Lies Between Us

"Bonsoir, madame" "Bonsoir, monsieur," the waitress smiled.

"May I take your order?" she asked.

"I’ll have the hazelnut daquoise" the old woman ordered.

"And I’ll have the coupe à l'oignon," the old man added.

"Okay. I’ll be right back with your order," she smiled.

"Santiago, here’s the order for table seven," she handed it to the chef.

"Here. Table twenty’s food is ready," Santiago handed it over to her.

"Here you go, madame. A French omelette. And here you go, Monsieur, a soufflé" she served it to them.

"Merci" the couple smiled.

"Miss, please can I have more wine?" A woman from another table called.

"Excusez-moi" she said to the couple and went to the woman.

"Please, would you like red or white?" The waitress smiled.

"Red" the woman answered.

She went to get wine for the woman.

"Fabienne, table seven’s food is ready!" Santiago yelled.

"Santiago, lemme go serve it to them," another waitress, said.

She came back with the wine.

"Sorry for the delay, madame," the first waitress pleaded.

"Hmm" the woman grabbed the wine from her.

The first waitress then went to Santiago (head chef/boss).

"You called for me?" she asked.

"Yes" Santiago said.

"What was it?" she asked.

"Table seven’s food was ready, but Aida is handling it" Santiago said.

"Thanks, Aida," she said to her when she came to the counter.

"No worries, Fab" Aida smiled.

"Miss, this is not what I ordered," a young boy shouted.

Fabienne went to him.

"What is the problem?" she asked.

"This is not what I ordered!" the young boy yelled.

"Are you sure? Because I have your order here" Fabienne said.

"Yes, I am sure," the young boy yelled.

"Please calm down" Fabienne said.

"No, I will not" the young boy shouted.

"Are you trying to make a fuss so we serve you another dish where it will be on the house? Because if you are, like I said, I have your order here in this book" Fabienne prompted him.

"So?" the boy shouted.

"Will you sit and have your food quietly, or should I throw you out?" she stated.

"I’m not eating here again" the boy threw the napkin on the table and began to walk out.

"Boy, where do you think you’re going?" Fabienne asked.

"Out of this place" the boy shouted.

"Okay. But please remember, you ordered, so you have to pay," Fabienne smiled. "It will be 30 euros" she added.

"30 euros?!" he exclaimed.

"Fine! Here’s your money" he threw it on Fabienne’s face.

"Au revoir monsieur" she waved

"Excuses à tous (apologies everyone). Just a misunderstanding. Please go back to your food" she said to customers who were dining.

She then went to the counter where Aida was.

"Fab, what was that all about?" Aida asked.

"Just some douchebag" Fabienne answered.

"I’m really tired, and I’ve been wanting to use someone as my punching bag, so you should have told me so I’ll give him a good beating to teach him a lesson" Aida balled her fists.

"Ai, calm down. Maybe next time give me a heads-up," Fabienne said.

"Yes! That’ll do" Aida said.

"If it will make you feel better, why don’t we go to the gym and punch a few bags to release tension" Fabienne suggested.

"This late at night?" Aida asked.

"It’s only 6pm" Fabienne said.

"We have the gym my father owns?" Fabienne suggested.

"Okay, then, let’s do that" Aida agreed.

The customers started to leave. Soon, it was left with one woman.

"Hey, miss" an old lady called.

"Me?" Fabienne and Aida said in unison.

"The blonde" the old lady smiled.

"Well, I guess that’s me," Fabienne said and walked to the woman.

"Thank you for your warm hospitality. The food was delicious. Take this and get yourself a drink" the old lady smiled.

"You’re welcome. But I can’t take your money," Fabienne said.

"I insist" the old lady said.

"Okay. Merci, madame" Fabienne smiled.

"I’ll see you another time. Au revoir" the old lady smiled.

"Au revoir, madame" Fabienne waved as the old lady left.

"5,000 euros???!" Fabienne yelled.

"Fab, this place being empty doesn’t give you the right to shout like that" Aida said.

"5,000 euros!!" she showed it to Aida.

