CH 42: Black, White, Blue... and Red?

Ambryan arrived at his penthouse building.

He parked his convertible at the designated spot. His index finger pushed a button on the dashboard, prompting the roof to roll back up. He checked the progress through the rearview mirror. Something on the backseat caught his attention.

A straw hat laid upside down, tilting to one side. It had been blown by the wind during the drives. How it survived through it all, he didn't know.They had left it when they entered the mall. It was unnecessary indoors so it stayed there.

The corner of his lip frowned as he picked it up.

Ambryan carried it at his side and headed for the elevator.

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At the top floor, an albino Siberian cat lounged at a leather couch. Her bushy tail brushed over the edge. She snored lightly and enjoyed her 15-hour cat nap. Her belly had been filled before she closed her eyes. It left her satisfied.

She dreamed of a world free from all frogs.

She considered it to be a good day.

Kiri's ears twitched. They picked up the sound of the door lock. She yawned and blinked her eyes open. Rising to her feet, she shook her fur and leaped off the couch.

"Meow." Her legs skipped over to the front door. Something smelled different. Her nose found the scent pleasant. It brought a tiny smile to her face.

Ambryan stepped inside and spotted his cat. She sat down in front of him. He dropped to one knee and scratched behind her ears. "Hello, Kiri. Did you have a good day?"

"Meow, meow!" She replied, holding her head high. Her dreamself single-handedly stopped a frog invasion. Shooting stars rained down from the sky, celebrating her success.

Her hooman chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes."

He continued to pamper her but she had other ideas. Standing up, she strolled over to the straw hat. She nuzzled her nose against it and lied down on her side. Her paws tapped it repeatedly.

"Meow…!"

"You like that, huh?" Ambryan asked. He put the hat on the floor and watched her play.

"Meow!"

Kiri rolled on her back, picking up the hat. She held it by her front paws and bit its brim. None of her teeth marks created a dent. She merely used this method as a sign of her affection. The

Ambryan shook his head and patted her head. "Unfortunately, it's not ours. We'll have to return it."

The cat stopped. She moved her head in slow motion until her pale purple eyes stared up at him. They seemed to dilate by the second, making them appear bigger. Her ears drooped from the news.

Ambyran's hand paused.

"Well, maybe we can keep it."

"Meow!" Kiri cheered. The hat flipped over and landed on its crown. She hopped in, tucking her legs under her stomach. No one knew how she managed to fit inside.

Ambryan straightened his legs. He only had one thought. 'Evangeline wouldn't mind if she doesn't even remember it, right?'

His legs led him towards the master bedroom.

The interior had a mix of wood and white walls. The king size bed stood in the middle of a raised platform. Its mahogany headboard doubled as a canopy for the bed, snaking up the wall and onto the ceiling. Sheer curtains covered the windows on the right. A frosted walk-in closet occupied the left.

He shrugged off his jacket and undid his tie.

Then, the doorbell rang.

Ambryan grimaced. Not many knew of his residence. Even fewer visited at this time of night. That left him with a short list. He kept his dark blue vest on and walked over to the front door. A small wall monitor hung on the right wall.

It showed him what the security camera presented.

He exhaled sharply and turned the door knob, allowing it to open by a few inches. Curly bronze hair slipped inside immediately along with steel gray eyes crinkling in amusement and a wide set of teeth beaming at him.

"Knock, knock?" The visitor joked. He could hardly contain the giddiness on his face.

"Richard." Ambryan greeted. He kept the door half-closed. The temptation to shove it close was strong. Oh, how wonderful it would be to jam that too happy face.

"Yan!" His best friend giggled. Tucking in his chin, he wiggled his eyebrows. "It's been a while!"

The door moved an inch.

Richard stopped it with his body weight. He scowled at the lack of hospitality. "HEY!"

"If that is your reason for being here," Ambryan reacted calmly, "May I remind you that we just saw each other yesterday."

"That was for business! This is different!"

The claims did little to faze him. Not only did his lips stay grim but his violet eyes also remained hard.

It changed by 0.01% because of the following statement.

"I have wine."

