Mrs. Beckingham's robes flowed smoothly. Her hair curled perfectly on her head, from the roots to the tip. There wasn't a strand out of place. "My." She hadn't the words. "This room is ~" She ran her fingers down the staircase as she went. She never had this slip before, she looked at her fingers, moving them around. "Not a spec of dust." She lifted her skirt and scurried down the steps. She was a child on Christmas day, excited to see what Santa had brought her. "The blinds." She touched them, the beautiful scarlet colour, streaming down her hands like the red sea. She wanted to touch the ground bare feet so she slipped off her slippers and made one step forward.

"You like it?"

"Oh, it's wonderful." She smiled, lifting her hands in the air. "It's just wonderful, William. It's just like when your father and I bought it. It's full of life, it's fresh and the smell." She inhaled and exhaled. "It's just amazing. The table looks beautiful, the chairs are dusted and oh, the fire is on. I can imagine my grandchildren running around here, can you?"

"Jodi, you're getting way ahead of yourself."

"It's about time." She pulled a chair and sat down, and so did William. "You look handsome." She smiled.

"Yes, Lily picked it out for me." He rubbed the sleeve of his shirt. " She seemed so quiet in the car. I was beginning to think she'd change her mind before we even got here."

"I'm not going to." Came in softly.

"Lily, how marvelous it is to see you!" Mrs. Beckingham couldn't stop smiling.

"I'm actually thrilled to be here." She hovered over William and placed a plate in front of him. He was tranced by her scent, lavender heaven mixed with chlorine.

"We're grateful that you're here. No one has done it quite like you." William added.

"The shirt?" She curled her lips before moving over to Jodi, handing her a cup of coffee.

"The house." He replied before forking a piece of sausage.

"I hope you're not working yourself too much, Lily. This must've taken hours to do." His mother nodded, trying to talk and chew at the same time.

"I'm used to it. It's really nothing, please don't worry about it."

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"Lily, are you sure you don't want to stay in the house?" Mrs. Beckingham felt tempted to order her to live with them but William warned her that she shouldn't push Lily too hard.

"It's fine. I have everything I need at the back."

Lily left the room, taking the platter with her. She walked like a shoulder, chest up but when she reached the kitchen all she could do was sigh. It took her four hours to get that room ready, she was proud of herself. She thought she'd be lazy, uninspired but she wasn't. It was great to work out and it was therapeutic. Lily could hardly focus though, through her cleaning all she could think about was Jacob and the way she treated him. She wanted to make a clean break but she failed, it was obvious. She should've told him about this on Friday when he picked her up or Saturday when they spent the day together, things would've ended differently.

"Lily!" William got down on one knee, he grabbed her frail hands. She could barely grip them.

"I'm, I'm fine." She waved her hands almost as if to get rid of a fly buzzing around her ear.

"You're clearly not. Have you slept?" He grabbed her chin, turning her face to his. He looked into her eyes. "Did you drink something?"

"I don't drink." She nodded, trying to get up. She grabbed her forehead, and ran her fingers up to the roots of her hair, gripping them tightly.

"Come." He took her to a small chair, right by the stove.

"Are you a doctor?" She squinted her eyes at the man while William was searching through a red and white kit.

"No." He grabbed a tablet and then filled a cup with water. "Here. Open up." He reached her side again, she complied opening her mouth. She took the tablet and allowed him to give her some water, she stared as he did. "If you're ever feeling like this again, take this one, okay?" He held the package towards her. She nodded. "Good. We can't have you dying on us now." He locked the kit and put it away. "Don't push yourself. I’m afraid I have to leave at once." He jacked his collar up as he walked out.

He was nice to her, she acknowledged this. She didn't think it was because he liked or favored her. Maybe it was because he was paying her with his own money, he needed to get the best from it. But he was nice to her and she felt herself feeling guilty again, peering down at the tiles, telling herself, she should've been nicer to Jacob.

The girl went about her day, it was easier than she thought. She didn't get to clean the whole house like she wanted to, it took a week to do that. Instead, she heeded William's words and as the days went on, Lily grew into the work and it got easier. She didn't feel lightheaded, or like she was about to faint.

Lily got through a whole month at the house and even though, William hadn't talked to her for more than a minute since then, she felt drawn to his secretive lifestyle. She didn't know what he had planned but she was eager to find out. She'd watched him come and go, it was interesting but hard; to figure out what exactly he did. She thought of a few scenarios, maybe he owned a business. He looked like he could own a bank or a hotel, but he couldn't have been a doctor because he said he wasn't. She believed him, she believed that he wouldn't lie to her. He did talk to her though, one time, it was more than a talk. It was a conversation she wouldn't forget.