Kcris & Jeena

Jeena learns about Kcris' past.

“So, to welcome the new management, a party was thrown and that is when I saw Casey for the first time after leaving. Casey had to accompany Mrs. Fabiola because of her health troubles. I was a new employee, so I was given a lot of responsibilities regarding that party. As a result, I didn’t even get a chance to greet Mrs. Fabiola let alone meet Casey.”
“Kcris, you talk as if all this happened yesterday. How come something that happened years back is still so fresh in your mind as if no time has passed since then? How come?”
“I can remember everything because it was our last interaction in person.”
“What? Are you serious, Kcris?”
“Yes, Jeena. I am dead drop serious.”
“So, let me get this straight. You met her only once after your graduation. Between you leaving the country and coming back, you saw her in person only once.”
Kcris in a slightly stern voice tells Jeena, “Yes, Jeena this is exactly what I am trying to say.”
“Ok. So, can I ask, where were you exactly at the time of her death?”
“I was on the flight, on my way back. Actually, what happened was that when my notice period for the resignation was over and I was about to fly back, I got a call from Casey. She seemed a little upset, so I asked her to calm down. I cut the call as soon as possible without even telling her about my return. I did so because I wanted to surprise her. Back then, little did I know that it wouldn’t be me surprising her rather, it would be her giving me a shock, scarring me for the rest of my life. (After a pause) Anyway, the next morning I boarded my flight, and by the evening when I got down, instead of going to my house right away, went to her house. By this time, I was standing at her funeral.”
Jeena clenches Kcris’ hand, which she has been holding for quite a while as she can not only see her pain but also feel it. So, Jeena in order to not let Kcris get hurt anymore asks Kcris, “Please stop, Kcris. I don’t want you to be any more hurt than you already are. It’s enough.”
Kcris fake-smiles and tells Jeena, “It’s okay. We can continue. Because I am not sure that I would be able to tell you afterward, if not today.”
“But Kcris…” And Jeena is stopped as Kcris goes like, “It’s okay. I am okay. You can relax. Trust me, Jeena.” Jeena’s acquiescence can be felt by Kcris in the way Jeena twitches her lips. So, Kcris looks at Jeena and slowly blinks her eyes as a gesture of assurance. Jeena is still not on board a hundred percent, but decides to go with the flow and asks Kcris, “So, tell me what exactly happened in the party when you saw Casey after so long?”
“Well, I was pretty much busy all day. When I was in the room checking for the refreshments for the staff members, Casey stormed in the room, pulling me by my arm to make me face her, and slapped me right away.”
Jeena is shocked to hear this so, she goes like, “What? But why?”
Kcris smiles before telling Jeena, “Obviously, because Casey was very angry. I promised her that as soon as I’ll finish my studies, I’ll come back to her and in no case, I’ll work there. (Kcris takes a deep sigh before saying further) Instead of keeping my promise to her, I not only chose to work there but also kept her in dark about everything.” Kcris almost laughs while telling Jeena, “I still remember, when I told Casey that I am sorry, she slapped me again.”
Jeena in surprise goes like, “Huh… What? You were slapped twice.” And then Jeena starts to laugh hysterically which makes Kcris smile and ask Jeena, “What is so funny in this for you?”
“Well, it is difficult to imagine a person like you getting slapped and that too twice. This thought alone is amusing let alone imagining it.”
Seeing Jeena laugh like that Kcris also starts to laugh with her. After some time, both stop laughing and Jeena asks, “Then what happened after that?”
“Well, I tried to apologize but she was hurt badly and there was nothing that I could do to rectify the hurt she suffered.” After a brief moment, Kcris goes like, “I have never seen you laugh like this before. You know what Jeena, you laugh like a kid and this makes me enjoy laughing with you.”
Jeena is perplexed and confused at the same time, listening to Kcris’ words and so, goes like, “What do you mean?... Umm… How can someone enjoy laughing?... I mean… Isn’t it that people laugh when they are enjoying?”
Kcris enjoys the blank expression on Jeena’s face for some time before explaining to Jeena, “Yes, it is true that people laugh when they enjoy. But it is also true that sometimes people enjoy laughing and the reason for that in most cases is the person, they share the moment with.”
Kcris upon realizing that Jeena is going to ask something else stops Jeena and tells her, “Before you ask me why I said you laugh like a kid, I’ll tell you myself. When kids smile or laugh their smile is evident in their eyes, which is totally unlikely in the case of adults. What I mean here is that your happiness reaches your eyes just like kids.”
After this Kcris turns and looks outside the window. She appears to be serene, enjoying the after-rain clear view outside. Once Jeena is done processing what Kcris said she asks Kcris, “Were you a student of philosophy or maybe human psyche?”
“Huh?... Why would you say that?”
“Well, because though I knew that you are a keen observer but I did not know that you not only interpret such fine details but also add deeper meaning to them.”
After saying this Jeena slightly stomps her feet and gets out of her chair, getting frustrated. Kcris is a bit startled seeing Jeena act like this and before she can ask Jeena about it, Jeena goes like, “You are distracting me, Kcris. Even my glass is empty. You were supposed to tell me all about Casey, but instead of doing that you are talking about useless things.”
Kcris is left in total awe after listening to Jeena. And this makes Kcris ask herself, “What did I do, now?” Jeena’s childish behavior renders Kcris speechless. Kcris enjoys seeing Jeena pout like Ria for a moment and then makes Jeena sit on the chair, takes her glass, refills it, and then tells her, “Now you just sit, drink your wine, and listen to me. I’ll tell you everything.”
Jeena is slightly embarrassed, so in an almost inaudible voice says, “Okay.”
