More lovely smells hit my nostrils. I sniff the air, frowning with confusion as I walk down the hall and into a cloud of cleanliness.
Every single thing in my house has been straightened. The floors have been vacuumed or swept and mopped. Every surface shines, every messy pile of bills has been sorted and neatly stacked. Even the doorknobs appear to be shinier and brighter.
My mouth hangs open as I look at Mom sitting on the recliner with a bowl of soup I didn’t make.
“What…?”
Hannah comes around the corner, an apron wrapped around her small waist, her hair tied back in a kerchief, and a mask on her face. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” she says brightly. “I made soup and fresh bread. Are you hungry?”
I didn’t think I was, but my stomach rumbles. “It sounds like it.”
She chuckles and heads for the kitchen, turning on the faucet and washing her hands at my sink. “I’ll get you something to eat.”
“Hannah, this…” I look around again, at a loss. “You cleaned my whole house.”
“It’s not a big deal. Your house isn’t very big.” She freezes, horrified. “I didn’t mean it like that. Your house is adorable. I just meant I’m used to cleaning a giant house, so this one was honestly no problem.”
“You did not have to do that.” I’m so grateful, I want to cry, but I’ve done enough of that for one day. “Thank you so much.”
“Really, it was nothing,” she says, reaching into a top cabinet for a bowl like she’s lived here her whole life. “I wasn’t sure what all they might have touched, so I just cleaned all of it.”
I walk over to Mom, absently touching her shoulder. “Do you feel okay?”
Mom smiles and nods, putting her hand over mine. “You have the nicest friends. And this one can cook, too. This is the best soup I’ve ever had.”
I smile, looking back at Hannah. “She’s magical,” I agree.
Hannah flashes me a smile. “I made your muffins, too.”
“Remember how I asked you to marry me? Have you given any more thought to that?”
She laughs, her cheeks turning rosy.
Mom doesn’t get the joke, but joins in anyway and inadvertently ruins it. “I think Dare might have something to say about that.”
Mom is only joking, but Hannah and I both stop smiling.
I let go of Mom’s shoulder and join Hannah in the kitchen. “Thank you again,” I say seriously. “This was beyond amazing of you.”
“Really, it was no trouble at all,” she assures me.
“Are you sure?” I ask, not because of all the work she did, but because of the other things. “You won’t get in trouble, will you? Does your stepmom know where you are?”
“No. It doesn’t matter.” I don’t get the idea it’s the truth, just that she doesn’t want to talk about it. To change the subject, she holds out a bowl of soup with a thick slice of bread sticking out of it. “Careful. It’s hot.”
I accept the soup and the subject change, but as I sit at the table and eat the food she made for me, I start to think about all the reasons I should not have called her. It was selfish to do it, a moment of weakness because I was just completely fucking depleted. I’m always the one taking care of someone, and right then, I needed someone to take care of me.
But I shouldn’t have asked that of her.
I know I’ve potentially put her in harm’s way—in more than one scenario, even.
Hannah walks me down the hall to show me around the sparkling clean bathroom and tell me the load of clothes she washed is in the dryer.
Standing in the bathroom mirror, I think more about what she said. “Your mom doesn’t—”
“Stepmom,” she interrupts, shaking her head. “That awful woman is not my mother.”
“Oh. Yeah, I’m sorry, I meant stepmom.” I shake my head, feeling dumb. Hannah is rarely testy about things, so I feel even worse. “You said you clean your whole house. Don’t they have maids?”
Hannah shakes her head, but the sparkle goes out of her eyes. “What do they need to pay someone for when they have me?” she asks lightly. “My dad left everything to her when he died because she was his wife, and he thought she would take care of me. She lets me live in my own house, but I have to effectively play housekeeper and wait on them hand and foot for an allowance.”
“That’s horrible. I’m so sorry, Hannah.”
She shrugs, putting a smile back on her pretty face. “At least I’ve gotten efficient. Look how quickly I got this whole place cleaned.”
I shake my head. Then I think about all the stuff she made for us today. I don’t even think we had all those ingredients, so she must have bought them herself—and she’s not rich like I thought, she just lives in a big house that was basically stolen from her.