Bubble Job
#DING #DING #DING !
The phone was ringing again.
It woke up her heart, it started beating louder than the phone. It shook her body up, pushed her down her bed, made her go to the living room and stare at that corner again.
Karim’s mother picked up the call.
“Yes, this is Hajja khabbaz” she said with a sober and wise voice.
Slima walked forward to hear better, she had a feeling it was important.
“...Benzekri, my...., how...hold..on.. ?”
She barely heard half the conversation, but it was definitely important. She went closer to catch up the phone from her grandmother’s hand as soon as she heard her name popping from the device.
“Madame benzekri, it’s Slima on the phone” Slima said with a vibrating voice.
“Yes ! I knew you would be home at this time, listen I can’t explain everything on the phone, can you come to the salon now ? I think I have the right job for you!” Replied Madame benzekri, she seemed very excited.
“Of course...” Said the poor girl, then hung up the phone.
Her grandmother was so surprised she finally spoke. But when she saw the color coming back to her pretty face filling up the void in her veins, she couldn’t but give her some space and help making her feel alive again. There was enough death around, so she covered her head with her beautiful white scarf and took back her seat on the sofa, the “tasbih” in her hand. Closed her eyes and started mumbling in the name of god. It helped bring her peace of mind.
Slima ran to her room, changed her clothes quickly. Took a bag and threw the essentials in it : her favorite star’s poster, a teddy bear she used to have since she was a kid, her make up and some stuff she had borrowed from her mom, plus her daddy’s perfume. That was all she could think of then. That was all she needed, to go out from her room and still feel safe...
The television was on mute, they could see but only hear each other talking. Everyone was speaking in the living room. Since the apartment was small, they kept the other doors open, it was enough to feel like they were in the same space. Always cooking something in the kitchen. It was like a camp in the building. Slima couldn’t wait to leave. She went to see her grandmother, to tell her she was going to work and come back before diner. So she was planning, once she was in front of everyone else, she couldn’t place a word between everything they were already talking about. The best thing she could think of was to leave first, then explain once she gets back.
Seven days were gone, and she was still in her room, fed only on memories and some leftovers she could find late at night in the kitchen, while everyone else was sleeping. The whole family was still there, she never thought there was going to be so many people. They never came to visit before, the only one she knew was Karim’s mother. She was an old lady with a very attractive long gray hair.
The thing about his mother is that she always ends up doing the exact opposite of what’s expected from her, no matter what. Despite all the fear and respect her kids owe her, Slima always thought of her as a fragile lady who is incapable of accepting the humanity in her. Slima hated the cold hearted.
Monday morning, the phone rings. Slima was laying on her bed, eyes half closed, still floating when she heard the tone.
She slammed the door to make them notice that she left, and didn’t look back. She had to follow her guts. Even if she wasn’t ready to work yet, she only thought about what was left for her, the only thing her parents encouraged her to do, to be a star and fulfil her dreams ! Madame Benzekri was offering her an opportunity, and she wasn’t going to miss it for the world. Slima started making a quick imaginary list of what kind of jobs she would be offering her.
Walking along the street was never so exciting to Slima, her heart was beating meaningless - She haven’t ate much since her parents left.
Yet, she was feeling good enough, she was feeling the air, smelling the fresh mint outside the shop across the street, passing through the fame hall of the third cafe already, the smell the coffee and cigarettes was the strongest in that one. She had to hurry so she started running. Arrived to the salon after seven heartbeats.
She was Told to look back once she arrived and tried to pull back the door to enter. Madame Benzekri was already in her car on the other side of the street, waving for Slima to join her in the car. Slima didn’t know what the job was yet.
She got a little bit sceptic. Stopped in the middle of the road for a second, hesitated, then continued forward and got finally into the car.
Madame benzekri was obviously in a hurry, she started the engine right away. Slima got scared, she had put her hand on tfhe car key asking her to stop.
“Wait, madame, where are we going ? “
“Oh ! ...Sorry ! I thought I explained to you on the phone.. I must have had another call waiting..i can’t remember..But don’t worry you will be very happy you’ll see, like a holiday !” Replied Madame Benzekri after turning back the key.
“Ehh..maybe, you said you were going to explain to me everything when I see you at the Salon ?...” Replied Slima, relieved that the car didn’t go anywhere yet.
“Yes, yes ! So let’s make this quick, you know we have a house on the beach yes? I would need you to help me out with the chores since I can’t bring in the maids , you know my sons don’t like the idea of having strangers in the house, and it’s been years since I cooked...Your mother had told me how delicious is the food you cook, and that you are very discrete and honest, those are all the qualities I need for this mission. I promise you it won’t be tiring. It will take two weeks but I will take care of your school next year, you won’t have to worry for a thing young lady ! You okay with that ? We can go now ? “
The offer madame benzekri just gave her was so surprising. She was expecting worse. Though it was something else, something she never could have hoped for. It was like offering her a paid break from her life. She wasn’t thinking about the school, nor the money, nor the beach and definitely not the cooking and cleaning she was supposed to do.
