Yufa

"Calm down, Señorita. Calm down." Martha cooed from behind the counter. She was preparing breakfast which consists of bacon, eggs and pancakes. Nathan loves it so much. I tried making pancakes myself but failed miserably. I was pacing back and forth since she start preparing breakfast.

"He probably stayed in Polaveja Mansions last night. You need not to worry, Señorita." She assured me for the nth time today. No matter how much I wanted to relax and put myself at ease, I just cant bring myself into the realm of relaxation. Not when I didn't have the slightest clue as to where he is.

"Martha, I can't help but worry. He was acting strange this past few days and he didn't come home last night. I'm afraid . ."

"You worry too much, Señorita." Martha cut me and smiled, the smile that indicates I should believe in her. "He's a grown man."

She's right. I worry too much over a grown man. He could always take care of himself. I stopped pacing back and forth and reluctantly take one stool and sat in front of the counter.

"But, Martha" I sighed in protest. "Yes. He's a grown man, I give him that. Its just he's growing worse. He changed. He became more calloused, more distant. I couldn't understand it anymore. He's drifting farther, Martha. I'm not afraid of the lurking dangers outside because I know he's more capable than I give him credit for. I'm afraid of what he's capable on doing." Martha was silent. "You know him, Martha."

Both of us went silent, taking time to ponder on the facts that both of us stated. Martha just finished cooking and prepared the table for breakfast. The sight of the table makes me sick. I shouldn't eat alone. Supposedly, Nathan is to join me in every meal. We should talk about how to start our days and enjoy the meal. Unfortunately, Nathan didn't want to eat with me. Sometimes, he would have Martha take his food upstairs on the guest room. But most of the time, he eats before I got the chance to prepare something for him.

A loud knock on the front door brought me back to reality. I stared at Martha wondering who could be visiting us early in the morning. Obviously, its not Nathan, he never knock on the door. He would always open it, and close and strode casually inside the house. Since Martha is still preparing the table, I head to the front door and opened it. A very gorgeous woman stood, wearing sunglasses, a white petticoat with her luggage behind her. She stood inches taller than me, making me look smaller. Everything about her screams fortune.

"I was hoping I could join you for breakfast." The woman smiled with her thick Spanish accent. She removed her glasses and bent down to kiss my cheeks. She smells so good.

"Y-yes Mom. Come on in." I gestured her inside. I get lost on admiring this woman that I forgot she is Nathan's mother. She could easily pass as his sister. They have same features except for their eyes. While Nathan has a set of gray eyes, his mom had set of green. I mentally kick myself for staring at her and not immediately recognizing her. For Pete's sake, she is Doña Alejandra Polaveja.

I followed her inside leaving the other maids attend to her belongings. I guided her into the dining room where Martha is waiting for the unexpected guest. At the sight of Doña Alejandra, the older woman smiled and hurried to attend to the gorgeous woman.

"Martha! So good to see you!" She extend her arms and gather the old woman in her arms. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Ali." Martha replied as soon as Doña Alejandra released her from her grip.

"I hope Nathan isn't giving you headaches the way he did before."

"No, Ali. He's a grown man now." Martha lied. Of course he gives the old woman a hard time. I wanted to roll my eyes at her statement. Clearly she covers up for him. "Why don't you take a seat and enjoy breakfast, hmm? I'll prepare your favorite coffee." She offered.

"I was hoping you could. Heavens! Im starving." Martha pulled her a seat while I take the seat facing Doña Alejandra. "Shall we pray?" She offered as soon as I settled my self the chair. Without waiting for my response she bowed down her head and utter a small prayer in spanish. Martha told me that Doña Alejandra is an extremely religious person. She had collection of religious statues made of wood, marble and crystals. She had also a wide variety of rosaries coming from different countries she visited. Whenever she would visit a place, the first thing she does is visit the nearest church, say her prayers and continue with whatever business she had with that place. In fact she had built a tiny chapel in their mansions so she could pray at peace.

Martha came back with the coffee she prepared and carefully put the coffee on the table.

"Take a seat, Martha. Join us for breakfast. I wouldn't take no as an answer." The commanding voice she had always terrifies me. There is something about her that screams dominance. Her voice isn't kind, it always sounds convincing like she was born negotiating. Its like talking to a business woman and you can't refuse her. The old woman smiled, like she always do. Her wrinkled, kind face nods in approval.

"Where's Nathan by the way?" Doña Alejandra turned to me. The nervousness I felt a while ago came back like an avalanche. I look at Martha, feeling lost. My mind scrambles trying to figure out an answer to her question.

"O-oh! I, I'm afraid he's not here at the moment." I trailed, trying to find a more reasonable excuse.

"Where is he?" The smile on her face faded into a frown.

"H-He's. I mean, he is still in his office. H-he was finishing a proposal for his next business trip." I lied. I just lied to his mother who knows him better than me. What was I suppose to do? Tell her I don't know and cause confusion? No, I wouldn't let that happen. Whatever is happening between me and Nathan should stay in the four corners of the house. We might be in an unfavorable conditions but that doesn't mean we'll drag another person into our problems. Martha knows better than to stay quiet and let me handle the situation. I hope she would buy it.

"Oh, that's odd. It's Sunday. He should be here spending time with you." I was hoping that too but no. She pause for a while, as if giving my excuse a better thought. "Well. What do I expect? He's just like Nate when it comes to business."

Martha nodded. Both of them knows him too well. I'm glad she bought my lies though I couldn't shake off the feeling of guilt for lying to her. We continued our breakfast, occasionally talking pleasantries. I'm glad she didn't dig deeper into the whereabouts of her son and I'm not forced into crafting more lies. I couldn't cover up for him any longer considering I'm mot very good at it.

Breakfast was finished. We found ourselves seated on the living room with Ali speaking tales about her latest trip. She insisted on calling her Ali instead of "mom" after calling her that a couple of times during breakfast. She liked being called Ali. Who would have thought she's in her forties. She had a flawless tanned skin, no wrinkles visible and her straight jet black hair.

"Ali?" We were so indulged with Ali's stories that we didn't hear Nathan approached. We turned our heads and saw him standing inches away the door. He was a mess. Hair disheveled, loose necktie and his eyes had black circles underneath. I swear I could smell alcohol coming from him. Like the rest of us, he too, was surprised.

"Nathan?" Ali blurted out. Shock was all over her face. "What the hell happened to you, Hijo?" She rose from her seat and approached her son. She must have smell the alcohol too that she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"When did you arrived?" Nathan asked.

"Just this morning. Ugh! you stink!" she said in disgust. "So, does your office sells alcohol now? "

"What?" Nathan was confused. "My office?"

"You heard me, big man! I thought you were on your office doing some work, yet here you are looking like you've consumed barrels after barrels of whiskey."

The chills were starting to crawl all over my body. I sensed a storm brewing behind Nathan's eyes. I lied to his mother and it seems like I'm about to get caught. Sure, the color on face is draining each second.

"W-what? Who told you I'm at work?

"Yufa."

I know this doesn't make sense, but I want to introduce Nathan's mom. Sorry.

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