Chapter Four
Rueda busied herself tidying up the already spotless counter while Kimberly sat on the counter, idly chopping sausages. Why the young lady had chosen to spend her day in the kitchen instead of outside with her friends, she, Rueda, could not begin to fathom.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go out today?” she asked for the hundredth time.
“Yes, Rueda, I’m very sure.”
“But why?” Rueda persisted. “There is nothing interesting in the house or here in the kitchen.”
“Let me just sit here and help you okay. I really don’t feel like going out today. Unless I’m getting in your way.”
“No, not at all. I don’t mind company every now and then,” Rueda replied quickly, but she couldn’t help thinking that there was more to it than the young lady was letting on.
“Do you think that women with higher culinary skills have better chances of marrying the men they love than those less gifted in cooking?”
“What?” The surprise on Rueda’s face was almost comical, but Kimberly had been debating the issue in her head for almost two weeks now, and she knew Rueda could give her a definitive answer. Nobody cooked better than Rueda –not even the workers’ saviour.
“I asked –”
“I heard you. I just don’t know why you’d ask a silly question like that.”
“But you know that men prefer women who can cook to women who can’t. Don’t they say the way to a man’s heart is his stomach?”
Rueda’s face, emotionless for all of a second, suddenly cracked up as she held her bosom and guffawed. And when she could finally control her laughter, she said, “It’s not always true, my dear. There are men who prefer brains and there are those that prefer beauty. Some prefer total submission and then, there are those that want everything combined. And yes, there are those who think a good cook is all they need in a wife. In short, there are thousand reasons a man would want to settle down with a particular woman. Is that why you look so depressed?”
“No,” Kimberly answered, “I was only wondering”
“Alright. Anyway, it’s good for a woman to know how to prepare a dish or two. The late Mr. Mubarak made sure that all his children and grandchildren knew how to cook well. He didn’t care much about gender.”
“Hussein can cook?” Kimberly asked incredulously.
The housekeeper raised a questioning eyebrow at the unexpected outburst but answered, “he didn’t appreciate being forced to learn a woman’s skill at first, but after a while, he got very good at it. What about you? Did you and your siblings learn to cook from your mother?”
Kimberly realised that Rueda assumed she could cook. She didn’t know if she should tell the housekeeper woman that she couldn’t. “I don’t have any siblings,” she said instead. “My mum doesn’t cook. I don’t know if she can.”
“And your father?”
“I don’t know.” Kimberly busied herself chopping the already chopped sausages.
“He doesn’t cook as well?”
“He did a bit when he was around.” She wished Rueda would not ask her any further questions. She could already feel the tears threatening to fall.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did he pass away?”
“I don’t know. Can we talk about something else please?” The catch in her voice told Rueda that the subject was definitely closed. The older woman did not know if she should be surprised or concerned that this young lady did not know if her father was dead or alive.
“Good morning,” Hussein greeted as he sauntered into the kitchen.
“You were away longer than usual,” Rueda said. “How are you doing?”
“Starving,” Hussein grinned widely at the housekeeper. “Did you save any breakfast for me?”
“No, Emma Kuma ate the last of everything but I’ll put something together for you. Kimberly was helping me start lunch.”
“Hey,” Hussein smiled at her. He had decided that morning that he was going to do whatever it took to win her over. “How are you doing?”
Kimberly studied him critically. He wore a clean blue T-shirt on top of faded jeans. Irrelevantly, she wondered if he did his own laundry. He looked different. Approachable. Then she realised why. He was smiling –at her.
Why was he asking about her as if they were pals? Exactly what was he up to? When he had told Jessica that he was not going to sleep in the Big House, she had thought he was staying away just for the night. After one week when he still had not returned, she had gotten so close to asking Jessica about him. She had refrained at the very last minute. Whatever Hussein did with his life was none of her business.
Yet, the idea that he was spending the night somewhere else, probably with a particular woman, had caused conflicting emotions to churn inside her. She had been so confused by her feelings, because she was sure that she did not wish for him to be spending those nights with her.
“Are you alright?” Hussein asked when Kimberly still did not answer.
“I’m fine,” she said at last.
“You stayed back today,” he stated.
“I didn’t feel like going out.”
“Can we talk outside? It’s important.”
“Sure. Let me wash my hands.”
Hussein watched her wash her hands under the running water. Her easy agreement surprised him. He had expected a well-worded tongue-lashing or at best, that she would completely ignore him. This woman was full of surprises. When she was done, he followed her into the hall.
“What is this important thing you want to talk about?” Hussein grinned at her stern face and curt tone. He should have known that she wouldn’t give in so easily. It was almost a relief. He enjoyed a good challenge, and Kimberly Greene was a big one.
“First I apologise for my behaviour –what I said –the last night we were together. It was uncalled for.”
“Your behaviour was definitely uncalled for. What next?”
“Let me clarify that I’m not apologising for the kiss –I don’t regret it –I’m sorry for what I said afterwards. I was out of line.”
Kimberly did well to hide the smile lingering on her lips. She was glad that he said that because she did not regret the kiss either. It had been beautiful while it lasted.
“I agree,” she said simply, well aware of the ambiguity of her words.
“So, I’m going to make up for it”
“I’m not asking you to,” Kimberly replied.
“I want to, please.” He took both her hands in his. “I want us to start over, and on the right foot this time.”
“What is the right foot?”
He smiled at her. “You ask a lot of questions, Kimberly”
“I have a lot of questions. Such as why the sudden change. Why are you being so nice to me? Why are you talking about making it up to me, and how are you even going to –”
“Shh!” Hussein put a finger on her lips. His grin was wide as he looked down into her eyes. “Let’s start with dinner tonight.”
She fought the urge to taste his finger on her lips. Instead, she cleared her throat and asked, “Like a dinner date?”
“Like a dinner date,” he said.
The excitement welling up in her threatened to burst her. Dinner with Hussein. She so badly wanted to say yes, she almost did. “No,” she snapped quickly before she could change her mind and stepped back.
His hands went back to his sides. “Why not?”
“I can’t.”
“You can’t or you won’t?” he took a step closer.
“I don’t think dinner will help.”
“You know what won’t help? Fighting your feelings.” Her eyes widened with surprise at his words, but he did not stop there. He was not going to accept a no. “Do you deny it, Kimberly? That there is something between us? That you feel something when I touch you? When I kiss you? Cos, I feel it too, and those feelings just won’t go away.”
She closed her eyes against the emotional assault. “Don’t, please. I don’t want to do this,” she said in a small voice. But she did. Oh, she yearned to explore all those feelings bottled up inside her. The feelings that just wouldn’t go away no matter how much she tried. She wanted to do so as badly as she wanted to explore the man who had released all those sensations inside her.
But she could not. Hussein was Jessica’s cousin, she told herself, and Jessica was her best friend. It was not right to nurture her feelings for him. And it was especially not right to hope for anything with him when she knew exactly how it would end. It simply would not end with a happily ever after. Unbidden, an image of her mother came to mind.
“You do.” His voice was rough. “I’ll prove it.” His lips brushed hers lightly. He did not touch her with any other part of his body. As if daring her to make that decision.
She did not want to make decisions, not when she could not even think straight. She latched on to his shoulders. Hold me, please, her mind screamed, but she dared not say the words aloud. She only knew that she was going to go mad if he did not hold her and kiss her properly.
“It will be just one dinner, Kimberly. I promise that if you don’t like it, it won’t happen again.”
She looked up at him. He was so earnest and handsome. Her heart gave way just by looking at him. “I didn’t bring any pretty clothes with me,” she heard herself say.