Instead she was going to get her chance to be close to Wajeeh, and think about something else, think about hope, and love.
The bad boy she fell for despite all the bad things that usually happen to her when he is around. The car engine started as soon as she said yes, they left so fast she didn’t get the chance to say that to her grandmother.
On the road to the airport.
Her new boss had to be a mom for two weeks. And she had to be there to spend her vacation before returning to school after summer is over. Despite the grief, the sadness of the emptiness caused by her parents accident, she had a chance to forget everything and get a fresh start. That was the idea, and she only had to help Madame Benzekri keep her sons tummy full and happy. Besides, she wasn’t really a stranger; They knew her mother before she died, they saw Slima once or two, she was cute and almost their age, for this situation she was perfect.
The traffic was a nightmare for madame benzekri, usually she has her driver to deal with it. But for some reason, she wanted to be modest this time, preferred dealing with her sons on her own.
In the mean time, Slima had to think about the situation, she wasn’t prepared to see her Prince Charming yet, in fact, she wasn’t ready for anything at all. So she started imagining things, situations, reactions. She started hoping for the near future to be something, to be better. She wasn’t really excited, but at that moment she wasn’t floating anymore, she had started dreaming again. It almost drew a smile on her face.
On the radio they were airing an old moroccan pop song, she used to make fun of that song with her mother when they heard it on the radio.
“You know, Slima...
You can call me just Zineb, you know in front of the boys, they don’t like it when it’s too ...” Said Madame benzekri, embarrassed and confused at the same time.
“...Yes, of course !
I get it, I will pay attention mada-Zineb !” replied Slima.
Madame zineb benzekri was once a very good model, long blond hair with greenish brown eyes and a pirate smile, her body had the perfect curves back in the time. she used to live in europe, stayed in Italy most of the time, until she met her late husband. Who took her Canada, she never got used to the cold. Having her first son Waseem made her lose many job opportunities and eventually her shape. She was getting old for the industry, so she had to quit for her sake, and her husband and kid’s sake.
Then came along Waheed. Then she wanted to come back to her motherland, Morocco. She had to go back to where the sun sets, where her family was. Nora had some other thoughts about the reason she came back to Morocco. But that’s left to be proved. People say it was a very dramatic love story, yet so passionate and incredibly inspiring.
At least that’s what Slima used to think when her mother used to share the updates of the investigation she was leading on Zineb benzekri in order to use her connections to develop her own business. After collecting information along the years from customers, friends of the benzekri family, from madame benzekri when she wasn’t herself, Nora had made up her mind about Madame benzekri, and she had made the perfect plan to actually make her dream come true, which was being a private hair dresser. The best private hairstylist in the country. She wanted to be the next ORIBE, but in Morocco. She definitely had talent and many ideas, all she needed were money and connections. And Madame benzekri was her ticket out of her misery.
Zineb had switched from radio to CD-player, they were on the highway seven minutes away from the airport. The music was so smooth and old school. Slima liked it, she had never heard it before. Curious as she was, she couldn’t help but ask Zineb for the title of the song.
“It’s Crazy by Patsy Cline, i love this lady, she is like my best friend, I mean her lyrics and the melodies, it’s like she is in my head and singing my life before I knew about it ! “ Said Zineb hysterically, Slima could see how much she liked this song.
Slima was taken away again, she checked if her bag was still near her feet and laid her head on the car window. She could feel the cold wind through the glass. She close her eyes and surrendered to the melody and the words Patsy was singing inside that big car that soon turned into a bubble in Slima’s imagination.
She imagined herself floating inside the bubble and flying away with it in the sky, there were other bubbles in the sky, each one had a musician playing an instrument in it, they were all dressed unexpectedly. Their outfits were minimalistic but very colourful. They seemed peaceful. She wasn’t alone in the bubble, she was still with Zineb, she was singing along, it seemed that she was following the band, the bubble stopped when she stopped singing. They were flying high, leaving the ground, forgetting about gravity. Everything became suddenly so easy and beautiful to see, they flew over houses, farms, little horses with their mom, cows chilling on the grass, and then they were approaching a huge and large parking lot with white birds in it. Everything was so beautiful and slow. Then the musicians got away and left them behind, Zineb had stopped singing. The bubble popped !
“Slima,...Slima ! Wake up we arrived !’’
“Wait what ? Why ?”
“What’s why, you need to sit in the back, wajeeh would want to sit there, he always likes to sit in front, come on hurry please they’re coming and we’re late for diner !”
