THE THOUSANDTH REASON
He walked in gently and with no forethought, she wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her toes as she did so.
Reid thought for a while before also wrapping his arms around her waist, bending his head to rest on her shoulder.
They stood like this for a while before pulling apart when Maria’s phone rang.
She walked to the sofa to pick up her phone and smiled when she saw the name of the caller.
“It’s Gen,” Maria said with a smile as she looked up at Reid who was already walking toward her.
“Hey, Gen,”
“Hey, Maria. I was thinking if today was the right time to come check for new paintings,” she said causing Maria to smile more.
“You have me solely on your mind, Gen. It soothes my heart!”
“I’m glad to hear that, Maria but come over for the painting,” she said jokingly and Maria chuckled.
“I like your sense of humour,”
“I like how extra you are,” Gen retorted and they both laughed. Reid looked astounded at how close they seemed to be. Genevieve was never the type to settle for close friendship and not with a younger lady than she was.
“I’ll come over this evening if that isn’t too late. I really need me some rest right now, Gen. I had a long day,”
“It’s fine. Take your time,” she said with a smile before ending the call.
“I believe I can leave now?” Reid chipped in immediately after she was done with the call.
“I mean, yeah but no. I want you to go with me to the art gallery,”
“It’s your choice to make. Anything you choose soothes the restaurant, trust me,”
“I believe I have more sense of choice but could you go with me?” he looked thoughtful and Maria seem to interrupt his thoughts. “Please,” she pouted playfully and he nodded.
“Yeah, yeah. Sure,” he said and she smiled.
She seems to be smiling more today even though it had appeared to be going rough earlier.
Reid turned to walk away and as he was about to unlock the door, Maria wrapped her arms around him from behind. He seems shook and he slowly turned around to face her.
She had a beautiful smile on her face that was contagious, causing Reid to smile as well.
“Thank you, Reid. Sincerely, I really appreciate,” Maria said softly, spurring the words out of the depth of her heart and he nodded instead before finally walking out of her place.
Maria rested her head against the window, watching everything move as they passed by. The sky looked like it was moving as the car was moving.
The street was lively, as usual, but something was different, she liked the aura that followed the bubbly day. It was as if everyone has had their rough day earlier and it was about time everyone is happy.
Even if not all of them or most, they did try to mask their faces with smiles so one can’t tell how unhappy they were.
Maria heaved a sigh and graced her lips with a smile afterwards, life is not that hard.
Reid looked over to her and placed his hand on hers, giving it a light squeeze.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah go on,” Maria said.
“When someone says they love you as much as the sand in the sea shore, what does it mean?”
“It means they love you endlessly.” Maria answered, smiling. Her eyes twinkled with love and she squeezed his hand lightly as well.
There was no doubt that she was in a good mood. It was so obvious that Reid was willing to make use of this time to his advantage. He loves the sight of her smile and he never wants to see anything go wrong with her.
They finally arrived at the art gallery and Reid held her hand as they walked into the gallery. A smile perched on their face, displaying the beauty that beheld them.
Reid as the gentleman that he is, pushed open the glass door and stepped aside for Maria to walk in, following behind her with cautious steps.
The sight that graced them was nothing that Maria had prepared for like she had never been there before now. There had been new paintings hung on the wall, it made her emotional and her eyes watered. Maria clasped her hand together and did a small prayer, ending it with, “bless my soul.”
She was greeted by Genevieve, the two women welcomed themselves in a tight embrace simpering genuinely at one another.
“How are you feeling now?” Maria asked her coyly.
“I feel better,” Gen answered. “Shall we start checking now?” She asked, giving a slight nod to Reid.
“Of course. Ladies first,” Reid retorted and she smiled at him.
There was a painting that caught Maria’s eyes. It was a painting of people, looking up to the sky, covering their faces at the rays of the sun with a gleaming smile on their faces.
She trailed her index finger on the painting with a smile on her face as she took in the beauty before her.
“This is beautiful,” she said to Reid and he smiled without saying a word to her. She knew this was not the type of ambience that was befitting for the restaurant but she sure was getting it to soothe her office.
There was another painting of a child laughing as his father carried him and was running, his expression was solid.
Maria concluded that, if they had mentioned that adult life wasn’t easy, and one wouldn’t have it all, would one not decide to remain a child forever or not to be born at all?
She was taking the meaning behind the paintings too personal though they were one that brings smile to her face.
Then, a portrait caught her attention again. It was a beautiful painting of a daffodil lawn that held the appearance of a man and a woman who were running towards a basket full of meals with laughter obvious on their faces as they ran.
“This one!” Maria said and Gen clapped while Reid shook his head. He was not just memorised by her beauty but he was as well memorised by how intelligent she was.
Now, he found the thousandth reason why he wouldn’t go on with the gamble but to make her fall in love with him.