Chapter 28
Nicole Vargas
I sighed as I read the letter that was on the nightstand along with a tray of breakfast. Ethan had to go out early again today. We didn’t even got a chance to talk. Last night after the piano he carried me upstairs and we went straight to bed.
I was laying down for an hour or so wide awake, listening to his soft snores next to me. He was too tired to even stay up for another half hour or so to talk.
Rose just messaged me that the audition with the models has been rescheduled. That means I didn’t had to go anywhere today, I could just do my work from home.
I took a long shower and dressed in comfortable clothes. I did my work while having breakfast outside the balcony. Next to me was the cooking book Rose gave me that one time she invited Ethan and I to dinner.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.
I was thinking of cooking dinner tonight and discuss certain things- like the chat message from Veronika.
Yes, I was literally contemplating whether to cook or just head out, order some takeout and bring it back home. But cooking might be more effective.
Even though I cannot cook if my life depends on it, I’ll just try today. Silently praying, I’ll not burn the kitchen down this time or put anything in the kitchen on fire. I might as well carry a fire extinguisher on my back, just in case.
I searched for the easiest recipe in the book, but came to the conclusion that there were none. Going through the book once again, I settled for Chicken and Broccoli alfredo. That just seem to be the easiest.
I looked at the time and saw I still had a whole half day before it was time to prepare dinner. I called Angela asking if she wants to have a girls day out and she immediately said yes.
I grabbed the car keys and my sunglasses and headed outside. Ethan wrote in the letter also that he couldn’t have lunch with me today, because he is meeting up with someone. Probably an investor or so.
I drove to Downtown New York, because that’s where Angela and I would meet up. Little by little I am getting familiar with this place, thanks to my dear little trusted friend GPS.
I searched for a parking spot to park my car and headed out to meet Angela. She messaged me a while ago that she would be at the Westfield World trade center.
When I was already there I looked for the Sephora store because that’s where she would be. When I finally found the Sephora store, I saw her in front, looking impatiently around.
She finally spotted me and walked over towards me, smiling widely. “There you are! Finally we can hang out!” She took me into a hug. “How are you?”
“I’m doing well, how about you?” I asked, as she released me out of her hug. “I thought since I didn’t had anything to do at home, might as well spend some time with you.”
Angela laughed. “Then let’s go. I have so much planned for us. Let’s go to the Spa first?”
“Spa?” I asked. I was more thinking of shopping today.
“Yeah, and then to the hair salon or do you want to go shopping afterwards. Anyways the point is that we will not leave anytime soon. Let’s go!” Angela grabbed my hand and dragged me to her and I quote ‘favorite spa in whole New York.’
We went to the spa, did some shopping, and then headed out for a very late lunch. It was already five when we decided that it was enough for today. Both exhausted and satisfied we sat in Starbucks, sipping on our strawberry frappuccino.
“This was a perfect day” Angela said smiling. “Thank you for this girls day out. Next time we should have a movie marathon.”
I grinned. “Yep, you should come over to my house for that. What about tomorrow night?”
“I wish I could, but tomorrow morning I’m flying to Greece for a friend’s wedding. Will not be back until next week.”
“Wow, Greece. It’s beautiful over there. Well, then the movie night will be postponed to next week.”
“Whoop, I’m looking forward to it. Anyways, I should get going. It’s already five.” She stood up and hugged me. “Thank you once again. You’re the sweetest.”
“Thank you for coming with me. Have fun in Greece!”
“I will !”
I stood there in Starbucks, thinking what I should do know. Maybe I could go for a little walk, or maybe… oh shit. Dinner !
I drove back home as fast as I could. I would make dinner for Ethan today so that we could have a talk.
When I arrived home, I left all my stuff in the car and headed straight to the kitchen. I had one hour to prepare this dish. I got the linguine out of the cupboard and the vegetables and the chicken out of the fridge.
I took a deep breath. “I can do this!” I told myself. It’s not hard. It’s like… It’s like making a face scrub. Yeah, that’s more like it. It’s like making a face scrub.
I cooked the linguine according to the packing directions. Or at least, I tried to do that. It didn’t exactly went according to the directions, but it does look… decent enough.
I hated this. This is already going wrong.
I chopped the broccoli and add it in the pot with linguine. There were so many pots and pans, I didn’t know which one to use. I chose the closest one to me.
Once again, I hated this. This is the last time I will ever cook. I just do this, because I really really wanted to have this talk. And maybe also want to prove Ethan that I can cook if I actually tried… really hard.
I heat the butter in a skillet – thanks to mommy dearest I know how to heat butter. It’s not something to be proud of, but it is something.
Then I chopped the chicken and put it in the now melted butter. Is it suppose to go like this? The directions in the book are a little vague. Why can’t they be more descriptive in the cookbook or is it just me?
Oh, now it says stirring. I stirred the chicken, a couple of times. How long do I need to stir? I continued to stir the chicken, until a burning smell entered my nostrils.
Oh shit ! Chicken failed. I scooped the chicken out of the pan. It did not look bad, a little bit burned on the sides, but nothing bad.
I added the chicken with the broccoli and linguine and milk, cheese, black pepper. I mixed it through and placed it into another bowl.
I stared at my final result and it did look decent enough. It did not look exactly like the picture in the cookbook- well it did not look anything like the picture in the cookbook. I just hope it taste better than it looks.
I grabbed a spoon to taste my masterpiece when the front door opened. Voices filled the mansion. The voice of Ethan and the voice of a woman?
I washed my hands and dried it on the table clothe before making my way to the living room. When I entered the living room, Ethan was busy laughing and talking with a beautiful red haired woman.
He did not even acknowledge me !
I cleared my throat and that’s when they both turned around to look at me. Ethan was beaming, like a little boy who just got his favorite candy.
“Hey, Nicole.” He greeted, his smile never leaving his face. Red flag one, he did not call me princess.
“I did not know we had a guest today.” I did not want to sound bitchy, but I prepared dinner for two.
“Oh yes. I forgot to tell you yesterday.” He chuckled and shook his head.
I raised my eyebrows up at him. “Oh, yeah like how you forgot our dinner date.”
Ethan cleared his throat. “Not now, Nicole.” Red flag two, he did not call me princess again !
The red haired woman looked uncomfortably between the both of us. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to her, darling?” Red flag three, she called him darling ! I don’t even call him darling! Who the hell is she?
Now that I looked better at her. She seemed quite familiar. The sharp face features and skeletal body. She looked just like…
“Nicole, I want to introduce you to Veronika. Veronika this is Nicole.”