"The old lady gave me 5,000 euros and said 'go get yourself a drink' " she screamed.

"Tell me, Ai, who in their right minds will buy a drink for 5,000 euros?" she asked.

"Well, your father, for example" Aida mentioned.

"My father owns lots of companies," Fabienne said.

"But this woman looks like she’s 70, so she’s on retirement" Fabienne said.

"Maybe she also owned a lot of companies in her youthful days" Aida stated.

"I guess" Fabienne said.

"Enough of the chit-chat, girls. Tidy up the place and let’s get going" Santiago ordered. "I have a date" he added.

"Since when did you notice anything other than your job; talk of a woman?" Aida uttered.

"The place will not clean by itself, you know. Get going" Santiago responded.

While they were cleaning, Fabienne asked, "Ai, today I haven’t seen Felipe; where is he?"

"He did the morning shift."

"I see" Fabienne nodded.

"We’re done, boss" they chorused.

"Since when did you start calling me boss?" Santiago asked.

"Since we found out that you have a date" they smiled.

"Don’t give me that crap" Santiago said.

"What crap?" Aida asked.

"Can you please tell us about Mrs. Santiago?" Aida asked.

"Will you guys just go already?" Santiago said, irritated.

"So you won’t tell us about her?" Fabienne also asked.

"Should I push you girls outside the door?" Santiago asked, irritated.

"Alright, alright. We’re going. But don’t forget to tell us about her tomorrow. Also, please smile more and try not to creep her out."

"What did you say?" Santiago yelled. "Am I creepy? There’s nothing wrong with my smile, right?" Santiago asked himself. "Let’s see". He took a mirror and smiled. "Ughhh. That is definitely bad" Santiago said to himself. "Okay, how about this?" He tried smiling again. "No, No. That’s worse" he said.

Santiago removed his apron, switched off the lights, turned the "opened" sign to "closed" locked the door, and went home.

"Ai, what do you think I should use this money for?" Fabienne asked.

"Well, you can give it to me" Aida suggested.

"I’m not giving it to you" Fabienne stated.

"With all the money your father is having, this is like chicken change" Aida persuaded.

"I know, but I want to use it for something useful" Fabienne said.

"So giving it to me is not useful?!" Aida was shocked.

"No, it’s not. You’ll just use it to buy ice creams, footwear, and dresses" Fabienne explained.

"And that’s not useful?" Aida asked.

"Footwears are to protect the feet. Dresses are to cover our bodies, and ice creams give energy to the body," Aida explained.

"Really, Ai? Come on, ice creams give energy?" Fabienne said.

"Not the ones you eat. The ones that I eat give me energy," Aida stated.

"So you mean the cheap ones?" Fabienne asked, teasing

"Hey, who do you think you are?" Aida got worked up.

"Fabienne Castilla"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I don’t care what you use your money for" Aida cave-cried.

"I’ll give you 1,000 and think of what I’ll use the 4,000 for" Fabienne said. "Here" she handed it to Aida.

"Merci, mon ami" Aida smiled.

"Let’s hurry and go kick some bags" Aida said.

“Ai, ever since we got off work, I’ve had this feeling that someone is following us” Fabienne murmured, glancing back into the shadows.

“You sure?” Aida asked.

Fabienne nodded firmly.

“Okay, let’s not panic” Aida whispered. “I’ve got my pocket knife.”

“I’ve got my pepper spray” Fabienne also said,  gripping the small canister inside her coat.

“Let's stop walking and see if they stop, too” Aida suggested softly.

They picked up their pace, walking briskly down the sidewalk. Behind them, the footsteps hastened as well. Abruptly, both girls ground to a halt. Unable to stop in time, the figure collided right into Fabienne’s back. Without missing a beat, she spun around and sprayed a direct blast of pepper spray right into the stranger's face.

“Aaahhh! Fab! What’s that for? It’s me, Felipe!” he groaned, clutching his stinging eyes.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Fabienne gasped, though she quickly held up her hands defensively. “But how is this my fault? You’ve been walking behind us like some kidnapper or murderer!”

“You’re lucky it was pepper spray and not a pocket knife” Aida added, shaking her head.

