SCARLETTE'S POINT OF VIEW
He texted, "From being a good stalker to a friend, now, I am your friend plus, a neighbor!" After reading it, surprise had filled my system. I immediately dialed his number and made a call.
"Good evening, Partner!" he happily greeted.
"You are kidding, right?"
"I am not."
"I do not believe you."
"Then go here." My eyebrows furrowed. "What here?"
"The house that was just sold out last week." My eyes widened upon hearing it. "Are you the one who bought it?"
"My mom. Go here now if you still do not believe me." I smirked. "I will go there right away."
I quickly ended the call and wore my red slippers. I did not bother to wear my jacket that was placed on my study table because my black T-shirt was enough to keep me warm.
I ran towards the big blue house on the right side of my home. Unlike the past several days, the lights inside were on and the sale sign was gone.
I inhaled and exhaled before knocking three times on the dark blue gate. I heard footsteps come near. Someone opened the gate from the inside.
His so-called handsome face greeted me with a smile on his lips.
"Thank you for welcoming me, Dear Neighbor," he said that made me roll my eyes. "I did not welcome you, Partner." He frowned and pouted his lips.
"Whatever. By the way, do you want to come in?" I shook my head to say no. "I just checked if what you told me was true." I moved my sight to the house and stared at its features. "Is this why you transferred school?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you tell me it is a secret?"
"To surprise you, of course!"
"I bet you did not have dinner yet." Automatically, I looked at the open doorway a few meters away from behind of Asher. A beautiful woman in her forties was standing there, smiling. I turned my eyes to Asher and gave him an asking look. Gladly, he understood it immediately.
"She is my mom," he muttered. I looked again in his mom's direction but this time, with a smile plastered on my face. "Good evening . . . " 'Ah, stupid me. What will I call her?' " . . . A-Asher's Mom," I greeted.
"Good evening, too, Dear. Just call me 'Tita'. 'Asher's Mom' is too formal." She laughed like it was the funniest thing that she heard in her entire life. There was nothing funny there, right? My partner gave me an apologetic smile. I just nodded.
"You know what? Why not you two go inside and talk there? Talking outside during the night is dangerous. Come in."
"Oh thanks, Tita, but I am already going home," I told.
"Oh, but wait, have you eaten?"
"Hmm . . . n-not yet," I honestly said.
"Well then. We have not eaten yet too. Why not you join us?" Dinner with them? Uh, no. No! Of course, was not it awkward? Me, Asher, and his mom, eating dinner at one table? Uh, no. No again! "Uh, I will just eat at home, Tita." The curve on her lips faded and formed a thin line.
I felt Asher move closer at my side. "If someone refused to eat with us, she always thinks that she is not good at cooking," he whispered. It was just a minor thing but why did it make me guilty?
I sighed. "Okay, Tita. I just remembered I forgot to cook my dinner." Of course, it was not true. I just made an excuse. His mom smiled widely and clapped. "Good then. Come in."
Did I make the right decision? What if Tita does not know how to cook? What if the food tastes bad? I looked at Asher with worry in my eyes. Of course, not worried for him but for the food that I would swallow soon. "Do not worry. She is a chef," he whispered. That was a relief. We followed her inside.
The moment that I stepped into their house, I was amazed at its light blue and white interior. It looked like a grand rest house! Ah, it was very relaxing. When we arrived in the kitchen, my mouth gaped open as I stared at the super long, wooden table where a lot of food was served. What the . . . is there a great celebration here? A feast?
"H-hey, Asher, is it your birthday?" I asked in a low voice. He shook his head and said, "No."
"Then, what are these? So much."
"I have no idea."
"The food is waiting," Tita called that making us turn in her direction, "Sit down and let us eat." We occupied the middle part of the table. Asher sat on my right side while Tita, on my opposite seat.
"Um . . . Tita, i-is there a-an occasion?" I shyly asked. She nodded, the smile was still evident. "Moving here is already an occasion." Oh, she had another definition of it.
"So, why have you decided to move here, Tita?" I asked after I took a sip from my pineapple juice. She wiped the white tissue on the left side of her lips. "We want a new environment."
"Yes. The city is polluted. You know . . . smoke from vehicles, factories, garbage . . . we want to try a fresh surrounding," Asher added.
"Oh." Well, they had a point. Our place was located far from the cities.
"Scarlette, right?" I smiled with glee. Asher seemed to have told her mother about me. "Yes, Tita. That is me."
"Where are your parents? Are they home?" I stopped. 'Mom . . . Dad . . . are they home? None. They are not with me anymore.' It had been a long time since they left me and never came back. I tried to smile as I responded, "No, Tita."
"When will they be at home then?"