49 Present

Mia was still looking at the direction where William walked, she was like a possessed doll. She was in a state that could only be described as an out of body experience. William left and she was still left in such a state. She only woke up from her stupor when her mother called for her and asked a question.

"Mia, why did William leave? He said he's going to join us for dinner." Her mother said.

"Hmmm." Was the only thing Mia could reply. She was still thinking of William's words. Mia thought back on the things William did for her, she may not be the smartest person on earth but she never thought of herself as dense.

Her mother saw Mia's face and gave a knowing smile, she went back to the kitchen with a chuckle and left Mia to her own thoughts. Mrs. Hill was happily humming a tune in the kitchen. Although she bought a lot of ingredients for the supposed celebration, she did not feel down-hearted. In fact, she felt relieved in her heart, while she was enjoying herself, Mia was the complete opposite.

Mia was reminded of something her mother said when she was younger, regarding her father. "Honey, it's not the grand gestures that made me fall in love with your father, it was the simplest yet caring gestures that most people don't even realize its importance. Your father would still buy me something every day, fruits that are good for that season, the specialty bread or pastries from the bakeshop at the shopping district, you're father knows that I like sweet things. Every day he would buy me something different, they might not be expensive, but he never forgets." Her mother looked so happy while sharing her story.

"You know, when we were still girlfriend and boyfriend, every time I had my period, your father would buy me chocolates, and he would buy me pads and pills from the store, not once did I tell him to do that, but he did." Her mother also added with a blush on her cheeks, she looked like a newlywed wife while recalling her memories.

That time, Mia's reply was a loud, "Ewww." Maybe she was too young to understand at the time. But now, she started to realize how those simple gestures continued till now. Before, when she was watching movies and dramas, the male would always do a grand gesture, like renting the whole restaurant while giving the female an expensive accessory, or going to exotic places in their own private jets. If they did not do something as grand as that, then it was not considered romantic. But that was in movies and dramas. It might happen to some people, but not everyone can experience it.

Thinking back when they were young, William would always buy the treats that she liked, he would always stare at the storefront toys with the action figures that he liked, but he would never buy one, instead he would always bring her stuff toys despite the boys in the class were giving him the eye.

He would play the girly games with her to keep her company. He always asks what she wanted to do or where she wanted to go. He never once hesitated or got angry with her choices.

Now that they grew older, he would text her once lunch break started, and ask her if she already ate, he always opened the car door for her, he would always put her first. She would see William, from time to time, looking at her direction. He would smile gently when he sees that she was looking at his way. He would always bring something for her parents and Happy. He takes the time to talk with them, he didn't have to do it, but he did, and as always, he did it with a smile.

Like what her mother said, they were not the grandest gestures, like giving her something expensive but they were caring and kind. The time he spends with her family was warm and happy, he always included the whole family, not just her. William knew that she valued her family the most.

"Is that why he took the time to come to their house all the time?" Mia asked herself.

Something warm started to spread in Mia's chest. Her heart started beating faster while thinking of William's gestures.

On the other hand...

William was driving his car, he was thinking back to what he had said. He was thinking that he could have said it better or acted better.

"Stupid, idiot, dumbass." He said to himself, but the deed is done.

There is nothing he can do about it now. All he can do is move forward, one step at a time. He sighed, trying to remove all of his negative feelings.

Original novel by Chuchuwachuwa