Satin Fantasy

4. A Little of Him

3 months passed since her sister and brother-in-law died. Her strategy to cope is to make herself as occupied as possible while dealing with life one day at a time.

Some days she just sits around remembering what life use to be in this small flat. 5 years had gone by from the day they left the convent and yet it doesn't feel like that to her.

Before passing away, her brother-in-law had renovated the flat to allow for an additional room for Isabella which was really just the size of a closet but better than sleeping exposed in the living room.

Being a handy man who is also a carpenter by trade, her brother-in-law was able to keep their place in good condition. Creating small furnitures with dual function to keep the clutter away. Adding locks on the doors and windows for safety and fixing the pipes whenever there's trouble.

He is the closest male companion they both ever had. Because as brave as she lets on, Isabella was not as relaxed as she would pretend when boys are around.

In the begining, her sister Elizabeth would be wary of admirers who seem too keen and rightly so for despite being sheltered, she was not ignorant on the ways of the world. She knows that boys could be trouble if you let them and it's too much risk to let anyone near her sister who's too young to recognize boy danger.

To attend to this bit of concern, she told Isabella to not mind boys while still so young and that she could have all the fun she wants when she turns 18. This promise Isabella kept to heart.

Although Isabella were able to interact casually with guys in school or when introduced to one, she was not so comfortable when they start showing interest. She doesn't know how to handle it well and would usually decide on being too friendly or too aloof to ward them off.

Unlike her sister who embraced her beauty, Isabella tried her best to hide hers. She kept the ugly haircut (as it's much cheaper to maintain too she'd counter Elizabeth whenever an argument at how ridiculous it looks would ensue).

She also mostly frequent thrift shops and buy button down shirts 2 sizes too large to allow comfortable movement when she ran errands and for the more obvious reason of covering up her figure.

As reading is her passion other than cooking and cleaning, she started to wear eye glasses early on. The style she chose however is more disappointing than the thick lenses it supports. She hardly ever wear a dress and her only shoes were a pair of sneakers for school and ballet type flats for when a more formal occasion requires.

School, having just ended before the accident, Isabella was at a crossroads of decision making. It's either she pursuit a career by enrolling at a university or taking a year off to give herself a break from enduring such a loss.

In the meantime, she had taken a side job at the library so she could keep the flat which was only extended for the library's employees. She also kept the other side jobs she had before.

Her constant source of income since a little over one year ago was her house sitting gig which she just now remembered she had neglected for awhile.

She was a few months shy of 17 when she started working as his house sitter, she recalls. She had become somehow friends with the owner having kept his flat clean and his cats fed whenever he calls for it. He was a very nice man who doesn't pose fear on her. He is gentle with his approaches and his voice is very soothing to hear.

Whenever she would chance upon him at his flat in the rare instances that his schedule changes he would be polite with her and mostly keep out of her way as she does her tasks. Sometimes he would give her small trinkets left on the side table with a note of where it was brought from.

She kept her distance for decorum's sake and also to minimize the chances of him finding out how utterly besotted she is with him!

One day as she was but a few days from celebrating her 18th birthday he went home early with his bandmates. She was too intimidated having to suddenly endure being with them all together unannounced.

But what's more intimidating is each cheerfully greeting her happy birthday while being engulfed with a bear hug instantly making her feel as if she won grand prize at a fan contest. Sure, she had met them a few times when anyone or two of them would drop off something at Stafford Place or when she would be asked to bring something from the flat to the studio. The longest time was when the four of them played impromptu scrabble in the flat and her serving as the "word referee" with their banter soon changing to serious accusations on word fraud and manipulating the minor (that being her).

Her nerves gave way to a genuine smile when they told her they brought food and would love to celebrate an early birthday dinner with her. She was flushed with embarrassment but gave in when they started leading her to the dinning area while joking around each other like school boys. They always do like to tease each other, very much like family she thought.

She was asked by the boys for an impromptu dance as it would be on an actual debut but instead of a playback from the vinyls they hummed the melodies rhyming perfectly with each other mixed with coy laughter. To add with the feels, they even took flowers from the vase sitting by the side table to give her as they took turns with the waltz. Of course only Roger seems to know how to dance as an escort but they all four tried not to step on her toes as they laughingly lead her about outdoing each other in an attempt to humour her.

Early dinner was soon finished with the boys going to the living room to discuss their plans for the upcoming tour with the Scrabble board curiously getting set up on the center table, hmm..

Isabella went home that day having just celebrated the best birthday she could ask for.

He remembered her birthday and she was in heaven.

*****

Was that really just a few months ago when she was at her happiest before her world changed with her sister's death?

She didn't realize she'd been day dreaming again until she heard the kettle boil. To knock off any sad thoughts, Isabella unknowingly made it a habit to daydream about him. This seem to work like a charm so she stuck to the exercise. Well, better contact her home sitting employer soon before he thinks she'd gone missing.