The Educator novel Chapter 12

Elliot and I return to the suite at around one in the morning. We already had a few drinks throughout the night. Elliot takes the room in the first floor. He undresses and fails to notice that his door has a crack just enough for me to see. Of course, I didn’t watch and just passed by him. I walk up to my room and sit myself in front of the vanity. I put my hair up and start removing my make-up before I take hot bath. I pull out my bath essentials from my bag, scrubs, foams, butters, bath oils, salts and of course my lotion. I fill up the bathtub with hot water while I pour in my bath salts and bath foam to create bubbles. I also pulled out some candles from smelt.ph. They’re a small business based in my hometown, the Philippines. I take my clothes off and wear my robe. I pull out my phone from my bag and check messages at I remove my make-up and wait for the tub to fill up. Suddenly, there’s an incoming call from my mother. I slide the screen of my phone and answer, “Hi!”

She looks down at the phone with her face crooked, “Am I on now?” I hear someone’s voice in the background, probably my bother teaching her how to FaceTime.

“Yes. You’re on now, mom. I could hear you clearly” I say

“Oh okay, good! How have been my darling?” she asks. I could not see her face though and it was dark, looks like her phone is up against her ear.

“It’s all good. Elliot’s pretty great as well. He’s such a gentleman” I tell my mom, “he even left me his credit card for me to use because he had a meeting today and though I might need to buy something” I add.

She laughs “What did you buy with his card then?”

I roll my eyes and laugh “I didn’t use it. I told him I’d wait ‘till he was with me so that my shopping wouldn’t be limited to the limit of his card” I joke. I stand and switch off the hot water and switch on the cold water, sot that the temperature will be balanced. I put my hair down and start combing it until the tangles are brushed out. I put my hair in a tight bun now and pull a few strands on the side of my face for tendrils. I don’t know I do it but I just do and then I add more bath salts to the tub.

“When are you coming home?” she asks me. Her screen still dark. My mom’s not that old but she acts like it.

“I think we’ll be staying here for two weeks so you know just in time before school starts” I tell her.

“Have you seen the condo you’ll be staying at?”

I sigh “No. Not yet. But when we get back, we’ll be talking with the architect for the house. Elliot said I should make the decision so that I could really feel like it’s my home”

Then my mother’s face appears on the screen “That’s good to know. Well, I just wanted to see how you’re doing. Keep safe, darling. Be home soon. Your siblings are doing good here” she tells me.

I smile, “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay? Elliot and I will be going out, spend a little time together”. We bid out goodbyes and I open my Spotify to play some music. I drop my robe on the floor and dipped my feet in the tub to check the temperature of the water. Once I felt like the temperature of the water was relaxing enough for me, I submerged myself in the water. I leaned back and started relaxing in the tub. I could still feel the salts underneath my legs and the bubbles smell of lavender. There was a soft knock on the door. I cover myself with the bubbles and say “It’s open!”

Elliot opens the door with him looking away, “Uhm I just wanted to ask if wanted to come down and discuss with the architect what the house will look like?”

I giggled, “Elliot, you can look. You won’t see much anyway”

He remains in his position, “Eli, just tell me if you’d like to speak with the architect”

I roll my eyes, “Fine. What time will he call?”

He glances at his watch and says “It’s the AM in New York now so maybe anytime when you’re done?”

“Okay fine” I say and he closes the door behind him. I grab my loofa and liquid body wash. I start scrubbing myself lightly and when I finish, I scram my body butter and shave my legs. Shaving your legs while soaking in warm water helps in opening the pores and shaving closer to the roots. I drain the tub and rinse myself with warm water, making sure that the suds in the intimate parts are gone. I start massaging myself with the coconut bath oil and rinse myself one last time before I pat dry myself. I wrap my damp self with the robe and wash my face with lukewarm water, making sure that I get the excess make up, oil and sweat that clogged my pores out. I pull out a face mask and put it on my face before I head downstairs. I see Elliot already talking to someone. That must be the architect.

“That’s good news, Mark” Elliot says and he looks up at me when he hears my footsteps. “Ah, here’s Eli.”

I sit down next to him and wave at the person on the screen. “Hi! I assume you’re going to be the architect?” I smile. From my peripherals, I could see Elliot just looking at me and smiling. I glance at him and removes his eyes from looking at me.

He clears his throat, “Mark, this is Eli, my wife. She will be taking a look at the prints and let you know if there’s anything she’d like to add or change to the plan”

“Hi, Eli! It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Mark and I am a close friend of Elliot. I’ve been his architect since he built his mancave here in New York”