“You people are really cruel” Felipe wheezed, blindly reaching out.

“Here, take this” Aida said, handing him her bottle of water.

Felipe poured the water over his face, flushing out his eyes again and again.

“If it’s not getting any better, just leave it be” Aida stated blithely. “That’s what you get for acting so suspicious.”

“We’re headed to the gym. Would you like to join us?” Fabienne asked.

“At this hour?” Felipe asked, squinting through red eyes.

“Are you coming or not?” Aida pressed.

“Okay, let’s go” Felipe relented with a sigh.

They walked about fifty meters down the boulevard before stopping in front of a grand, polished entrance.

“This is it” Fabienne said, leading the way inside.

Felipe looked around, his mouth agape. “Whoa... Fab, this place is huge!”

“Alright, where are the heavy bags? I can’t wait to punch something” Aida declared, stretching her arms.

Federico, the night manager, stepped forward with a polite bow. “Bienvenue, Mademoiselle.”

“Merci” Fabienne smiled.

“What brings you here at this hour?” Federico asked warmly.

“My friends and I are here to destress” Fabienne answered.

“Monsieur, where are the boxing gloves? I want to get right into the action” Aida chimed in impatiently.

“This way, please” Federico guided them toward the training area.

Felipe leaned toward Fabienne, lowering his voice. “Fab, how did you even know this place would be open?”

“My father owns it” Fabienne replied simply. “So whenever I need to use the facility, the doors are open to me.”

Felipe stared around the state-of-the-art facility, thoroughly impressed. “Wow. Your family is rich—like, filthy rich. Owning a place like this and keeping it running at night? That’s really something else.”

Federico returned carrying pairs of leather wraps and gloves. “Madame et Monsieur, your gloves.”

“Merci” they chorused.

Aida was already at the heavy bags, raining down a barrage of quick jabs. “Come join me over here! This is fun!” she called out excitedly.

“Lemme put these on, and I’ll be right there” Fabienne said, struggling slightly with the velcro strap.

“Allow me” Felipe stepped in softly.

As his hands brushed against Fabienne’s, an electric spark flared between them. Fabienne raised her head, her gaze meeting his, only to find Felipe staring down at her with an intensity that made her breath catch. For a long, suspended moment, they just gawked at each other, completely lost in the quiet space between them—

“Guys, this is no time for romance!” Aida called out dryly from the heavy bag.

They snapped apart instantly.

“Merci, Felipe” Fabienne offered with a faint, flustered smile before hurrying over to join Aida.

“Happy to help” Felipe mumbled, swinging his arms awkwardly. He cleared his throat and retreated to another corner of the room to find something else to work on.

After pounding away at the punching bags, exhaustion finally caught up with Fabienne. She dropped onto her back on the padded mat, staring up at the high ceiling.

“Ai... aren’t you tired?” Fabienne wheezed.

“Not at all” Aida answered without breaking rhythm, her fists still hitting the bag.

“Do a couple more, and let’s head home, alright?” Fabienne proposed.

“Okay” Aida agreed.

Over by the weight racks, Felipe kept to himself at a safe distance. Ever since their moment with the gloves, an awkward, fluttery feeling had taken over, and he wasn't quite sure how to act.

Aida finally stopped, letting out a long yawn. “I’m done. Thank you for bringing me here, Fab.”

“No problem” Fabienne responded weakly from the floor.

Felipe walked back over to them, wiping sweat from his brow. “Are you girls ready to go?”

“Yes” Aida smiled.

“Ai, help me up” Fabienne requested, reaching out a hand.

Aida grabbed her right arm firmly and heaved. Fabienne wobbled on rubber legs, nearly taking Aida down with her. If not for Aida holding her ground, they both would have collapsed onto the mat in a heap.

“Thanks” Fabienne panted.

“Ouch! My arm hurts now,” Aida whined, rubbing her shoulder.

“Sorry” Fabienne laughed softly.

Federico stepped into the training bay, holding a pair of car keys. “Shall I drive you home, madame?”

“That would be wonderful, thank you” Fabienne said gratefully.

