Текст книги "Berries and Greed"
Автор книги: Lily Mayne
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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 33 страниц)
As I stared up at the huge wall-mounted TV, I smiled to myself as I imagined Greid down here half-heartedly cycling on the bike, more interested in what he was watching than actually exercising. Probably eating something at the same time.
I felt a little sluggish as I started a slow jog to warm up. After a few ads for a fancy perfume, a sugar-laden cereal designed to look like dirt and gemstones for demiurgus kids, and a trailer for a sappy romantic comedy being released soon, the channel’s logo appeared on the screen.
A smooth, chirpy voice said, “Coming up later, the case of a human woman who risked it all to travel to Deep Earth, and claims she actually managed to get there, in our exclusive docuseries, What I Saw Beneath the Surface. But first, back to our all-day marathon of the cult classic drama series, Gloom Falls.”
The screen went black before shaky eighties footage of a sprawling demiurgus mansion appeared with the words Gloom Falls overlaid in big blocky letters. It cut to a demiurgus couple with puffed-up hair, dressed in jackets with big lapels and wide shoulder pads, gazing at each other adoringly. I blinked when it then showed the same demiurgus female throwing a glass at the male before collapsing dramatically onto a couch. Then a different demiurgus female peered worriedly out of a window, before a male came up behind her with a solemn expression and rested his hand on her shoulder.
I was already interested. I bet Greid has watched this, I thought as I cranked up the treadmill.
An hour later, I was dripping in sweat and fully invested in Gloom Falls. The glamorous demiurgus Ashi was having a sordid affair with her best friend’s lifemate—and neighbour—Golir, who owned a chain of successful “demiurgus gentlemen’s clubs” with his brother and was a bit of a bad boy. I could see why Ashi was attracted to him. Her own lifemate Huna was an asshole who drank too much and was having his own affair with the demiurgus across the street, a female called Loty whose lifemate Marish had recently died under mysterious circumstances.
I was desperate to ask Greid if he’d watched it and if Loty and Huna had conspired to kill Marish so they could collect his life insurance and be together. Hopping off the treadmill, I gulped down the rest of my water as the episode finished on a wicked cliffhanger—with Loty walking in on Ashi and Golir in a very friendly embrace and blackmailing them with the threat of telling their lifemates.
Reluctantly turning off the TV, I raced upstairs and burst into the kitchen to find Greid standing at the fridge, guzzling straight from a carton of juice. It was the kind I didn’t like, so I didn’t care.
When he saw me, he inhaled sharply then started coughing and spluttering, spraying juice everywhere.
I laughed, pushing damp tendrils of hair off my sweaty forehead. “Went down the wrong way?”
“Uh—huh,” he got out between coughs, gasping for breath. He didn’t seem to know where to look, eyes darting frantically as he fumbled to screw the lid back onto the carton.
I walked over to grab some paper towels from the counter and heard him suck in another fast breath and start coughing again. He held his hand out for the towels, eyes watering as he coughed into the crook of his elbow, but I knelt down to wipe up the juice droplets for him instead.
“Hey, have you watched Gloom Falls?” I asked as I stood up and dumped the towels in the trash. Plucking at my drenched tank to get some air on my sweat-slicked skin, I turned to face him.
Greid’s eyes shot up to the ceiling, then to the side, then to the fridge as he turned to face it, his voice still hoarse and raspy from coughing as he said, “Uh-huh. Yep. It’s great.”
I watched him as he just stared into the fridge, grabbing a pack of deli meat then putting it back, then a jar of pickles before putting that back too.
“Can we watch it after we finish Our Neighbours the Humans?” I asked, wondering what he was doing. “I just watched an episode while working out and I’m fully invested now.”
“Yeah, sure, of course.” His voice was strangled but overly perky. “There’s like fifteen seasons, so. Big commitment.”
“I don’t mind.” I cocked my head and crossed my arms. “You okay there?”
