Tu Es Mon Soleil - Chapter 6

That girl hadn’t come yet.

 

Ellen DeGeneres scowled looking at the clock above the piano. It was already 9 o’clock and that girl still hadn’t come. Great. Super great.

 

Ellen had turned into a cranky, irritable human being for the last 30 minutes. And she would stay that way until she could get a decent cup of coffee. She needed coffee. She needed that girl to make the coffee for her. If it turned out that the girl was too scared to come around anymore, Ellen would have no choice but to go to the coffee shop at the end of the road. And she would be confused on how to open the building’s door from the outside..... again.

 

Ellen glared at the fingerboards of the piano and it worsened her mood. That piano reminded her of her broken wrist. Hmm, or sprained, to be precise. But what’s the difference? The main thing was she couldn’t use her left hand, right? She made some inaudible grunts and started to walk back and forth in the living room.

 

Hadn’t she told that girl that she should be here by 8 o’clock this morning? Was she not saying it clearly? Was…

 

The intercom bell suddenly rang and cut her thoughts. Ellen took some wide steps approaching the intercom that was attached to the wall and she looked at the small screen on it. That was her darkness angel. She showed up, finally.

 

Ellen pushed the button to open the building’s front door and waited impatiently. 2 minutes later, her room’s bell rang. 

 

Ellen opened the door with one quick yank and saw Portia who stood in front of the door with her phone on her right ear. Looking at Ellen, she quickly said, “Ehm, Rick, I need to go now. I’ll call you later, okay?”

 

Ellen frowned. “You’re late,” she said when the girl had already hung up. “One hour and three minutes.”

 

Portia put down her purse and a plastic bag she brought on one of the armchairs in the living room. “I’ll make your coffee.” 

 

“So, why are you late when I already told you to be here by 8 o’clock?” Ellen asked glumly.

 

“The traffic was unbelievable this morning. Usually, it doesn’t take that long to go to Manhattan from Huntington,” Portia replied and shrugged.

 

“You live in Huntington?”

 

“No, I have an apartment here, in Manhattan, in Greenwich Village. My parents live in Huntington. I spent the night at my parents’ yesterday.”

 

Ellen just mumbled carelessly and dropped herself on the couch. She then looked up, looking at Portia who haven’t made a move from where she stood. “Didn’t you say you’re going to make the coffee now?” Ellen asked.

 

“Oh, yeah. Right,” Portia said and quickly turned around to walk to the kitchen. But she remembered something and turned right back. “By the way, I brought some sandwiches. Since you haven’t had your breakfast, you can eat those first while I make the coffee.”

 

Ellen observed the sandwich in a transparent meal box that Portia put on the table in front of her. “No, thanks. I don’t need breakfast.”

 

“Everybody needs breakfast. Don’t tell me you only drink a cup of coffee every morning?”

 

“I do.”

 

“Try it first.”

 

“No.”

 

“Why? Afraid that I’d poison you?”

 

Ellen looked up hearing the annoyed tone on the girl’s voice. "Perhaps,” she replied. “Who knows?”

 

Ellen watched as Portia’s eyes squinted and her lips pursed, as though the girl trying so hard to restraint herself. Finally the girl inhaled deeply and said, “No poison in those. My mom made the sandwiches. She told me to give it to you. Do you think my mom wants to poison you?”

 

Ellen frowned. “Your mom knows me?”

 

“No. But she knows about the accident and she knows that I’ll help you as long as your hand is still bandaged.” Portia stopped for a moment and then she added impatiently, “For god’s sake, just eat it. You don’t have to finish it if you don’t want to.”

 

Ellen didn’t reply. She looked at the sandwich in front of her grimly, and then she looked back at Portia. “Where’s my coffee?”

 

Hearing the question, Portia sighed in exasperation and slightly stomped to the kitchen while grumbling.

 

A couple minutes later, Portia went back to the living room with a cup of coffee. Ellen was still sitting on the same spot, writing something on the paper she was holding. The mealbox that was filled with sandwich was still unopened. Portia sighed in her heart and put down the coffee on the table. 

 

Ellen instantly reached for the coffee and took a sip. She then looked up at Portia. “You can start cleaning the house. The vacuum cleaner and all the things you need to clean up are on the cupboard near the door. And remember,” she said with such sharp tone that Portia was getting accustomed to, “do not touch my piano and do not touch my papers.”

