[RECAP- Jane's dad announced his company was looking to transfer some of the employees who do not perform. It was an intense moment for the family.]
Austin: Wear your most beautiful dress.
Me: We aren't going anywhere.
I replied within a second and that actually meant, without thinking.
My phone didn't ring for the next few minutes, and I kept waiting for him to say something. I wondered if the text was too rude, but I didn't blame myself for that. My day had been gloomy and I felt like I was a traveler, lost in the desert, in the quest for water. My water being Susan.
That morning, I noticed that I had been unblocked by her, and as soon as I explored that I knew I was going to try to talk to her.
Me: How are you?
Double ticks. Typing appeared for a second and it disappeared. She did not reply. My heart broke down.
Me: I miss you and I am really sorry, Susan. It will take an eternity for me to find a friend like you. I am really, really sorry. Can we talk this out?
The 'typing' was there again and this time it lasted. It lasted for a while before a text actually came. I felt like it was the end of our misunderstandings, and I felt like we would be friends again.
Susan: Hope you are doing well
The text read, and suddenly, her display picture disappeared with my dreams. I couldn't believe that I was blocked. A couple of tears bid goodbye to my eyes. The next thing I did was to call her. Unanswered.
Susan would always be more excited about my boyfriend to be than I ever was. She would always tell me how she would dress me up for dates, how she would make sure I knew the way to flirt and how she would kick his ass off if he had the courage to break my heart. She would always show me the pictures of guys from our school and guys from our neighbourhood but in vain. It was disheartening how things had changed. I missed her. I really did.
I was lost in the desert, and I also felt irreparably broken. "Maybe she needs more time," I repeated in my head to console myself.
Minutes had passed by, but there was still no sign of Austin's reply. I put the phone down on the blue bedsheet, while I stared at the stars drawn on my ceiling. The sound of the opening of the house's main gate followed my ears, but when I crawled over to the window, there was no one to be seen.
Oscar came to my room, and being there with him made me feel better, just slightly. Soon, mom came into my room and the first thing I noticed was her smile, and then the envelope in her hands. I glanced outside again as the wind blew my hair. I could see Austin, looking at me with a smile on his face. He was wearing a white hoodie and a blue jeans. Before I could wave at him, mom handed over the letter to me before she left and when she did, I noticed that a faint smile had crept on my face.
I hurried towards the seal of the letter, wrapped carefully in a pink envelope.
"Dear Jane,
I know it isn't my turn to write you a letter, but you know why it is there.
My parents were in love when they were in their twenties. When my dad went to ask for the hand of my mother, her parents announced that they would only marry their daughter to him when he gets a decent job. In his pursuit, he was put into a perpetual struggle to get to a job from which he could impress my mom's parents. He went to sixteen interviews only to return as a man who was more broken than he already was. After his 17 failed attempts, he went down into a park. Absolutely depressed, gloomy, and hopeless.
While he was sitting in the park, he saw some ants trying to carry their food into a tree at a height. It weighed probably a hundred times more than their combined weight. They had to face difficulties in carrying the food to the height where their nest was located. Even after failing so many times, they still tried to get there. Each time, they ripped off a little part of their food and tried again. Tried until they succeeded.
My dad had his smile back on his face. An epiphany hit him in his heart. The next two months were spent on self criticism, improvement and perseverance.
He went back and succeeded. Now he works in the same pharmaceutical company as your dad. Also, he has two brilliant kids with the woman he met in his twenties. There's little that love cannot make you do. The people who say love ruins your life have no idea about love, love is the greatest thing which has happened to me. Rejections hurt. betrayal hurts, but love doesn't. Why do people spend 80,000 hours of their life on their career? For the love of themselves, money or their family. You see, love drives us ahead. When people say they are afraid of falling in love, they actually mean they are afraid of betrayals, rejection, hurt, mean words, etcetera.
You see, failures and setbacks are a part of life. It is up to you if you want to spend the rest of your life mourning about it, or trying to make it worthwhile. A life you would be proud of when you would be living your last few days.
I will be waiting for you at 7 PM. At your house.
I love you.
Austin."
I looked outside, but he was there no more. I peeped at the clock pointing towards 5. I had two hours to get ready.
*
When he arrived at my house in his car, dressed in a plain red shirt and black jeans, I felt rather happy. I felt the happiness conquering me little by little. I looked at myself in the mirror as he waited outside my house. I was wearing the sleeveless wine color gown, which mom had brought for me on my 16th birthday. The freckles of my hair were coming down on my cheeks, and the edges of my eyes were outlined in black. Red earrings and a white pendant. I took out my sandal, it consisted of an inch long heel. However, like others, I didn't have to worry about walking with them.
All the doubts I had about how I looked disappeared as soon as I heard, "you look pretty," from dad.
When Austin saw me for the first time in the evening, he froze up for a second. His eyes were fixed on me, and they didn't move until mom said, "Do I also look beautiful, Austin?" And she smiled, widely.
"I think I am dating the most beautiful girl in the world," he said, paused for a second, gazed at mom and said, "Thanks to your genes."
I found myself blushing.
*
After they got me in the car, Austin asked courteously, "Can she stay the night with me?"
