Finding Paradise Conclusion
"Look what we have here!" Lily's loud voice woke them up the next morning.
Val opened her eyes. She was spooning, not her husband, but her husband's brother from behind. Apparently Matt found some comfort from that, as he had her arm clasped around his stomach. The two of them moved apart, looking at each other before they glanced at their clothing. None of it was missing, so logically they hadn't fooled around but only slept on the same bed.
Lily had pulled a feather from a duster, and was now using it to tickle at the bottoms of their exposed feet. Both Val and Matt drew their legs away.
"You have your bed upstairs!" Lily good-naturedly pointed her duster at Val. "You shouldn't be in this bed at all!"
"I didn't tell you to come in today." Matt said, sitting up. When he glanced at Val lying next to him, he quickly left the bed.
"I didn't want to take the risk that you'd forget about me." Lily pouted. "Besides, Val went through a dangerous situation in San Diego. She might need somebody to talk to today. Ernesto said I could have the day off, but he wants you to meet some people from Ensenada at ten. These are people you'll have to deal with if Ernesto ever takes a vacation."
"He mentioned they might come by." Matt nodded, as he hurried over to his dresser to pick out a new set of clothes. "I guess they're from the fisherman's union down there. If we have no fish, they send us their excess, and also vice versa."
"I don't know what those men do." Lily shrugged. "I only know they're coming today at ten. You have plenty of time; it's only a little past eight. I'll go downstairs to make breakfast for the three of us."
Once the maid left, Matt looked at Val, who was getting out of bed. "We didn't do anything last night, did we? I don't remember."
"If we did, we did it with our clothes on!" Val laughed.
The days swam by.
Val got hired on as a maid at a local hotel, but she didn't have a steady schedule. If the hotel needed her, they called her and she'd go to work. Mostly, she worked when the hotel was short-staffed thanks to terminations and resignations, or when busy weekends demanded they have extra help. That was fine for Val. She worked between two and four days a week, mostly on weekends and Monday mornings. The rest of the time she stayed home, calling her mother and one sister sometimes, which led to awkward conversations as the court proceedings for Renata were slowly moving along.
Nick took care of his business with the lottery and his family. He arrived at Rosarito very nervous, as he expected his wife would sooner or later reveal that she'd slept with his brother, but that had never happened. His offers to consult on security matters with Mexican companies were having little success, but surprisingly, American companies with assets just north of the border were calling him. Nick would drive out to small factories, warehouses and long-term parking locations to evaluate them. He would prepare reports and recommendations, and sometimes he even landed new contracts for the company he used to work for. Nick's old company rewarded him with bonuses big enough to entice him into looking for more American business.
Matt had a steady afternoon position at the fishing market, watching over loads of fish coming off boats and their distribution and sale in the vendor stalls. Because that man was a serious workaholic, he would meet with Ernesto and other important figures from Rosarito, Ensenada and Tijuana. He became known as a socio, or something like a businessman of confidence, who could be trusted to carry out duties honestly and fairly.
That left only Lily...
The maid came into Val's room late one morning, finding the woman sitting by a vanity table and brushing her hair. Matt was giving her more hours as a housekeeper and less as a saleswoman by then. The women suspected this was because Matt didn't like having so many young men hovering around Lily when she was at the fish market.
"Come here." Lily said, taking Val by the arm and leading her toward the bed. She got Val to lie down on her stomach, before she mounted the woman over the thighs. "I'm giving you a shoulder massage today."
"You think I'll refuse, but I'm not going to!" Val sang out.
The maid began kneading Val's neck, shoulders and upper back with the palms of her hands. "I wanted to have a talk with you."
"As long as you're massaging, I'll listen." Val laughed. "What's on your mind?"
"I want to sleep with my second man again."
"Is that what my husband is for you? Your second man?"
"Will you get mad if I say that?" Lily queried.
Val changed the subject. "Why do you want to sleep with my husband?"
"You know why. Matt is becoming jealous of all these men that flirt with me at the market. I don't mind that he's giving me more hours here, because who wants to smell like fish, anyway? At the same time, I don't want him to start thinking he can control when I come and go. If you let me sleep with Nick again, I can put Matt into the place I want him in, instead of him putting me where he wants me."
"You're asking for my permission to sleep with my husband? Why don't you sleep with one of the guys that flirts with you?"
"I won't do that. You already know what I think about jealous boyfriends and random men. I want my two men and that's it!"
Val stayed quiet while Lily massaged her.
"Are you mad at me?" The maid asked.
"No." Val answered. "Nick's been very attentive to me ever since he got back. I don't think he'll cheat with you again. He's been pretending he never did anything with you. I'm sure it has a lot to do with how he thinks I might sleep with his brother as my revenge on him."
"You've had a lot of chances to sleep with Matt. Why haven't you?"