ILY

ILY Do You?

"So you said yes to a dinner with a girl who ghosted you?" Clyde said while munching on some chips while editing videos on his computer.

"I said yes to her Mom." Jethro said, almost impatiently. Clyde was giving him a hard time explaining why he said yes to the dinner.

"Isn't this too soon?" Clyde turned his computer chair to face him. Jethro was sitting on Cylde's bed. "You just said that she ghosted you, then appeared with a new guy yesterday at school."

"Her cousin." Jethro butted in.

"You know that is not the argument here. I just feel that this is too early." Clyde turned around to face his computer again. "I am willing to come with you but I just want to be sure that you are ready to face the music. She might not be the girl you once knew. Are you really ready for that?

Jethro took a deep breath. Was he ready? Of course he was not. But how long will it take before he gets ready? But what if the time it takes for him to get ready is enough time for Topaz to be further away from him? He could not risk that. He needs to step up if he wants to get her back. If she still wants to get back to the way they were.

"I guess no one will be ready. I just have to take the step," he said firmly.

"That's the Jethro I know." Clyde said, turning around to him, giving him thumbsup. "Go wash yourself, give me five minutes on this video and then I'll prepare too. Are you driving OK? I will be loading up some videos on the way." Clyde said, dismissing him with his hand waiving on him.

He hurriedly went to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Jethro scratched his head as he went over the shirts that he had. What shall he wear? It was already five in the evening.

He went for his usual attire when going out - a white shirt, jeans and sneakers.

Going over his bag, he took that book that he bought earlier and tied it with a ribbon. It was the ribbon from the treat box that Mrs. Layton gave him earlier. Maybe Topaz wouldn't notice.

When he came out of his room, Clyde was all done. He was wearing a short-sleeved black polo and black jeans. He usually dresses like this.Clyde always preferred wearing solid colors. He was wearing black sneakers too.

"Really? An all-black ensemble?" Jethro teased him.

"And you, the boy next door, like? Just leave me be with my outfit choices." He threw the car keys towards Jethro's direction. He caught it with his right hand. He was carrying his laptop on the other side.

"Did you at least bring something for them?" Clyde asked as they walked to the door. Jethro pressed the security alarm before locking the door close.

"I grabbed a book earlier," Jethro said.

"No, for his Mom." Clyde punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Come and hurry, we will pick some flowers on the way.

Good thing there was a flower shop along the way to Topaz's place. They bought three dozen tulips in a basket. "You owe me," Clyde said as he offered his card to the cashier.

They were silent along the way. Clyde was busy uploading his latest video online so he was really not talking.

A few more minutes and there they were. The familiar blue door that he loved the first time he visited Topaz.

"Are you ready?" Clyde's voice was sincere. "I can always make up some sort of emergency is you are not comfortable with this." He was an uncle to Jethro at that moment.

"Yeah, whatever happens, you have my back, right?" He tried to smile.

"Of course, always." He lightly punched Jethro's cheeks.

Clyde grabbed the flowers as Jethro turned off the car engine.

Clyde was already standing close to the door when Jethro caught up with him.

"Ready?" Clyde asked before he placed his fingers on the doorbell. Jethro nodded.

Jethro held his breath as he waited for someone to open the door.

He was thankful that it was Mrs. Layton who opened the door. Jethro hoped it would be Topaz, but the smell of the chicken casserole inside somehow made him forget about his troubles for a while.

Clyde was the first one who talked.

"This is for you, Mrs. Layton. By the way, I am Clyde, Jethro's uncle. Thank you for inviting us to your home." Clyde was definitely an adult in this situation.

"Good evening Mrs. Layton." It was the only sentence Jethro could think of at that time.

"Thank you for coming. You are just in time for dinner. I'll get the table ready." Mrs. Layton said as they led them to the dining area.

And then Jethro saw what his eyes were looking for, what his heart was longing for.

At the bottom of the stairs was Topaz in her wheelchair. She gave him a timid smile when their eyes met.

"Clyde, would you mind taking the casserole from the oven for me?" Mrs. Layton told Clyde while she moved some stuff on the dining table to make room for the flowers."

Jethro quickly came to Topaz's aid when he saw that she was about to push her wheelchair towards the direction of the dining area."Here, let me help you." he said.

"Thanks." Topaz replied timidly.

Jethro was about to push the wheelchair but remembered the book tucked under his arm.

"Oh, I got you this. Sorry, the one you lent me got torn earlier." He gently placed the book on her lap.

"You found a copy?" Topaz asked.

"Yeah. They still had one available at The Note Nest. Considered myself lucky." Jethro tried to add a bit of liveliness to his voice. "So where is your cousin?" Jethro wanted Topaz to know that he already knew that Michael was a relative.

"He had to grab some things from his place. He'll be back by Wednesday."

"So I can pick you up for school on Monday and Tuesday then?" They were already in the dining area when Jethro asked. It was Mrs. Layton who answered.

"That would be so sweet of you, Jethro. I would really appreciate it if you could pick her up for school next week," she said.

"Come, take a seat so we can all enjoy the hot meal." Mrs. Layton added before anyone could react to her response to Jethro's question to Topaz.

It was a round table and Clyde and Jethro sat together. To Jethro's right was Topaz and then Mrs. Layton is one of Clyde's left.

"Let's hold hands and say our prayers." She said, grabbing Clyde's and Topaz's hands.

Jethro gave a soft look towards Topaz as he reached out for her hand.

Mrs.Layton was already saying something but all Jethro could hear was the pounding of his heart.