181 Days of Madeline Jesty

Chapter 49: Off-Limits

Even though I only had a few hours of sleep, my body was alert and energetic. I didn't have to hide that I was excited about the sleepover. Just an hour before lunch, I had already gathered my things.

"Where are you going?" Suzie asked when she noticed I brought a huge backpack with me downstairs. "To Steph's?"

I shook my head. "Mickey's."

Suzie leaned against a wall, her arms crossed and an eyebrow arched. "So you're a couple now?"

"What are these questions, Suzie?" I asked, smiling at her teasing, then went back to checking if I had brought all the stuff I needed. "Choose another form of love than prying. You were never interested with my relationship with Steph. Why with Mickey's?"

"Because you seem happier."

I paused and looked at her, surprised about what she said.

"In my decades of babysitting you—"

"Hey, c'mon. You're not!"

Suzie laughed and then continued wiping the walls while talking. "I've never seen you this excited, not even with the guy you first dated."

I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't count. That was a fling."

"So this one's serious—"

"Whatever Mickey and I have, it's not what you think."

"Troy and I actually thought you were into the café girl."

"What do you—Amielle?! No, for goodness' sake! She's like a sister to me," I explained with eyes widened in disbelief.

"We thought of that after noticing the difference between the way you look at the café girl and the way you look at this Mickey."

"This isn't anything romantic, but it does make me happy."

"Sure it is. I can't recall you this excited. You always go with the flow."

"And now?"

"You make your own flow."

Suzie's observations made me think. Did I really change? How? I caught myself smiling at the idea, but when I realized that it wouldn't make sense after the seventh of December, I frowned.

But I would admit that . . . that sounded nice.

We both turned our heads when we heard keys jingling followed by Troy's voice. "You ready, Ms. Maddie?"

"Yep," I replied and then smirked. "You two, what's stopping you from making a child?"

Both of them seemed shocked. They rambled to defend themselves, which made me laugh.

"I'm not a baby anymore, you two," I said as I carried my backpack. "And what, you could notice changes in me but I couldn't notice yours? You've been serving us for a decade. I knew there's something between the two of you since I was ten. I wonder if it's me or your job here that is stopping you. No pressure, though."

I waved goodbye to Suzie then went outside to enter the car. Troy followed and started the engine.

"Ms. Maddie," Troy began. There was awkwardness in his voice. "D-don't worry, it's not you. We're both happy at our job here, and it's our wish to stay. We don't have anywhere to go anyway. Besides, Madam Isabella has been a supportive employer. I'm sure if . . . S-sir Daniel were here, I'd say the same for him."

"Seems like you know my mother more than me," I joked.

"She offered us the jobs, even offered to pay our education if we wanted to continue it. Suzie and I both declined."