Chapter Thirty-Five

Glowing, Rita undoubtedly enjoyed the blush intensifying on her face. Patiently, Sharlene answered her questions as best as she could.

"It went well. No. He dislikes sweets, unnecessary chatting, and slackers. He likes drawing, solitude, and work. Yes, he is as handsome as they say he is up close."

"어머나!"

Exclaiming with seal claps, Rita was over the moon with joy. Again, she latched onto Sharlene like an octopus while shouting in her ear.

"That's exciting! What else?!"

Hiding her blush behind the teddy bear's head again, Sharlene spoke barely over a whisper that Rita had to push her ears near her face.

"He said he loves to see me blush."

"정말?! 어머나!" 

Squealing in Korean, something she always did when she was too excited, Rita continued to clap as she did happy dances next to her.

"나는 너무 흥분 돼! What else?!"

Sharlene grinned.

"He brought me to the amusement park."

With every word she said, Rita sucked it in like a sponge, her eyes twinkling like stars as she edged her on with rapid nodding.

"Then?"

"Then he took me to the gynecologist."

"어머나. He sounds so sweet. Where else did he bring you?"

"Well..."

Averting her eyes to stare at the floor of the drawing room, as soon as they stepped into it, Sharlene absently played with the ears of the teddy bear.

"He took me to a five-star restaurant where we had lunch and..."

Coming to an abrupt halt in her explanation that had Rita on her toes, for she had just remembered something, Sharlene gasped as if she was hyperventilating.

"뭐...? I mean, what's wrong?"

Growing worried, Rita inspected her person with concerned eyes.

"He forgot to give me the dessert."

Raising an eyebrow, Rita was confused, her tense shoulders relaxing, for her friend was just fine.

"What dessert?"

Sharlene closed her eyes as she thought about the sweet-tasting dessert. 

"It was one of the specials the restaurant was offering. And he had them package it and everything for me to take home."

"어머나! You sure were treated like a princess!"

Becoming flustered, Sharlene shook her head.

"No, I was not."

"Was it love at first sight? Did you feel your heart going 두근두근 every time he looks at you?"

Shaking her head, she playfully pushed her shoulders.

"Don't exaggerate."

"Ah! Of course, it was. You are in love."

"No, Riri. Do not be ridiculous. How can two people fall in love in one day?"

"Do not be surprised, Shar. Love is not fickle."

AJ voiced out as if he was a part of their conversation.

Glancing back to face him, she scoffed.

"How do you know about love, AJ?"

Rita had also turned around to stare at him, and as if feeling her eyes on him, AJ hurriedly added.

"The internet? Movies? Dramas?"

Rolling her eyes, Sharlene dismissed AJ's statement.

"Riri's right, Shar."

Clarice inputted as she appeared next to her. 

"We could practically see love hearts circling the both of you before. I thought you would have turned to rose petals if he had remained even for a second more."

Shaking her head, Sharlene denied it once again.

"You all are exaggerating." 

Helena, who was silent until now, finally spoke up.

"I saw it too, but not only today."

Sharlene groaned, her eyebrow twitching with annoyance.

"Not you too, Mom."

"I am glad you two have feelings for each other, but I am not pleased."

Helena spoke before walking into the kitchen. 

Sighing, Sharlene walked towards one of the sofas and sank into it. Rita quickly sat on her left while Clarice sat on her right. AJ, whose eyes were still on his phone, sat with a loud sigh on the other.

"Don't worry too much about it, Shar. Mom will come around someday. But today is not that day."

Clarice spoke up with a sad smile. 

"Today is...?"

Surprise tainted Sharlene's voice as she spoke, but with one fleeting glance in AJ's direction, she closed her mouth.

As if understanding her unspoken question, Clarice nodded. 

"Will she be okay?"

She questioned with a frown.

"Is she always? Why don't you go speak with her?"

Distractively, Sharlene nodded. 

Glancing at Rita, who was very much aware of the situation, she stood and walked out of the room.

When she stepped into the kitchen, she heard her mother crying.

Leaning on the sink as she gazed out the window, her shoulders were shaking from the soft and low sniffles emitting from her person. 

Walking over, she wrapped her arms around her mother's mid-section and placed her chin on her left shoulder. Bristling before slowly relaxing, Helena lifted her hands to rest against hers. 

"Are you okay, mom?"

Sniffling, she answered, her voice hoarse. Helena did not try to hide her pain. 

"No. I am not."

Sighing, Sharlene wrapped her arms tighter around her.

"Did Mr. Ross' presence make you feel worse?"

"Would you be mad if I said yes?"

"No, I would not," Sharlene said, a little sad. "Do you hate him?"

Chuckling, Helena shook her head in denial.

"No. I do not. I like him. He is a wonderful young man. It's just..."

She grew silent. 

"Then, why did his presence make you feel worse?"

Sharlene pressed, her spirit lifted from her mother's confession.

Sighing, Helena swiftly turned around and pulled her daughter into a warm and tight hug.

"It reminded me that you are no longer my little girl and soon will leave." 

Pulling her head away from her mother's bosom, Sharlene shook her head.

"I am not leaving, Mom. You could even come to live with us when I get married."

Helena raised an eyebrow but did not comment.

