Hidden Gem

Chapter 4 - Sisterly Advice

"I'm home!" I call out as soon as open the door.

I kick off my heels and hang my purse on the free hook close to the door. I walk across the sitting room and enjoy the feeling of the plush carpet against my stocking feet. Topaz pokes her head out of the kitchen and smiles at me.

"Great timing, dinner's almost ready." Topaz tells me.

"Awesome, what's on the menu tonight?" I queried as I inhaled the aromas wafting out from the kitchen.

"Baked chicken breasts and quinoa salad." She replied. She then returns her attention back to the quinoa salad she was assembling.

"That's great actually. I needed something light for supper today." I say.

Topaz snorts loudly, following it up with a gigge.

"As long I don't have to hear you complain about quinoa, it's gonna be a good dinner for me." She quips with a teasing smile.

"But quinoa has this grainy texture that I just don't like." I explain my dislike for this particular health food.

"Yah, quinoa is a type of grain. So guess what? It's gonna taste like grain!" Topaz said with a laugh.

"Whatever, give me 15 minutes before dinner." I tell her before I head towards my bedroom.

We live in a cute little cottage styled home, which was left to the both of us when our grandma passed. We practically grew up here with our grandma and no where else felt like home like it did here. All of grandma's little trinkets and knickknacks were placed all around our home just the way she left it. It was almost like her welcoming presence could still be felt.

I quickly change out of my work clothes, throwing them into the hamper. I pull on a relaxed fit pair of sweatpants and a loose-fitting tshirt that could be considered too loose, since it exposed one bare shoulder. But it way too comfortable to throw away and I wasn't going to be in the presence of any judgemental folks any time soon, so who really cares if my bare shoulder is on display?

I go to our dining room and start setting the table. I fan out a red and white gingham pattern tablecloth over our circular wooden table, then I quickly set out two red flower placemats, two white cloth napkins, two silver coloured charger plates, two simple white plates on top and then finally the cutlery. I only needed to grab the drinking glasses and I would be done.

This is how our grandma expected us to set the table and so this how we did it almost every night. Of course there were exceptions for pizza night, random take-out, nights I worked late, and nights that we were both too lazy and opted to eat dessert instead. Which surprisingly was another tradition handed down by grandma.

Dessert for dinner nights with grandma were the best. She had the best baking skills, her cakes, cookies and pies was unrivaled. My fondest memories were of her specialty, the German Chocolate Cake. She made everything from scratch, even the convoluted frosting with the coconut flakes and crushed pecans. Her German chocolate cake was out of this world good and ever since I was little, I had always begged her to bake me one for my birthday. I've been thinking about her a lot today after I took a bite of that silly kale salad.

"You okay, sis?" Topaz asked when she entered the dining room with the salad bowl in her hands. "You have a funny look on your face."

"Just thinking about Grandma's German chocolate cake." I reply sheepishly.

"Classic Ruby, can't get her mind off dessert for one second." Topaz said with a roll of her eyes. She sets the bowl of quinoa down on the table.

Suddenly I remember that the table still needs drinking glasses. I go into the kitchen and Topaz follows after me.

"Oh please, as if you don't daydream about her lemon bars." I retort and Topaz chuckles.

"Still haven't had a lemon bar as good as hers yet." Topaz admits with a small sigh.

I'm able to hold two glasses, one in my hand, the other tucked into the crook of my elbow. I open the refrigerator door with my free hand and pull out the Britta jug of water and bump the fridge door close with my hip. In the meantime, Topaz picks up the glass dish that she baked the chicken in. I can see that she also baked cherry tomatoes and onion slices with the chicken. We make our way back to the dining room and finally complete setting the table. We sit down and then begin eating. We eat in silence for a few minutes and then start catching each other up on our day.

"So what got you thinking about grandma today?" Topaz asked.

"You won't believe it, but I voluntarily had kale for lunch today. The dressing had some hard boiled eggs and it reminded me of her egg salad sandwiches." I explain.

"You're right, I don't believe it. Why would you of all people eat kale?" Topaz inquired, looking confused.

"I had business lunch with Bradley at the Étoile Country Club this afternoon. The kale looked interesting." I tell her nonchalantly.

Topaz's eyes widened with some surprise.

"Business lunch? With Bradley? At the Étoile Country Club?" She repeated with some amazement.

I nodded.

"Wow, I guess things with you and Bradley have finally started progressing, huh? Congrats, sis. The Étoile Country Club must mean he likes you a lot. I keep hearing all the rich kids at school talk about the amazing food." Topaz states with feigned happiness.

"Well... his future girlfriend was at lunch too. So, this business lunch isn't exactly what you're thinking." I conceded with a frown.

Topaz relaxes visibly in her seat and breathes a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank God. I was seriously worried about having Bradley as a brother-in-law." Topaz relayed to me.

