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“Sorry?” she looked up.
“Don’t talk about my wife.”
“I, um, I don’t mean to talk about her or anything. I just wanted to express my condolences.”
“Your shift is finished; you’re dismissed.”
Janet’s eyes widened. “I didn’t mean to upset you,” she said softly. She turned on her heel and headed towards the kitchen. Basil ran his hand through his hair. He didn’t intend on snapping at her, but he didn’t want to talk about his wife. Her untimely departure had left nothing but anguish.
Ruth walked in moments later with his dinner. She served him in silence before she disappeared back into the kitchen. That was how Basil liked to be served, in silence. Janet didn’t seem to get it; she seemed always to have something to talk about. Basil picked up his fork and knife and started eating. He didn’t want to be bothered by thoughts of Janet. She was probably not going to last long anyway.
***
Janet’s phone rang, disturbing her from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes and grabbed the phone from the bedside table. She swiped the answer button. “Hi, Ma,” she answered her phone.
“Hi, Janet, are you still sleeping?” her mother asked.
“Yes, it’s Saturday.”
“It’s 9 a.m. though. You should be awake now.”
Janet yawned. “During the weekends, she calls me when she needs me. I don’t have to wake her up or anything. So, I get more sleep today,” she answered. Mariam had told her that her weekends were somewhat flexible. Janet didn’t need to wake Sanaa up early. She only needed to attend to her if Sanaa asked or if she was going somewhere.
“How was your week?” Janet’s mother asked.
“It was tough.”
“How so?”
“Sanaa isn’t warming up to me, and neither is the sheikh. The last time I spoke to him, I expressed my condolences, and he snapped at me.”
Her mother sighed. “He’s probably still hurting and doesn’t want to talk about it,” she said.
“Maybe, but I didn’t mean anything bad.”
“You have to talk to him only about his daughter. Keep your head down and don’t get in his affairs.”
“Ugh.” Janet sat up. “This is harder than working for Pablo.” When she worked for Pablo, she knew how to do her job, and he never complained. The hardest part of the job was knowing about his illegal affairs.
“Has he tried to contact you?”
“No, Mom, he can’t. I changed my number, and we’re hundreds of miles away from him. Don’t worry; we’re safe,” she reassured her mother. She still worried about Pablo finding them. Janet felt as though she could relax a bit, now that it had been three months, and there had been no sightings of him. She had destroyed her old SIM card and thrown the phone away before they left Corpus Christi. There was no way for Pablo to track her or contact her.
“Okay,” her mother replied.
“How’s Kimmie?” Janet asked.
“She’s fine; she misses you.”
“I miss her too.” Janet jumped out of bed. Since her ringing phone had woken her up, she decided to get out of bed. “Have you started looking for houses?”
“Not yet.”
“Can you look for an affordable place we can rent? I’ll send you money for a deposit and first month’s rent when I get paid. It’d be better if you could live here in Dallas, then I can easily visit when I have time off,” she said.
“Just focus on your job. I’m looking for a better paying job.”
“No, I uprooted us from our home, and so it should be my responsibility to get us a new home. Besides, there’s no one to look after Kimmie when you’re working.”