"And leave your rascal brother to make havoc here?"

Imagining her brother exercising his freedom in the empty house, Sharlene laughed.

"He would turn the house upside down."

Helena chuckled, but it was humorless. Her heart still carried the weight of the what-nots.

Slightly lifting her head, for they were almost the same height, Sharlene frowned.

"Mom?"

She questioned as tears pricked her eyes.

"Yes, my darling?"

In a monotone voice, Helena responded while brushing loose strands of her hair from her face.

Burying her head back into her chest, she snuggled closer to her person.

"I will always love and take care of you. As I said before, or from how I remember it, I am not going away forever, at least not like Dad did, okay?"

Rapidly nodding, for the sob lodged in her throat would cause her to stutter, Helena pulled and placed her forehead on her head.

"I love you, Mom, forever and always."

Attentively, Sharlene listened to her heartbeats, a soft lullaby to her worries.

"Me too, mom."

Clarice's voice echoed behind them as she stepped into the kitchen. 

Pulling away from Helena, Sharlene moved aside for her to hug and kiss her as well. After a few seconds, Helena was sniffling after her silent sobbing. 

Glancing between them, she held each of their hands.

"You girls are so precious to me. I do hope you both continue being happy."

Smiling, Clarice and Sharlene shared a knowing look before gently squeezing their mother's hands.

"Of course we will, Mom."

Satisfied with that comment, she pulled her hands from theirs, and with a full-blown smile, she suggested. 

"I feel like we haven't been like this in years. Why don't you both help me prepare dinner?"

"And bring back those happy times of decorating the kitchen with smoke? Count me in, Mom."

Clarice bopped her head while Sharlene glared but nonetheless agreed with a convincing murmur.

"I promise there will be no smoke."

Helena laughed. 

"Go get cleaned up first, girls."

They nodded. 

"Before you do so, ask, no plead with Rita to stay for dinner since we have not seen her for a year, Shar."

Smiling, Sharlene nodded. 

"Of course."

Walking towards the kitchen archway, she turned around to see that the smile had returned on her mother's face as Clarice helped her peel the potatoes. Glancing at the picture stamped on the fridge of her smiling father dressed in a cardigan jacket with a large fish in the hook in his hand, she smiled. 

Seven years without a father and a husband was challenging, yet they had all pulled through.

'We all miss you, daddy.'

Thinking this with tears in her eyes, she turned and left the kitchen with a new resolve.

------------

Two days went like lightning. 

The people in the company were exceedingly busy. 

The upcoming event placed added stress and anxiety on their already tight schedules.

Leaning against her desk with her pencil dangling in the air, Sharlene scrutinized the drawing in front of her with scrunched eyebrows, for she felt like it was missing a significant element. Pursing her lips, she passed a hand through her hair with a loud groan of frustration. That was her fourth attempt at drawing the design. She could not get the shading right, even if it was her original work. She was someone who loved drawing. She was not a copier. 

Glancing at the computer screen, she zoomed in on the picture of the original design. Biting her lip, she hovered the pencil tip over the areas she could not get done. 

Huffing after a few minutes of analyzing the drawing, she placed her glasses onto the page and leaned back in her seat. 

Rubbing her tired eyes, she stood and walked towards the floor-to-ceiling window. Stretching to loosen her bones since she was sitting for a long time, she watched the scurrying people crossing the streets and walking on the pavement. 

Yawning, she turned around to face the desk and everything on it. Walking back to her chair, she leaned against the desk and examined the design again. 

It was lovely and her best design, but she could not replicate it.

Groaning, she passed a hand through her hair once again. 

During her frustration, she heard a soft rap on her door. 

Before she could say enter, Rita opened the door and entered the room. There was a dazzling smile on her face. 

"Hey. How's it going?"

Sighing, Sharlene sank into her chair once more.

"Not how I presumed it would go."

Humming, Rita walked to stand near her. 

Slightly bending, she compared the picture on the screen and the drawing on the paper. 

"Why do you say so? They look the same to me."

Shrugging her shoulders as she straightened, Rita was honest. 

"No, they are not. If you look closer at the diamonds in the center, you distinguish the different shading."

As she spoke, she pointed at the picture on the computer and the drawing on the pad. 

Humming with a finger underneath her chin, as she compared the drawing once more, Rita's eyes widened with understanding. 

Tapping Sharlene's shoulder, she smiled.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. Mistakes always become a possibility."

"You are right."

Murmuring with a brisk nod, Sharlene quickly picked up her phone from the table when she heard a ping. 

Unlocking the phone with a bright smile, she suddenly frowned, for it was a useless notification requesting vacation opportunities. 

Watching her movement with keen eyes, for this was something Sharlene had done often for the past two days, Rita could not help but smugly smile. 

"Are you hoping for someone to call?"

Quickly placing the phone back on the table, Sharlene blushed beet red. 

"What?"

Lightly nudging her shoulder, Rita continued to tease her. 

"Don't 'what me'. I have seen you looking at your phone a gazillion times every time we are together, considering I am taking lodge at your house. Mrs. H can be very persuasive."

"I do not know what you are talking about."

Feigning ignorance, Sharlene stood up and began to tidy her desk by placing the loose sheets in her large brown folder.