Nikki recognized the beginnings of a widow’s story. Jason continued. ‘She decides to go ahead and hire a maid without her husband knowing. The maid enters the house after her husband goes to work and leaves before he comes home. Now the woman is free to do whatever she wants during the day because she has no more obligations – no school pick-ups, no grocery shopping. She spends her whole day at the spa and exploring all those sights of London she’s never had a chance to see.’
‘The plan is working out well,’ Nikki said. ‘Until the husband returns to the house one day because he’s forgotten some papers. He sees the maid dusting the tops of cabinets. “Who are you?” he asks.’
‘She spins around and sees a tall man advancing towards her,’ Jason said. ‘“Please, don’t be angry,” the maid says. She explains the wife’s plan. “She just wants some time to herself. I’m helping her.”’
‘The man doesn’t know how to react. He stares at the maid, wondering how long this has been going on. The maid can’t help but notice that he’s very attractive. “I can do everything your wife can do,” she says softly, walking towards him. “I’ve ironed all of these shirts.’ She touches his collar. “I’ve bought a new set of shaving razors.” She strokes his cheek and feels a light prickle of stubble. “What else does she do?”’
‘The maid doesn’t wait for him to answer. She unzips his pants and out springs his man hammer,’ Jason said.
Nikki burst out laughing. ‘Is that what you call it?’
‘It’s quite the tool.’
‘You’re quite the tool,’ Nikki said, giving Jason a shove.
‘I walked into that one. All right, his instrument?’
‘That implies something clinical,’ Nikki said. ‘Like a surgical instrument.’
‘Or something that makes sweet, sweet music,’ Jason offered.
‘Try a vegetable.’
‘Out springs his parsnip.’
‘Think of a more consistent shape.’
‘You’re very bossy about this vocabulary.’
‘I want to get it right.’
‘All right, his zucchini.’
‘They’re called courgettes here.’
‘Oh, I like that. It sounds sophisticated now, like a corvette.’ Jason said.
‘His courgette feels silky to her touch,’ Nikki continues.
Jason frowned. ‘The last time I cooked using courgettes, they were rough and bumpy before being peeled.’
‘Surely you’ve encountered a smooth courgette.’
‘Nope.’
‘Where do you shop?’
‘You’ve lost me.’
‘How about now?’ Nikki asked. She threw her leg over Jason’s side and straddled him.
‘Now I’ve completely forgotten everything I ever knew,’ Jason said, staring at Nikki’s bare breasts.
‘They have sex in every room of the house. The man feels terrible afterwards and confides in his wife. To his surprise, she looks pleased. “I thought that might happen,” she says. Turns out she had hidden the husband’s papers so he’d have to come home to look for them. She planned for the maid and her husband to meet. Now she wants to watch them while they have sex. It turns her on.’
‘Where can I find a girl like that?’ Jason joked.
‘Close your eyes,’ Nikki ordered. She lowered her face towards his and kissed him, breathing in the musty smell of his hair. ‘She’s watching us now,’ she murmured into his ear. ‘Are we turning her on?’
Jason looked up. ‘Yeah.’ A ring trilled through the flat, sending a jolt through both of them. Jason’s smile suddenly vanished as he reached past Nikki for his phone, which was in his jeans pocket under the bed. ‘Sorry,’ he mumbled, looking at the screen. ‘I have to answer this.’ He stepped into his pants and pulled them up.
It could be work, Nikki thought, but it was Sunday, and Jason’s face looked grimmer than somebody being chased by a demanding boss. This had happened twice already. A sudden phone call and then Jason was out so quickly that she could practically see the dust he kicked up as he exited the room. ‘Who is that?’ she asked last time. She didn’t want to seem nosy, but the call had interrupted another dinner date, when he insisted on leaving his phone on the table. He had left the restaurant for twenty minutes. ‘Just some work stuff I have to take care of,’ Jason had said.
Nikki strained to listen now but Jason’s voice was muffled and hushed. He was in the bathroom. She tiptoed into the corridor to listen but a floorboard creaked, betraying her presence. She hurried into the kitchen and busied herself making breakfast for the two of them.
‘I’m out of coffee,’ Nikki said when Jason emerged from his hiding place. He looked tired. She tried not to notice. He sat down at the table and put his head in his hands. Nikki pulled out a chair next to him and squeezed his shoulder. ‘Who was it?’
‘Just work,’ he said. Nikki watched him hastily putting his clothes on, his face cloudy and lost in thought.
‘I was going to make us omelettes,’ Nikki said, opening the fridge. ‘Do you want two eggs again or just one?’
‘That’s fine,’ Jason said.
‘Two eggs it is,’ Nikki said.
Jason looked up. ‘Oh hey, sorry.’ He smiled. ‘Just one egg would be great. Thank you.’
Nikki nodded and turned to the stove. ‘So, I was thinking we should try to catch that French film. I’d still like to see it.’
‘Good idea,’ Jason said. ‘Is it still playing?’
‘That cinema runs the same films for ages,’ Nikki said. ‘I think that weekend was its first showing. They screened a documentary about slums in Calcutta there a couple of years ago. My parents went to see it three times over six months.’
‘Thank goodness for people who like re-watching movies then. They’re keeping that cinema going.’
‘My parents had very different tastes, though. Dad liked his historical or current affairs shows and Mum only watched Indian dramas or Hollywood rom-coms. They found something that they could both enjoy in this film.’ She smiled at the memory of Mum and Dad coming home from another matinee of the same film, their cheeks shining like new lovers.
‘It sounds like they made the whole arranged marriage thing really work,’ Jason commented.
‘They did,’ Nikki said and she was surprised at this realization. Her eyes became hot with tears. ‘Now, do you want cheese in your omelette?’
‘Sure,’ Jason said. His phone rang again. Nikki turned around to see him frowning at the screen. ‘I need to take this again, Nikki. Sorry.’ He hurried out of the flat. Nikki fought the urge to tiptoe to the doorway to eavesdrop on his conversation. She could hear him pacing the cramped corridor outside. When he returned, he attempted another reassuring smile but it fell flat.
‘What’s going on?’ Nikki asked.
‘It’s just a work thing,’ Jason said. ‘Kind of hard to explain. Things are going to be busy for a while.’
Nikki served the eggs and they both ate in silence. Something had descended heavily on the flat. Had Jason sensed her attempt to keep him around for breakfast so she could ask – casually of course – where their relationship was going? Perhaps it was too soon, but they had been seeing each other nearly every night since that first date. Intense beginnings were exciting but they fizzled out quickly and Nikki wanted more than a fling.