“Shall we go?” Federico asked, gesturing toward the exit.

“Yes” Fabienne nodded.

Felipe checked his watch as they walked toward the foyer. “Since you two live on the same street, it’ll be out of your way to drop me off. I don't live close to your neighborhood, so I’ll just hail a cab from here.”

“Okay. Bye, Felipe!” Aida threw her arms around him in a quick hug.

“Au revoir, Felipe” Fabienne said, giving him a warm wave before sliding into the backseat.

Aida climbed in beside her, and Federico pulled out onto the quiet street.

As the car glided through the nighttime city, Federico glanced into the rearview mirror. “Where should I drop you, miss?”

“Two blocks before Fabienne’s house,” Aida answered.

“D’accord” Federico replied, turning down the avenue.

Twenty minutes later, the car pulled up in front of a cozy residential home.

“Bye... Je t'aime, Fab!” Aida said, giving Fabienne a tight squeeze before stepping out onto the pavement.

“Adios... Je t'aime aussi, Ai!” Fabienne smiled, waving as Aida ran up her front steps.

Federico navigated the sedan through the city streets until they reached the tall, elegant wrought-iron gates of the Castilla estate. The car smoothly glided to a halt in the driveway.

“Merci beaucoup, Monsieur Federico” Fabienne said gratefully as she gathered her things.

“My pleasure, Mademoiselle” Federico replied with a warm nod before turning the car around and driving away.

Fabienne walked up the steps and pressed the doorbell. Within seconds, the grand wooden door opened, revealing their household maid.

“Madame! Bienvenue” Gisele greeted warmly.

“Merci, Gisele. Comment ça va?” Fabienne asked, stepping into the foyer and taking off her jacket.

“Je vais bien” Gisele smiled.

Heading straight down the tiled hallway, Fabienne softly knocked on the dark wood door of her father's home office before pushing it open.

“Bonsoir, papa” she greeted.

Javier Castilla looked up from his cluttered desk, his eyes softening at the sight of his daughter. “Bonsoir, mi amor. Comment vas-tu?”

“I’m exhausted. Other than that, I’m fine” Fabienne sighed, sinking comfortably into one of the leather armchairs opposite him.

Javier shook his head with a gentle smile. “You know you don’t have to work at that restaurant, Fabienne. I have more than enough to support us both.”

“I know, papa” Fabienne replied softly. “I want to give back to society. Besides... I actually enjoy inhaling the delicious aromas of French cuisine all evening.”

Gisele stepped quietly into the study, bowing slightly. “Madame, should I go prepare the hot tub for you?”

“Yes, please,” Fabienne nodded, and Gisele slipped back out to prepare the bath.

Stretching her legs, Fabienne stood up from the armchair. “I’m going to take a bath and head straight to bed, so sleep tight, papa.”

She turned toward the door, but Javier’s voice called out behind her. “Wait.”

Fabienne paused, turning back around. “I’m listening, papa.”

“Why don’t you take a day off tomorrow and accompany me somewhere?” Javier requested, his expression turning surprisingly serious.

Fabienne offered a tired smile and yawned. “Alright, sure. I’ll call Santiago to inform him first thing in the morning.”

“Sweet dreams, mi amor” Javier said quietly as she stepped out.

A short while later, Fabienne was submerged in the steaming, fragranced water of her private bath.

“The hot tub sure feels nice” she murmured blissfully, leaning her head back against the edge and closing her eyes.

“Tell me if you need anything, Madame. I’m right outside” Gisele called from the adjoining room.

“Don’t worry about me, Gisele. Go get some rest” Fabienne called back softly.

“Are you sure, Madame?”

“Yes, yes. Go.”

“If you say so. Good night, Madame” Gisele said.

“Good night, Gisele” Fabienne responded placidly.

The soothing warmth of the water was so relaxing that Fabienne completely lost track of time, eventually drifting off to sleep right there in the tub. When she suddenly jolted awake, the house was dead silent. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was already 2:00 AM. Shivering slightly, she dried off, slipped into a soft silk nightgown, and collapsed onto her queen-sized bed, instantly falling back into a deep slumber.