His wife’s name was also Michelle? Amazing! Out of all the women in the world, he married someone with the same name as that annoying woman?
“I married Michelle, our classmate in high school,” he said after a few minutes.
“What?” But how? And why? Well, at least they’re already divorced. Hah, good riddance!
“I had no choice,” he explained.
“Where is she now?”
I just wanted to know if he cared about Michelle’s whereabouts. But suddenly, his cellphone rang. Maybe the person he was talking to on the phone was the one who sat beside me on the bus earlier?
He covered his phone momentarily and apologized, “Excuse me for a minute.”
“Go ahead.”
The man distanced himself from me, and while he was on the phone, I occupied myself by reading a magazine. When he came back, his expression couldn’t be read.
“What’s wrong?”
There was no other meaning to that question. I’m just a concerned citizen; after all, he’s at my home, so whatever happens, it’s my responsibility.
“I need to go to Stonewick. Michelle arrived and brought our child.”
“You have a child?” That was a stupid question. Of course, they’re married, so they must have children, right?
“As a matter of fact, yes. Gabrielle is six years old now.”
“I thought you were already divorced? Why are you still meeting with Michelle?”
He looked at me and frowned. “Are you jealous?” He asked.
“Of course not! Why would I be jealous? I’m just asking, does that automatically mean I’m jealous?” I really wasn’t jealous. Seriously!
“That’s just how our setup is. Michelle has sole custody of the child, and I only have visitation rights. But since I still don’t have my own family, she can go out anytime, and I’ll take care of the child.”
“So, Michelle followed you to Stonewick to make you her nanny?”
“Nope. Actually, she arrived here before me. But she doesn’t go to Stonewick frequently. She has a condo in Claybourne.”
Enough already; I don’t want to hear any more about her. It’s enough for me to know that Michelle was his wife. When it comes to Michelle, I don’t want to get involved in anything related to her.
“Ah… alright. Wait, let me book a Grab for you too.”
“Don’t you want to drop me off at the bus terminal?”
Why not?
“Hmm, I can take you; I’m free tonight, and I don’t have work tomorrow anyway.” There, the truth is out; I’m really an easy girl when it comes to Brent.
“Well, thank you. Shall we?”
“Yeah, just a moment; I’ll change my clothes first.”
“Okay, hurry.”
I quickly went upstairs to change. As I entered my room, I asked myself why I was acting like a fool, rushing to get dressed just to drop him off at the bus terminal. What happened that suddenly awakened the 17-year-old Jamie in me?
I scolded myself several times while struggling to choose what to wear. We’re just going to the bus terminal, yet I pulled out almost all my nice clothes from the closet, and they were now neatly lined up on my bed. As if we were going on a date, when all I had to do was drive him. I was currently trying on a denim short when Brent knocked.
“Are you almost ready?”
I could tell from his tone that he was getting impatient waiting for me.
“Just a moment,” I said while looking at myself in the mirror.
I realized that the denim short wouldn’t be appropriate for tonight; it was too short, and I didn’t want him to think I deliberately showed off my legs to seduce him. I quickly took it off and replaced it with ripped jeans in blue. Then I put on an off-shoulder knitted sweater to complete the outfit. And to finish the look, I grabbed a white sneaker and wore it.
“Let’s go,” I said as I descended. He just looked at me and didn’t immediately respond. “Is there something on my face?”
“No, you’re just beautiful. The outfit suits you.”
“Thank you. Since it’s Saturday night, I thought of going downtown after dropping you off.”
I rarely go out on weekends because I’m afraid, especially during the time when drug-related incidents were prevalent all over the city. I couldn’t even remember the last time I went out and mingled with the youngsters.
“No!”
He firmly held my arm, causing me to wince in pain.
“What’s wrong? It hurts!”
“You’re not a child anymore to go out at night and party! And where are you going, huh? You’ll just get into trouble there!”
“Oh, come on, you’re just being paranoid! You need to reduce watching those movies; you’re too dramatic!”
“I’m just concerned about you, Jamie.”
“Really? If that’s the case, thank you, Brent. But I’m already grown up, and I know what’s right and wrong.”
“But Jamie-”
“Thank you for your concern, but right now, I don’t need it. Besides, where I’m going is near Khalifa.”
“Well, fine. Just take care, okay?” he said, still frowning.
“Don’t worry.” I said as I walked ahead and went to the parked car. “Where do you want to sit?”
“Next to you, where else? It would be embarrassing if I look like a driver beside your beauty.”
“Alright then, come on. What are you waiting for? A miracle?” Once he sat down, I started the car and drove out of the gate. “Wait a moment; let me close the gate.” I said as I stopped the car in front of the gate.
“Maybe it’s time to upgrade this gate. There are systems available now that can automatically open and close the gate using remote control or even voice recognition. What if there’s an emergency?”
I know that such systems are available in the market. I’m just too lazy to pay attention to things that I don’t consider essential.
“I’ll talk to Samer later about upgrading the house.” Samer owned a villa in Riyadh with a luxury modern architecture and a smart home system that provided convenience to his family.
“I can do it for you.”
“Thank you, but Samer has a reliable friend who can do it for free.”
Actually, the services of his friend were not really free. But when Samer talks to him, I’m sure he won’t charge Samer. They’re not just friends; they’re also business partners. As far as I know, his friend also owns shares in some of Khalifa’s hotels.
“You’re always about Samer, Samer, Samer!”
“Well, I got used to him. What can I do?” It’s true; Samer was there for me when I was still struggling with poverty and loneliness.
“Is there really no hope for me in your heart?”
“It depends,” I said.
“Depends on what?”
“On your answer to my question.”
“What’s that?”
And he’s the one acting like he’s annoyed, really!
“For whom do you wake up every day?”