“Totally fine!” Greid shut the fridge and turned to face me, but his eyes darted down my frame before flitting away again. His ears were fluttering so fast it looked like he was about to take off into the air.
As he power-walked over to the counter and grabbed a store-bought muffin—I hadn’t attempted to make them again—I hesitantly uncrossed my arms and glanced down at myself. Was he grossed out because I was all sweaty? I couldn’t imagine Greid caring about something like that.
Or… All my other clothes were loose and pretty shapeless. My workout clothes were tight leggings and a stretchy tank.
My gut bottomed out and I glanced at Greid just as he stuffed half the muffin into his mouth. Heat raced over my skin, and it had nothing to do with the hour I’d just spent on the treadmill.
“Well, better… back to work. Necklace,” Greid mumbled with his mouth full, keeping his eyes averted as he raced out of the kitchen and up the stairs. A second later, I heard him trip and let out a strangled, “Ow, fuck.”
“You okay?” I called.
“Great!” he shouted back immediately.
I didn’t move for a long moment after I heard his workshop door shut way above me. Letting out a slow breath, I walked to the sink to refill my water bottle. My workout clothes weren’t particularly revealing, but they were tight, and Greid had only ever seen me in loose shirts and pants, or the giant hoodie that swamped me.
I already knew I was attracted to Greid. I’d always known it, deep down, but adjusting to such a monumental life change hadn’t left much room for me to really acknowledge it. Now I had. I’d acknowledged it, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
And now I was wondering if Greid was attracted to me too.
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Chapter Twenty-Two
Beryl
My trial shift at Abyss was… something.
Greid had walked me there just before four and got all shy when I gave him a brief hug to make myself feel less nervous. He’d told me he’d meet me at seven, got shy again when I asked him if I looked okay, mumbled that yes, I did, then watched as I took a deep breath and walked into the bar.
It hadn’t been all that busy yet—just a few people, mainly demiurgus, sitting in some of the low seating and sipping wine or mixed drinks. Mani was all smiles as she took me to the back office and showed me where to leave my coat, then handed me a little black apron with a big front pocket.
She’d introduced me to the two other bar staff who were working. A big, hulking demiurgus called Ron—yes, Ron—with a shaved head and thick hoops in his ears, and the only other human member of staff—a short, brown-haired guy called Gavin who gave me a cheerful grin as he loaded glasses into the dishwasher.
But it was Ron, not Gavin, who Mani asked to show me the ropes, and I quickly realised why. He was a big, cheerful guy who calmly showed me where everything was, didn’t mind at all when I asked lots of questions, and gently encouraged me to make my first drinks when someone came up to the bar and ordered. Then he stood beside me and quietly told me how to use the register, and gave me a huge grin and a high five when the customer walked off to their table with two gin and tonics.
“See? Not too scary.” He nudged my shoulder with his elbow. He was even taller than Greid, and twice as broad. “Here, let me show you how to pull pints…”
The first two hours passed in a blur, the bar suddenly getting busy in a rush at around five-thirty. I got a little flustered and overwhelmed when Ron left me to it for a while so we could clear all the customers waiting to order, but I managed to serve all my customers okay, and Mani only had to help me use the register twice.
Most people were really nice when they realised it was my first day. The bar had a lot of regulars, so it didn’t take long for someone to comment on the fact that I was new. It also didn’t take long for some of the customers to start getting drunker, and louder, and more boisterous as they ordered another round of drinks. By the end of my shift, I’d been called “sweetheart”, “darlin’” and “honey” more times than I could count. One douchey demiurgus in a shiny grey suit with slicked-back hair had even called me “sweetcheeks”, then guffawed with his friends, some of whom at least had the grace to look embarrassed.
I hadn’t wanted to fuck up and ruin my shot by getting angry, so I’d stayed silent. But Ron had noticed my unimpressed look and clenched jaw, and when we were standing side by side at the back bar fixing drinks, he’d quietly told me not to take any shit and that he’d kick out anyone who touched me or made me uncomfortable.
