A LOVE THAT IS FOREIGN

Financial Crisis

After an hour of shopping in Fulton Market, finally, Asia's long day is about to end. So much unexpected events happened in just a day. She mean, she's fine, she's been doing just fine until she met Hussain again. Note that she's his employer this time and not a one-night hooked up girl. On Saturday morning when she wakes up in Hussain's bed, she knew that it'll be the last time she'll share the same air with him. She knew that their paths will never crossed again and its okay with her.

But earlier, upon meeting him for the second time, it feels different. She feel attached somehow. And she don't like it. She doesn't want to be attached to anybody aside from Tamira because she's leaving. And she cannot promise these people that she'll be back.

Aside from that, once a baby started developing on her womb, she'll be very busy being a mum. That'll lessen the possibility of going back in NYC to work.

Asia put all the bag of ingredients she bought from Fulton Market into her kitchen table. Dragged herself back to the living and flop on the couch. Then she let out a deep and loud sigh. Her eyes focused nowhere else but on her ceiling.

Hussain...

Suddenly, that name crossed her mind.

Rufus...

Done with all the unconfirmed assumptions, she reached for her sling bag and then pick up her phone. Asia open her browser application and out of pure curiosity, she started typing the name "Rufus Hussain".

The application starts loading and after the cycling circle, the Google showed a brief profile of him with his picture wearing a black suit. He wasn't smiling in this photo but he's still as good looking as he is in person.

[ Rufus Cameron Hussain, most popular in the address Mr. Hussain, is an American-Paskitani citizen born in Islamabad, Pakistan on August 26,1991. Born by his American mother, Laura Cameron and Pakistani father, Rasheed Hussain. He is also known for being one of the youngest successful businessman for taking over the Hussain Enterprises at the age 23. Read more... ]

That brief profile of him has Asia sat up straight, her shoulders squared, her eyes held shock. Did she just messed up with a millionaire? No. It cannot be labelled as "mess" since she have zero interest with him-- or not a total zero. She'll be a liar b***h of she'll deny that Hussain is an attractive man. Duh. Asia will not agree to sleep with him if she don't like him and that's a fact.

With a shut closed eyes, Asia shook her head gently. Forget about that handsome, masculine and drop-dead gorgeous man, Asia. You'll never see him again. You'll never go back to that house andq most importantly, you will never ever cook for him. She told herself.

She filled her lungs with air and all at once, she released her breath loudly. Asia set her phone aside, stands up cheerfully then she busied her own mind with other thoughts so she could block the memories of Hussain which keeps on creeping in. By eight o'clock in the evening, she's done showering. Now she have changed into her lacey panty and gray robe. She usually don't use brasserie when at home for her own comfort.

After making hot chocolate on her favorite mug, Asia prepared all the ingredients she'll be needing to make a mixture of marinade. In a mixing bowl, she poured the soy sauce, vinegar, luke warm water, squeezed a lemon juice and other liquid spices. While cutting the white onion, galic, smashing the black pepper, she is also sipping on her chocolate until it's last drop.

Once the marinade is done, she set it aside then she started cutting the pork flesh in uniform sizes. Asia washed the pork multiple times before plunging them into the marinade. Tomorrow morning, after an overnight marinating, she'll deep fry it and resell them to her colleagues. After dopping the last meat into the marinade, she cover the bowl with a foil and store it into her fridge.

The clock reads as 10:43 P.M now. She spent more than two hours in her kitchen but it don't feel that long. Since she ate burger on her way to Fulton Market, she decided to just have sandwich for her dinner. In the middle of putting hummus spread on her bread, somebody buzz on her house.

With her creased forehead, Asia starts walking to her door, check out her unannounced visitor through the peephole and found out it was Tamira holding a box of pizza. She open her door undoubtedly and welcome her friend with a wide smile.

"Hey! You never told me you'll drop by. Come in."

Tamira gets in. "I was with Garett nearby so I decided to pay you a visit before going home." She walk past Asia and suit herself in the couch, putting the box of pizza in the table afterwads.

"Would you like anything to drink? I haven't eaten dinner, that pizza is perfect."

"I would love your special hot chocolate, please. Why skip dinner? Busy with your kitchen stuffs?"

"Yeah,"

Asia went to her kitchen, made a drink for her friend then she go back to the living holding a mug and a plate of her unfinished sandwich.