 

Portia glanced at the music sheets that was scattered on the table. Alright, she won’t clean up the table. Okay, no problem. Done. What else?

 

But Ellen DeGeneres didn’t say anything more. She stood up from the couch with the cup of coffee on her right hand and she walked into her bedroom. Portia stared at the bedroom door that was shut strongly with her eyes squinted, and then she sighed quietly and walked to the cupboard that Ellen had told her and pulled out the vacuum cleaner.

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Ellen snatched the headphone from her head roughly and threw it to the bed. She stayed away from her keyboard and started to walk back and forth in her room. This was really really annoying. Playing piano with only one hand felt really pathetic. Plus, she hadn’t had any inspiration to finish the song. 

 

This was all because of her broken wrist!

And her wrist was broken because of that damn girl!

Speaking of that girl….

 

Ellen stopped walking and stared at her bedroom door. She tilted her had a bit, listening carefully. Silence. She didn’t hear anything.

 

A couple minutes after she got into her room, Ellen heard the sound of the vacuum cleaner being turned on. She put on her headphone and increased the volume of the music to muffle the noise while that girl was working. But now she didn’t hear a thing outside. 

 

Ellen glanced at the clock. Apparently she had been in her room for a pretty long time. She opened the door and peered. There was nobody outside. She walked to the living room, then to the kitchen, and back to the living room. There was no one in her apartment but herself. Then, where’s that girl?

 

Maybe she had already gone home, Ellen thought and shrugged carelessly. But, wait…. is there still any coffee in the kitchen?

 

Ellen walked back to her kitchen and sighed in relief when she found a jar of hot coffee there. Nice. Next….. food. She opened the cabinet and frowned. What the hell? No food at all. Ellen remembered what that girl said and had to admit that she was right. There was nothing in her kitchen. Pathetic. 

 

She went back to the living room and threw herself to the couch. She was about to turn on the TV when her eyes were fixed to a box of sandwiches on the table. Her stomach growled. Very well. She’s gonna eat the sandwich right now since the girl wasn’t there anymore. 

 

And those sandwiches also tasted VERY good, actually. She felt better after she ate. More peaceful. 

 

Ellen was chewing the last bit of the last sandwich when her doorbell rang. She walked to the door and wondered why the doorbell rang and not the intercom. Was one of her neighbor visit her? Unlikely. Ellen almost didn’t know her neighbors at all. 

 

She swung the door open and directly facing her darkness angel. A darkness angel who was bringing 2 paper bags on her arms. 

 

“Hi,” Portia said and walked past Ellen to her apartment. “You want pasta for lunch?”

 

Ellen blinked and stared at Portia who walked straight to the kitchen. What is this? She closed the door and followed the girl to the kitchen. Portia put down the paper bags on the kitchen table and started to settle down the groceries from the paper bags. 

 

“What are these?” Ellen asked in confusion.

 

Portia looked at her and smiled. “Since there’s nothing in your kitchen, I decided to go out and buy some daily needs,” she explained. “I knocked on your room’s door to tell you, but you didn’t answer. I thought you were sleeping and I didn’t want to disturb you, so I decided to just leave.”

 

“Then how did you open the main door? You brought my key with you?” Ellen frowned.

 

“Of course not,” she replied quickly, looking a bit annoyed. Then she mumbled something that was inaudible to Ellen. 

 

Ellen squinted her eyes. “What was that?”

 

“The door downstairs was widely opened,” she said, but Ellen was quite sure that that wasn’t what she mumbled. “So you went straight in.”

 

“Of course,” that girl smiled a bit and then went back to her activity with the groceries.

 

“What did you buy?” Ellen asked. 

 

“Healthy foods,” she answered without looking up. “So, do you want pasta for lunch? Or are you already full after eating the sandwiches?”

 

Ellen was surprised hearing that girl knew that she had already eaten the sandwiches, but she managed to keep her face flat and indifferent. “Sandwiches don’t suffice,” she said. “Just make sure that your pasta will be edible.”

 

Portia scoffed but didn’t say anything. 

 

Ellen stared at all Portia’s groceries with her furrowed eyebrows and asked, “Do I need to pay for all of these?”

 

“No,” Portia said while putting some vegetables and fruits to the refrigerator. “However, I have to pay some kind of compensation to you, don’t I? So consider this as one of those compensations.”