I’d felt a little better after that, and when I’d overheard Mani casually telling someone to fuck off and get out when they made a lewd comment toward her, I’d relaxed considerably. At least I wouldn’t be expected to put up with anything gross or inappropriate if I did get the job.
By the time seven started approaching, I was actually enjoying myself. It was fast-paced and manic at times, when a new crop of customers poured inside after getting off work and flooded the bar, but it was fun. At ten to seven, wanting to be as helpful as possible, I offered to unload the dishwasher with Gavin before I finished.
That was when I dropped the three wine glasses I’d been carrying over to the shelf. The bar, heaving with people, went quiet for a second before people guffawed as my entire face flamed with heat. Ron was already there sweeping up the shards, and Gavin gave me a quick pat on the shoulder as he passed, telling me with a chuckle that it was a rite of passage.
I still cringed when I realised Mani was over by the register, watching with her arms crossed. I knew my face was still bright red as my eyes met hers, and she gave me a tiny smile before jerking her head toward the back office.
Shit. I’d fucked it up then. This was when she told me that sorry, she just didn’t think I’d be a good fit. Or, even worse, that she’d looked into Orderly Winemakers and realised it was linked to a cult that worshipped her kind as sex gods and could I please get the fuck out and never come back?
The door swung shut behind me as I followed her into the office, muffling the loud voices and low music in the bar. I tried not to fidget as I stood there sweating while Mani walked over to the cluttered desk and perched on the edge.
“So.” She gave me a look that revealed nothing. “How did you find it?”
“I’m sorry about the glasses,” I blurted. “I can—I’ll pay for them—”
She laughed. “Babe, we smash about five glasses a night. Or they shatter in the dishwasher. It happens. At least they weren’t full, huh? That’s always a bitch, spending the rest of your shift sticky and wet. But how did you find it? Not too stressful?” She gestured at the door. “This is probably a medium in terms of how busy it gets at this time. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays are obviously the worst. We’re always rammed until last orders.”
“I really enjoyed it,” I told her eagerly. “It was fun, once I got the hang of it. And Ron and Gavin are really nice.”
She grinned. “Good. Yeah, they are. That’s why I thought tonight would be a good night for you to try it out. Ron’s great at keeping people calm. He’s actually my boyfriend.”
I perked up. “Is he? He seems like a great guy. He did keep me calm.”
Her big, sharp-toothed grin was affectionate. “I’ll let him know. He’ll be pleased.”
Glancing back at the desk, she picked up a white envelope and held it out. “Your pay for tonight.”
When she didn’t mention me getting the job, I couldn’t stop my shoulders from sagging in despair. Stepping forward, I pasted on a smile and took the envelope. “Thank you so much.”
Blinking fast as my eyes started to burn, I hurriedly grabbed my coat and slipped it on. Mani laughed, straightening up from the desk.
“Hold up, Beryl. You need to tell me if you want the job or not.”
I froze, staring at her. “Huh?”
She gestured at the door. “You did great. I think you’ll fit in well here. You’re efficient, fast but not sloppy. You’re polite and friendly to the customers, but I can already tell you won’t put up with the drunk assholes who get too mouthy, which you absolutely don’t have to. If you want the job, it’s yours.”
Oh my god. Gulping down a breath, I nodded quickly. “Yes. I’d love to take the job. Thank you.”
“Awesome.” Mani grinned at me, then gestured at the computer monitor on the desk. “I’m going to do next week’s shift schedule tomorrow, so if you can start next week, I’ll get you in there.”
“I can start as soon as you need me to,” I said quickly.
“Great. Well, this week’s schedule is already done, so it’ll most likely be Monday that you’ll start properly. That okay?”
“Yes, sure. Of course.” I swallowed. “Thank you so much, Mani.”
“No problem. I’m looking forward to having you on the team. I’ll text over your shifts sometime later in the week, and I might be in touch for a last-minute shift if anyone calls in sick. You don’t have to say yes, but—”
“I can do that,” I said eagerly. “If anyone calls in sick, I’ll be happy to come in. I only live around the corner, so I can get here quickly.”
