The Royal Flower

Chapter 3 - Mother Dearest

Daniel

The doorbell rang, as I expected it to. I had been anxious for the past couple of hours. A strange, barely dressed young woman had just come home with me. I did not know how my mother would react to her.

I opened the door to my mother. She was a foot shorter than I was. Other than that, everyone thought I looked like her. She was already nearing her sixties, but she was still out and about with friends. After my dad left, she made a point to entertain herself. She was good at that – entertaining herself. My mother would have hiked with me if I told her about my plans beforehand.

“My dear!” She reached out to me and hugged me around my neck, as I bent towards her and hugged her back.

I ushered her in and before I could tell her about Carolina, I could tell that she had already seen my home’s new temporary resident.

“Oh, you didn’t tell me you have some company over, Daniel. Good evening, dear,” she addressed Carolina who stood up and – well – curtsied. I shook my head in disbelief.

“Good evening to you, um – Daniel’s mother.”

“I am Mrs. Arden, my dear. What is your name?”

“I am Carolina, missus Arden.”

Noting what Carolina was wearing, my mother proceeded to investigate.

“So, are you staying the night?”

“I am. I will be here for the whole year.”

Mrs. Arden chuckled at that, seemingly charmed by my strange but beautiful guest. Erm, yes, Carolina was certainly a beauty. She had long, wild auburn hair that reached her waist and had the most striking green eyes. I reminded myself that I had no idea where this woman came from. Okay, I knew she was a flower, but I could be hallucinating. Am I, right now? I slapped myself gently. I saw that Carolina was watching me with amusement, with one hand covering her mouth. She was giggling!

“Is that what you told this sweet lady, Daniel? Are you now making limitations to your relationships?”

“Mom, she is not my girlfriend.”

“Then, why is that young lady inside your house wearing just that? What happened to you after that woman left you? Are you now taking advantage of other women?”

“Mom, I am not.”

“Mrs. Arden, I am his girlfriend. I think what Daniel wants to say is that we have not known each other long. My family does not know about it, yet. They live far away.”

Mm. My little guest knew how to lie to get her way. By the way, she widened her eyes when she said “girlfriend,” I wondered if she even knew what it meant.

“And the clothes?”

“Um, my clothes got lost. The one I was wearing was torn. I do not have a choice at the moment but to wear Daniel’s – er – tunic.”

“You could do some shopping for your girlfriend, Daniel. Get her something sensible to wear. Have her come and visit me sometimes. Take her out.”

I knew my mother well. I could tell that she wanted to show Carolina off. She was not happy with the way Selina had left me. My mother said that I did not deserve the public humiliation. But I knew I deserved it. When I broke my vows for love, I knew what I was getting into.

The two seemed to hit it off. My mother almost did not want to leave us. I was amazed at how Carolina had charmed her so easily. She was obviously an intelligent young woman, who seemed to believe that she came from another time. But I had seen it with my own eyes. She was a flower in the clearing.

***

When my mother left, I saw how Carolina watch me clear the dishes. She followed me, focusing on my movements. She really seemed like she was trying to adapt. After I had cleared the leftovers, she was ready to wash the dishes. My guest was fascinated with the water flowing from the faucet.

“This makes things easy.”

“What?”

“The water flowing like that.”

I just smiled and wiped the dishes that she handed me with a cloth.

Afterward, I showed her the guestroom. It had its own bathroom. She asked me questions about the toilet bowl and the sink. I told her what each of them was for, demonstrating by opening and closing the shower knob, flushing the toilet, and all the other things that I had taken for granted as natural and part of my life. Carolina followed my actions with her wide eyes in glee. She was like a little child watching the carnival lights turn on for the night.

I showed her the bed and her pillows.

“At least, these are not that different, Daniel. But your bed is so much softer!”

She bounded on it a little bit. Then, she settled down and finally placed the blanket over herself. I breathed a sigh of relief. I needed to shop for her clothes early tomorrow morning.

I went to my own bedroom to settle down for that night and to recover from that strange day. I wondered if everything was just an elaborate dream. Maybe Carolina would be gone in the morning, I thought, as my head hit the pillow. I strangely felt an ache in my chest as I thought of that. I had only known her for a few hours, but I knew I would miss her – even if she was just a figment of my imagination, a very vivid one.

I had not been in bed for long when I felt someone settle behind me. A long slender arm embraced me from the back. Carolina, what was she doing here? Where did this woman come from that she did not know the danger of what she was doing My strange visitor was as comfortable as my body was stiff. As if sensing my discomfort, she rubbed my arm. For some reason, I felt calm and sleepier than I was before. My eyes were already closed when Carolina suddenly thought of asking a question.

“Daniel, what is a girlfriend? Is that like someone you are betrothed to?”

I laughed softly at the question, but I knew she was serious. I told her “yes” because it was simple like that. I did not want to tell her that there were so many things that can go wrong. A girlfriend could end up marrying someone else, like the man you thought was your friend.

As if my answer was the magic word, I soon heard Carolina's soft snores. I sighed. It did not take long for me to also fall asleep.