“Same. My mom couldn’t have kids after me.”
She frowned. “That’s unfortunate.”
“Yeah?” I raised a brow.
She smiled and playfully pushed at my arm. “Don’t be a dick.”
I chuckled. “I can’t help it; it just happens sometimes. Like occasional seizures.”
She slapped a palm over her forehead. “Pagalinsaan,” she muttered.
“What was that?”
She blinked at me. “What?”
“You said something. What was it?” I asked.
She smirked smugly. “Curious, aren’t you?”
I rolled my eyes and pointed the spoon I was holding, at her. “Tell me.”
She grinned. “I said ‘pagalinsaan’, which is Hindi for ‘a crazy/mad human being’.”
I tipped my head back and laughed. “Wow, my ego just twerked to Beyoncé at that compliment.”
“That’s…very specific,” she mused.
“I aim to please, Madame,” I said.
She chuckled. “Lucky me.” She leaned in and added all the potatoes into the pan, and then peppered some salt and oregano over it. “Mix it all in, and then cover it so that it can cook well.”
“You got it.” I did as she’d asked. “How long do we wait?”
“30 to 35 minutes, depending on the level of heat it gets.” She bent to check the electrical stove’s temperature. “Make that 40, actually.”
“That long, huh?” I cleaned the little mess we’d made on the countertop, and then washed my hands.
“Yeah. Electrical stoves are slow like that.” She washed her hands and walked over to the couch beneath the window before settling on it. “Umm, comfy.”
I smiled and joined her, taking a seat on the other end of the couch. “I like sleeping on it during breaks. It’s just too good to not nap on.”
She turned and placed her legs underneath her. “A nap sounds good.” She hid a yawn behind a hand and rested the side of her head on the back of the couch.
I mirrored her position, and then pulled my phone out of my back pocket before looking at the time. 2:59a.m.
“Any signal bars yet?” Zaira asked.
I glanced at her, and then at the six signal bars on my phone. I swear there were none a few minutes ago.
“Nope, nothing,” I lied. Why? Because I didn’t want our time together to end.
Was I greedy?
Yes.
Was I being inconsiderate?
Probably, but I didn’t wanna let her go. Not yet.
