Chapter 13
951 Words
Today is already Friday. This week seems to have flown by so fast.
Mathieu didn’t show up again at my store. I was almost wondering if he gave up so easily until he sent me a bouquet of edible fruit flower arrangements. He still remembers what I like. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, pineapple, and mangos. They taste so sweet and delicious.
I don’t even want to share any of it with anyone.
On my lunch break, my cell phone starts ringing.
Why is Kaylee calling me at lunchtime? This is odd.
“Kaylee, is everything alright?” I ask her right away when I answer my phone.
“Yes, no, I don’t know.” She says sounding very agitated.
“What is it, sweet-pea? What happened?” With all the events from last weekend, I get scared and nervous easily these past few days.
“It’s Alex...” She says, still sounding agitated.
Hearing her mention Alex’s name, I relax a little.
I think I may know what happened. I tell myself smiling.
“Okay, Kaylee, take a deep breath and tell me, what happened?” I say, still smiling coyly.
“Well, just before I was heading for the cafeteria, He asked to talk to me in private, like just me and him and, so, I followed him and, and...” She says rambling on.
“Deep breaths sweet-pea, what did he tell you?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
“He... He asked me out. Mom, what do ‘I do? I just ran away from him and I’m hiding in the girl's bathroom. What do I tell him?” She says, sounding on the verge of tears.
Oh, my poor little girl.
“First, you need to take a deep breath and calm down a little.” Finally listening to what I’m telling her, she takes a few deep breaths. Sounding a little calmer, I ask:
“Now tell me, do you like him?”
“I-I don’t know. Maybe?”
“Ok, do you think you’d want to try dating him? Do you think it would be the right decision for you, dating him? Taking your friendship and making it more?”
“I think I do, maybe? But what if it doesn’t work? What if he hates dating me? What if he finds someone better and dumps me? What if he hates me after a while, what if...”?
She sounds just like me when I wanted to confess to Mathieu back then.
“Ok sweet-pea, let me ask you this, do you care for Alex? More than a friend kind of like”
“Yeah, I do,” She says after a few seconds.
“Ok, now, do you think he’s worth the risk to find out if you’re both made for a serious relationship?”
I can almost hear the barring’s turning a mile a minute in her mind, trying to figure out what she should do.
“Yeah, I think he is, mom”
“I think you need to find him again and talk to him. Tell him how you feel. But not only that you like him. Tell him your concerns too. He needs to know what you're feeling. Then you can make a decision together whether you want to try it out or not.”
“Oh, my god, mom!” She says, almost screaming into the phone. “I left him alone without saying anything! Mom! I have to go! I have to find him and explain to him that I didn’t run away because I don’t like him! He’s going to hate me now!”
“He’s not going to hate you! Now go find him and talk to him, explain to him why. Heck, tell him you called me to ask for advice.” I tell her, smiling from ear to ear.
Not even saying goodbye, I can hear her running and opening the girl's bathroom and running out before hanging up. My silly little girl. She is so much like me.
“That was some great advice you gave her there. Got any for me?”
Jumping in surprise, I turn around to see Mathieu standing at the back-store’s door.
“What are you doing here?” I ask him, still stunt by seeing him here. In my back store.
“I came here to give you these,” He says, handing me this beautiful arrangement of Calla Lilly's, my favorite flowers.
“You had great advice for your daughter, got any for me?” He says, giving a boyish smile that’s cracking my frozen heart.
“Maybe, that depends.”
“Well, I was a major asshole to this amazing girl a long time ago. I've regretted how I treated her since the moment I had. I failed her in so many ways. I was the lousiest friend in the world to her. She disappeared before I could make it up to her. But I finally found her again and I want to ask her to dinner, what do you think I should do for her to accept and give me a chance to make it up to her?”
He sounds so cheesy but so sincere. Plus, he’s looking at me so intensely and passionately at the same time. He’s really got the panty dropper smile going for him.
God, he’s still so sexy when he smiles.
“Well, chocolate was a good start. Making her see that you still remember what she likes is a plus. Flowers are gorgeous... Can she really trust you? Are you really sincere in wanting to make it up to her? Because if you're not, you’ll only destroy her further and she might not make it out this time.” I tell him in all honesty. I told Kaylee to tell Alex how she felt, everything, including her fears. I should do the same. Take my own advice and use it.
“She can trust me. I will do everything I can to redeem myself. I will never fail her. I won't make that same mistake twice! I promise.” He says, placing his hand over his heart.
“Ok” I reply to him.
“What?!” He says, looking stunt by my response.
“Ok, I’ll go to dinner with you,” I reply, giving him a small but gentle smile.
- Writer
