A few days passed, and Dad called me on my phone. He wanted me to come back to the mansion. I should have been happy, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel that way. Spending a few weeks with Japen had made me feel safe and helped me understand him better. I thought I already knew him well, growing up almost like siblings, but I realized that the years had changed us into different people.
Soon enough, we arrived at the mansion. Since Japen was still my driver, I would see him every day until Mang Selyo returned or until Japen’s next semester break, as he was still studying. It made me happy to know I could still see him daily.
“Let’s go inside,” I invited him before opening the door and stepping out of the car. I closed the door and shortly after, Japen got out of the car.
It wasn’t his first time at the mansion, so I assumed he knew his way around the large house.
“Is your father here?” Japen asked, walking beside me, matching my pace. I shook my head. “He’s not here. I think he traveled back to the city for some… business.”
I wasn’t sure if it was actually business, but nothing was ever certain with Dad. He was a well-known business tycoon and owned one of the country’s most prestigious law firms. I heard he even knew the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t close to Dad, and everything I knew about his business came from TV news. He never talked to me about business, and frankly, I wasn’t interested.
I led Japen to the kitchen and asked one of the household staff to make him coffee. I knew Japen hadn’t been sleeping well since I stayed at his house. I was aware that his house lacked proper security, and at any time, someone could break through the closed door. The window was only protected by bamboo.
He already said that he was guarding me outside the room every night, and sometimes he fell asleep on the floor. But when I woke up in the morning, I didn’t see him lying on the floor outside his room so I didn’t suspect.
I already told him that he could double the protection of the house, so there were no problems in case someone tried to break in from his neighbor. But Japen said that his neighbors were not interested in him or his house. He was worried about me in the last few days. He said that a neighbor might try to disturb the house. It was better to be safe than to be sure, but something bad happened.
“I’m not a fan of coffee,” Japen said after I asked a household to serve him.
I looked at him. “But I saw you drinking coffee last night.”
“I’m not fond of it,” he repeated.
I frowned and called the household to change the coffee. I asked her to make him two glasses of milk. Japen looked at me, and I laughed. His face was priceless.
“Really, Azora?”
We accepted a glass of milk handed to the house. I thanked her, and he drank from the milk cup with a laugh. A few seconds later, he finished the milk. After all, the milk was warm, not hot.
“Azora,” said someone from behind me.
I stopped sipping when I heard a familiar and cold voice from Simmy. I lowered the glass of milk and sighed. I didn’t like Simmy the first time I saw her years ago.
Simmy entered the mansion as a maid when I was in elementary school. During that time, Mom was still here. My mother told me that Simmy was her friend. During that time, she needed work, so she asked Mom to accept her in the mansion as a maid. Mom was more than happy to offer her a position. She put her as my nanny when I was young.
She was fine. Simmy was a good person. She really took care of me. Simmy seemed to be my second parent. She even stood by me and attended to my needs when Mom died in my sixth grade of basic school.
During my darkest hours, Simmy was there. She consoled me to the outmost she could at that time, and I was very thankful for her company.
Dad was busy in the garden business at that time, and he was still unknown. After my mother’s burial, he spent all his time with work while I had been left with Simmy, Japen, and Mang Selyo.
Those three were my pillars during those times. When I was younger, I was angry at Dad. I mean, Mom passed away and yet he never comforted his daughter. He prioritized his business over me. But as I grew older, I began to understand Dad. Maybe he coped with Mom’s death by burying himself in work. Perhaps work became his anchor during those times, and I couldn’t blame him, especially now that his hard work has borne fruit. He was well-known locally, and his law firm was rated four out of five stars in a survey as one of the best in the country.
“Azora,” Simmy called again.
That snapped me out of my thoughts, and I frowned as I looked at Simmy. “What is it?” I asked curtly.
“Is your father coming home tonight?” she asked.
“Dad?” My forehead creased. “I don’t know. Why are you asking?”
She lifted the small vacuum cleaner she was holding. “I was planning to have this broken appliance repaired.”
“Why don’t you call him on the phone? Or just call a technician, and it will be sorted out,” I replied irritably.
And this was what annoyed me about Simmy. She was kind and had a good heart, but I didn’t know if she was naive or what. It bothered me every time she asked when Dad would be coming home because she needed something fixed or done. Like, hello? She could have called a plumber for the pipes, or a computer technician for the computer, and now, she could have called someone to fix that vacuum cleaner.
“I don’t have your father’s number, and I can’t touch the household budget without his permission.”
Oh yes, Simmy was promoted. She became the house manager after Mom passed away. Well, Mom trusted her so much that even on her deathbed, she insisted that Simmy should take care of me. She even made Simmy promise to take care of both me and Dad.
I didn’t know what Simmy was thinking at that time, and she nodded even before Mom had finished speaking. She was crying that time when she promised in front of Mom. Minutes later, Mom took her last breath.
And after the funeral, all household matters were entrusted to Simmy, including the monthly budget, because I couldn’t manage it yet and Dad was busy with work. But of course, she couldn’t use the money for personal gain, so Dad made a contract with Simmy. He insisted that all household expenses must be approved by him, and Simmy had to submit monthly expense reports to Dad. She agreed to these terms.
But she didn’t use a cellphone, and she didn’t know how to use a landline at first, which made it difficult for her when urgent matters arose at home. However, since Dad started coming home every night, she didn’t hesitate to buy a cellphone or learn how to use the landline. She would directly talk to Dad every evening, and Dad was fine with that arrangement. Perhaps Dad was avoiding distractions at work, so he instructed Simmy that emergencies didn’t need to go through him.
Dad handed over the household matters to me when I turned eighteen, but I firmly declined. I wasn’t married yet, for Japen’s sake. So Simmy took over handling the mansion’s problems for Dad. And me?
I was enjoying my husband-free years.