The Daughter In the Corner

We Meet Again

Peter kept insisting on driving Amara home but she refused since he lived in the opposite direction. He had told her parents that he would stick around to take Amara home so the Roger couple left last night after handing him Amara’s clutch. Peter had a strong sense of responsibility and was stubborn as a mule. They went back and forth for over twenty minutes until he finally relented. They walked down to the lobby together, his suit jacket draped over her shoulder to stave off the cold morning air.

“I have your number now. I will keep in touch.”

Peter smiled sadly, “Promise?”

Amara chuckled and raised her right hand to wiggle her pinky. “Pinky promise!”

Peter snorted but nodded all the same.

“Do you need me to call an Uber for you?”

Amara rolled her eyes. “I can take care of myself. Just go.” She pushed him gently from behind.

Peter walked a couple of steps before turning once more; his face a picture of uncertainty.

Amara wanted to laugh but she held it in. Raising her hands she made a shooing motion. “I’ll be fine! Really!”

Peter heaved a sigh and walked out the main door to the valet for car pickup.

Amara stared at his broad back and smiled. Had she known having a brother was this heartwarming, she would have reached out to her siblings long ago. Maybe it was time she reconciled with Jenny too. The younger, inadequate self who only knew how to mope in a corner, was no more.

Amara found a spot away from foot traffic and dug her phone out of her clutch to request an Uber.

She felt a presence behind her so she walked a few steps towards the glass walls without thinking much of it.

Again, the person came and stood nearby. Amara frowned and looked up, scrunching Peter’s coat firmly around her exposed front. “Can I help you?”

The man pushed his round glasses further up the bridge of his nose. This wasn’t how he imagined their meeting after all these years would turn out.

“Hi, Amara. It’s me…”

Amara blinked as she finally recognized him. Her face bloomed into a smile as she slapped his arm excitedly. “Oh my gosh!!! Hunter!! Look at you! You’ve grown so much! Have you been working out?”

Although his arm stung, Hunter smiled. “Yes, I work out regularly. You look great.”

Amara blushed and smoothed out her dress. Hunter’s gentle but persistent gaze was making her shy so she changed the subject. “So… I didn’t see you last night.”

Hunter’s smile cooled a degree before warming back up. “It was a bit chaotic last night.”

Amara nodded. “Yeah. I know. Let’s grab a coffee and catch up. I need to call for an Uber.”

“Why don’t I drive you home?”

Amara shook her head. “I don’t want to impose.”

Hunter persisted relentlessly. “I insist! It will give us more time to catch up.”

Amara nodded, unwilling to argue with another stubborn mule. “Alright. But at least let me treat you to coffee as a way of thanks.”

Hunter nodded and they walked side by side towards the hotel restaurant.

***

Dillon sat in a discrete corner of the lobby waiting for Peter to leave so he could approach Amara. He didn’t want anyone in his family to know until he had gone steady with Amara. His father would probably be the first to disapprove since he had a long-standing feud with Amara’s father. They were both married to his mother at one point in time. His relationship with Amara would just muddy the pond.

His feet drummed the marble floor at a quick tempo as he chewed his lower lip, still waiting. Amara had changed drastically since he last saw her.

She used to be this small pitiful figure at his house that no one seemed to pay any mind to. Early on, Dillon realized he developed romantic feelings for her and was terrified of disappointing his family so he hid his feelings behind a frigid mask and kept his distance. It wasn’t until he was eight years old that he happened to hear his grandparents joke that Amara could be part of the family if she married him that he realized —- they were not siblings or even first cousins. He had to pull out a genealogy chart to see how they were related and found that their fathers shared a great-grandmother. They could pass each other on a street and never realize they were related! He immediately asked for a year's advance on his allowance and begged his grandfather to take him out for last-minute Christmas shopping. They visited a few jewelry boutiques until he finally settled on a red ruby pendant in the shape of a heart surrounded by small diamonds. It was a promise of his love with the heart symbolizing his own and the diamonds were all the good things in life that he would surround her with in the future. His simple younger self was so excited that he could barely sleep for days, waiting to give himself to Amara for Christmas.

Little did he know she didn’t come that Saturday… or any other Saturday after. He didn’t know how to approach her given how awful he had been to her in the past so he waited patiently till they would run into each other again. It had been a long fifteen years, and finally, there was an event their families put together. The moment his eyes landed on her that night he felt his heart stir. With Peter nearby, he had to feign interest in everything but her. Still, he couldn’t help but sneak a peek at her every now and then.

‘It’s okay. I can casually “bump” into her later.’ He had reasoned to himself.

Only he never did. Every time he waited, he lost his chance.

Finally, Peter left and Amara was alone, he shot up from his seat but his eyes wandered to Hunter who was closing in fast from the side. Dillon’s upbeat gait slowed to a stop as he watched their friendly interaction.

Dillon clenched his fist.

Fuck waiting. He waited fifteen years and now his best friend was about to get the jump on his woman.

Dillon hurried towards the two.

***

Derrick was up early to check out from the hotel. From a distance, he saw a group of men in thobes and his eyes immediately fell on the small figure that drifted in and out of view.

Like sunlight bursting forward at dawn, wisps of her golden hair emerged from behind the white thobe. As if basking in the sun, Derrick felt warmth spread across his body, particularly focused towards his lower abdomen.

Taking out his phone he called his father. “Dad, do we have any new business with the Farleys?”

“As a matter of fact, we do. Why are you asking about it so early this morning?”

Derrick smiled as he looked towards his golden goddess. “I will take over that project.”

“Well, I don’t care since you’ll inherit the business but why the sudden announcement?”

Derrick smirked. “Let’s just say I want to secure my future.”

***

Nathan felt a hot gaze in his direction and turned to find Derrick smirking from the check-out table. Nathan frowned and instinctively blocked Jenny from view.

“Darling? Are you listening?”

Jenny gazed up at him with a slight tilt of her head; a small pout gracing her plump lips. At times she was demanding and childish but he loved her completely, vices and all.

“I’m sorry, Habibti. I was preoccupied. You have my full attention now.”

Jenny shook her head graciously, still feeling guilty for last night’s indiscretion. “It’s fine. As I was saying, Grandpa is having me transfer to the energy division at the end of the month to get a feel for the business before I step into a VP role. I am going to be traveling a bit to visit the plants around the country and meet with our suppliers. Will you be okay with that?”

Nathan smiled. “Of course I am okay with it. I know how important your career is to you and I support you 100%. Let me know if you need help with anything; I am just one call away.”

Jenny smiled brightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone staring and glanced over. Her smile instantly melted into a frown when she saw Derrick. Her face flushed as she thought back to her dream and she quickly turned away.