I was embarrassed. I knew she was going to deny. I gazed at him with eyes in displeasure, but I could hardly be angry for a second. Just by looking at him, I felt happy. I felt happy that I was dating a gentleman.
My crossed-eyes were fixed on mom when I expected a refusal from her. Surprisingly, she said, "Just get her something to eat."
"Thank you, mom." We exclaimed in unison and I wondered if she noticed he had called her 'mom.'
*
At his house, both Mr. and Mrs. Smith were waiting to welcome me into their house. I learned that it was their idea to invite me for dinner.
Their house was bigger than ours. It was grand. The hall was pretty big. Brown wall paper on the wall gave them a classic feel, a tv was placed a few meters from us, and I could imagine Austin celebrating goals from the place I sat on. A balcony was visible in between the embroidered curtains in the hall, allowing cold breezes to run past me. But, there was something else which had caught my attention. I was perplexed when it caught my sight. A family picture hanging on the wall in front of me.
During the dinner, Austin's parents recited me stories about his childhood. How he'd force Mrs. Smith to play football with him. How great he was at his academics; how he went alone to London for the sake of adventure when he was 14, and how he gave his favorite video game to a kid in the neighborhood who had lost his father. Austin just kept blushing amidst his parents' praise and I felt proud to have someone like him. But, for all the time, something was bothering me. The family picture.
His room wasn't as enormous as I thought it would be. It resembled my room with respect to the size and the best thing about it was that it was on the ground floor so I didn't bother them for taking me there. The walls of the room were painted in a lighter shade of blue and the roof, along with floor, was spotless white. There was an almirah on one side, a bed which wasn't big, placed beside the window and a guitar was gracefully accompanying a wall which had family pictures. There were posters in the room, placed in irregular patterns. Lionel Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and a picture of Barcelona players celebrating. Ed Sheeran was there too along with One Direction and Taylor Swift.
Looking at the poster of Messi, I said, "I thought your room would be a lot 'messier'. Pun intended."
He smiled.
"How many views did the video get?" He mumbled as he helped me to get on to his bed. I was caught off-guard as I looked deep into his ocean eyes. I was astounded. How did he know? I was perplexed if it got out of my mouth or did he see it on his own? Either way, it was supposed to be a surprise, and for some reason I couldn't keep it that way.
"What?"
"YouTube channel."
I didn't know what to say. Somehow, I uttered, "How did you know?"
He sat beside me and smiled, holding my hand. I loved how the essence of his hand on mine calmed me down. "Remember I follow you on Twitter?"
My surprise was destroyed. I stared at the beautiful sky through the window, which was decorated by the stars. It felt like my dream had been broken. All the scenarios which had taken place in my brain were abandoning me. I had imagined how his face would lit up when he would know that his song is loved by the whole world.
1.8K views..
"I am really sorry for not asking.. I wanted to give you a surprise."
"Jane Gold. I brought that topic to thank you. It means a lot to me. Okay?"
"Okay."
After a while he allowed me to record him singing several songs. Perfect. Say you won't let go and a song written by me. As always, I kept being mesmerized. His voice was like a vine to me. Not only did it get better with time, but also made me addictive. Making me want it more.
When he came back from singing, the nervousness in me was taking leaps and bounds. I wondered if it would be intimate, but after a moment, I just let those thoughts go. He was lying close to me, closer than we ever were. We were lying down on the bed where sleep had abandoned us.
"I love you so much, Jane brown," he whispered under my ears and I told him that I loved him back. I told him how my day had been, and how sorry I was for not writing the letter to him which he deserved. He told me stories about our school and I kind of felt jealous. In between our endless talks, there were moments when I felt like kissing him, but I couldn't muster up enough courage.
"You are different than others."
I remember the moment when he asked if he could kiss me. The innocence in his eyes was glistening. There was still a child in him which meant he was filled with innocence. "I am your girlfriend," I said.
"No matter who you are, I think consent is important." Accompanying the innocence was his maturity. I felt proud of myself for loving him. I loved him. So much.
And, when I nodded, I could hear my heart exploding. He held my hands tighter than ever, we were close. Closest. He came towards my face, slowly, I closed my eyes, waiting for his lips to send impulses through mine, but it didn't come...
Instead, he kissed my forehead and then retreated as he was nervous. 10 seconds. Forehead. "You really are different than others," I never believed in any other sentence than that one, "I am so proud to have you."
I meant it from all of my heart.
My hands on his masculine chest, I kissed him. Cheeks.
I was impressed that reality was different than movies where guys do everything they can in the first move. Or maybe, just Austin was different. Love. Or how they call it, "True love."
I couldn't remove my eyes from him. I knew I had rose in love, but then he was making me feel like I was flying. Like I mattered. Like I was a girl who wasn't paralysed.
"Don't you think it is too beautiful outside?" Austin said running his hands around my hair.
"I think I am looking at a better place." My eyes fixed at his, heart throbbing as if I was on a roller coaster.
"I think," Austin said, "we should stargaze."
"I don't want to be a burden. How will you take me there?"
"Do not speak that again. Ever."
I nodded.
***
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