He gave her an encouraging nod.
“To ask if you could go to his place, and spend the night there. With me.” She frowned and pinched her eyes shut. “That came out all wrong. Not with me, like in…” When she opened her eyes again, Jacob regarded her patiently. “It’s nothing like that. I mean…” She paused. This was hard to say. “I’ve got nowhere else to go, and I don’t know Jacob.”
She flushed at her admittance of being homeless, but also at the bluntness of her words. Jacob seemed like a considerate person, and she felt bad for insinuating that he could be a rapist or serial killer.
“Wow, okay.” Kyle gave a laugh that sounded as uncomfortable as what Lily was feeling. “That’s a first. Er, yes, all right. Fine, I guess.”
“Thanks,” Lily mumbled, casting her eyes down.
Jacob took back the phone. “Hey, Kyle. Thanks for agreeing. Lily doesn’t know me, so another female presence will help her feel more at ease. We’re five minutes away from my place. We’ll wait outside. Oh, and bring some dry clothes.”
After disconnecting the call, Jacob put his phone away and shoved his hands into his pockets. He lifted his shoulders to his chin and dipped his head. Drops clung to his lashes.
“Shall we go?”
Despite the fact that he was now soaked because of stopping to help her, his lips curved with the ease of someone who smiled a lot. It made it easier for her to give a small nod. She wrapped her arms around her waist under her jacket, and followed Jacob down the path to the road.
They walked in silence for two blocks before Jacob stopped in front of a white apartment building. It was the cookie cutter kind that distinguished this part of town, a middleclass suburb dominated by flats. It was nothing like the double story mansion and its surrounding vineyards in Constantia Neck, one of the most exclusive residential areas of Cape Town, where she had grown up. A shudder ran over her body when she thought about the last time she had been in her home, bloodied bodies littering the hallway and the garden.
“Kyle should be here shortly,” Jacob said. “Do you want to wait in the foyer?”
She wasn’t going to risk it with him alone inside the building. She stepped under the protection of the entrance roof. “Here’s fine.”
He only nodded. They waited quietly, huddled as close to the wall as possible, but the wind blew raindrops against Lily’s face. Thankfully, it didn’t take long before a white Honda pulled up and parked on the curb. The driver, clutching a silver umbrella and a travel bag, jumped from the car and ran for the cover of the roof. Jacob took the bag and umbrella from her.
The woman gave a breathless laugh. “What a downpour.” Her eyes rested curiously on Lily. “I’m Kyle. You must be Lily. Nice to meet you.” She shook her arms and her hair, causing a shower of drops to fall to the ground.
“Hi,” Lily said, engulfed by guilt to have made this stranger leave her home late at night and drive through the rain to make her feel safer about crashing on Jacob’s couch.
Jacob had already unlocked the foyer door, and ushered them inside. He closed the umbrella and gave it a firm shake before leading them across a white tiled floor to a lift. Once inside, he pressed the button for the third floor, and during the ride Lily inspected her saviors more closely from under her lashes. In the bright overhead light, she noticed that Jacob’s chestnut hair had sun stripes. He raked a hand through the wet strands, making them stand up in spiky ends. Kyle was a plump young woman with a round face and red cheeks. Her blonde hair was trimmed into a short bob.
Both Jacob and Kyle stared straight ahead. The quiet was uncomfortable, and it was with relief that the ping broke the silence as they reached their floor. Jacob held the door for Lily and Kyle before he followed. A few seconds later, Lily stood inside a small, but cozy flat with wooden floors and butter-yellow walls.
Jacob dropped the travel bag on the floor in the entrance. He opened a jacket closet, the shelves above the hanging space neatly stacked with folded linen, and handed Kyle and Lily each a towel. Lily dried the ends of her hair that were dripping all over his floor. Seeing that they were inside his domain now with his friend, as he had promised, and they weren’t attacking her, Lily’s fear slowly started to abate.
“I’ll show you the bathroom,” Jacob said to Lily. “You need to get out of those wet clothes. I imagine you can do with a warm bath.”