Ambryan stopped his quest. He pulled back the door and fully opened it. His best friend stumbled into the penthouse. If he couldn't get rid of Richard, he might as well find ways to enjoy his visit. He headed for the kitchen as he fixed his cufflinks.

Richard dusted off his pants, keeping the bottle secure. He kicked the door closed and smiled at a feline. It had been a while since he'd seen her. His fingers brushed over her fur as she slept.

"When did Kiri get a new hat?"

"Today," his best friend responded from the other room.

"You bought her one?" He frowned, inspecting the hat. It seemed out of place, something worn outside under the summer heat. "That's not—wait, is this your date's hat?"

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"Maybe."

Richard bounded for the kitchen. Immense joy brimmed under his skin. He had found an opening for this awaited conversation. He thought Ambryan would have been back early. To his surprise, no one was at the penthouse.

The curiously gnawed the sides of his head.

"Ohoho, she's good!" He declared as soon as he reached his destination.

The kitchen matched the modern look of the living room. It had an L-shape counter for the stove, the sink and space for kitchen appliances and tools. The cabinets were white while the marble surfaces were black. A fridge stood beside the longer counter's edge.

Most of it had been pre-furnished.

Richard sat on a stool while his best friend set up the wine glasses. The kitchen island matched the length of the L-shape counter—minus the short end. It had a rectangular shape with a narrow width. It created a barrier for the kitchen, boxing it in.

Ambryan knitted his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Barely a few minutes had passed and his best friend was already spouting nonsense.

Richard scoffed. The bottle he brought thudded on the kitchen island. He cleared his throat and began to explain, "Yan, if a woman 'forgets' something on the first date, most of the time she has ulterior motives."

'It was a clever trick,' he praised in his mind. He hadn't dated many women but he surely heard of this gimmick.

Ambryan opened a drawer and took out a corkscrew. "Like what?"

"So you'd meet again since you have to return it!" Richard exasperated. It still astonished how many times this trick became a success. Now, his best friend became one of its receivers.

What would Ambryan do then?

Contrary to his thoughts, his best friend merely poked the screw into the cork. "We'll be dating for 9 months. I don't think that kind of trick would be necessary."

Richard was stumped.

A pop pierced through the air.

"Point taken," he sighed, lifting up his glass for some wine. "Anyway, what kind of woman are we talking about here? Is she a redhead?"

Ambryan stopped short. The bottle brushed against the glass' rim. He only needed to tilt up the bottom more for the wine to pour out. He wondered how his best friend—then, he thought better of it. His mother must have told Richard already. The latter was just feigning innocence.

"How did you know?" He played along, pouring the wine.

"So she is! I should have known."

That statement threw him off guard. He placed the bottle down and held onto the edge of the counter. His violet eyes narrowed in suspicions. "Again. Elaborate, Richard."

Richard sipped from his glass. He raised his eyebrows, noticing the change in tone. He set the wine glass down and swirled it absentmindedly.

"The only time I ever saw you pay attention to the opposite sex," he began to explain and paused for a while. Ambryan's glare turned colder, making Richard laugh at his impatience. "... is when she has red hair! Your eyes would follow her until she's gone. Granted you never dated anyone but it was the closest that showed your interest."

Richard shook his head at this fact. His best friend probably didn't even know about it. When they were in college, he thought Ambryan finally felt something towards someone. His best friend would become distracted in class and stare at the back of her head.

It turned out to be a ruse because Ambryan never approached her.

Later on, Richard had seen the same thing happen. He eventually put the pieces together.

All of the women had one thing in common.

Red hair.

Ambryan filled his own glass with wine, saying nothing. He picked it up and watched the red liquid. The surface glinted differently under his kitchen's lighting. It also had a different shade from the one they had two weeks before.

He took a whiff of its scent before taking a sip.

"Well…?" Richard pressed. He really wanted to know if his theory had been correct. Maybe he'd even find out the story behind it. There had to be a reason why his best friend was attracted to redheads.

Ambryan looked up, keeping his head bowed. The wine left an aftertaste in his throat. He made his point clear when he spoke. Otherwise, Richard might come up with more theories.

"I did not choose her because of her hair."