Mani chuckled, patting me on the shoulder as she headed for the door. “Trust me, babe, you won’t be so eager in a few months. But I appreciate it. Now go home and relax. Or if you want a drink on the house—”
“No, it’s okay, thank you.” I smiled at her. “My… friend is waiting for me outside.”
“No worries. Another time.” She opened the door. “Oh, text me your email address so I can send over your contract. See you later, Beryl.”
Must remember to ask Greid to help me set up an email address.
“Okay, will do. Bye.” I grinned at her and waved at Gavin and Ron as I slipped through the crowd to the doors.
The cold air outside prickled my cheeks after the humidity in the bar, but I was instantly distracted when I saw Greid leaning against the wall of the closed bakery next door, his dark face illuminated as he stared down at his phone.
He glanced over, and when he saw it was me, his face lit up as he straightened from the wall and pocketed his phone. He was wearing a long woollen coat over jeans and a sweater that looked soft and worn. He looked so handsome. And familiar. And safe. All I wanted to do was bury myself against him and breathe him in.
But when we met on the sidewalk, and I tipped my head back to grin up at him, I realised—no. That wasn’t all I wanted to do.
I wanted to kiss him. So bad.
“How did it go?” he asked, and my eyes locked onto his mouth before I forced myself to look away.
“I got the job,” I told him, beaming so wide my cheeks hurt.
Greid’s yellow eyes flared in the streetlights before he wrapped his arms around me and yanked me into his chest, squeezing me tight.
A second later, I felt him stiffen against me. “Uh, sorry, is this oka—”
“Yes,” I interrupted, squishing my cheek against his warm sweater.
“I’m so happy for you, Beryl,” he said hoarsely, then stepped back but kept his hands on my shoulders. “I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
“I am.” I realised my fingers were curled into his sweater, so I reluctantly let go. “I start officially on Monday.”
Shoving my hand into my coat pocket, I pulled out the envelope. “And look! I got paid. I can buy us dinner tonight.”
He grinned and shook his head as we started heading down the street. “No way. I’m getting it to congratulate you. Do you want to try the champagne tonight? To celebrate?”
“Yes.” What I really wanted to do was hold his hand, but they were stuffed in the pockets of his coat as we walked side by side. “Does that mean you’re not gonna smoke tonight? If you’re drinking?”
“Nah, I won’t smoke.” He was silent for a moment. “Well, maybe.”
I laughed, swaying into him to nudge his arm with my shoulder. When he grinned down at me, the artificial light from the streetlights sliding over his hair and making his yellow eyes gleam, my insides throbbed with dizzying warmth and excitement.
In that moment, it had nothing to do with how proud and happy I was over what I’d achieved tonight. How everything felt like it was finally clicking into place, and I was actually forging a new life for myself.
It had everything to do with him.
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Chapter Twenty-Three
Greid
“How’s it looking?” I asked, trying to keep my head perfectly still as I watched the TV.
I was sitting on the floor in front of the couch and Beryl was behind me, perched on the edge as she messed with my hair. She’d told me she wanted to put it into space buns. Obviously, I couldn’t say no to her.
Getting to feel her small fingers running through my hair was just a bonus. My face spikes flexed in a gentle, continuous wave from the pleasure. Her warm thighs were bracketing my sides, and I had my arms hooked over them so she wouldn’t have to spread her legs stupidly wide for me to fit between them.
I didn’t want to move, ever. This was heaven.
She grunted, trying to secure one of the buns. “Your hair is really slippery.”
I chuckled. “Slippery?”
“It’s like, the most perfectly conditioned hair I’ve ever seen in my life. You could side-gig as a model for shampoo commercials. Do you use hair masks?”
“Yeah, sometimes I’ll do a hair and face mask.”
“Can we do them together?”
I grinned. “Yeah, of course. I also have those really good pimple patches. Not that you get pimples.”