Zineb opened the door for Slima to help her move faster. She didn’t care if she had just woke up from a quick coma into the bubble world, she only wanted to make her lovely little boy satisfied. Slima took off her seat belt and took her bag and moved to the back seat.
The volume of the music was lower, the CD was playing Sweet dreams by patsy cline.
#Sweet dreams of you
Things I know can’t come true
Why can’t I forget the past, start loving someone new
Instead of having sweet dreams about you
“Here they are !” yelled Zineb, popping out from the car, once out she was like a diva going to reunite with her public.
The elder sons didn’t show much affection for her, but Wajeeh always pleased his mother, her was her secret little fan. he was the only one who had her that much longer for himself. Waseem and Wajeeh stayed in Canada with their father and came back three times since.
Only Mr Benzekri visited on a regular basis, stayed with his wife and kid the whole month of July, and a week before the new year’s eve. He was a successful businessman, stressed and angry most of the time, but very kind and charming.with his family. At least, that was before he knew about his heart disease. He became very possessive and obsessed with his wife’s business and activities before he died.
They say that she was the cause of his death, that he might have had a crisis during a huge fight with zineb and couldn’t make it to the hospital.
He died in the ambulance, the tears of his wife on his cheeks falling down on him like warm rain drops. She then opened the ambulance door, and started walking, it was midnight and it started raining on her all the way back down to her house.
She came back wet, eyes dry. She never cried again since, started Yoga classes, went to the gym, opened a beauty salon, and invested in other businesses in the city. Her kid grew up, left the country for a better college. She lived free ever after.
But now Zineb has to deal with her sons again. All three of them at the same time, for two weeks. She was very stressed, she wasn’t expecting them to come so fast after what had happened, the elder sons were still blaming her for their dad’s death. Too much drama for summer to wash away.
Slima was trying to think of how not to become a torture subject for bullies. She knew how they treated their mother, and deep down she wasn’t okay with that.
Back to the car.
The windows open, the wind felt fresher than usual, had a smell, a perfume. The car was running, her prince charming was sitting right in front of her, she could see him from behind. She could see his hair dancing with the wind that was coming through his window.Hers was open too, but she didn’t care, couldn’t help but get closer to the front seat from the window side to enjoy another kind of wind. She closed her eyes and concentrated on his words, he kept on speaking to his mother about the flight and the trouble they had to get their luggage at the airport. The elder brothers seemed tired, they didn’t say much. Stayed calm all the time.
A few minutes later they were at the beach house. It was a sunny day, clear blue sky, perfect for the beach. They could smell the salty water, it made Slima’s tummy remember that it didn’t had much to digest in a while.
She didn’t know how life managed to replace her first plan for the beach by this one. But there was no time for deep thoughts. Zineb was jumping everywhere like a puppy showing everyone around the new changes in the house. They all went in. Slima found herself alone with the car open, everyone’s luggage in the back of the car. She took a look a the beach, people were playing, couples walking holding each other’s hand, dogs running and barking,... Good vibes were coming from that view.She almost forgot what brought her here.
“Aren’t you going to bring those with you Slima ?” said zineb from inside the house. Sounded like the needle that made blow up her bubble earlier in the car.
“All of them ? ...”
It wasn’t exactly what she had in mind, her prince charming was no king’s son.
She remembered when her father once told her
“In life, there are two types of men, those who like to watch and those who like to actually do something about it. Never trust the first type”
she shook her head and came back to face reality.
Everyone went to freshen up from their flight. Zineb had opened up an old cote de province. Her husband loved fine wines, he got her into really enjoying it without getting ridiculously drunk.
Until that moment, Slima was still trying to figure out what in hell had just happened to her. The whole universe pushing her into something she knew nothing about, yet.
She’s alone, they’re all gone. She could feel the emptiness, the loneliness, the sorrow and grief eating her alive. She could feel the cold in her feet. She’s alone, again. The sound of silence started following her thoughts, suppressing them and filling her voice with the void.
She is alone with four strangers in a huge house she had to keep. She knew that her life was changing, radically. She knew that her loss is never going to be replaced again.
Yet she never bailed a challenge in her life. At the end, her parents had raised her to be strong and that was her plan, to stay strong until it gets better. And one thing she tried to remind herself of : Spending the summer in a huge beach house.
She then decided to take a walk and discover the place. So many rooms around her, so many paintings, so many closed doors to open, a very spacious kitchen in front of her, she could see an even bigger pool through the kitchen’s glass-door.She started walking, one foot after another towards the center of the house, she stood up next to a statue of a naked greek woman.