Lily flushed again, not sure if he offered because of how dirty her hair was, or because of her chattering teeth. Whatever the reason, she was more than compliant. She followed Jacob down a short hallway past a big, open-plan room that, judging by the furniture, served as kitchen, lounge and dining room. They entered the only other room at the end of the corridor on the opposite side. It was Jacob’s bedroom. Sparsely furnished, it housed a double bed with no headboard, a pillar nightstand, and a black Perspex desk pushed against the wall. The bed was covered with beige linen and red scatter cushions. An unframed abstract painting in shades of red and orange hung above the bed.
Jacob opened an interconnecting door that led to a small bathroom with a shower, bath, basin and toilet. The floor was black and everything else white. One wall was covered from floor to ceiling with a mirror, and the opposite one with whitewashed wooden shelves containing towels, bath products, a hairdryer and toiletries.
Jacob motioned at the shelves. “I think you’ll find everything you need. Take your time. In the meantime, I’ll throw together something for dinner.”
Lily’s stomach rumbled at the mention of food, and she felt her cheeks heating further. She was faint with hunger, but too proud for Jacob to know. When his expression turned concerned, she looked away. “Thank you. You’re very kind.”
“Just leave your wet clothes in there.” He pointed at a plastic laundry basket in the corner. “Shout if you need anything.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled again.
He handed Lily her backpack and closed the door, leaving her to her privacy. She dropped the bag on the toilet seat. To be on the safe side, she turned the key. Lily looked between the shower and the tub. A shower would be quicker, but she was cold to the bone, and relaxing in a warm bath was tempting. Jacob did say she could take her time. Not knowing when the next opportunity for a luxurious bath would present itself, Lily opted for the latter.
While running the water, she stripped and left her dirty clothes in the basket. Catching a glimpse of her naked body in the mirror made her suck in her breath. It had been a while since she had looked in a full-length mirror. She didn’t recognize the young woman. Always having been slender, now her collarbones and ribs were protruding from under her skin. Had she really lost that much weight? Her tight jeans fitted loser, but actually seeing it made her cringe. Her habitual tan was gone. A pale face with transparent skin and dark circles under lifeless blue eyes stared back at her. Her black hair was stuck to her scalp, hanging limp and dull down her back. Before, she had been proud of her B-cup breasts, but now they seemed just as she was feeling inside–small and flat.
Lifting her hands, Lily studied her chipped nails. Less than three months ago she was an ignorant eighteen year-old who took her warm bed, cooked meals and weekly manicures for granted. She had also taken her safety, and humanity for granted. She knew her dad was protective, and had always sheltered her from the real world, but she could never have guessed the extent of her naivety until she had been forced to run for her life.
The mirror started fogging up. Lily noticed that the bath was half full. She turned off the tap, and found a clean bath rug on a shelf that she put on the floor. About to step into the bath, she stopped when there was a knock on the door. Lily grabbed one of the folded fluffy white towels and draped it around her body.
She padded to the door. “Yes?”
“It’s Kyle. Are you decent?”
Lily turned the key and opened the door on a crack. Her eyes moved to the tracksuit pants and T-shirt in Kyle’s hands. A plastic bag with a pharmacy logo swung from her arm.
“Oh, thanks
She reached around the door for the items, but Kyle said, “Can I come in? I got some things at the twenty-four hour pharmacy on the way.”
Lily swept her hair behind her ear and looked away. She took a step back, opening the door wider. She was conscious of the dirty state of her body and hair. If Kyle noticed, she didn’t show it. She pushed Lily’s bag aside, left the clothes on the lid of the toilet, and started unpacking the shopping bag. Kyle put lavender shampoo and conditioner, body lotion, facial cream, a new toothbrush, a travel-sized hairbrush, and a disposable razor on the counter next to the basin.
“I didn’t know what Jacob had, or not,” Kyle explained as she finished the task, “or what your situation is, so I got what I thought girls would need and boys won’t have.” She turned and smiled. “It’s been a while since he’s had a girlfriend, and I think he threw the last one’s stuff out, down to the shampoo she used.”