 

Ellen nodded. “Great.”

 

“Anyway, you’re not going anywhere today?” Portia asked.

 

“Go….. where?”

Portia shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, if you’re bored staying at home all day and wanna go somewhere – like, seeing your friend or anywhere – I can drive you.”

 

“Why do you want to dissipate me from my own house?”

 

Portia stopped settling the groceries and turned around to glare at Ellen in full annoyance. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly undo her action.

 

Finally that girl said, “Never mind. I don’t know why I bothered asking you.” And then she grumbled quietly and Ellen only could catch the word ‘stupid’ and ‘crazy’.

 

Suddenly a phone rang. Portia left her hustle, approached the table to open her bag and got her ringing phone out. She looked at the screen before pushing the green button and brought the phone to her ear. “Yes, Regina?”

 

Ellen lifted her eyebrows. Apparently, it’s her friend. 

 

“Me?” Portia stole a glance. “I’m at your friend’s house right now.”

 

At that moment, Ellen just remembered she hadn’t told Regina yet that the girl she had been liking for months was now her house maid. Ellen wanted to know how would Regina react to this news. 

 

“Helping her,” Portia said again to the phone, seemed to be explaining her presence in Ellen’s place to Regina. “Because it seems that she really could use some help.”

 

Ellen shook her head in denial but Portia ignored her and turned away.

 

“I’m fine. Yeah. No, you don’t need to come here,” she continued. And then she stayed quiet and raised her eyebrows in confusion. “What? You’re already here?”

 

Ellen and Portia turned their head simultaneously when the door bell rang. And then another bell. 

 

Portia walked out of the kitchen and went to open the door. Ellen didn’t follow her. She sat in one of the high-chair in the kitchen and checking out some groceries that the other girl had bought. Rye bread, butter, milk, fruits, vegetables, meat, mushrooms,…

 

“Hey, Regina. How are you?” she heard Portia’s cheerful voice. Then, “Have you had your lunch? No? I’m gonna make some pasta. You want some?” 

 

Ellen turned her head when Portia and her friend finally entering the kitchen. Regina watched Ellen with a curious and cautious look. 

 

“How did you open the main door downstairs?” Ellen asked her friend. Really, this building’s security needed to be questioned if anybody could just walk in. 

 

“It seems that somebody has just moved to this place and putting some large furnitures into this building, so…” Regina replied and sat on another high-chair next to Ellen. She stared at Portia who had already busied herself with the groceries once more. 

“So, why’s Portia here?”

 

“I’m the one who offered my help, Regina,” Portia justified the situation.

 

“You heard her, right?” Ellen asked Regina with a hint of satisfaction. “She’s the one who force me to let her clean my apartment, cook the meals, water my plants if I have any plants, and feed my dogs or cats if I have any dogs or cats.”

 

“Well, kind of,” Portia justified again. 

 

“But, how about your teaching schedule? Undisturbed?” asked Regina to Mia who was filling the pots with water.

 

“Not at all,” Portia answered. “I have let go of some of my classes, so my teaching schedule is not so tight right now.”

 

“Really? Why?” Ellen heard Regina asking Portia, surprised. It was almost as if Portia shouldn’t have let go of her classes.

 

“No reason,” Portia shrugged. “I guess I just want to have more time to dance on my own than just teaching classes.”

 

“So, you’re planning on taking another dancing class?” 

 

Once again Portia shrugged. “Perhaps,” she said, smiling.

 

Right after she said that, the doorbell rang again and Ellen grumbled. “What now?”

 

“I’ll check who’s coming,” Regina said. 

 

“It’s fine. Let me. Opening the door is one of my duties here anyway,” Portia said and quickly walked to the front door.

 

After Portia left, Regina sighed and stared at Ellen. “I hope you treat Portia nicely,” she said, slightly smiling. 

 

“As you can see, she’s still here. She hasn’t scurried away in horror,” Ellen answered carelessly. “But, you’re free to bring her out of here and make my life more peaceful. I always feel that she’s going to break my other wrist, you know.”

 

Regina chuckled. “I don’t think I can ever make her forget her intention to help you out. She really feels guilty and she just wants to do something to make your life easier,” she said. “Anyway, how’s your wrist doing?”

