My cousin from afar

Chapter 3

I was so surprised at how rude she was that I was almost speechless. “Isn't it just a few packets of cheese balls?“ She asked rudely and I scoffed in disbelief. I wouldn't say I was obsessed with cleanliness but still, she should have cleaned up at least as payment for me taking her in to my place. I shook my head and entered my room to take my bath and change. When I returned to the living room, I sat at the dining table.

She had cooked and was in the kitchen so I was expecting my portion of the meal but she only walked out with hers and sat in front of the couch in front of the TV. “What of mine?“ I asked. “You have hands, don't you?“ She asked rudely. “I'm the one taking care of you and the least you can do is clean up, cook and serve” I said. “I never told you to take me in” she replied. “And I never told your parents to die, neither did I tell the other relatives to reject you” I said.

The hand that held the spoon to her mouth froze midair and she glanced at me with a hurt gaze. Okay, I knew I was harsh. People who knew me always said I had a sharp tongue and perhaps that was why girls hardly spoke to me or related well with me that much. I sighed. “Lydia, I'm...“ She entered the room and shut the door before I could finish. “Lydia, I'm sorry, okay?“ I yelled from the dining table as I wasn't used to pampering or consoling someone.

I went to the kitchen, served myself dinner and ate while watching TV before putting the food she had left behind in the food warmer and covered it. The following morning, we seemed to have forgotten what occurred last night because our discussion was long and pretty smooth. She greeted me and informed me that the fridge was empty so I told her to dress up and follow me. I drove her in my car to the supermarket. “You have a car?“ She asked.

“Yes, I do but i don't drive all the time. Gas is really expensive and I'll be selling the car soon anyways. It breaks down more frequently these days” I replied. The distance to the supermarket was not far and I gave her a credit card to go shopping. I told her to buy some groceries and things she needed at home. You know, all those girls stuff and I knew just how much was in that card. If she dared to squander it, she would find herself in a debt in no time.

After dropping her off at the supermarket, I went to work. Soon, Lydia and I became close that I felt like a big brother. I've never had siblings before but the idea of looking forward to seeing someone when you got home from work and not being lonely anymore was awesome. We watched a ton of movies on the weekends and she was just like me - a stay-at-home person. I hardly left home on weekends. Soon, my neighbours began to notice Lydia and mistook her for my girlfriend.