TN: Good day! Another friendly update is here. Unlike the previous chapters, this one was not written by parts by the author so I’ll just post the half which I managed to translated today.
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Sapphire's look resembled that of a pitiful princess while she was cleaning the toilet bowl. Although it's already her second time doing the scrubbing, she still couldn't help but feel disgusted. She can stand washing the dishes or sweeping the floor. But so far, out of all chores she learned, cleaning the toilet was her most hated one.
"Hey, why is my wife frowning?"
She only fiercely rolled her eyes at Johann who was at the doorway of the comfort room. He's in his uniform, sipping coffee. The one-week honeymoon leave was over and he has to come to university starting from today.
"It's so early in the morning and you're already in foul mood. You see, you'll become ugly."
"I don't get why I have to clean the toilet this early morning!" she snarled and removed the gloves she was wearing. She finished cleaning. The bowl now looked pristine white again.
"Don't complain anymore. It's been done, eh. You already finished cleaning."
He has a point. "Whatever. I'm going to change the schedule you made, I won't ever clean the toilet in the morning again," she declared while washing her hands. After that, she pushed him away so that she can get out of the door.
Sapphire walked towards the dining table and then started eating the meal Johann had cooked. Hotdogs and scrambled eggs. A while ago, he also bought pandesal from the bakery at the nearby street.
"Don't frown anymore. Smile, Wife," he smiled as he coaxed her and then gave her a glass of fresh milk.
She ignored him but not the glass of milk.
"Smile now so that I will have inspiration while at work. Come on." He even gently pinched her cheeks. She really did smile. However, it's the obvious fake one, the forced one.
Johann laughed. "You're really so beautiful." He finished drinking his coffee. "I'll go now. I have class at eight am." He grabbed his car key from the wall key holder near the kitchen. "Are you going to leave the house later?"
She nodded. "Lavender and the others invited me for a spa and shopping before lunch."
"Okay. When you leave, make sure all appliances have been plugged out, ha? Turn off the lights before checking whether the back door is locked. Also the front door," he said. "What time will you come back?"
"I don't know. Anytime I like."
His forehead creased. "Don't stay out at night. I don't have someone to accompany me for dinner."
"So?" Eh, what if they become too engrossed in shopping? Of course, she can't just walk off and leave her cousins by herself.
"What 'so'? Just a reminder, Wife. You're no longer single. You have a handsome husband who will go home later and cook dinner. Get home before seven."
Now she has a curfew? Argh! "I'll try."
"If you are not at home before seven, I'll spank your butt."
"Just you try."
"Just kidding. Just remember to go home, okay? I don't wish for you to stay out of house at night. You're a girl. You also have a husband. If people see you out there late at night and I am not with you, they will think that I am a neglectful spouse. Your image will also be destroyed, you'll see."
Once again, he has a point! Just as always. "Okay, fine! Just go. You're going to be late for you class," she shooed him away.
He glanced on his Rolex wristwatch. "You're right. Then, my reminders, okay?" He walked out of the door.
She just waved her hand to dismiss him. She had resumed eating when he suddenly came back to her side.
"My kiss?" he suddenly said. He even lowered his head in front of her.
Her neck backed away. "And why should I kiss you?" she said grumpily. But she suddenly panicked after hearing that.
"Married couples do that. Before leaving and after coming back, there's a kiss."
"You're only my husband on paper. Remember?"
"Oh, fine. Just a friendly kiss, then. On cheeks." He put his cheek in front of her.
"Is it like that? There's really a friendly kiss?" Well, she doesn't have friends. She's not aware of such things.
"Yes. The beso-beso. Don't you do that?"
"I do."
"Eh, then kiss me now on the cheeks. We're friends, right?"
She glared at him and frowned. "Are you fooling me, Husband?"
"Of course, no," defended Johann. "Come on, Wife. Kiss me now. So I can leave."
To end it all, she kissed him on the cheek. He said it's just a friendly kiss. Fine. After kissing him on the cheek, she went back to eating. Although she was caught unprepared and startled when he kissed her back on the cheek too.
"Take care later on yours and your cousins’ escapade. Bye-bye!" he said while leaving. She heard the car's engine and his departure.
She found herself touching the cheek that Johann had kissed. She wiped it off since there are some saliva left.
Yuck!
Then, she remembered their accidental kiss which she should have forgotten.
She grimaced. Double yuck! Why did she suddenly remember that?
Sapphire can only shake her head and finish her food. She cleaned the table after that. She also washed the dishes although she was not supposed to do that. Ugh, her husband had gotten away with it! To be fair, she would make him wash the dishes in the evening.
After some time passed, she took a bath and fixed herself. Her cousin Lavender will fetch her so that the two of them can go together at the spa. Since she has no car for herself here because Johann's house has no parking space, and since she doesn't like riding taxis, she made her cousin fetch her.
By nine AM, her cousin came for her.
“The house of the two of you is so cute. Simple and small but I can sense the homey feeling," the other girl commented while driving.
"Yeah. His bungalow was somehow okay. Only if he didn't make me clean the toilet room," she still complained about that.
Lavender laughed. "Is it true? About the text where you said that Johann taught you chores?"
"Hell, yeah! The first week of our marriage was him teaching me to do the house chores! Can you believe it?"
"Well, it's about time that you learn doing those chores, Saphi. Among us cousins, only you don't know how to move inside the house. You have been spoiled too much by Grandma."
She pouted. "That's not my fault." It's not her fault that her Mom was so busy to fall in love and didn't have time to teach her those things. On the other hand, her cousins are rich and social like her, they have been taught how to keep a house clean. Her Aunts were the one who taught her cousins when they were still teens.
Sometimes, she envies them for they have mothers who can teach them things like those. She also wanted to learn before but she wanted her Mom to do the teaching. Until she reached her current age, she never expected that her husband will be the one to do that.
Haley and Crystal have already been waiting for them at the expensive-looking spa when they arrived there.
"So, how's the new wife?" Haley greeted to her.
She shrugged. "Just fine." She kissed her youngest cousin on the cheek as greeting. "Fortunately, you invited me to spa! I badly need this for all the chores that Johann made me do!"
Crystal Jane laughed. "As if you have been slaved around by your husband."
"Well, I feel like it."
The masseu started to accommodate them.
"How about Johann? How is he being a husband?" Haley asked again.
"Cheeky. He always convinced me to do house chores. He won't let me turn on the aircon in the afternoon. Always topless!"
Her cousins giggled.
…
TN:
beso-beso – act of lightly kissing the cheek as greetings
pandesal – Spanish for salt bread, Filipinos most common breakfast.
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