The Maid Ch. 03

He backed off in the car, she was grateful for the distance between them; she needed the space to cool down. They travelled in silence. They pulled up outside the school. She wasn't too late, thankfully. She climbed out cautiously and looked around; no one seemed to have noticed her. She glanced back at him; he was watching her from his seat. She smiled shyly and whispered a thank you. He nodded.

When she left the school with Sophia's hand in hers a few minutes later she could see the car was still parked in the same place across the road. She couldn't see in through the tinted windows but as she walked down the street it pulled away and she gripped Sophia's hand without looking up as it crawled past them slowly.

They cut through the park on the way home, she couldn't see it anymore but the car couldn't follow her there. It wasn't too cold, so they stopped for ten minutes. She sat on one of the benches and watched as Sophia ran around and played on the swings with a boy from her school that Andrea didn't recall seeing before. She drifted off into thoughts about him. Damn him, two hours in his company and she felt like a pot on the stove that was about to over boil. She squirmed frustratedly.

They headed home, she needed to get the dinner on. She opened the front door to hear the phone ringing. Dropping her bag, she ran to catch it.

"Andi?"

"Connie!" She said breathlessly. "Hi!"

Connie didn't beat around the bush. "Who is he?"

"Erm..." Andrea nervously bites her lip, and glances at Sophia who is standing in the doorway, watching her expectantly. "I can't talk now, can ring you later after I put Sophia to bed."

Finally Andrea flopped down on the sofa in her front room and exhaled. Sophia was fed, bathed and asleep. Her head was spinning as she tried to make sense of what had happened that afternoon with Stephano. She felt very frustrated after spending two hours in close proximity with him. She needed release. Squeezing her eyes closed she rubbed her forehead she heard a quiet knock on the door. Who could that be?

Tentatively she opened the door. Standing in the doorway waving a bottle of wine by way of explanation/entry fee, was Connie.

Andrea grinned. "Come in!"

Connie marched into the living room and sat down on the sofa, Andrea brought glasses and bottle opener and sat down beside her.

Connie fixed her with a penetrating stare "He was the reason you were so shaken up last Thursday wasn't he, Andi?"

Looking away she nodded and took a fortifying gulp of wine, bracing herself for the onslaught of questions. Questions she wasn't sure she'd know the answer to.

"Are you going to see him again?" Connie asked

"He's not a suitable person for Sophie to be around." She replied shortly.

"Why not?"

"We have nothing in common!"

"But you don't even know him really and anyway what about you? How do you feel? Sophie doesn't have to be around him. Can't you just have sex?"

She almost choked on her wine at that. She couldn't believe Connie of all people was suggesting she have a casual sex, but perhaps she was right. The state she was in after a couple of hours in his company combined with a few glasses of wine and the idea was becoming increasingly appealing.

"I don't know if anyone has ever had the physical effect on me that he does." She sighed. "I can't stop thinking about him; he's like a drug. I feel so out of control when I'm around him." She was staring intently at her now empty wine glass on the coffee table.

"Well maybe it's about time you did something for yourself, you deserve to have something for yourself Andi, and you're so young."

"But Sophia..."

"Sophia needs a mother who is happy, and how will you be happy if you never do anything for yourself? Have you even had sex since Joe?"

"Connie!" Andrea was blushing furiously.

"Well?"

"Of course I have!"

"Yeah? How many times? You're just a mother Andi, you're not a nun."

"I don't think he's someone I should get involved with." She mumbled lamely.

"But you're attracted to him?"

"Yes."

"Well you don't have to get married. This is the 21st century. Just be careful. Make sure it's on your terms, not his, and don't get too emotionally involved. Take it slowly."

She frowned. "I don't think he does anything that's not on his terms."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know," She bit her lip, thinking. "He's just...he's really uncompromising. He knows what he wants and he takes it. I just seem to get swept along with it."

Connie giggled. "I would mind being swept along by him."

They sat in silence for a while, then Andrea finally spoke. "I've been accepted on the school centred teacher training program."

Connie squealed with excitement uncharacteristically. It seemed to be the evening for her to do odd things.

"When did you find out?"

"Yesterday."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I've been a bit distracted." Absently, she smiled to herself.

They talked late into the night about teacher training and Stephano, but she didn't mention her initial lack of consent. She felt uncomfortable talking about it, didn't want to give it a voice. It would seem more real, and she wasn't ready for that to happen. She didn't want to think that about him.

Connie looked thoughtful. "What do you know about him anyway? Where's he from? What does he do?"

"He's Italian, somewhere in the south. I think it started with R. Reggio? But he lives in Milan now. He didn't say what he was doing here exactly but it's business."

"Reggio...In Calabria? That's a very poor region of Italy." Connie said. "Usually men from the south of Italy who have money are Mafia."

Andrea looked at Connie, her eyes widening with shock. She couldn't be sure Connie's theory was correct, but suddenly a lot about Stephano made sense. She frowned. What on earth had she gotten her self into?