Avoid Them

{ARMANDO}

Talking of avoiding people this is going to kill me, I didn't take breakfast and I haven't taken lunch. How am I going to survive?

I might as well drive to town, and buy some snacks.

But there is one problem with that, if I leave home and go to town, I am never coming back here and me not coming back won't help me because now my parents know I am back home and my mother won't leave me alone.

My father is something else though, he will make sure to show me that he means business and he will send the therapist to my place, I don't want that though. I don't want my house to turn into a place for therapy, at least for now I want to stick to having two safe spaces, my home, and my place.

Other than my place, I am sure my father won't give me that much of a choice if I say no to the idea of the therapist coming there and he will ask me to go to Ivana's office and the office is the last place I want to be.

Any office in that matter, so can you imagine how I feel about the therapist's office?

"Armando." I hear someone calling and then a knock. It's not my mother's voice so I am surprised who it might be, there is no way Sally came back, that would be fast, and it is not like it was a must for her to come back and check if truthfully have cleaned my room.

I stand up and straightened the sheet on my bed, the last thing I need is her asking me if I have already forgotten what she had taught me.

I look at the bed and see that it looks good, I walk to the door, "Sally."

"Sally, uh?"

It is our cook, Norah. She looks me up and down and I can see she wants to jump on me and after that slap the hell out of her for calling her, Sally.

"Will you ever call me by my name?" She asks me and pushes me aside.

"Welcome, Sal- oh, sorry I mean Norah."

Norah, Sally, and Mr. Jaime have been with my family since I was born so, growing up I use to confuse Sally and Norah's names, but most of the time I could refer to Norah as Sally. Not that I confuse them now too, but I love to make her think that.

"Ha, funny, very funny." She says and walks to the table next to my bedside and place the plate there, turning back she looks at me and I hold my face with my palm.

"Armando darling, I am not going to slap you, I have missed you." She says and opens her hands wide for me.

I look at her hands and I walk to her hoping I won't have the same reaction as I did with Mr. Jaime in the morning because it would mean I am totally screwed up, like a hundred percent screwed up.

We untangle from the hug and she starts to pinch my cheeks, oh, man. Told you, I need to avoid them for the next one week or I will suffer a great deal.

"You are so thin, look at this cheek, didn't they feed you?" Norah asks me and after she is done checking out my cheeks she turns me around and then back. She shakes her head while clicking her tongue, "you are way too thin, but rest assured I am going to feed you, honey."

"Honey?" I ask her and she smiles, and I know the answer to that I have heard so many times it goes like, "Hey, you are our son, I can call you whatever I want."

"But not stupid or fool." We finish the sentence at the same time and smile at one another.

"So, let's eat while I tell you how my life has been darling."

Okay, at least she hasn't asked me how am I or how I have been and that is way better and this means I have a day or two, and then she will want to ask me that question and I won't be here because as I said earlier I will be avoiding them.

Norah picks up the food and walks to the one place I have forgotten in a very long time, the balcony. She places the food on the top of the table and walks to the farthest end of it while swirling around, she looks back and asks, "do you remember how we used to enjoy eating up here?"

I smile at her as I take a seat on the couch, she is around fifteen years older than me yet whenever she is with me she behaves like she is someone of my age. "Yes," I say and she turns around and I can see something in her eyes like, "why don't you come here," I look away faster.

"Armando, you can't escape me, come here." She says and walks to me.

I don't want to, and I know the best way to avoid that is by me telling her I am hungry, whenever I tell her that, she normally leaves whenever she was doing and makes sure I eat as if she can read my thoughts she says to me, "no."

"Come on I have not said a thing."

She smiles at me knowingly and walks to where I am seated and when I am sure she is going to pull me up, she opens up the plate and says, "voila!"

"Mmm."

"Mmmh?" Norah asks and I can't help but chuckle.

"I missed that sound." She says and hands me the spoon as if I was not going to pick it up by myself. The food looks good and I am sure it is going to taste good too but after scoping one spoon, I cringe my face.

"Armando," Norah calls and I move a bit, I know what she will say and what will follow next, "that is not the right way to treat food." and then she will slap my back.

"Have I lost my touch?" Norah asks and I am surprised, I turn back to her faster, and tell her, "no, no, no… Norah your food is awesome."

Norah laughs at me and I shake my head at her, she says, "darling I will never lose my touch, well unless I am old or something. No, don't you dare call me old."

"I am not calling you old, but you are old, how old are you?"

"Never ask…" She starts and I say to her, "yes yes yes, never ask a lady about their age, got it."

We continue teasing each other and she tells me how she has been and what I don't know is that she is waiting for me to eat, and after ten minutes she stands up and says, "Hey, let me go prepare your favorite, I will be right back."

Norah walks fast and assumes each call I keep giving her, like, it is not a must, I am going to eat. She only throws her hand and answered, "yeah? Nope! I am coming back."

I sigh and walk to the end of the balcony where Norah was, I look down and see Mr. Jaime speaking to my dad. Mr. Jaime looks up and when he sees me he waves.

I wave and walk back to my bedroom before my father looks up and sees me. Not that it matters, but I don't want him to see me here at this time because he will call me and ask how the therapy went.

I can't help but wonder, "what is he doing here at this time of the day, doesn't he have a company to run?"