"I do wish that you wouldn't be so hard on Bradley." I say.

"Well, I wish you could see how he takes advantage of you." She counters.

I know she means well for me, but it also kind of hurts too. I don't know what exactly Bradley did to make her dislike him so much, but she didn't know him like I did. She never got to see his huge heart, his willingness to fight for clients that really needed him, that fire in his eyes.

She suddenly sits straight up in her seat and looks at me.

"What do you mean that his 'future girlfriend' was at lunch too?" Topaz interrogated.

"It was business lunch between us and the broker that is attempting to purchase his family ranch. Bradley has the hots for her, but she refuses to date him until the deal is closed. So, he organized this business lunch to spend some time with her." I revealed.

"WHAT? He forced you into being the third wheel on his first date with a woman that isn't even you? Seriously, how does he work up the nerve to ask for such s**t?" Topaz expounded with anger.

"It's okay, it really was a business lunch. We actually got a lot done. And the broker is actually pretty great, and she loves soccer." I tell her, but she doesn't look too convinced.

"Well, good for Bradley snatching up another beautiful woman and ignoring the beauty that works in his office for the past three years." Topaz says angrily.

"Stop it! My relationship with Bradley is strictly professional, nothing was ever going to happen between us anyway." I deny, even though I knew I had always hoped that something would. How my sister picked up on that, I'll never know.

"Why don't you find another job then?" She probed.

"Trust me, no other law office would pay more than Bradley does for paralegal services." I pointed out. I kept in touch with other paralegals from my college days and was well aware that I was in the top tier when it came to income.

Also, I needed this job to pay off my student debts, miscellaneous bills and still have enough left over to put away towards Topaz's college fund. We were left a smaĺl inheritance along with the cottage, but after grandma's funeral and the lawyer's fees I had to pay to keep custody of Topaz from my aunt, there wasn't much money left over. When Bradley hired me fresh out of college with my lack of experience, it was a godsend. I was always so grateful to him for taking a chance on me.

"Ok, sure. I suppose this is actually good for you. Maybe you can finally move on from Bradley with this new girlfriend in the picture," Topaz concluded.

"There's nothing to move on from. I don't know where you got such an idea." I still deny, but Topaz gives me a knowing look.

"Ruby, you can stop the act. Anytime I've been to the office, I've seen how you light up around him. Your whole demeanor changes." She told me with a small smile on her lips. "It's actually kind of cute to see you reduced to a highschool teenager."

"No I don't!" I insist, but even as I say the words out loud they don't sound true.

Her gaze locks with mine and she holds it steadily. It doesn't take long, but we both know that I'm lying.

"Fine, I can admit that I might habour a very tiny small little teeny weeny crush on Bradley," I barely confess.

"Hm, well I think Bradley may have haboured a teeny weeny crush on you too." Topaz says. "That's why I was so worried that you two were FINALLY taking it to the next level. But thankfully he just dipped out on you and went for someone else."

"I was beginning to think that you were pretty perceptive, but now I know that it was a lucky guess on your part." I reply with a smirk. "And I still don't understand why you dislike him so much."

"Ugh, do you really want me to put him on full blast?" She retorted.

"Might as well."

"To be honest, I didn't hate him at first. I actually thought he was a pretty chill guy. When you'd bring me to office and I would watch how the two of you acted around each other, I thought that he was gonna be my new big brother." She started telling me.

"But then nothing happened, the two of you never dated, I felt like he was stringing you along. Then just left you to do his work and his chores." She continued after she took a long sip from her water glass.

"What are you talking about? It's the paralegal's job to do all the grunt work." I interject, defending Bradley's conduct. "Are you mad that he has me doing my job?"

"Ok sure, picking up dry cleaning is a job that most paralegals do." She countered with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm more than a paralegal to him, I'm also his kind of his assistant. So, those type of tasks would be part of my duties." I rebutt.

"Clearly, you're not mad about this as much as I am. But what about his ** account? He's so shallow! All he posts are gym selfies, his expensive cars, private beaches and other surfacy things." She stated with conviction.

"What? You follow him on **?" I respond with some surprise.

"Yah, I course I do. You don't?" She asked.

"No, I thought it would be unprofessional. If you hate him so much, why on earth would you follow him?" I asked back.

"I told you, I didn't hate him from the getgo. I also have eyes, and the man is gorgeous so, yes I followed him. But his IG page is so...monotonous. I don't think a guy like that is a good match for you." She answered.

"Let me see his IG account so I can judge for myself," I request as I hold my hand for her phone.

"I don't think you want to see it, I already told you how boring it is." She told me with a dismayed look on her face.

"But now I'm curious and want to see for myself how shallow it is." I asserted.

"You were warned."