“What’s your name naked lady ?” she whispered
“and why don’t you go to the pool to enjoy the sun in such a hot summer day?” She kept on asking her eyes rolling up from bottom to top, scrolling through her lifted arm, she was pointing up with her finger. Slima followed her lead and when she looked up to the ceiling, she saw the most spectacular painting she could ever imagine, so many details she couldn’t bare to recognise. Her bubble flew her up to see closer, she was flying in a tropical forest filled with green leaves, flowers in every color, painted butterflies, animals she never knew existed. Everything was so amazingly real for a moment. She could hear the birds tweet and sing to the monkeys in the trees, the monkeys mock the elephants, and the elephants pouring water over the crocodiles who looked so harmless and happy. The sounds of nature were so harmonious they took her to another dimension. She was feeling it all. Everything that was in the painting. Until the paint started melting, it was very cold, colder than her feet. her bubble popped.
She’s back, looking down at her feet.’what the fuck..?” she said, not understanding why, she pulled her head up again to verify if the paint is really melting on her feet.
Shocked, Wajeeh’s face was so close that her heart stopped beating
“So do you want the ice cream or no ?” Said Wajeeh just before he burdts out laughing at her face.
Slima still in a shock, tried to wrap up some words and said
“Oh..thank you, No ”
Wajeeh, still laughing
“Okay! But hey, you were having an episode of ghost whisperer?” kept on mocking her“I wouldn’t dare to wake you up next time, seems like you don’t know how to speak with ice cream on your shoes.. I spent four minutes of my life asking you if you want ice cream”
“I’m sorry, but i didn’t see you coming...” replied Slima, hesitated.
“You know what, never mind, i’m just gonna throw it” Said wajeeh, walking away towards the kitchen.
She followed him. When he threw the ice cream in the trash ban, she could’t help but ask him to show her around.
“Can you ..Can you show me around please ? I would really appreciate it, the house is so big, i don’t know which rooms i’m allowed in and which ones i can’t approach.. I don’t wanna impose myself on your family’s privacy...”
Wajeeh was a bully but not impolite, he knew that she had just lost her folks and that life wasn’t treating her so good lately. So he swallowed his bad jokes and took her by the hand, and asked her to follow him.
“that one over there is my mother’s reading room- He said, pointing to a warm red room on his left- You can only go in there when she’s not reading, which is anytime of the day, she hasn’t been there in a long time actually..”
the stairs were situated on the right, they led to the bedrooms. The guest room was downstairs, right next to the living room. The others rooms were reserved for special activities, Zineb’s activities. He walked her around and made her feel a little bit more comfortable. It was the first time he was being nice to her. She couldn’t believe the person she was hanging out with at that moment. Practically, they were. Hand in hand, they were walking around that statue as if they were in a museum. She was more interested in those locked doors though. She wanted to open them so bad she didn’t pay any attention to what Wajeeh was telling her about the other rooms. Nothing provokes her curiosity more than a sealed and closed door, the mystery was wrapping up her mind already.
Finally they got to the backyard. The palm trees and banana trees were surrounding the whole property. The smell of the freshly watered grass brought her peace of mind. The mozaic in the pool was hypnotising. Everything was just perfect. She could smell his perfume through the thin air while he led the way to her new little space. He showed her where they used to hide the keys to the Cabin and left to get a Call. She kneeled to reach down the garden gnome, it was left there under the gnome.
“So cliché !” She said, then hurried to open up that door.
As he was walking around the pool, talking on the phone, smiling like a super star in his element. She always wanted to see him by the pool, but she never imagined it could happen so fast. She almost forgot why she was brought here. As if the universe has given her too fast too much. She put her bag on the floor and stepped forward. The curtains drew a cute smile on her face. White sheer curtains. Covering the whole wall. She opened them to find a wall sized glass door. Pushed the up button to open the shutter. The light started coming through the glass, so she opened the door.
She could hear the birds so clearly, their songs were covering up Wajeeh’s Voice, she would have appreciated him staying a little bit closer to her cabin, so she can know what exactly is he saying with a devious attractive smile. Curiosity will never set her free.
She stood there watching him finish his call. then walking away like he wasn’t doing anything back there with her. The tour wasn’t finished yet, she barely saw half of the place. She was turning blue as he disappeared from her sight. She didn’t know what to do, so she started unpacking her stuff, which wasn’t a lot. It took her five minutes to put it in the closed. She had her own bathroom, a smart tv, a bed and a lock on the door. She had her own private space in an unexpected dream house full of mysteries to unveil.
She felt a little sad about her loneliness, but deep in her heart, she always knew that she will be alone at some point in her life. She was aware that all she has was herself. All she could carry was the memories she’s keeping alive in her mind.
It’s true that her imagination was her only reconciliation in life. But this house, was going to make her usual bubble moments reach the clouds and her curiosity go nuts.