The kettle on the gas cooker whistled and Martina hurriedly carried it out of the fire. She turned off the gas cooker and poured the boiling water into two glass bowls. One for her and the other for Roberto. She threw the raw noodles into them and stained them carefully. Roberto stood at the door and watched her cook. “So this is how you make your noodles?” He asked, and Martina turned to look at him. She smiled widely and bounced her head. “Yes, I sieve the water and then mix with it the spices afterward. Then, I decorated it with steamed Vegetables,” She explained, and he raised his brows. “Sounds delicious,” He responded, making her giggle. “Trust me, you are not going to regret it,” She assured. He nodded and walked away from the kitchen door. Martina faced what she was cooking, and went on sieving the noodles.
She heard someone enter the kitchen again, and she turned back to see it was Vincenzo. “Hey,” She said, smiling widely. “Hi,” His response was quite cold and this got her thinking. “Are you okay?” She furrowed her brows and cleaned the water off her hand with a napkin. She walked up to him and stood in front of him, staring at his face. “Do I look unhappy?” He asked, and she bounced her head. “It is quite obvious. What’s wrong with you?” She further asked. He heaved a sigh and lowered his head. “How do I tell her I am in love with her, when she is in love with the boss, and he is in love with her too.” He thought to himself.
“Hey…” She touched his face with her palm and jolted him out of his thoughts. “What are you thinking?” She looked very worried. Vincenzo shook his head as he gulped. “Nothing, Martina. I’m okay.” He moved back slowly, and her hand slid off his face. She stared at him and sighed loudly, “I’m not stupid, Vincenzo. Something is going on. If you don’t want to talk to me about it, it’s fine. But find someone to talk to. You are not looking okay,” She said and turned to walk away. He suddenly grabbed her hand, making her stop. She looked at his hand and then at his face. “Are you ready to talk to me now?” She asked, and he bobbed.
“I’m in love with you, Martina,” He muttered. Martina’s lips parted in shock, and her eyes were wide open. Her eyelids failed to blink, and her mouth failed to produced words. “I know you and the boss have something going on, but I had to say it… maybe I’ll feel better now,” He added, locking his gaze with hers. Martina swallowed hard and looked away after coming back to reality. She lowered her head and searched for words to say to him. “Vincenzo, I…” “You don’t have to say anything about it, Martina. I know nothing can happen between us. I just wanted you to know,” He butted in, and Martina exhaled loudly.
He walked out of her way and headed to the fridge. She kept her eyes on him as he took a bottled water, and a cup from inside the drawer. He poured some water in the cup and drank it right there in her presence. She stared at his Adam’s apple as it raised and fell when he gulped the water. She cleared her already cleared throat and looked away quickly. Vincenzo finished drinking the water to his satisfaction, and he placed the cup in the Zinc. He poured some liquid soap into it and washed the cup with foam.
There was awkward silence in the kitchen when he finished washing the cup, and he approached the door. Martina still couldn’t find the right words to say to him, and she feared saying something stupid, so she remain quiet. He looked at her when he got to the door and revealed a faint smile before walking out. Martian heaved a sigh when he was gone and walked back to the sieved noodles. She remembered she was steaming some vegetables in the microwave, and she ran to check it out.
She opened it and stretched her hand into the microwave, she lifted the hot stainless steel bowl she had put the vegetable before she remembered she was yet to wear the open gloves. “Arrghh!” She groaned in pain as the bowl fell off her hand, making a Loud crashing noise. “F**k!” She groaned as some of the steaming veggies touched her naked legs. “Martina!” She heard someone yell her name. She looked at her hand with tears in her eyes, and she saw it had turned red, her legs were on fire too. She hurried to the door, and she was about to burst out when she collided with Roberto. She fell backward, and he quickly yanked her to himself.
“Hey!” He called fearfully. He looked at her hand and when he saw how red it was, his eyes widened. “F**k!” He mumbled as he took her to the living room. “My legs and hand are on fire. I need water,” She cried. He furrowed his brows and looked at her feet to see they were red too. “Oh my…” He swept her off her feet immediately, carrying her in a bridal manner as he rushed to the bathroom in his room.
“Martina,” Vincenzo called after he met Roberto carrying her in the passage. “Find someone to take care of the mess in the kitchen,” Roberto ordered and didn’t stop walking. He got to the room and flung the door open. He rushed to the bathroom and made her sit at the edge of his bathtub. He switched on the tap and made water run over her hands and legs.
“One minute away from the kitchen and you injured yourself already?” He asked as he helped her sit in the bathtub with her nightdress on. “I got distracted,” She mumbled, looking at him. “What could have distracted you? You need to take it easy next time.” He moved her legs under the cool water well and watched it run over her burn. “When the pain subsides, let me know. I’d apply some petroleum jelly on the surfaces,” He said as he stared at her hand. Martina smiled widely and kept her gaze on his face as he spoke. He felt her stare on him, and he turned his head to look at her.
“Why are you smiling?” He asked and looked at her hand again. “You are cute,” She uttered, and he heaved a sigh. “C’mon, Martina, there is nothing cute about this. You injured yourself, and I’m trying to ease the pains. What is cute about that?” He answered. “Everything is cute about that, Roberto. You trying to ease my pain is cute. I never see you doing this three days ago,” She said, and he smiled faintly. “Well, things happen. Just be careful next time. Now, I hope you don’t have to deal with blisters. You were wise not to rub the surface of your burn… or did you?” He looked at her and realized her face was closer to his, compared to the other time. “I didn’t rub it,” She said with a bright smile.
He gulped and bounced his head. He looked back and waited patiently for her to say it was enough. “If you would be my doctor, I wouldn’t mind getting burned every day,” She teased as she peeped into his pajamas through the collar and stared at the star tattooed on his neckline. He raised his head to look at her again, and he caught her staring into his clothes.
“Won’t you love to join me in here?” Martina asked, refusing to look away and a smirk crept up his face.