Lily waited for the questions to follow. Inevitably, they always did. Where she was from, why she needed a job, where she lived, while examining eyes took in her haggard appearance with suspicion. Now, added to the interrogation should be the question of why a girl would sit in a park in the rain.
“Do you like candles?” Kyle simply asked.
Lily stared at her, not sure what she was supposed to say.
“I do,” Kyle said. “Nothing relaxes me more than a bath by candlelight.”
She took a fat candle and a box of matches from the top shelf. Pieces of bark were visible under the wax. It was obviously a decorative candle, not meant to be used, but Kyle placed it on the edge of the bath and lit it. She seemed comfortable in Jacob’s space, like someone who knew him well. Lily wondered if their relationship was purely platonic. A second later, the sweet scent of vanilla filled the steamy room.
“Now you need some of this.” Kyle pulled out the cork of a glass jar and dropped bath crystals into the water. She replaced the jar, and dusted her palms. “Don’t feel rushed. Jacob’s cooking,” Kyle rolled her eyes, “which means it may take a while.” She picked up the plastic basket with Lily’s soaked clothes. “I’ll pop these in the machine so long. Anything else you want to throw in?” Her eyes moved to the backpack.
Lily unzipped the bag and self-consciously pulled out the dirty clothes. “I can do this.”
“No sweat.” Kyle snatched the laundry from Lily’s hands and dumped it into the basket. “Got nothing else to do.”
Before Lily could thank her, she flicked off the light and left, casting the room in a warm glow. Alone again, Lily locked the door and lowered her body into the warm water. The rain fell harder now, creating soft music on the window above the bath while the wind howled outside. Slowly, the shaking of her body stopped as her limbs filled with warmth. Lily closed her eyes and laid back her head. This was better than anything she remembered, lying here, in Jacob’s bath, feeling warm and safe for the first time in months.
She was tempted to top up the tub with more hot water as it cooled, but her skin was wrinkled and she felt guilty about taking up so much time in the only bathroom. What if Kyle or Jacob needed the loo? Using the retractable showerhead, she washed her hair, reveling in the luxurious smell and clean feeling. Next, she soaped her body with Jacob’s male scented forest body wash, and shaved her armpits and legs. Feeling like a human being again, she toweled her body and hair dry, applied the moisturizer and facial cream generously, and used the toothpaste in the holder by the basin to brush her teeth.
Kyle’s clothes were too big for her, but they were warm and smelled of fabric softener. Under the T-shirt, she found a white cotton underwear set and a pair of socks, the price tags still intact. It was a hyper-pharmacy brand. Lily silently thanked Kyle’s consideration and foresight as she dressed. She brushed the knots from her long hair, and left it loose to dry.
After rinsing the tub with a cleaning product she found on the shelf, Lily took the towel and bath rug and padded on her new socks through the bedroom and down the hall. Different sensory impressions mixed to hit her all at once. Soft music, pierced with Jacob’s laughter and Kyle’s voice, drifted from the living area. The song was from some eighties band Lily recognized from her friend Clara’s collection, but she couldn’t remember the name. It was comfortable music, not too mellow but not pumping either, happy instead of sad. The lights in the flat were dimmed, creating a warm ambience. But it was the fragrance that had her walk faster. It was a rich and creamy aroma, garlic mixed with chili, or curry maybe, with an undertone of fried onions and tomatoes. As her brain registered the proximity of food, her body responded with a wave of nausea that usually came when she had waited too long to eat, and immediately after her mouth filled with saliva.
Lily paused in the open door, the wet towel and rug clutched to her chest, observing the scene in front of her. Jacob and Kyle were seated on high stools on opposite sides of an island counter, a bottle of wine between them, their glasses full. Jacob had changed into dry jeans and a T-shirt. The cotton stretched over his muscled chest, hinting at a chiseled frame. One bare foot was propped up on the bar of the stool. He leaned with his elbows on the granite top, his well-defined biceps flexing as he softly laughed at the story Kyle was telling. Lily paid no heed to the conversation. All she could focus on was the way in which they interacted. There was a kind of camaraderie between them, something Lily had not had with anyone. She felt like an intruder as she watched their easy banter. It filled her with envy and longing. Then Jacob turned his head and noticed her.