“When I met Casey, she was really pissed off which was clearly evident from the fact that she slapped me twice. But after that, she started crying, which was a bit shocking to me as she was never a crying type. I had never seen her cry like that, so the best I could do was hug her. She started to cry harder after me hugging her. Seeing her cry like that, I gestured to my colleague who was in that room to leave and close the door after him.”
Jeena interrupts and in a slightly sarcastic tone goes like, “Kcris, you really do have a charm. Isn’t it? Girls do love to cry in your arms.”
“Huh… (After instant realization Kcris goes like,) Shut up, Jeena. Don’t tease me.”
“Ok… Ok… You continue.”
“Well, after she stopped crying she told me that she is sorry. I asked her not to worry as it was totally my fault. She still insisted on apologizing which I did find to be weird. But before we could talk any further, Mrs. Fabiola called her and she had to leave. I also got busy after that. The very next morning, I went to the hotel where Casey & Mrs. Fabiola were staying. Though I got to see Mrs. Fabiola, Casey had already left.”
“So, you didn’t get a chance to talk to her at all?”
“No.”
“Did you even call her after that?”
“No.”
“Kcris come on. Are you even listening to yourself? All along, you have been saying that she was really important to you and still you ignored her like that… Why, Kcris? Why would you do that?”
“Before you are any more furious, I’ll tell you why I didn’t call her after meeting Mrs. Fabiola?”
Jeena sarcastically asks Kcris, “Yups… Right… So, now tell me your big excuse, Kcris?”
“It’s not an excuse. It is the truth. Mrs. Fabiola offered me to work for her.”
“Wait… Kcris, you told me that Mrs. Fabiola bought the company you worked for. So technically, this meant that you already were working for her, right?”
“Mrs. Fabiola wanted me to work at a higher post and restructure the entire company after the buy-out. And if I were to be able to do that in a month, she would help me with the required funds for restarting my company.”
“But, Kcris you, yourself said that you were learning at the time. Were you really that capable?”
“Well, at that time… clearly no.”
"So, what did you do? What I mean to ask is did you accept the offer?"
"I told her that I won't be able to do it by myself as I didn't know much about managing a big company."
"So did she take her offer back?"
"No. It's Mrs. Fabiola. That lady has plans for not just one or two steps but a hundred steps ahead. She told me that I'll be working with her son and his team. And also, if I wanted, I could pick my own team. Basically, what was happening was that Mrs. Fabiola was testing both of us."
"Kcris, Mrs. Fabiola is your distant relative, right? She, giving her son such a big responsibility was okay but why you? And that too when she had two daughters of her own."
Seeing Jeena taking so much interest, Kcris smirks and tells her, "I didn't know that you wanted to know about me so desperately."
Jeena hits Kcris on her arm asking her to stop teasing her and continue with what Kcris has been telling her.
"Okay... Okay... Well, Casey was never interested in business and Amy was too young. And another reason was that after my mother's demise my entire family business was run by Mrs. Fabiola and her people. And so, she needed to check if I was ready and most importantly capable to run it after my mother or not."
"Wow, Kcris. Mrs. Fabiola once told me your mother was more of a mother to Casey than she could ever be. Now listening to you talking about Mrs. Fabiola, I feel like you too had two mothers just like Casey."
Kcris smiles and tells her, "That is true. It was as if we all five kids had two mothers, growing up."
Jeena is perplexed so she asks, "Five kids... How come? Mrs. Fabiola's three kids and you make it only four. Who is the fifth?"
"My younger brother, Nuea."
"Wait... Wait... You have a younger sibling and you never told me about that."
"Well, clearly, because he is practically non-existent most of the time."
"Huh... Who talks like this about her younger brother, Kcris?"
"Of course, someone whose brother is more focused on traveling and vlogging rather than finishing his studies. Anyway, can we get back to Casey, before you accuse me of distracting you again?"
"Yes, please Miss Pattinson."
"So, first of all, I applied for resignation as I knew that Mrs. Fabiola can bend the rules for me but, according to the by-laws of the company even she can't reduce my notice period any lesser than a month. Peter and I stayed there for a month or so, working our asses off, but the good news was that we were able to pull off what we were expected of."
"Who is Peter, now?"
Kcris sighs and tells, "Mrs. Fabiola's eldest child, Peter Fabiola."
Jeena almost jumps off her chair and screams, " Peter Fabiola... The Peter Fabiola... The renowned fashion designer."
Kcris slightly frowns and goes like, "Yes, the same. He is more like an elder brother to me. Casey always used to complain as a kid that Peter sides with me instead of her."
"Kcris."
"Huh... What, Jeena?"
"What all you just told me seems like would take days for me to ruminate. You guys worked so hard, just listening to it makes me feel tired. Only god knows how you guys managed."
Kcris being sarcastic goes like, "We grew up seeing our parents work so hard. So, maybe there responsible for letting us think that this was the only way to live life."
Jeena pinches Kcris and then asks her to tell her what happened afterward.
"After finishing the task, Peter flew back and I needed a day more to wind up the things. And I already told you when I got back, I was already standing at her funeral."
After saying this, Kcris turns and now she is no more facing Jeena, rather she is looking outside.
“Yes, you told me this and also that you met Maria for the first time there only. What did you do after finding out that Casey is no more? How did you deal with her loss?”
“Clearly by not dealing with it at all?”
“But, Kcris it is not healthy in the long run to have unresolved issues like this.”
“Jeena, do you remember the day when we had lunch in my office?”
“Yes, when you told me all about Ria.”
There is silence in the room as Kcris is lost in her thoughts when suddenly Jeena remembers something which makes her almost scream, “Oh! So it was Casey’s funeral after which you found Ria.”