“I get pimples. I’ve got one right now.” She leaned down until her face appeared right beside mine and pointed at her chin. “See?”
My breath caught as I turned my head, my eyes almost crossing as I tried to focus on the little red pimple on her chin from so close. Her mouth was right there. Clearing my throat, I said, “Oh.”
“That means my period’s on its way,” she said with a sigh, leaning back and raking her fingers through my hair again.
I quickly tried to catalogue what was in the millions of boxes in my Room of Shame. “I might have a hot water bottle you can use when you get it.”
“Thanks, Greid,” she said with a smile in her voice, squeezing my shoulders before returning to my hair. “Sure you’re not bored sitting there? This is harder than I thought it’d be.”
“No, I’m fine,” I said quickly. Please don’t stop playing with my hair. “Totally comfortable.”
“Good. Oh shit, I missed what Ashi just said.”
I focused on the TV. “She told Huna that she’s going out for dinner with her girlfriends, but she’s actually going to meet Golir for a sexy rendezvous.”
Beryl huffed in annoyance. “How does Huna not realise she’s boning Golir like, all the time?”
“Because he’s too busy boning Loty and conspiring to take out Marish with her.”
We hadn’t finished Our Neighbours the Humans yet, but we’d decided to watch Gloom Falls while we hung out before Beryl went to work. She’d been working at the bar for almost two weeks now, and she loved it more and more with every shift. I could see her confidence returning and growing, and I knew she liked having a routine, even though her shifts were at different times depending on the day.
I was really proud of her, but she didn’t need me to tell her that. She knew it. She was proud of herself too, and that was what mattered.
“Okay, they’re probably gonna be messy and uneven, but I’m just gonna do it.” Beryl gathered one side of my hair up and started securing it again. “I’ll make your hair all greasy if I keep playing with it like this.”
“I don’t mind. We can do the masks later if you want, when you get home, so I’ll wash it then.”
“Sounds good.” She tied up the other side and fussed with them for a bit. “Okay, let me see.”
I shifted around in the cradle of her legs to face her, and Beryl’s face lit up.
“They look really good.” She reached out and adjusted one. “A little uneven, but they suit you. You look pretty.”
My ears fluttered wildly as I grinned at her. “Thanks.” I bobbed my head side to side so they’d wobble, just to make her laugh.
She did. And then she cupped my face in her small hands and leaned in to kiss my cheek.
We both froze. My hearts started pounding, sweat beading under my arms as my entire body grew warm. I went light-headed for a second, but maybe the space buns were just too tight.
Quickly dropping her hands, Beryl sat back as her freckled cheeks turned bright pink. “Sorry, I-I shouldn’t have done that without asking you—”
“It’s okay,” I croaked, resisting the intense desire to clutch her legs and beg her to do it again. “I…”
We stared at each other in silence. My breath caught in my throat when Beryl’s green eyes drifted down to my mouth.
Oh fuck. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck—
“Greid,” she said hoarsely, one of her hands slowly lifting toward my face again.
The doorbell made us both jump violently, and Beryl dropped her hand with a little laugh, eyes darting to the living room door.
Nooooooo!
“I’ll get it,” I rasped, unfurling from the floor and trying not to stomp as I left the living room.
Whoever the fuck it was could go to hell. Had Beryl actually been about to kiss me? My legs were a little shaky and my hearts were still rabbiting in my chest as I yanked open the front door, already scowling.
I blinked in shock at the sight of my mother and sister on the front step, dread creeping into my gut. Oh god, no.
“Why such a thunderous face, kushka?” Mom was already bustling inside and presenting her cheek for a kiss. “You aren’t happy to see your mother?”
“Mom,” I sputtered, kissing her cheek in a daze. My eyes drifted to my sister as she swept inside, still occupied by her phone. “Kiti. What—”
“We were in the neighbourhood and thought we’d stop by,” Mom said airily as she shed her coat and held it out to me. I took it automatically. “You haven’t visited in so long. Not even when Nuni won his latest contemporary architecture award for the nesthouse in the—”
“In the Blackgrass Building. Yeah, I know,” I grumbled, glaring at my sister as she dumped her coat over Mom’s in my arms. “I was busy. And he’s already won, like, fifty awards, so I doubt he even cares about them anymore.”
