Until We Meet Again

18. sparkle

The next day, I'm back with Delilah in my room, just the two of us. Madison has been out of town for the last few days with her boyfriend on some trip to Canada, which has honestly made the environment more quiet. She's been a good roommate the last few months, but we all need a break sometimes. And her being away allows me to invite Delilah more often.

We never hang around at Delilah's room, which I imagine must be located in some mansion just outside of the city in that one prestigious neighborhood that so many of my classmates are from. She's implied that she lives there before, but she always says it's too far for me and that her siblings are always around. It's something I try not to ask too much about, but her situation with her family nowadays always makes me curious.

Back then, her parents were nice enough, but they never had much time for Delilah. Are they still the same now that they moved away? I doubt distance would make a difference. A busy business wouldn't magically go away even if they moved. It's one of those things that follows you around, no matter how hard you try to get rid of it. It's not like they wouldn't want their business though, as I recall how it was the only thing they ever really talked about the rare moments they were around the house when I was hanging out with Delilah. Whenever I asked them about their products, their eyes always lit up and they would talk so fast that sometimes I felt lost. They frequently gave me samples ahead of releases at no cost, and that always motivated me to keep asking even if I didn't quite understand.

That stuff about numbers and weak lawsuits always went over my head. But the clothes were always a good comfort. I couldn't exactly reject the products, sometimes my situation at home forced me to go down that road.

Delilah's set to inherit their huge business when it comes time to it, and I'm sure now that she's older, her parents are preparing her for a new life. Her two little sisters must get included in the conversation too now that they're not so little and they'll probably work for the company too. Delilah doesn't talk much about that with me, and I wonder if it's because it's a secret. There's not much about that kind of life that I would understand though.

I think the reason that Delilah and I became best friends in like two seconds was because I didn't have anything to do with that part of her life. And I was fun to be around, of course.

I should ask her about the business and how it's going. Now that we're older and dating, I should care more about this. I should try to become part of that life with her.

I ask her, "how's the clothing store going? I know last time you guys were expanding from five to ten stores."

It was four years ago, I can't imagine how far they must have expanded by now. I haven't heard much about their stores here, but that's probably because most of them must be located back home. There was always a good market over there.

She looks like she's caught in a trap in that moment, with her eyes going wide like she's nervous. It goes away in a second though. Maybe that question is too much for her to answer. She tells me, "it's all good. I can't give many details though."

It feels like she wants to tell me to shut up.

"I get that," is all I tell her. Can't she give me some kind of info?

"Maybe I'll be able to get you some releases ahead of time, if you're interested in that," she adds quickly. She's trying to smile in the best way she can as she says that.

"That's not why I asked," I tell her.

That really bothers me. Did she think that I only used her for her money? I know I just admitted to being happy about getting clothes from her parents in the past. . . But I don't know. It almost feels like an accusation.