5. Lily

Steve just listened in silence. He did not even bother to make any sound to let Ron know he was still listening.

After about five minutes of story time, Ron finally realized the lack of interest from his friend.

He sighed. "You're not listening."

"Sorry," Steve murmured. "I'm exhausted."

"Okay. But please give a chance to know her." Disappointment was clear in his voice, but Ron did not push further.

"Will try," promised Steve.

Much to his surprise, Lily messaged him early next morning. She asked to meet in RoVe if Steve had free time at night.

"Reply to Lily: Not sure if I have the time. I probably will be off work very late."

"Text from Lily: No problem. Please text me when you're finished."

Steve agreed, then went on with his overly busy day. He actually forgot about the promise when he logged out of work at 10 PM.

He felt so tired, both body and mind, so he brewed a cup of green tea. The warm steam floating from the cup calmed him instantly. When he touched the cup, he remembered the promise with Lily.

It was already so late. Steve was really conflicted, whether to text or not.

But he already promised….

So he told Alicia to text Lily. He did not expect her to still be awake, yet she replied almost instantly. Steve hurriedly put his VR device on to meet her.

They spawned almost at the same time. Lily smiled and waved at him. Steve waved back clumsily.

"Want to go to yesterday's cafe?" she asked.

Steve did not mind. But when they reached the place, it was pretty packed, and he felt uncomfortable. Lily saw his expression changed.

"Do you want to go somewhere quieter?"

Without a delay he nodded and pointed to Alaina's cafe. "We can talk there. It's small and quiet." Lily agreed.

As he opened the door, Alaina greeted with her usual enthusiasm.

"Welcome! Hi, Steve, glad to see you again!"

Steve smiled slightly. He turned and nodded to Lily, who hesitated to step inside.

"Oh, you have a friend!" Alaina cheerfully exclaimed. She quickly pulled a chair, "Here, please have a seat."

Encouraged by the warm welcome, Lily entered. They got seated and Alaina handed her the menu.

"Espresso, please," she chose, then pushed the menu Steve's way.

Alaina swiftly took the menu. "Green tea?" she grinned at Steve.

"Yes."

After Alaina left to prepare their order, Lily said, "Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it."

It caught Steve off guard.

"Ah…," he mumbled, "It's this late, sorry…."

"No, I know you're busy. Thank you."

Lily smiled sincerely. Steve did not know what to say, so he just nodded.

Thankfully Alaina came to serve their drinks soon after. Steve held his cup, as if trying to absorb its warmth, to hide his awkwardness.

"Have you done this before?" suddenly she asked.

"Pardon?"

"Dating apps. Or online relationship."

He shook his head quickly. "No. Actually… I've never dated."

Lily's eyes rounded in surprise.

"At all?"

Steve affirmed. He felt somehow shy after admitting that, so he avoided eye contact.

"I'm not better," Lily laughed. "I've only had one relationship before."

Even though he had already heard what happened from Ron, Steve just nodded indifferently.

"So, I'm curious if this will work," she continued. "I wonder if we can find a good match and date, without meeting physically first."

Steve was puzzled. "So you really want to find someone to date here?"

"Of course! Don't you want to?"

"Well… I just joined to help Ron testing this…."

His honesty was really unexpected, and amused Lily. She laughed heartily.

"Maybe it's different because you're a man," she said. "I always want to start a family. His betrayal really hurt me, I couldn't trust men for years after that. But I think I'm ready now. I can't waste too much time if I want to have my own children."

Steve blinked nervously. The topic turned very heavy, he did not know how to respond. He just listened and prayed that Lily only wanted to pour her heart out. He would not be able to answer if Lily asked….

"What do you think?"

Ouch. Exactly what he feared, happened.

Lily's gaze was very serious, getting Steve more and more tense.

"Do you want to get married in the future?"

"Uh, I… I'm not sure yet...."

Lily chuckled. Her face relaxed. "Sorry, I must have scared you. I was just curious. I didn't mean to interrogate you."

Steve felt relieved. He was really uneasy with the topic about family. Not because of the abruptness, but it triggered something he had tried to bury deep in the past.

They talked for some more, on different subjects. Lily asked about his work. She was shocked to find out how overworked Steve was. Like Ron, she suggested him to quit. She even promised to help him finding a new job. Steve reluctantly thanked her.

After Lily left, Steve remained there, staring blankly at his cup of green tea. He felt tired. Exhausted. And his mind was in disarray.

"Hey," Alaina softly called. "Are you okay?"

Steve was startled. He quickly collected himself, and smiled weakly.

"I'm fine. Thanks."

"Really?" she was not convinced. "If you're not okay, don't pretend to be okay. You're human, and it's fine to not be fine sometimes."

Her words, strangely, comforted his heart. Steve looked at her concerned eyes and felt like storm in his mind calmed.

"Thanks," he said, this time really meant it.

That night, Steve did not sleep well. He was haunted by the dream about his past, which he had not had for years.

As soon as the morning came, he went to kitchen, wanting to brew green tea to start his day.

The cup of tea from yesterday was still on the counter.

Steve poured it into the sink. He grabbed a new cup and brewed fresh green tea.

The words Alaina said was ringing in his mind. "It's fine to not be fine sometimes…."

Steve closed his eyes. His voice was hoarse when he said, "Alicia, text to Mom…."

What? He did not know what to say.

"Text from Mom," Alicia suddenly informed, surprising Steve. "Don't overwork. Remember to eat and sleep well. Take care of your health."

"Alicia," immediately he said, "call Mom."

The call was connected even before the first ring.

"Steve? Are you sick?" Mom sounded so worried.

"No, mom, I'm fine…."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God. You never called before, so I thought something bad happened."

"Sorry about that, Mom." Tears started to moist corner of his eyes. "In the future I'll call you more often."

"Really?"

She seemed to be overjoyed by that small promise. Steve felt very guilty.

"Oh! Yesterday your grandpa sent some melons. Do you still like it? I can send one to your apartment with express delivery," she asked.

He was a little child when he loved melons, but Mom still remembered decades later.

"It's okay, Mom. I can buy it at supermarket."

"But your grandpa's melons are sweeter," she insisted.

"Deliveries won't handle it properly. It will be wasted."

Mom was not convinced, but she gave up. Steve had to get ready for work so they could not chat too long. Before hanging up, she bombarded him with reminders to take care of his health.

"I know, Mom. I will stay healthy. Don't worry."

"I can never stop worrying," she sighed. "I really miss you, Son."

Steve's eyes were glistening with tears by now.

"I miss you too, Mom."