After handing over the chocolate, Asia sat next to Tamira. She reached for the pizza and get herself a slice. "Are you and Garett dating?"

Tamira sipped on her chocolate before nodding and saying, "yeah. He actually fetch me up again from the company." She put the mug to the table and join Asia in consuming the pizza. "How about you? How was your part-time?"

As if everything was normal, Asia shrugged. "Just fine. I think I'm not coming back to that house."

"Really? What happened? Why? That sounded so unusual coming from yah."

"Its... Just that... I think that family is a sadist. Yeah, a sadist." Tamira said nothing. She simply look at Asia with suspicions. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Why do I have a feeling that you're lying?"

"And what makes you think that I would?" Asia let out a throaty laugh.

Tamira shake her shoulder off as both of them fell into total silence. She left soon after finishing her chocolate. That moment when Tamira exited her house and get into the cab, Asia clean her living. Put the excess pizza in a clean container and reposit it in the fridge next to her marinate. She washed the plates, mugs, spoons and all the equipment she used earlier, then left them drying on the rack.

Everything has been organized so she she decided to get into her room to rest. Before crawling to bed, Asia took her laptop from the drawer of her bedside table. In crossed sitting position she open the laptop and settle it in the pillow on her legs. It's already eleven o'clock but still, she's wide awake. Browsing the internet is what she usually do before drifting into peaceful sleep. She search for random things in Google. New recipes, an Italian and Chinese cuisine, watched some baking procedures and you know, anything related to cooking.

Asia is too absorbed to her researches when she heard her phone ringing from afar. After pausing the video she's a watching, she examine her room but it appears that her phone is ringing from the living room.

Oh yeah. I forgotten it. Asia mentally slap her forehead. Forgetting her phone must really be her old time bad habbit that no matter how hard she try to exterminate she just couldn't. The little device is on the sofa, ringing and vibrating. The caller ID registered as her mother's contact number. Why is she calling in my phone number? She wonder. They usually talk in Skype or Zoom because those app requires nothing but a stable internet unlike to their personal contact numbers which will cost them a quite large budget. An oversea call, especially if the caller and the receiver is thousand miles away from each other, is always a paid call. Walking back to her room and closing the door behind her, Asia finally picked it up.

"Hi, mom." She greeted in a light, unproblematic tone.

"A-Asia..."

Bothered to her mom's voice, Asia asked is she was crying. She look at the digital clock on her table that reads as 11:25 P.M. This means that her mom's time is just 11:25 noon. "Mom? Are you okay? What's going on?" The crease on her forehead increased.

"Elisa... W-we bring her to the hospital... Her epilepsy attacked again and the doctor said she must undergo resective surgery to remove the seizures in her brain..."

Asia's flesh started quivering upon hearing the bad news about her baby sister's situation. Elisa was the youngest among the five of them while Asia, she's the third child and her rest three more siblings were all males. Elisa being the youngest, and being her only sister, of course, is the most special and close to her heart. She's deaf and she couldn't speak. Aside from her disabilities, she also suffer from epilepsy. Four years ago, at the age 23, Asia decided to leave her own country, went to New York to work so she could support the medical needs of her baby sister. For the last years, nothing serious happen to Elisa... Until today.

Asia massaged her temple. "Then tell the doctors to perform the surgery,"

After her mom's long pause, Asia heard her trembling voice again. "The overall surgery... the hospital said it will cost us 5 million pesos..."

"Oh my God..." Asia whispered. An extra force was applied in her hands as she continue massaging her temple. Cat got her tongue. She couldn't find the right words to say. The amount of money needed for her baby sister's surgery made her weak. Her knees melted like a jelly and if not because of the the bed, she'll drop staright to the floor. "Proceed to the surgery, mom. Save Elisa. Don't worry about the money. I will work hard for it. And besides... I have savings... that could help."

Alma, her mom, she cried even louder this time, telling Asia how blessed she is for bringing her daughter to life. Alma only bid her goodbye when the doctor summoned her to his office. The call lasted for two minutes which Asia is unaware of.

Her shoulders fell.

Five million pesos...

Asia unconsciously bite her nails. She pick up her laptop and asked the google to convert the amount into US dollar.

$102,999.95!

Where is she going to get that amount? She only have five digits on her savings. Those could help but they will never be enough.

And at the very moment, Asia started reconsidering the $500 per hour as Hussain's part-time cook. That $500 might be small to him... but that amount is already hope for her