Mom tutted, peeling off her gloves and dropping them carelessly on the console table. “You should still support your brother, kushka.”
“I texted him,” I muttered, dumping the coats on the little chair next to the table. “And he replied with, ‘thanks, d-bag’.”
Kiti snickered, patting my cheek as she sauntered past, making me scowl at her. “You are a d-bag.”
“Takes one to know one.” I immediately cringed after saying it, hoping Beryl hadn’t heard from the living room.
Oh god. Beryl. How was I going to explain—
Mom froze on her way to the kitchen, and I realised Beryl had come out of the living room and was standing there watching us. Shit, so she’d heard me acting like a little kid. But that wasn’t my fault. Kiti and I were the two youngest, and while we weren’t exactly young anymore, we tended to devolve into bickering children when we were together.
“Who’s this?” Mom asked slowly, turning her head to freeze me in place with her piercing gaze.
Before I could say anything, Beryl stepped forward and held out her hand. “I’m Beryl.”
“Beryl,” Mom echoed, clasping Beryl’s hand with both of hers. “Lovely to meet you, darling. I’m Una, Greid’s loving mother. Although apparently I wasn’t loving enough, seeing as he didn’t even feel the need to call me and tell me about his new… friend.”
“Mom,” I grated as Kiti snickered and shoved my arm.
She stepped forward and shook Beryl’s hand, drawling, “Nice to meet you, Beryl. I’m Kiti, Greid’s much better-looking older sister.”
“You’re older by, like, thirty seconds,” I muttered. As Mom bustled Beryl into the kitchen, I added in a whisper, “And you’re not better looking than me, assface.”
“Gonna tell Beryl you said that,” she sing-songed, then tweaked one of the space buns I’d forgotten about. “Nice hair, by the way.”
I didn’t answer, more concerned with what my mom might be saying to Beryl as I trailed after Kiti into the kitchen.
“Still no dining table, kushka.” Mom tutted the moment I entered. “Soon I’ll start thinking you don’t actually want to have us all over for dinner.”
My eyes met Beryl’s, and her mouth twitched. I could tell she’d rightly guessed that was the precise reason why I did not have a dining table.
But then, to my horror, she curiously asked, “Kushka?”
“It means tiny baby,” Kiti eagerly supplied before I could say anything. She grabbed my cheeks, squishing them even as I slapped at her hands. “Tiny, little ugly baby, because Greid was the smallest.”
“He was not an ugly baby, Kiti,” Mom admonished, rifling through her handbag. “He was a precious little chubby-cheeked darling, just like all of my children were. Beryl, do you want to see pictures?”
“Yes,” Beryl said immediately.
“No,” I blurted in horror at the same time.
“Laki—one of my other children—showed me how to put them all on my phone,” Mom told Beryl, finally extracting her phone from her handbag and brandishing it like the weapon it was. “Now, just give me a moment to get to them. Greid, are you going to offer us beverages at any point during our visit, or should we expect to stop for coffee after we leave so we don’t die of thirst on the way home?”
My eye twitched as I slapped Kiti’s hand away from where she was poking one of my buns. “I’ll make coffee.”
“I’ll do it,” Beryl said.
“No, Beryl, you don’t have to—”
“I don’t mind.” She gave me a small smile that told me she’d like to have something to do. Mom and Kiti were… big personalities.
And my annoying sister was watching our tiny, meaningless interaction with laser focus.
“So, Beryl. How did you meet my grody brother?” she asked lightly, giving me a smirk that told me she was only getting started with the questions.
