Push in the back

Maria entered the kitchen and almost at the same time Noah was trying to step out to get the remaining dishes at the table. When the door swung open and almost hit him, he got startled and stepped back. That is when he noticed Maria holding the items he was going about to bring back. In a confused tone he asked, "Why are you coming here? I am fine doing the dishes on my own." Maria just pushed through the opening of the door and said, "Well, I am not fine leaving you here alone. Besides, I am here now anyways, so I might as well help you out. I already brought the dishes you left behind, so I already saved you time there. If we do the rest together as well, we can get things done sooner."

Noah was never against efficiency and just shrugged his shoulders as he returned to the sink and said, "Suit yourself". Maria saw that as enough of an agreement and walked towards the counter where all the dirty dishes had been stacked. She placed the remaining dishes next to the other piles and askes, "So, do you prefer washing or drying?" Noah grabbed the gloves from the counter and put them on as he said, "I highly doubt your hands would be able to keep these gloves on. I suggest you go buy some gloves in your own size tomorrow and I'll take care of the washing for tonight." Then he grabbed the dishcloth from the corner of the counter and threw it in Maria's direction, who caught it effortlessly. "Very well. Let's see if you have the necessary elbow grease in you to get these dishes cleaned."

Noah scoffed before he plugged up the sink and began placing the dirty plates and silver wear in it. As he put some dish soap on a sponge, he turned on the tap for a bit before he started lathering up the pots that Maria had used to cook the dinner. As he began that process, and Maria had nothing to do for her job as the dryer of dishes until he began to rinse the dishes he had lathered up, she used the excuse of her free hands to start her conversation with Noah. "Well, since I have nothing else to do until a slowpoke like you manages to wash up some dishes, I will use our time in the kitchen together to chat a little. It has come to knowledge that you and Laila talked about the whole being friends with Jake thing and that you weren't too fond of the idea."

Noah stopped his scrubbing for a minute as he closed his eyes and let out a sigh before he said, "I knew that leaving you two alone in a room wouldn't amount to anything good. But yes. We did talk about it, and I am fully against that idea. It is ridiculous for Laila to want to be friends with a man like that and expect me to be fine with it. He is her ex, and he is an absolute tool as well. I don't see what part of that she wants to be friends with and quite frankly, I don't want to know."

But Maria wasn't impressed with his irritated words and said, "Don't get all angry and hissy with me. I just want to have a conversation with you about it. What you decide to do with what I say, is up to you. In the end it is your marriage, and he is your partner's ex. Not mine. But she is my friend and I want her to be happy and just like you, I want what is best for her. Some things might be a mistake, but some of these mistakes are mistakes she needs to make on her own. Shielding her from it isn't helping you or her. So, just give me the time we need for the dishes and after that you won't hear me on the subject again unless you bring it up yourself."

Noah stared at Maria for a moment, as if trying to determine if she was speaking the truth or not, and almost glared at her before he yielded and said, "Very well. If it gets you to shut up about this after today, I'll let you say what you want for the next twenty minutes or so." Maria nodded and began her conversation. Meanwhile Laila was still looking for the right opening to start her conversation with Steve. Not only was Steve a person who talked quite easily and had already initiated a conversation on a very different topic, but also because Laila herself wasn't fully convinced whether she should be having the conversation in the first place.

Laila was mainly contemplating if SHE should be the one to bring it up or leave it to Maria, even the odds were low that Maria would bring it up on her own. As Laila wasn't quite sure how Maria would feel about her telling Steve about Maria losing her job because of him, she was being cautious in treading forward with the plan she had thought up. But when Steve suddenly let a silence fall, Laila saw it as her chance to change the subject of conversation and steer it in Maria's direction. That would provide her with the push in the back she needed to address the subject before Maria and Noah returned from the kitchen and her opportunity to bring it up would be lost.