A Love For Keeps

House Visit

(DAYU)

Qing lives in a quiet upper class neighborhood. In a two storey townhouse painted white and wood brown. The gate is black and a garage that can house two cars in a tight fit.

It's not that big of a place, but the charm is there. Qing's charm. It's looks like a house of someone young yet accomplishing something but modest about it.

So Wang Qing.

Qing drove his blue convertible inside the gate that opened on it's own and it automatically closed again after we got in. He turned off the car's engine and smiled at me.

"Wait a bit," he said before stepping out of the car, circling on the front to get to the passenger side and opening the door of the car for me.

He does that, not often or religiously like the way he messaged me but Qing also made a habit of opening doors for me, in occasions when he feels like he was allowed to do it.

"You are a girl, I know. But I learned that girls are not helpless disabled people. Someone told me, I can act like a knight, be a gentleman, but I don't have to save a girl all the time. That there will be times that a girl like you can open her own door or even pay her own bills. I am still learning too, Dayu. So be patient with me, okay?"

He is so thoughtful. Qing. With those things in his mind, he takes his cue from me on when he can open the door for me and when he will let me do that for myself.

That reassures me, in a way. Qing thinks I am a girl but he is not writing me off as a damsel in distress. And I find myself loving that.

"You said you wanted to be the Princess Knight who climbs a tower to save her sleeping Prince. Of course, you are no damsel in distress." Qing reminded me.

He listens well too. Another point for him.

"Let's go," Qing held his hand out and I gladly took it as I stepped off his car.

Hand in hand, we walked towards the main door of his home. He entered the door's code to unlock it and opened the door for me. "Welcome to my home," he said as he gently pushed me over the threshold.

Inside, he got a small foyer where you can take your shoes off and change it to slippers.

"Wait, I have a new pair here. It will be a bit big because it's for me. Is that okay?" Qing asked as he opened a little cabinet to take out a box housing a pair of home slippers. He gave them to me.

"It's okay. Thank you." I put the slippers down, slipped off my shoes and wore the slippers. Qing did the same. He also pushed our shoes on the side to get it cleanly out of the way.

"Come in," he said after as he ushered me inside his home.

The living room greeted me first. It's sparsely furnished. A dark green toned carpet, white cushy L-shaped sofa, a magazine rack and a center table plus a side table with a lamp. That's it. Simple, clean and easy on the eyes. The extraordinary about the living room is the one wall lined with books. Some titles I even recognize.

"Looks like someone is into suspense novels," I smiled at Qing as I observed his book collection.

"Yes," Qing nodded. "I love intrigue too. What about you? What kind of books do you like?"

"Poems. Mostly. And old texts. I love autobiography about historical people. I love history." I said.

"I see..." Qing stood beside and took a book from his collection, "Then I guess we have reading as something in common between us. Next time, bring a book if you will visit me. We can just sit and read together."