***JENNIE***
I can see how flustered she is with my question.
Did I overdo it?
“Are you two not done with the plates yet?”
Mom’s leaning in the door frame when I shifted my eyes on her.
“We’re finished, mom. Are you going somewhere?”
“Yeah. I’ll bring mom to her doctor for a regular check-up.”
She straightened up before she spoke again.
“Do you have a car, Lisa?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She answered.
“Great! ‘Cause we’ll bring my car with me. You two enjoy your day, okay?”
I nodded.
“Okay, mom. Take care.”
She waved before she exited the kitchen.
I gazed back at her. She hasn’t answered my question yet. I guess I have to let it go since it’s just a simple note, right?
I let out a sigh, audible enough for her to grasp, and I think it worries her even more.
I tried to relax my shoulders and lower my tone.
“I’m sorry. Am I overreacting to that?”
She stared at me, and the way she stares made my heart beat fast.
I’m not sure what’s happening though. Is it because no one has ever stared at me like that before? Shit! My cheeks are feeling warm. Am I blushing?
I dropped the towel in my hand on purpose. I need to release myself from this eye contact before she’ll notice that my cheeks are turning red.
I bent down to pick up the towel on the floor.
She stepped backward before she answered me.
“I should be the one saying sorry. You know.”
She paused.
Is she waiting for me to stand up? Because as soon as I gain back my composure, she spoke again.
“Well… I’ve been working in that café for 2 years. I almost know every single person who enters the shop. So… when I see you. I know that you’re new. I just thought maybe it’s better to leave a note, so you’ll feel how welcome you are in our café.”
Oh… so I just overreacted on that.
I thought… she’s flirting with me or something. Well, maybe it’s time for me to let that go.
I smiled. I don’t know if I smiled because I feel dumb or because I just want to smile at her. I’m not really sure about the answer to that.
*****
***LISA***
Shit! I lied! I lied! I lied.
I crossed the road towards my house absent mindedly, and a car almost hit me.
A familiar voice came out of the driver’s seat.
“What the hell?”
My body’s shaking with what just happened.
It was Tom behind the wheel, and he stepped out of his car as soon as he kicked the brake.
I slapped his arm.
“Should I be the one cursing you?”
I shouted.
“I’m sorry.”
He lowered his voice.
“You almost killed me, and you’re just saying sorry?”
I gave him another slap on his left arm. He said nothing, but endure the force of every hit.
“I’m sorry… okay?”
I paused. I just realized there’s no point in hurting this stupid guy.
“Fine!”
I inhaled and exhaled to cool myself down.
“Why are you in my neighborhood?”
“I’m just checking if you’re awake already, and maybe you want to grab something to eat since I know you have nothing in your fridge right now.”
“Did you sneak into my kitchen to check if my fridge is empty or not?”
I eyed him with my creased forehead.
He chuckled.
“I don’t need to look at it, you know. I know you. You’re not good at taking care of yourself.”
I hit him in his arm again. This time… harder.
“Ouch! Sometimes I think you’re one of the guys. You could knock me down with those fists.”
“You know, I’m one of the guys. Stop pretending you don’t know.”
I rolled my eyes and head back to the house.
“Well, how am I supposed to believe that? You never had a girlfriend.”
He said as he follows me on my way to my porch.
I stopped and stared at him. Annoyed at every word he said.
“When will you stop pretending you don’t know Tom? And when will you stop hoping that it could happen?”
He sighed.
I could feel that he doesn’t want this kind of conversation. He’s the nicest guy I’ve ever known, and even though he always teases me whenever we’re with our friends, I know deep down in his heart he still has that thing on me.
“I know.”
He said as his lips twitched on the side.
“I’m sorry.”
He mumbled.
That melted me. It kind of made me feel guilty for telling him that nothing will happen. But what choice do I have? He pushed me to say those words to him. All I want is to remind him about everything because he might have forgotten those things.
I looked down and kicked a small rock on the pavement.
“I’m sorry, too.”
I whispered.
“I just hope we won’t talk about this again.”
I looked up again to meet his eyes.
He said nothing. Instead, he assured me with a nod.
“So… I guess I have to go?”
“Yeah… I have something to do today.”
“Okay.”
He let out another smile and walk back to his car.
*****
***JENNIE***
A long honk startled me while I’m opening the dresser door. That sound made me run to the window to check what’s going on outside.
Oh… it’s Lisa… and who is that? Is he her boyfriend? Are they fighting?
Jennie, stop! Why are you so curious about this? Let them go.
But I couldn’t stop myself from watching them. So I just stood there, behind the curtain, and continued to wonder if they are fighting or not. Or if he is her boyfriend or not.
Lisa stopped hitting the guy and head back to her house.