“There you are. Perfect timing, Lily. Food’s ready.”
She fought the impulse to rush to the pot standing on the stove and shove whatever was inside down her throat with her hands.
Kyle hopped from her chair. “I’ll set the table.” Her eyes moved to the towel and rug in Lily’s hands. “I’ll take these.” She took the laundry from Lily and dropped it on top of a front loader that sloshed softly in the kitchen.
Lily felt dizzy watching Kyle move around the space. She twirled like a whirlwind, opening drawers and gathering a handful of knives and forks.
“Wine?” Jacob said, already taking down a glass from a hanging rail above the island counter.
Lily nodded. She felt useless, standing on the side, but she didn’t know what was expected of her. Servants had always taken care of her and her daddy’s basic living needs.
“Have a seat, Lily.” Jacob pulled out one of the four chairs at a small table.
Warmth penetrated her socks as she crossed the floor. Jacob had under-floor heating. His flat was fancy for where he lived. She had spent enough time in the neighborhood during the past month, looking for a room to rent, to know most apartments here did not have wooden floors, granite kitchen tops and under-floor heating. As Lily took a seat, Kyle placed crisp white napkins and slim silverware on the table. Jacob handed Lily a fat-bellied glass filled with wine. She inhaled the sharp, tannin odor.
Kyle returned with a bowl of basmati rice, a line of vapor trailing along. The scent filled the air and infused with what Lily now was sure was an Indian or Thai dish.
Jacob relieved her curiosity by saying, “I hope you like Tikka Masala.”
“Smells divine,” Lily said, her mouth watering.
Jacob dished up for them. Lily loaded her fork. She could hardly wait for the food to cool. She burned her mouth on the first bite, but hummed her approval. The buttery coconut flavor contrasted with the whipping burn of the chili and the bitter note of the turmeric. She made a conscious effort to take small bites and chew slowly. The last thing she wanted, was to give in to her desire to swallow everything whole and to make herself sick. She noticed Jacob watching her with a smile.
“You like?” he said.
Lily finished chewing and swallowed. “It’s the best Tikka Masala I’ve ever had.”
He laughed. “I’m not sure I can take that much credit.”
“He’s just being humble,” Kyle said. “He’s a pretty good cook.”
Kyle and Jacob continued making conversation, while Lily enjoyed every bite in silence. She was tempted to help herself to seconds, but she had to take it slow. It had been too long since her last, decent meal. She sat back and sipped her wine, feeling satiated in a fuzzy kind of way, until her glass was empty and her eyes started drifting close.
Glancing her way, Jacob said, “Time for bed.”
She helped clear the table and pack the dishwasher, grateful that she could do something useful. When the kitchen was tidy, Lily looked at the living room area where two white sofas faced a black coffee table, waiting for Jacob to tell her where she could sleep. He disappeared down the hall and returned with two blankets and pillows, which he threw at Kyle. She laughed as she caught them, giving Jacob a thud on the head with one of the pillows.
“Pillow fighting is strictly forbidden,” he said with a grin, pointing a finger at Kyle. “Come, Lily.” He headed for the hall, but when she didn’t follow, he stopped. “You’re taking the bed.”
“Oh no. I couldn’t do that. I’ll be fine with the sofa.”
“Nonsense. You’re my guest.” He lifted an eyebrow, as if daring her to argue, but she was too tired.
Back in his room, he stopped by the bed. “I’ve changed the linen while you were having your bath. All fresh and clean.”
“You didn’t have to go to so much trouble.”
He smiled, and pulled the comforter back. “Go ahead and use the bathroom. When you’re tucked in I’ll have a shower, but I’ll make it a quick one, so as not to disturb you.”
“Please, Jacob, this is your home. I’m the intruder here. You don’t have to consider me.”
He only chuckled as he pushed her toward the bathroom. After brushing her teeth again Lily came back to the room. Jacob was standing in front of the window, staring down at the street with a frown. When he saw her, he closed the blinds, and offered her a smile.
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