. “Juliet is planning to have the best wedding of the century. I mean I have nothing against her wedding but I will hate to have to serve wine for rich snotty brats that probably had people wiped their butts everyday.”“Look at the bright side Cher, you will get rid of the bitch—” when she said the word ‘bitch’ she made sure it was so low that if I hadn’t predicted her I wouldn’t have guessed.Indiana was unique in her own way, while Grace was the quiet type we were the life of the party. Speaking of Grace, “Is Grace mad at me?” It wasn’t often that I got the chance to speak with them. I hated the fact that I had to sneak before properly talking them—the distance created the drift in our friendship. “She is fine. Her mom’s always busy, she has night shifts now and Grace has to take care of her sister Mia, you know how that girl can
Ever since I was born, it had always been the sequence of events; getting punished daily for the petty mistakes I made. Margaret said I’m non-complaint and to make sure I stayed out of trouble she had to discipline me. Juliet and I were never alike. She preferred to stay in the shadows of Margaret—since she claimed that I had no privilege to refer to her as a mom—while I do things my own way. So far, that had gotten me into more troubles than I can count. I paused my movement on the broom, the tiled floor looking anew. I could hear footsteps approaching. I steadied myself getting ready for Margaret’s wraths and if I were unlucky, a few strokes of cane.Before I could make a run for the door, Margaret stomped in with two whips in hand and Juliet trailing behind her clenching the hem of her dress with a barbarous glare. Margaret looked around, heaved a sigh and uttered with potency. “How many times have I told you not to defy my orders? I sheltered you, took care of you when you wer
My punishment season ended when Margaret received a phone call. I had never been thankful for Juliet like I did at the moment. Margaret had withdrawn her hold on the whip, she quickly collected the device from Juliet and walked away.I knew better than to stay sprawled on the floor despite the bruises and soreness that were excruciating as ever. I sauntered to the kitchen in an attempt to make lunch.I looked around the sparkling tidy environment. I loved cooking, cutting, chopping ingredients into chunks was the best part of my day. The counter was wiped clean, rugs and kitchen equipment and tools neatly set up. Juliet littered the kitchen whenever she was in. It was my job to keep everything in check. We might not be high-class business owners but we had enough to take care of the family and for a maid as well. I had made the mistake of suggesting Margaret hire someone so I could rest but it ended in me having scars all over my body and Margaret yelling at me all day.I got to wor