Chapter 4

“You have to say yes,” Lisa said that after we went to the café where Jia works since her shifts are already ending.

“I already did.” I embarrassingly said. She scoffs in disbelief and simply nods.

“But why did he ask me all of a sudden?”

“To confess, maybe.”

“What?”

“You said he’d constantly tease you and order you around. Perhaps it’s his own way of showing intention. But what do I know? I never had a boyfriend before.” Lisa shrugged.

“Ask me.” Jia proudly said she’s been with her almost four-month boyfriend, Joshua.

“Tss.” Lisa snickers.

“I think if he confesses his feelings, you have to act surprised,” Jia said.

“Of course. It would be weird if she wouldn’t look surprised.” Lisa replied. “But I don’t think you should say yes if he ever asks you the question.”

“Why not?” I ask.

“Meaningless kindness is such a red flag,” Lisa answered.

“It’s meaningless from your perspective. Perhaps he has a hidden motive for why he’s doing things you don’t understand.” Jia said.

“Why are you defending Vince?”

“He’s friends with Joshua and said he’s a good person trying to overcome his own issues.”

“Issues?” I ask her.

“Well, Joshua said that Vince was caught up in a divorce between his parents when he was a kid, but now, he’s entangled with the picture of his divorced parents being friends despite the suit.”

Thinking about it, it didn’t make sense to me. “Shouldn’t he be happy his parents are still ok with each other?”

Jia shrugged. “Not sure how he feels about that. That’s only what Joshua told me.”

I nodded and looked at the text he sent me with my reply saying: 

Ok, meet you there

.

The next day came by, and I was both excited and nervous. I looked in the mirror for the final touch-up and combed my hair one last time. I put on my coat and gleefully jumped out of the door before I texted Mom that I’ll see her after the date—or whatever this is.

At a quarter to five, I walked towards the park, but then anxiety put a toll on my head to overthink if I was early. It made me seem too eager. Questions rattled me if I should wait until exactly 5 or wait out to be a bit late so I don’t seem too excited.

Those thoughts didn’t matter much when I saw him standing by a street lamp. He was dressed in a black turtleneck, blue, slightly loose pants, and white-blue striped sneakers. We surprisingly matched with beige coats. As I slowly approached him, I noticed a few heads from the ladies eyeing him. It didn’t take him long to see me, and he waved as I smiled at him.

“Lia.” He called, and we both went in the direction of the carnival.

“Let’s have fun on the first day of vacation.” He said when we entered the place.

Lots of people were around, but there was still enough space to play and breathe, thankfully. Throughout, I beat him in almost every game. One game, in particular, was the gunshot stall. The prize didn’t matter to me, but I told him I wanted to play there. He insisted on playing first, and so he did.

“You’d be amazed not only at my skills but also my striking face.” He smirked.

I rolled my eyes and said, “I feel like you won’t be able to say that after this night.”

“Still, you can’t help looking at me. I’m just too attractive.” He sighed. “It’s a burden to hope for a peaceful life having this face. Everyone just bothers you because you’re built so unique and handsome.”

Sighing in his arrogance, I looked at the cans on the table to be shot at. “Just shoot.”

He positioned himself, and with the first shot, he missed. He coughed and positioned himself once again but failed once more. It was the same as the third and last shot, as the pellet from the gun didn’t even touch any of the cans in place. I smiled and tried not to laugh.

“Agh. This gun is bent. It’s rigged.”

“My turn,” I said as I pushed him aside.

“Hey, this isn’t easy. You may be hurting yourself.” I didn’t respond to him as I bent to position. I closed my left eye and aimed at the cans. One after the other, they bounced to the other side until no cans were left standing.

I heard silence from him the next moment until he spoke, “A-are you training in the military?”

I looked at him proudly. “It seems underneath that face are flaws.” I smiled.

One of the employees approached us and gave me a blue teddy bear. “Thank you,” I said, and we left the carnival to grab a bite since both of us were hungry.

A book signing event was happening nearby, and my thoughts blurted out, “It must be nice to be a great writer.”

“Then, why won’t you try to be one?” he said.

I shake my head, “I want to be practical. I don’t have the money and resources to pursue it.”

“But you’re great at writing. You literally just won awards in that field.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “Here.” I slide to him the teddy bear.

“Huh?”

“You paid for the game, anyway, so it’s yours.”

“I paid it for you, so it’s yours.”

“Then I won it for you,” I said.

He looked at the teddy bear and smiled. “Then perhaps I need this to remember this day.”

“What? What do you mean by that?” I ask

He put aside the teddy bear, and his smile faded as his expression became serious; he looked down from side to side as if pondering on how to say what he should say. Nervous, if I may say.

“The thing is.” He started. “The reason I ask you here is…”

He deliberately coughs and barely looks at me straight. “I wanted to tell you something.”

My heart suddenly beats fast, and I thank the cold that compresses the heat on my cheeks. He seemed nervous, and so was I. This is it. Would I answer right away? Or would I ask him to wait for my response? I should just let him finish first.

“Jillian.” He said. “Today’s been great. I always had fun hanging out with you. You’d even tolerate my comments about everything.”

“Tolerate is a way to describe it,” I said.

He laughed about it and continued. “There have been changes in my life, and I want you to know it.”

“Ok.” I nervously said.

“I want to greet you Merry Christmas first, and I hope you’ll be happy this vacation.”

“Merry Christmas, too, Vince.”

He breathed and spoke, “I’ve been meaning to tell you this, and I always thought about how to say it.”

“What is it?” I said, trying my best not to feel too excited or surprised.

“The thing is…” he said. “I’m going to London this Christmas and don’t know if I’ll return next year. I’d be going tomorrow morning.”

I had multiple responses in my head. In the end, the silence was the response I gave.