Okay, enough! It’s so unnecessary to watch this.
I turned my back to the window and go back to what I’m doing before I walked behind the curtain—choosing which clothes to wear.
Well, I couldn’t decide which one to pair on these black pants. Should I go with this pink hoodie or this white shirt and top it with this jacket?
I threw the white shirt on the bed.
“Is he her boyfriend?”
I closed my mouth with my two hands. Confused with my question.
Did I just say it aloud? Did I just hear myself ask that question?
Geez, Jennie! I don’t understand you anymore. Enough with all these silly questions about this girl.
*****
***LISA***
The doorbell rang. And I run as fast as I can to open the door because she said she’ll ring the bell when she’s in front of my house.
“Hi.”
I gave her my widest smile after I opened the door.
She smiled back, and that just melted me so hard. Is she trying to be cute, or I’m just so captivated by her charm?
Wake up, Lisa! You need to move or you’ll find yourself here until dawn, staring at her.
“Let’s go?”
“Yeah.”
She said and moved to her right to give me space.
We walked side by side without saying a word. So we’re back where the gigantic elephant is resting, huh?
Wait, should I open the door for her?
No… no, Lisa… You should not.
So instead of opening the door, I just signaled her to hop in.
I walked to the driver’s side as casually as possible. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable and bothered anymore. So I have to watch every word and action I’ll say and do.
“So, where do you want to go first?”
I asked as soon as I took my seat.
She’s already wearing her seatbelt when she glared at me.
“You decide. You’re the captain here.”
I nodded.
“The gallery then.”
*****
***JENNIE***
She carefully pulled the car into the driveway.
“Oops! Did I just hit my trash bin?”
She laughed after she muttered those words.
“Ooh! You just convinced me you could drive carefully a minute ago, but now I don’t know if I should believe that.”
Then we both laughed.
“Well, I doubt about that too sometimes.”
She laughed again, and I can’t help myself but laugh with her.
I stared outside just to look at whatever my eyes meet because I couldn’t think of anything to say anymore.
“Is this your first time here?”
“Hmm?”
I returned my gaze to her.
“No. It’s just, we don’t come here often. It’s always grandma who visits us because mom’s busy with her work.”
“Hmm, so that’s the reason we haven’t met before.”
“Yeah. Besides, grandma also wants to see fresh faces, that’s why she always insists to come to our house instead of us coming here.”
“Well, she has a point. This is a small town. You can even memorize everyone living in the neighborhood.”
“That’s why you immediately recognized that I’m not from the neighborhood, right?”
“Right!”
I nodded, fair enough.
*****
***LISA***
I enjoyed our 30-minute drive. The atmosphere between us is getting better. Well, I’m hoping that this will continue until the end of the day.
“Wow, this is huge!”
She blurted out.
I could see from her expression how delighted she is with everything around her, and I can’t help but smile at it.
“Do you always come here?”
She asked while staring at a huge painting—almost occupying the entire wall of this room.
“Not really. I’m busy with school and working at the coffee shop, so it’s hard for me to find time to drive here.”
She tilted her head to meet my eyes.
“Does that mean it’s also your first time?”
“No. Second time. The first time I came here was with Tom.”
I’m not sure if I see it right. But her expression changed.
“Your boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend?”
I almost laughed. But I suppressed it because I don’t want to get people’s attention.
“No! Tom’s not my boyfriend. I’m not into guys.”
I ended it with a smile. In case you want to know. I want to add, but I just keep it to myself.
“Oh.”
She turned to her left and continued to scan the paintings hanging on the wall.
*****
***JENNIE***
I don’t know why, but hearing her confirm that he’s not her boyfriend made me smile.
Shit! I need to step away from her. I don’t want her to see the smirk that keeps on forming, no matter how much I suppress it.
“I like this one.”
I heard her spoke behind me.
I stopped walking and followed her gaze. She’s staring at a huge black and white painting of a rose. I wonder why she likes this painting.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. It made me sad. It feels… lonely there.”
Are you? I want to ask, but I stopped myself from asking that question. Maybe it’s still early for me to ask personal stuff on her. So we just stood there for about a minute, I couldn’t really tell.
*****
***LISA***
I like our pace. We’re not walking fast either, slow. Enough to enjoy everything that greets our eyes.
“I think this is my favorite place now.”
She said as we approached another room full of paintings.
I smiled without saying a word.
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
She wasn’t looking at me, but I could see that her lips crooked.
Thank you for coming with me. I want to say. But this isn’t a date, right? I’m just touring her around.
I nodded, instead.
I’m taller than her, so whenever we walk side by side, I could see her expressions. I wonder if we’re in the same age, but maybe not because it looks like she’s younger than me.
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