The new girl

I looked at Phoenix’s reaction, seeing him chuckling at the woman. So, the two of them are close...Hmmm...

It seemed like Phoenix forgot that I was also here beside him for a minute as they chatted for a bit until the woman darted her eyes on me and blinked.

She raised her eyebrows at Phoenix, “And who is this girl?”

“She’s my friend. Her name is Sereia.” Phoenix answered and looked at me, “And Sereia, this is my childhood friend Maria.”

Maria gulped, looked at me with something in her eyes before offering her hands for me to shake, “Hello, Sereia. I am Maria.” She said with a smile, but I felt her hands tightening her grip on me, “It’s good to meet you.”

I smiled back, “Yes, it’s good to meet you too, Maria.”

Aling Nora now arrived, holding a t-shirt and some shorts, and handed it to me. I thanked her and asked where I could change my clothes. She then motioned me to her room.

Now changing into the clothes, I grabbed the dirty dress and took a step when I heard a crack. I looked down and my eyes bulged out of their sockets. There on the floor, my sunglasses were broken. I picked it up and muttered a curse.

What a day Sereia! First, you got your own dress to be dirty and your glasses. Perfect!

Now that I see it, looks like I forgot my sunglasses just resting on my chest part earlier, and when I took my dress off, it fell on the floor and I accidentally stepped on it...

With the broken sunglasses on my hands and the dirty dress, I quickly went back outside. “Thank you for the clothes, Maria,” I said to her since Aling Nora said it was hers.

“You’re welcome. I’m glad it fits you.” She replied. “If you need anything more, I can help you.”

I nodded and turned to Phoenix, "I'm okay now Phoenix. Let's go."

"Maybe you want to have dinner here? Or sleep?" Suggested Maria.

I don't know but I feel irritated just hearing her voice. I grabbed Phoenix’s hand and said, "Thank you but I feel like we bothered you enough. Thank you again, Ms. Nora and Maria. I'll just return these clothes tomorrow."

I gave Phoenix a look to signal that I don't want to stay here any longer. Fortunately, he understood me because he also made excuses. "Yes. I’m afraid we left Lola Nanding for too long. We should be leaving now.” Saying our goodbyes and thank you’s one last time, I pulled Phoenix away and we left.

We were now walking away as Phoenix guided Brownie to walk. He then paused, seeing that I was carrying the dress and sunglasses with me, he tried to take them away and carry it himself. "I'll take that."

I didn’t argue so I let him hold it for me. When he tried to adjust it on his arm, the broken sunglasses fell on the ground so he was quick enough to get them.

He gasped when he saw the big crack in my glasses. Worry was on his face as he was desperate to fix it back. "Sereia, I think I broke your sunglasses. I'm sorry, I’ll just replace that with a new one.”

“Oh, I broke it while I was changing earlier. It’s okay, you don’t have to.” I informed him.

“No, I’ll just buy you a new one,” he said, still pushing it.

I touched his shoulder to calm him down. At the touch, he looked at me and into my eyes, searching for something in it. I smiled gently. "Phoenix, as I’ve said, it’s okay. Let's just go home. I'm starving."

Hearing that, he sighed. "Fine."

****

The next day, my mother decided that she needed to come back to our home now so at eight o'clock in the morning, here I am, helping my mother pack her things.

"I think this trip here is good for you, Sereia. Back home, all you worry about is work. Destress yourself here, okay?" She said to me while arranging her bag, we are in the living room now waiting for Phoenix as he offered to drive mom home and he’s still preparing his car now.

I pouted at what she said, “It sounds like you're getting rid of me, mom.”

“Awe, is my daughter now wanting for me to miss her?” She laughed at that, “You’re still my baby, Sereia. I’m not getting rid of you.” Motioning me to come closer, she embraced me into a hug.

We stayed like that for a minute and I inhaled my mother’s scent. Her usual lavender perfume was still present. Smells like home. She then stopped and stared at me.

I raised my eyebrows. "What?"

She crossed her arms in front of her, looking at me like I had done something suspicious. "How old are you again?"

"25?" I replied, not sure why she is asking me this.

She thought for a moment, "Hmmm…then when you get home, make sure you have a child, okay?”

"Mom!" I yelled, scolding her. Gosh, they really pressure me about marriage and children.

I have been the talk of our house ever since I graduated from college until now. Don’t they get tired from this already? I really can feel the pressure of being the first child.

Anyways, I’m fine without a boyfriend. What can I say? With a dad so caring and protective, no matter where he is in the world, he can and will find the man who he heard was with me.

Like last time on my thesis. I was the leader, but I had a male in my group. The moment my father heard about this, he actually called the parents of the boy in my group just because we were together all day.

It looks like that particular boy was traumatized the next day as he has never talked to me ever since. But that was all in the past now.

Mom cleared her throat, pulling me from my thoughts. "What I was meaning to say was, make sure you get the land. I mean ... it's okay with us if you also get Phoenix too." She wiggled her eyebrows playfully and winked.

I rolled my eyes at that. "Mom ..." She’s still teasing me with Phoenix.

She waved me off, not wanting to hear what I was about to say. "Oh, you know what I’m talking about.”

Just then, we heard someone knocking on the door, followed by Phoenix’s voice. "Auntie, the car is ready."

"All right, just wait a minute."

After saying more crazy things to me, mom finally left. Sometimes it makes me wonder if I am really my mother’s child. Her imagination is so loud and she would be the first one to assume things.

And now that she is no longer here, the house is filled with silence. I don't know if I'm happy with this newfound peace and silence since Phoenix is the only one who teases me here aside from mom. But now that Phoenix is also a way to drive mom home, it’s only me and Lola Nanding in the mansion.

I blankly stared at the window, looking at the tall trees in the backyard that Lola Nanding planted.

“You miss him already?” I heard Lola Nanding saying from behind me. I turned around to face her and I saw her eyes gleamed in interest. She had a wide smile that reached up on her eyes, showing her wrinkles around them.

I shook my head at her question, “O-Oh, no. I don’t miss Phoenix.”

“Oh, never said a name, Sereia.” She said, laughing as she watched me panic a bit.

She glanced at the clock placed on the wall at the entrance and said, “I think Phoenix will be back at three o'clock later this afternoon, Sereia my dear. There's traffic on the road, especially during this holiday. Will you wait for him here all day?"

I avoided her questioning gaze and stared at the plants in front of us. I feel my cheeks turning red a bit so I didn’t face Lola Nanding, "I'm not waiting for him here. I'm just thinking and looking at your plants." I answered. “They are very beautiful.”

“Thank you. I took care of them all these years. Looks like my hard work paid off.” Saying that she then motioned me to the dining table. "I prepared our breakfast. Let’s eat now, my dear"

The rest of the morning was quiet all around the house as it was just Lola Nanding and me.

I was just in front of the television all day so I didn't realize that I had fallen asleep on the sofa at noon.

Hearing someone humming a tune, I opened one of my eyes to steal a glance at the person. It was Phoenix.

He was sitting on the other sofa just beside me, peeling some green mango. He noticed that I was awake now so he sent me a small smile. "Hey. You missed me?"