#19 The Distance Between Us

"By the way, what should I give your mother as a gift when I visit her? Flowers, perhaps?" Eric asked while we were on our way to the hospital. We have decided to go there by foot since it wasn't that far away and we could look through some shops on the way too.

Ah, why does he have to ask me the same question as I wanted to ask him?

I tried to recall what was in her bedroom and a vase of roses came to mind.

"Probably roses."

Come to think of it, wasn't 'Rose' the name of his mother? They must have a close relationship to the point that my mother would like roses since it resembles her own sister.

The florist greeted us warmly when we arrived at her shop. Bloomed flowers can be found at the entrance while the scents attacked me.

"Welcome, sir. Flowers for your girlfriend?" She had a big smile on her face while leading us to the sunflowers section. "Sunflowers look great with this beautiful girlfriend of yours."

Eric wasn't particularly listening to what the florist was talking but he did react to the word 'girlfriend' and so did I. How bold of her to assume our relationship just like that.

"Firstly, I came here for roses, not sunflowers," Eric pointed his finger to a bouquet of roses next to the sunflowers. "Secondly, it's for her mother, not her."

He reached his hand into his pocket and took out some money for payment. The florist who was taken aback by his words brought the roses to the counter.

While waiting, I looked around the shop to see if I could get anything for his mother. I was wondering if she likes daisies since my mother's name was 'Daisy'?

"Do you want that?" Eric came over after he was done paying.

"Ah, I was thinking of a gift for your mother..."

"About that," he cut me off before I finished my sentence, "She said she doesn't need one if it's you."

"What does that mean?"

"Who knows?" Eric shrugged and took the roses from the counter. "Let's go."

He took out his phone to book a taxi for us even though the hospital wasn't too far away and the distance was near enough to reach by foot. I asked him out of curiosity and he replied in a serious tone for the first time in a while.

"You look tired."

He can be quite an observant sometimes but I think he was tired too. The car seats were comfortable enough to make me sleepy, and with the air-con too.

I glanced at Eric when his mouth was wide opened to yawn. He was almost out of energy and dozed off in the car. It was then I realized, "His hair is really soft."

My hand reached out to his head unconsciously to feel his messy jet black hair. I rustled it until it was all messy and snickered on my own actions.

"Hm? What's this?"

The root of his hair could be seen when I was combing his hair back to how it was. The slight yellow color got my attention when Eric suddenly grabbed my wrist.

"What were you thinking? Messing someone's hair when they were sleeping."

I jerked back and released my hand from his when I realized he wasn't in quite a good mood. Judging by the tone of his voice, I could tell he wasn't wide-awake yet so it's understandable of his mood.

But what I saw just now, was it… yellow? No, more like blonde.

The thought of him dying black hair was stuck in my mind the whole time until we arrived at the hospital lobby. Normally we would dye different colors from our dull black or brown hair but if I were to have borned blonde, I wouldn't bother getting my hair dyed.

The receptionist's smile was so bright that I left the thought of Eric being a blonde behind my head.

"It's rare to see the Miss with a guest. Boy..."

"No," I denied her straight up before she could say anything

The receptionist handed me the key card to my mother's room for us to enter. My mother was seated upright in her bed while looking out of the window. She turned her head when I knocked on the door.

"Oh my, look what we have here."

She was smiling gleefully when Eric bowed to her in respect. He handed her the flowers in his arms and she accepted it.

"Amanda."

"Yes, mother?"

"Can you do me a favor and replace these into the vase in my room when you get back?" She placed the roses on the bedside table, where I was refilling her glass of water.

I nodded and placed the flowers beside my bag so I wouldn't forget when I left.

My mother was starting a topic with Eric while I passed a glass of water for her to drink.

"Is Amanda eating well in school?"

"Yes, she eats all her carrots as cute as a rabbit." Eric replied like I was a kid who doesn't eat her vegetables. But when have I eaten carrots in school?

"To top it off, she's really cu-" Eric suddenly stopped without finishing his sentence. My mother looked at him as he cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite get your last word..."

"Ah, no, it's nothing." He looked away and said, "Don't worry about it."

I took the blank cup from my mother's hands and refilled it as they continued their conversation.

My mother was looking at me eagerly waiting for my 'story of the day'. I hesitated because I didn't really feel comfortable telling others about my perspective on my life but if it's Eric, I guess it's okay?

A smile creeped on my face as I talked more and more, when I realized I lost track of time. Before I knew it, it was already evening which means dinner was waiting for me at home.

I took the bouquet of flowers meant for my mother and carried my school bag on my shoulder.

"I'll come by again, mum."

I waved as I left the room. Eric said he was staying for a little while more until she fell asleep so I let him. Without a single glance, I could tell my mother was rather surprised for me to call her like how I used to. Well, I just felt like it since the distance between us got closer as we talked.