My eyes met Beryl’s, and my gut squeezed when I saw her gaze fill with worry. She licked her lips and hesitantly parted them. “Um, well—”
“We met at the coffee place,” I blurted. “Around the corner. Deep Brew. I go there every morning at the same time. Nine-fifteen. One morning, a Friday morning, as I was leaving I tripped and spilled my coffee over the newspaper Beryl was reading. She was sitting at one of the tables, the one by the door that’s... Um, so I apologised and noticed she’d been circling listings for apartments and rooms to rent so, um, I asked her if she was looking for somewhere to live and we started talking and, you know, I have spare rooms so…”
As I trailed off, I realised Beryl was wincing and my sister was staring at me with a flat expression. I felt a little sweaty, but I thought I’d done a pretty good job lying, hadn’t I? I’d offered lots of details. Details made lies believable.
“Uh-huh,” Kiti said without any inflection, sly gaze darting over to our mother. Thankfully, Mom was too busy frowning down at her phone to have listened to any of that.
“Kiti, how do you take your coffee?” Beryl asked brightly, turning to get mugs from the cabinet.
“Black with two sugars. Thanks, sweets. Mom will have cream and one sugar.”
“Kiti, how do I get to my photos?” Mom asked irritably. “These damn claws. Why did I let you talk me into this ridiculous manicure?”
“They look good.” Kiti wandered over to Mom and tapped on the screen with her own inch-long, bright pink claws.
I started shuffling over to Beryl to help her make the coffee—and apologise profusely—but then the doorbell rang again. Letting out a strangled groan, I reluctantly left the kitchen after glaring at Kiti in warning and power-walked to the front door. I didn’t trust my sister alone with Beryl. She’d tell her things. Embarrassing things.
“Hi, Greid!” Tim said cheerfully when I pulled open the door, his plastic basket of cleaning supplies dangling from one hand. “Oh wow, I like the hairdo. Very cool.”
I stepped back to let him in, gruffly saying, “Hi, Tim. Uh, thanks.”
“Is Beryl in?” he asked as he made his way to the kitchen.
“Uh, yeah, she’s in the—” I froze in place when I followed Tim into the kitchen and saw that Beryl had abandoned the coffee. She was standing with Kiti and Mom, and all three of them were staring eagerly down at my mom’s phone.
“This is Greid and his brothers all wrapped up in their towels after a bath,” Mom was saying, making me want to melt into the floor and start a new, easy existence as a puddle of mindless goo. “Look how tiny Greid is compared to the others!”
“He pooped in the bath,” Kiti supplied. I choked on a humiliated, indignant breath.
“That was Nuni!” I said furiously. “That was not me!”
“How would you know?” Kiti shot back with a smirk. “You were too young to remember it.”
“So were you, asswipe. We’re the same age.”
Kiti waved a hand. “Mom told me.”
“Mom!” I exploded. “Tell Kiti it was Nuni! It wasn’t me!”
“Oh, I can’t remember which one of you pooped,” Mom said dismissively. “It doesn’t matter anyway. That’s what babies do. Beryl, look at this one. Greid’s first tooth. He could not stop dribbling.”
Oh fuck, I felt faint. Suddenly hearing a throat being cleared behind me, I whirled around and stared at Tim. Oh god, I’d forgotten he was here too.
“Hi everyone!” He gave a cheerful wave. “I’m Tim, Greid’s cleaner. Beryl, how was your first week at work?”
I could’ve fucking kissed him, because he successfully distracted Beryl from any more embarrassing baby pictures. She looked up and grinned at him.
“Hi, Tim. Yeah, it’s going great.” She moved back over to the coffee pot. “Do you want some coffee?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
“Tim, do you want to look at Greid’s baby pictures?” Kiti asked, shooting me a wide smirk that I returned with a scowl.
He chuckled. “Best not get distracted, got to start work.”
I was giving him a raise. He looked entirely unfazed as he set his cleaning supplies down and went into the laundry room to grab the rest. The guy was unflappable, and perpetually cheerful in a way that creeped me out a little. But just for tearing Beryl away from the baby photos, he was getting a hefty raise.
If he could somehow get my sister and mother out of the house with minimal damage to my pride, I’d double it.