She takes her phone out of her pocket, swipes to unlock it, finds his IG page and hands it over. I look at her phone and see countless images of Bradley. Him working out, mirror shots of him with out his shirt, too many pictures of expensive looking cars, lots of beach shots and also the pictures that Topaz had kindly edited out. Bradley also posted a lot of pics of himself with a drop dead gorgeous girl on his arm, practically a new girl every other week. I wasn't even close to looking like those women, not by a long shot. They're makeup was done perfectly, they didn't have a strand of hair out of place and wore stunning outfits that accentuated their lithe figures. They probably never went to Old Navy or J.Crew for work outfits like I did.

"Well, he's definitely a player, now isn't he?" I say with a shaky smile.

"Him not being interested in you is a blessing. That's how you got to look at your situation," Topaz said bluntly.

I don't know why, but that made me feel worse than I already did. I just wanted to go bed and wallow in my misery.

"Do you mind cleaning up tonight? I'm not feeling so great and want to head to bed straightaway." I uttered, attempting to keep my voice even.

"What about dessert? We can ditch the vanilla frozen yogurt tonight and go straight for the Häagen-dazs." Topaz comforted.

I laugh a little, appreciating her effort.

"I had the dessert to end all desserts today," I brag. "But yes, I could go for some Häagen-dazs and mindless tv right now. Just leave the dishes in the sink and we can do them tomorrow."

"And you also have tell me all about this dessert," she encouraged, helping me take my mind off all the attractive ladies from Bradley's page.

"It was lemon crème brûlée, with a candied lemon peel garnish. It was a little piece of heaven in a tiny ramekin." I breathed as I remembered myself devouring it.

"Wow, I don't think chocolate chip cookie dough will even compare." She says doubtfully as she stands up and starts picking up dishes.

"It won't, but it will still hit that sweet spot. I'm so glad I had the foresight to convince you to get chocolate chip cookie dough over the green tea ice cream." I tell her with some relief.

I get up too and pick up the remaining dishes and cutlery. We take the dirty dishes to the kitchen sink and continue to banter about our preferred ice cream flavours.

"You never gave green tea ice cream a real chance. It tastes so good and it's refreshing." She claims as she takes two cereal bowls out of the cupboard.

"It was ok, but I don't think its for me personally. Chocolate chip cookie dough will always reign as supreme." I returned back as I pulled out the tub of my most favourite ice cream from the freezer.

"Ok, yes. On that we can agree, I really like green tea ice cream. But I LOVE chocolate chip cookie dough." She granted.

She leaned low towards our junk drawer and rifled through it, searching for the ice cream scoop. When she found it, she joined me at the kitchen counter. I had the chocolate syrup, canned whipped cream and maraschino cherries ready. We each made a huge bowl of ice cream, piled high with whipped cream, cherries and chocolate sauce. Topaz's monstrosity also had a handful of cornflakes thrown haphazardly on top of it. It actually looked pretty good, so I sprinkled a smaller helping of cornflakes into my ice cream bowl. Once we were satisfied with our creations, we headed towards the sitting room. We sit down, Topaz puts some Friends on Netflix and we guzzle down our ice cream in between laughs.

When I'm halfway through my dessert, I feel my phone ping in my pocket. I look at it and see Bradley's name light up on my screen. I ignore the message, and refocus my energy onto my ice cream and the show. When I'm completely finished the ice cream and I'm done scraping the bowl for the melted bits, I pick up my phone to check out what new task Bradley may have for me.

"Come on sis, put the phone down!" Topaz proclaimed. "Whatever it is, it can wait."

"But what if it's an emergency?" I say.

"What kind of emergency could he have? Oh Ruby, can you please pick up a bouquet of roses for my new girlfriend on your way to work tomorrow," she said, imitating a very masculine voice with her hands in the begging position.

"He only asked me to do that once! And it was for his mother who he was having lunch with that very day! I saw him hand her the roses with my own eyes." I argued.

Topaz cut me with a side glance.

"I guess you have a point." I admit.

She's right, whatever it was, it could wait. I shrug off any concern I had for Bradley's message and give Ross and Rachel my apt attention. After watching a few misunderstandings go hilariously awry, the credits appear along with the next episode button.

"Ross is such a dope." I say with a sigh.

"Maybe there are some other dopes you need to recognize," she agreed with a chuckle. "Let's watch the next episode."

"Haha, you're so funny." I say with no humour. "Anyway, you must have some homework or studying to do, right?" I inquired as I collected her empty bowl and placed it on top of mine's.

"Yah, there is some." She conceded.

"Well, don't let me keep you. Get going." I instruct.

"Oh, alright! Goodnight, sis. By the way, I wouldn't respond to his message until tomorrow morning. Make him sweat." She advised.

She got up, gave me a hug and went to her room. As soon as she was out of sight, I picked up my phone and checked Bradley's message.

"Ruby, there's an emergency. Please come to work 1 hr early. I will explain then."

What did tomorrow have in store for me now?