 

“Apparently….. still a disability.” And then Ellen remembered something and asked, “You didn’t tell my mom about this, did you?” 

 

Regina shook her head. “Of course not. I don’t want to make Betty got a heart attack during her vacation.”

 

“Good,” Ellen mumbled. Right now, her mother was enjoying her annual vacation in Japan and she really didn’t want to make her come home faster just because of this silly accident. 

 

“Oh, Andy.” Ellen heard Portia’s voice greeting her manager at the front door. “Ellen is in the kitchen with Regina. Anyway, have you had your lunch?”

 

“Andy? Why’s he coming?” Ellen mumbled. Ellen repeated her question out loud once Andy had entered the kitchen with Portia.

 

“Me? I’m coming here because I know I’ll find Portia here.” Andy flashed his signature wide smile. “Hi, Regina. How are you?”

 

Ellen glanced at Regina who looked straight to Andy.

 

“You’ve known Portia? Since when?” Regina asked with a surprised but sharp tone. 

 

“Yesterday,” Andy replied lightly, not realizing at all that now Regina looked at him not as a friend, but as a competitor. 

 

Ellen was quite sure Regina knew that Andy had always been very friendly to every women, because Regina had always been the one who playfully mock Andy about that. But apparently, when the woman who got Andy’s attention was Portia de Rossi, it seemed that she didn’t think it was funny at all.

 

“She made a magnificent coffee yesterday, didn’t you, Portia?” Andy said while placing himself on the last high-chair next to Regina and threw a smile to Portia. 

 

Portia laughed. “I have to say that you’re not the first person who’s head over heels in love with my coffee.”

 

“I wonder how does it taste like…” Regina frowned. 

 

“It’s indescribable!” Andy answered even though Regina didn’t actually ask the question to him. “Ask Ellen. She also tried it yesterday. Portia’s coffee was really great, right, El?”

 

“So-so,” Ellen answered flatly. “It was the coffee I have always bought and it was the coffee you have always drank everytime you came here. No difference.”

 

“Really? I thought it was a different coffee. Because the flavor have never tasted SO good if I made it myself. Or if you made it,” Andy said. 

 

“I still want to try it,” Regina cut Andy. 

 

Portia looked at all the three people who sat at the kitchen bar alternately. “I can make you guys a cup of coffee after lunch, if you want me to.”

 

Regina and Andy said yes while Ellen remained silent. 

 

Portia smiled. She looked at Andy and said, “You said you have something to talk about with Ellen?” 

 

Andy said. “Nope. There's no problem. You know full-well that there’s nothing in this world, or at least in this industry, that I can’t handle. I just want to inform you about some progresses. Oh, and there’s something I want to ask you about your working schedule at the end of this year.”

 

Before Ellen had the chance to reply, Portia interjected, “What about you guys having the conversation at the living room while I prepare the lunch here?” 

 

“Why are you trying to dissipate me from my own kitchen?” Ellen asked the exact same form of question.

 

Portia rolled her eyes and replied, “Well, would you like to have a conversation here? I thought that you want to stay as far away as you possibly can from me.”

 

Ellen nodded. “You’re right. It’d be better if I stay away from you,” she said while getting off of the high-chair.

 

“Just call us if you need any help, Portia,” Andy also said before moving from his chair.

 

“You sure you don’t need any assistance here?” Regina asked Portia.

 

“Yeah. Thanks, tho,” Portia said and gave a comforting smile. “I got this.”

 

Ellen stared at her friend and her manager alternately, and then she sighed in her heart. What’s with these two and this girl? Would it be better if she tell Andy that Regina is setting her eyes on Portia de Rossi and asked Andy not to do anything stupid?

 

No. They were both grown-ups and Ellen would let them solve their own problems. That, if there were any problems at all. She wouldn’t step into something that didn’t concern herself. 

 

Ellen really didn’t get the reason that has made both Regina and Andy interested in that girl. Especially Andy, because he had just met her yesterday. Was it really the coffee that the girl made?

 

Portia de Rossi really could make a mind-blowingly good coffee. But, she’d be damned if she ever asked Portia or admitted that her coffee was great. 

 

And Ellen was sure as hell wouldn’t ever admit that she would let the girl come to her apartment and endanger her safety – however, Ellen was still considering that girl as her darkness angel – as long as that girl could make a cup of coffee for her every single morning.