The cab stopped in front of a magnificent building, Michelle paid the fare, stepped down with Lana, got to the trunk of the car and brought out their belongings. The vehicle zoomed off! This environment was beautiful, clean and serene. They walked few steps towards the gate. Lana looked on in amusement, she couldn't believe her eyes, her uncle was surely a wealthy man. She watched as her mother pressed a button on a little white box next to the gate. To her amazement she heard the deep baritone voice of her uncle
"Who is this?",
"its Michelle, Lana is here too"
the gate opened slowly, Lana was already getting excited but was really good in concealing her mood. They walked into a serene environment, the flowers were beautiful and well groomed, there was a fountain in the middle, and the carpet grass was well taken care of, trees stood at strategic areas. In front of them stood a beautiful house, white and grey.
They got to the door; Michelle pressed the door bell, in no time the door opened and a middle aged woman. Stood smiling "welcome, come in" they got in and met a beautiful interior. Everything in their perfect positions. Lana looked up and saw a gigantic chandelier; it seemed to be changing colors.
"He would be down in a jiffy"
the woman walked away briskly. Quick steps were heard, he came in sight wearing a secret circus black trouser, with a Hermes Entriviere brown belt that went round his waist firmly, a spotless white Chanel shirt, his left wrist wore a Hublot Classic Fusion Haute Joaillerie watch, his feet wore Salvatore Ferragamo python shoes, his Clive Christian cologne filled the air, his hair well-groomed and in order. Smiling broadly
"hello Michelle"
kissed her on both cheeks then hugged her. He looked down and saw a beaming face, he swept her off her feet and did a 360 with her, she laughed uncontrollably. He puts her down and kisses her on her forehead,
"My beautiful niece".
He looked towards smiling Michelle “so finally, you decided to grace my humble abode", "just wanted to get away from so many things " she replied, he held her chin slightly, "you know you are welcome to stay as long as you want, even if it's a century, since my dad got married to your mom, we became siblings and that's what we would always be, a family!". She gave a closed smile and nodded. “Now come on! Let me show you to your room" she was about to carry their bags, " no, no, no, it would be taken care off, follow me!” They followed him, taking each step he took, stepped on each stair he stepped on till they got to the door of the room. "This is your room"
he dipped his hand in his right pocket and pulled out a single key.
"Thank you so much Stark, am really overwhelmed"
He raised an eyebrow,
"we are family, remember!”
she nodded. He looked at his watch
"dinner is by 7pm, this is 6pm, freshen up!"
with that he turned and was out of sight. She unlocked the door and got into splendor. She looked down and saw her own reflection, she raised her gaze to meet a beautiful Andes white bed, everything from bed sheets to pillow cases were white, the serene green color on the wall made her feel fresh and relieved. She spotted a white fluffy couch at the corner of the room. Her eyes shifted to a beautiful white sculptured dressing mirror.
"This is beautiful" she said to herself. A slight tug on her arm brought her back,
“mommy, the bed is huge" she affirmed by nodding.
"Lana would you like to shower ",
“nooooooo" was the reply, she shrugged and undressed and got into the bathroom. She met an eclectic blend of horizontally patterned travertine; the mirrors were so pure, everything were modern fixtures, the limestone tiles were sparkling clean. She slides into the bathtub, turned on the tap and closed her eyes, she let out a sigh of sincere relief. She began washing her skin with a beautifully scented soap. She wanted to stay a bit longer and savor every experience but 7pm was close. She got out of the tub walked to the mirror, stared at herself all she saw was a broken woman; she closed her eyes and inhaled.
She opened a drawer and saw towels; she picked one and dried herself meticulously. 7:05pm, they all sat at a Tavolo dining table, an Italian interior design and furniture, white with a glass surface. A combination of modern design with a classic style, the white lacquered structure covered with white tempered glass. The chairs were meant for four people but only the three of them sat. Each person had a dinner plate in front of them, to the left of each plate were forks, the right were knives. They were having a simple dinner of Chicken and Pasta.
To Michelle's surprise only water was the liquid; she really expected an assorted wine along with the meal.
"You live here alone?”
Lana broke the silence,
"yes I did, but not anymore darling, you are here with me, mommy too”
she smiled and continued eating. Suddenly her forehead had a slight frown,
“but Uncle Stark, who is that woman"
" my housekeeper honey, she cooks for me too, but leaves after the whole day job",
” ohhhhh" she looked satisfied with the answer. Michelle let out a small laugh, shook her head at her curious daughter. "This meal is delicious” Michelle chipped in "Thanks to Matilda"
"She's such a wonderful cook"
"Yea, sure" They fell silent and ate.
"Why is your dinning section not in the kitchen"
Michelle broke the silence this time,
"well, I prefer my dinning section separate from the kitchen. Kitchen is meant for cooking",
"okayyyyyy", she dragged. After dinner, Matilda came in sight to clear the dishes; Michelle stood up to help and followed her towards the kitchen. Lana remained, with her chin rested on both palms, her legs swinging back and forth, looking at her uncle who was in another realm with his smart Phone. His forehead furrowed, he hit the table slightly with a hint of irritation.
"Are you alright"
she asked with concern in her small voice. He lifted his gaze to her face
"how old are you,
“I’m ten" she answered smiling,
“you’re too curious for a ten year old and yes I am fine".
He stood up, pushed his chair forward
“tell mommy I stepped out, will be back by 10pm",
"okay" was the reply. Michelle got into the kitchen, everything were either white or silver.
The kitchen was equipped with a stove, a sink with taps for hold and cold water, a silver refrigerator, counters and cabinets were all white and arranged in a modular design. The microwave oven was bigger than all she had seen. She watched as Matilda used the dishwasher. She looked on and saw other electric appliances she only heard about and seen online.
"How long have you worked here?", Matilda seemed pleased to be asked a question,
"a year, Mr. Stark is nice and generous"
"by generous you mean he gives you more than your actual salary",
"yes", " hmmmmm, I see, you must really like him then",
" he is nice, but sometimes could have a bad temper. I have witnessed it twice, and it was when he got a call from someone"
"Any friends",
” well to what I have seen, he has lots of friends but they don't come here, unless he throws a party, and he has done that thrice".
Nature started calling, she stretched and yawned. She wished Matilda a goodnight and walked towards her room in a sleepy state. She got to the room to meet Lana sitting upright and wide eyed watching a movie. "What's the name of the movie?"
"Lana take your eyes off for once and look at me"
"Don't no" she replied without taking her eyes off the TV. She complied reluctantly.
“Where is your uncle?"
“Oh! I forgot, he went out, he is coming back by 10"
"Okay dearie, I need to sleep now, you also need......"
she drifted into dreamland before completing her statement. Lana watched her mom sleep for a while then resumed her movie. A knock at the door woke the already dozing Lana, she got out of bed, walked towards the door, opened it to see Matilda,
"Where's your mom?”
"Sleeping"
"Alright princess, am leaving, see you in the morning, goodnight",
“Goodnight"
she responded and closed the door, walking briskly towards the bed, her body longed for it.