Page 53 of The Facilitator: Part 2
We chatted as I refreshed my cup and handed her a fresh one. She told me she was one of those very rare people who absolutely loved cleaning and taking care of people. When Mackenzie had approached her to become his housekeeper, and even offered her accommodation to start, she’d jumped at thechance.
“He’s generous enough, I can have Mum at home for the kids’ school run,” she toldme.
It was another display of how wonderful he was,really.
Kerry thanked me for the tea and left. Although Michael was keeping me company again, the vastness of the house wasnoticeable.
I packed my Kindle and a couple of paperbacks, along with sunglasses into a small cabin luggage bag. I left both suitcases and the bag in the hallway. Mackenzie could bring them down when we neededto.
I pulled my laptop from my bag and sat at the kitchen breakfast bar. I scrolled through social media, a place I did my hardest to avoid. I should have closed my accounts down after my ex-husband’ssexcapadewas posted on my timeline. My brother used his social media account to connect with the outside world. Ispoketo him weekly on the telephone, but it was also nice to comment on his posts, like, and laugh at what he’d managed totype. Sebastian used a device strapped to his head to touch a screen. Although brain-damaged and unable to communicate properly, he could read a little, and social media, although his account was limited to just family—I had made sure to delete Scott, of course—but he didn’t knowthat.
Thoughts of Sebastian reminded me to text over my flight details to my mum. She wanted to be sure to have all the details so that, as she said, ‘if anything happens, I don’t want to worry if that was your plane, or if that’s where you’re staying. They have hurricanes, you know.’I understood what she meant and sat with my phone while I gave her the details, the area I was staying although I didn’t know the complete address. I also told her I’d contact her as soon as we arrived. That satisfied her somewhat. She hadn’t met Mackenzie, although she had spoken to him on the telephone. She was keen to see if he looked as he sounded. I had no idea what that meant, but I needed to make a weekend available to visit as soon as wecould.
Thank you, darling. You make sure you have a wonderful time and don’t go near any guns. Mumxx
I chuckled at her reply. Whatever was on the news was fact where she was concerned. There was absolutely no telling her the BBC could be as incorrect or biased as anyoneelse.
I’ll be sure to steer clear of anyguns!
I was still chuckling when the house telephone rang. As before, it startled me; no one called on the house phone normally. I ran into the hall to grab it from the base before they could ringoff.
“Hello?” Iasked.
“Oh, hello. I was looking for Mackenzie,” a soft American accentreplied.
Although I believed it to be Addison initially, there was a hesitation in the voice, and I didn’t think she’d have any problem in stating who was calling. I began to doubt it washer.
“I’m afraid he’s not here. Can I take a message forhim?”
“No…no, it’s okay. I’ll contact him anotherway.”
“Who is calling,please?”
“It’s fine, I’ll call anothertime.”
Before I could ask any more, the call was cutoff.
I dialled recall to see if the number had been recorded, but it hadn’t. I replaced it back on the base. If it rang again, I’d leave the answerphone to pick up any messages. I bristled though, if itwassomething to do with Addison, she was going to get a mouthful from me. I didn’t appreciate that level ofrudeness.
I began to feel hungry so decided to make myself a snack. I knew Mackenzie had a late night and the last thing he’d want to do would be to cook dinner. I grabbed some bread and cheese, another cup of tea, and walked into the living room. I’d watch the news or a documentary I had recorded earlier in theweek.
I’d eaten, watched the news and the documentary, refreshed my tea, and checked my mobile for messages. I then began to worry a little. If Mackenzie was super late, and the sun had set a long time ago, he’d normally send me a message. I calledhim.
“Hey, it’s only me, just wondering when you’re getting home,” I said, leaving the message on hisvoicemail.
I wouldn’t text as well; every now and again I’d hear Scott’s accusation I was a nag, in myhead.
Once the ten o’clock news had finished, I switched off the television and headed upstairs to the bedroom. I stripped and stood in the bathroom teasing stray hairs from my brows. I took the opportunity of being alone to shave under my arms. Feminine matters such as hair removal wasn’t something I liked to do in front of anyman.
Once done, I switched on the shower. I was bent doubled over shaving my leg when I felt hands on my hips. I not only screamed but nicked my skin as well. I slipped on the wet tiles as I spun around to see a laughing nakedMackenzie.
“You frightened me,” Isaid.
“I’m sorry. I’ve had the shittiest day, and when I saw you, ass in the air, I thought my day had just gotten a whole lotbetter.”
He wrapped his arms aroundme.
“What happened today?” Iasked.
