Chapter 58: Answer Me
Chapter 58: Answer Me
Crystal began to laugh, and Tiffany scowled at her. “Stop it!” she shouted. “What are you laughing at?”
Crystal: “I’m laughing at you, of course! What else would I be laughing at?”
Tiffany crossed her arms under her breasts, and they billowed even further out of her shirt. Her light brown nipples were fully exposed now, but she was pouting, and there was nothing sexy about her posture. “Why are you laughing at me?” she asked.
Crystal: “You’ve put in so much effort into seducing Nathan, but if you have no experience, he will not be interested in you!”
Tiffany gave Crystal’s words some serious thought, and then she said, “I do have some experience...”
“Whatever you say,” Crystal replied. She shrugged, stood up, and just as she was about. to walk away, Susie walked in. Susie was carrying a few bags of groceries, and Crystal quickly got up and went to help her.
Susie: “Thank you, Crystal. What would you like for lunch?”
Crystal helped Susie put the groceries in the kitchen, and she took out the vegetables and put them in the sink to be washed. Susie came in, opened the cupboard, and took out an apron. “You can make whatever you like,” Crystal said. “I will call Nathan and see if he’ll be home for lunch.”
“That sounds good,” Susie said as she unpacked the meat.
As Crystal moved on to the pantry items, she said, “Susie, can I ask you a question?”
Susie: “Go ahead. If I can answer it, I will.”
Susie: “It doesn’t matter. How long will Miss Ford be staying here, anyway? She gave me a bunch of clothes to dry clean, but I think they’re all pretty clean.
Crystal: “Why are you doing Tiffany’s dry cleaning? She’s a big girl. She can do her own laundry. And you aren’t her personal slave!”
That didn’t surprise Crystal. “I don’t know how long she’ll be here,” she replied. “I guess it’s none of my business.”
Susie: “Miss Ford is not Mr. Davis’s girlfriend, is she? I think Miss Ford is very keen on Mr. Davis.”
Crystal took a cucumber out of the sink and took a bite of it, and as she chewed, she thought about Susie’s question and how she should answer it. Then, just as she was about to reply, Susie interrupted her. “What’s the matter with me?” she asked. “What would you do if Mr. Davis got together with Miss Ford?”
Crystal: “What would I do? If they got together, I would wish them well.”
Susie: “I don’t think Miss Ford is good enough for Mr. Davis.”
Crystal: “Susie, how long have you known Mr. Davis? Why do you think so highly of him?”
Susie: “Mr. Davis is a man of excellent birth. He is educated and handsome. If I were your age... Hey, forget it, I’m just talking nonsense.”
Crystal: “Susie, I’ll talk to you later. I am going to go to my room to try to catch up on my sleep. A mosquito kept me up all night. This was a good talk, though. Thank you.”
Susie: “It’s almost lunchtime. Are you sure you want to go back to bed?”
Crystal: “Sure. And if you can’t wake me up, leave me alone.”
Susie: “How will that work? You have to take care of your health.”
I’ll be okay,” Crystal replied, and she threw the rest of the cucumber in the garbage as she walked away, completely forgetting her promise to call Nathan.
***
Crystal woke to the sound of Tiffany’s voice above her head: “Crystal, are you awake?”
Crystal didn’t know how long she had been sleeping. Her brain felt foggy, though, so she pretended that she was still asleep. “I guess not,” Tiffany whispered.
Tiffany was standing over Crystal, and Nathan was standing in the doorway. “What’s going on?” Nathan asked.
Tiffany: “Crystal said she was tired, and she went to bed.”
Tiffany thought Crystal was still asleep, and she left her room to talk to Nathan in the hallway. She closed the door behind her, but Crystal could hear what they were saying.
Tiffany: “Professor Davis, do I look different today?”
Nathan: “What’s different? I don’t see anything different.”
Tiffany: I’m wearing your clothes. I hope that you don’t mind. My clothes are all dry-cleaned, and Crystal’s clothes are not the right size, so she suggested I raid your closet. Anyway, as you know, she’s always trying to play matchmaker for us.”
Nathan: “Get out of here!”
Tiffany: “Ouch!”
Crystal didn’t know how Tiffany had been hurt, but she felt a sense of satisfaction when she heard her rival cry out in pain. She could hear Tiffany’s footsteps as she went back down the stairs, and she could hear Nathan breathing in the hallway.
Tiffany is really cunning - Crystal realized - To me, she said that Nathan had lent her the shirt. Then she turned around and told him that I was trying to set them up, and she said that I asked her to wear the revealing shirt. She deserves an Oscar for her performance!
Crystal slowly sat up. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and just as she was about to get up, her door popped open, and Nathan barged in. He stood akimbo and glared at her. “I hear you want to set me up with Tiffany!”
Because Crystal had a record as a matchmaker, she could not expect Nathan to believe her if she denied his accusations. Of course, this situation was all her fault. After all, she was the one who had invited Tiffany to stay with them.
“Answer me!” Nathan yelled.
Suddenly, Nathan saw a stack of papers that Crystal had printed off and placed beside the bed. They were divorce papers, and when Nathan saw that, his face turned red, and the veins on his forehead stood out. Alongside the papers were the photos she’d taken at the club.
Nathan walked towards the bed, and Crystal flinched away from him, but she was not what he was after. Nathan grabbed the paper and the pictures, and he tore them into a million tiny pieces and threw them into Crystal’s face.
