The Educator

Elliot and I return to the suite at around one in the morning. We already had a few drinks throughout the night. Elliot takes the room in the first floor. He undresses and fails to notice that his door has a crack jus enough for me to see. Of course, I didn't watch and just passed by him. I walk up to my room and sit myself in front of the vanity. I put my hair up and start removing my make-up before I take hot bath. I pull ou my bath essentials from my bag, scrubs, foams, butters, bath oils, salts and of course my lotion. I fill up the bathtub with hot water while I pour in my bath salts and bath foam to create bubbles. I also pulled out some candles from smelt.ph. They're a small business based in my hometown, the Philippines. I take my clothes off and wear my robe. I pull out my phone from my bag and check messages at I remove my make-up and wait for the tub to fill up. Suddenly, there's an incoming call from my mother. I slide the screen of my phone and answer, "Hi!"

She looks down at the phone with her face crooked, "Am I on now?" I hear someone's voice in the background, probably my bother teaching her how to FaceTime.

"Yes. You're on now, mom. I could hear you clearly" I say

"Oh okay, good! How have been my darling?" she asks. I could not see her face though and it was dark, looks like her phone is up against her ear.

"It's all good. Elliot's pretty great as well. He's such a gentleman" I tell my mom, "he even left me his credit card for me to use because he had a meeting today and though I might need to buy something" I add. She laughs "What did you buy with his card then?"

I roll my eyes and laugh "I didn't use it. I told him I'd wait 'till he was with me so that my shopping wouldn't be limited to the limit of his card" I joke. I stand and switch off the hot water and switch on the cold water, sot that the temperature will be balanced. I put my hair down and start combing it until the tangles are brushed out. I put my hair in a tight bun now and pull a few strands on the side of my face for tendrils. I don't know I do it but I just do and then I add more bath salts to the tub.

"When are you coming home?" she asks me. Her screen still dark. My mom's not that old but she acts like it.

"I think we'll be staying here for two weeks so you know just in time before school starts" I tell her.

"Have you seen the condo you'll be staying at?”

I sigh "No. Not yet. But when we get back, we'll be talking with the architect for the house. Elliot said I should make the decision so that I could really feel like it's my home"

Then my mother's face appears on the screen "That's good to know. Well, I just wanted to see how you're doing. Keep safe, darling. Be home soon. Your siblings are doing good here" she tells me.

I smile, "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? Elliot and I will be going out, spend a little time together". We bid out goodbyes and I open my Spotify to play some music. I drop my robe on the floor and dipped my feet in the tub to check the temperature of the water. Once I felt like the temperature of the water was relaxing enough for me, I submerged myself in the water. I leaned back and started relaxing in the tub. I could still feel the salts underneath my legs and the bubbles smell of lavender. There was a soft knock on the door. I cover myself with the bubbles and say "It's open!"

Elliot opens the door with him looking away, "Uhm I just wanted to ask if wanted to come down and discuss with the architect what the house will look like?"

I giggled, "Elliot, you can look. You won't see much anyway"

He remains in his position, "Eli, just tell me if you'd like to speak with the architect"

I roll my eyes, "Fine. What time will he call?"

He glances at his watch and says "It's the AM in New York now so maybe anytime when you're done?"

"Okay fine" I say and he closes the door behind him. I grab my loofa and liquid body wash. I start scrubbing myself lightly and when I finish, I scram my body butter and shave my legs. Shaving your legs while soaking in warm water helps in opening the pores and shaving closer to the roots. I drain the tub and rinse myself with warm water, making sure that the suds in the intimate parts are gone. I start massaging myself with the coconut bath oil and rinse myself one last time before I pat dry myself. I wrap my damp self with the robe and wash my face with lukewarm water, making sure that I get the excess make up, oil and sweat that clogged my pores out. I pull out a face mask and put it on my face before I head downstairs. I see Elliot already talking to someone. That must be the architect.

"That's good news, Mark" Elliot says and he looks up at me when he hears my footsteps. "Ah, here's Eli."

I sit down next to him and wave at the person on the screen. "Hi! I assume you're going to be the architect?" I smile. From my peripherals, I could see Elliot just looking at me and smiling. I glance at him and removes his eyes from looking at me.

He clears his throat, "Mark, this is Eli, my wife. She will be taking a look at the prints and let you know if there's anything she'd like to add or change to the plan"

"Hi, Eli! It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Mark and I am a close friend of Elliot. I've been his architect since he built his mancave here in New York"

Elliot falls silent and I look at him, "You have a mancave in New York?"

He chuckles nervously, "It was just something to help me relax and keep my priorities at bay"

I raise a brow and turn back to Mark, "So, Mark. What do you have for me here?"

Mark shows a screen and starts explaining the house. It's a three storey house, with a land area of six hundred square meters. The house itself will be four hundred. The two hundred will be for the parking and a small lawn. The third floor will be our bedroom, office and separate walk-in closets. The second floor will contain the entertainment area, a game room and the in-door theater that will be good for ten people. The theater room will look exactly like a movie theater, a snack bar, popcorn maker, movie posters and ten reclining chairs. The first floor will contain a dinning table good for twenty people and a large kitchen with everything automated and attached to the wall. A spice rack will be part of the wall as a design and at the same time, will function as a spice rack. There will be a breakfast nook good for about ten people. "From the design, I could tell our families will be over most of the time" I tell Elliot.

"Do you not like the design?"

I shake my head, "No. I like it but it just seems like we're always going to host some part"

"I personally like big spaces for when we have guests and this way, we can invite guests over." He tells me.

"Okay" I tell him, "Mark would it possible to add some sort of mini library at our individual offices?" I ask.

"Yeah, sure no problem" he says

"And I'd also like a bathroom in each office with a shower, toilet and vanity" I add.

"Got it, Eli. Anything else?" he asks

I look at the plan again and say, "Can we ad some sort of water source in the middle of the lawn. Nothing tacky but something tasteful and simple. It's very lucky to have that according to feng shui." I say gladly Elliot laughs, "Did you hear that, Mark?"

"Yeah, I got it, boss." Mark says, "Anything else?"

"I'd like to extend the laundry area. Three washing machines and two dryers. The hanging area I want it to be like, under a greenhouse. So, when the sun is high, clothes can dry there and when it's raining the solar panels will power the greenhouse and generate heat for the clothes to dry" I say.

"You want solar panels at home?" Elliot asks

I smile, "Yeah. Like you said it's more practical and will be more cost-efficient in the long run. This will exhibit that you as a business owner believe in your product and when the press covers the house, more countries will be happy to get your product to them. It'll be beneficial for your business and our future expenses"

He nods, "We need to rethink the roof, Mark. We are going to add solar panels that will be enough to power the whole house. Around three or four solar panels?"

"I'll speak with the engineer tomorrow so that we can discuss it further. Is there anything else you would like to add, Eli?"

I take one last look and everything looks good so far, "I think we're all good, Mark. Thank you so much. Have a safe trip in New York!" I wave goodbye at Mark. "Thanks, Eli. Thanks, boss. I'll keep you updates regarding the revisions"

Elliot moves closer to see Mark on the screen, "Thanks, Mark" and the call ends.¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