40 We Are Not A Couple
In the car, Hailey was nervous. She freaked out momentarily after telling Vince she was only blushing. What would he think of her now?
'Ah. That wasn't very pleasant, Hailey!' She could not stop scolding herself.
Anyway, who will go to the hospital just because her face is flushing red? That was hilarious, you know. And it moved her to how Vince was concerned about her, but she didn't want to put a meaning to it.
'Stop thinking too much, Hailey.' She reminded herself.
Then, Hailey froze on the passenger seat when the driver's seat opened, and Vince slid inside. She is thinking hard about how she can ignore his presence and avoid conversing with him.
She is thinking of playing on her phone or pretending she is browsing, but she needs the mobile internet. And if she turned on her mobile data, her phone would not stop ringing and making noises with her incoming messages.
Just then, Hailey felt relieved when Vince drove his car quietly. But heavy traffic occurred when they entered the central city from West Bay, and the cars didn't move.
Vince is tuning in on the radio, but he gives up when he doesn't find any good songs and hesitates to play his playlist, thinking Hailey might not like it.
"I rarely used this car, so I haven't downloaded any songs yet." Later, he explained.
Hailey turned her head and smiled at Vince. It seemed like she was not the only one who was nervous. Vince is awkward, too, and he is trying to distract himself.
"It's alright. I could listen to my phone." After saying this, Hailey takes out her ear pods and browses the playlists of her favorite songs. Her phone is always ready to connect to her car to play her playlists while driving. It was the same in Metro City when she was always stuck in traffic.
Meanwhile, Vince seemed gloomy. How could he start a conversation now that Hailey was wearing ear pods? He should open up something else about her class, or maybe her mind changes to be his date for his Class Reunion.
Hailey was truly serious in ignoring his presence. It was a long one-hour drive back to his penthouse when it could only take less than thirty minutes without traffic.
Hailey hit the pause button on her phone to stop the song, then took off her ear pods when they reached the parking lot.
She silently exited the car and waited for Vince to get the ice bucket from the trunk.
Hailee noticed an old lady headed to the elevator, and she rushed to her side and helped her carry the grocery bags.
"Good evening, Mrs. Flores." She greeted the woman.
"Oh, dear! Hello!"
"Let me help you carry them," Hailee took the bags from the older woman's hand.
"Ah. Thank you. How sweet of you."
Hailey smiled, then matched the old lady's pace. Mrs. Flores is a widow who prefers to live in a penthouse than purchase a house in the exclusive villages outside the central city.
"Good evening, Mrs. Flores." Vince politely greeted his tenant.
"Good evening, Mr. Shen." Mrs. Flores smiled warmly upon seeing him.
Vince was already in the elevator and holding the door, waiting for Hailey and the lady. After the two ladies arrived, he pressed the 20th button where Mrs. Flores lives.
"Why are you shopping alone, ma'am?" Hailey asked afterward. She lowered her gaze at the shopping bags she was holding, and they were heavy.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Flores shifted her gaze between Hailey and Vince. She was scanning them from the head down to their shoes. Their outfit told her they were possibly from a party or a date. But in Vince's hands was an ice bucket, and she could guess what was inside.
After checking them out, the older woman smiled. Then, she fixed her attention on Hailey and began chatting with her.
"It was a sudden shopping trip. My caregiver had to go to the hospital early this morning after her daughter had a severe fever last night. But then my son called me this lunch because he had a business trip to South Korea and had an extra two days vacation, so he decided to visit me. I only had a few groceries at home since I didn't have a better appetite after aged. So that's it! I decided to go to the supermarket alone."
"I see. Are you going to cook your son's favorite dishes, ma'am?" Hailey noticed the ingredients in the shopping bags she was carrying.
"Yes! He said he missed the dishes I made. I would love to live with him in the States, but I'm not fond of their weather. I still like our tropical climate here."
The old lady continued chatting with Hailey. Mrs. Flores glanced at Vince, then whispered to her.
"When you find a man who doesn't mind carrying an ice bucket of fish. Don't let him get away, but marry him."
Hailey dropped her mouth open. She was sure Vince heard that as he coughed suddenly. Now, her neck stiffened not to glance in his direction and glared at him. Thus, she missed seeing when Vince pursed his lips and a smile appeared across his handsome face.
However, Hailey was in a trance. She pondered if there was any relevance in carrying an ice bucket of fish to marriage.
As Mrs. Flores noticed the confusion on her face, the old lady explained, "When you meet a man willing to accompany you shopping in the fish market. He values your marriage."
Hailey even became confused. These facts are vague to her, and she doesn't understand because she never had a boyfriend or was in a marriage, except for the fake relationship with Vince.
Hailey looked at Mrs. Flores, who smiled warmly. She mused that maybe the old lady referred to businessmen wearing customized and expensive suits who would never dare to step into a fish market.
But her male friends also wore those designer suits but then went fishing on weekends and holidays.
Maybe that is why she always heard women saying, 'They were men of every girl's dream!'
Still, she could not figure out the relation to that statement. Her friends, who were in their 30s, were still single and seldom go on dates.
Not to mention, they also went shopping at fish markets or visited fish ports. And they had big ice buckets and coolers kept in their fishing boats.
So, how does it become relevant to marriage, especially to her and Vince?
Seeing a man wearing an expensive suit doesn't intimidate her at all. She grew up living with a man with countless tailored pricey suits in his wardrobe—her dad.
And even Andre, Bryan, Geoffrey, James, Leo, and everyone in her circle of friends have different brands of designer suits.
But she would be honest that Vince is different from them all. He possessed something that she wanted to discover herself, the reason she could not distance herself from him.
'Ah, why am I thinking too much?' Hailey stirred and returned to her senses. She gathered her thoughts in one place the moment the lift opened.
Vince let the two ladies step out of the elevator first. He noticed how Hailey had been confused by Mrs. Flores's statement. So then, he leaned over to her and whispered.
"This is my first time shopping in the fish market. And the first time, I carried an ice bucket."
Hailey was rendered speechless. She tried to process everything, but she only had one conclusion.
'We are not a couple!'
Fish, ice bucket, marriage? There is no relevance at all! She needs to be enlightened, thought Hailey.
Any man does not mind going to the fish market and shopping. Right? Hailey mused, and big question marks popped on her head.
