CHAPTER 3 Aiden watched Clara as she settled down and put her legs into the pool. If only she knew what would happen in some hours. He could imagine her rage, how hurt and betrayed she would feel. On a normal day, he wouldn’t care about whatever she felt. He had always wondered why she never liked him, he tried everything possible to speak with her at a point. He gave up and started to taunt her. It amazed him that someone in the whole of Los Angeles didn’t like him. When Mr. Jones stood next to him, he nodded his head to acknowledge the man's presence. “Aiden. I hope you are prepared.” “I wouldn’t say I am. This is all new to me. I am definitely not in support of this archaic arrangement.” “Trust me, I am not the happiest person to agree with this. Somethings just have to be done.” The man walked away from him. Aiden had no particular judgment of the Jones. They were hardworking, responsible members of the town. Mr. Smith hangs out with his father
CHAPTER 4 Clara was so exhausted the next thing on her mind was to flop into her bed and get carried away into an island of sleep. But then, her parents thought otherwise. “Clara, dear. I thought your dad informed you that we had a general discussion. Didn’t you tell her, Mark? I think I reminded you at the party.” “Oh. Skipped my mind. What’s up?” She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. “Ok.” Her dad sat beside her while her mom sat across her. Clara knew that instant that what she was about to hear was going to blow her mind. She was just sure. Whenever her parents sat in that manner to ‘discuss' with her, it just meant something bad had happened or is about to happen. The last time such happened, it was her kindergarten teacher that had died. She had a great bonding with the woman. When she got back from school, they sat her down and announced Ms. Garter's passing. Clara hoped that wouldn’t be the case tonight. “Who died?” “Died? No o
“What's going on Clara?”“Are you okay?” “What's going on?” That’s a lot of questions. Are we playing twenty questions now, guys?” Clarabel knew she had snapped at her friends.“Sorry.” They both said at the same time.“Relax, Clara. We are really concerned. You should see how you look.” Maddison say as she sipped her chapman. Clara loved the way Jane kept stroking her hair. It was tender and homely. It made her purr.“Clara, love. What's going on? You look like you haven't slept in days. We just met yesterday afternoon so I’m sure you only skipped last night’s sleep. ““I'm getting married.” Clara blurted out. She added no preamble, she just dropped the bomb on both of them.Maddison splurted as she choked on her drink. The looks on their faces were even more shocking than the idea of her getting married. The girl stared at each other before looking back at her. Then, silence enveloped them as they sat in shock.“Is this some sor
The atmosphere was bright and that uplifted Clara's heart. Clara arrived at the shop and went about her business. She returned to tending to the fresh batch of flowers. Then, she put out orders that have been placed by her clients for their different occasions. Being surrounded by flowers was her happy place, she felt secure there. Suddenly, her phone rang. It was her mum. They hadn’t really spoken since that night.“Hey, mum.”“Sweetheart.”They both paused for a while before her mum spoke again. “You have an appointment with Sarah by eleven. I directed her to the shop if that’s fine by you.”“Ok.” Sarah was a new member of their community. She moved in a month ago and was getting married. She wanted a flower-themed wedding. Fresh flowers, she has insisted. Clara's mother overheard her and told her about Clara's business. Clara was rearranging the flowers she placed outside when a woman with purple hair popped in front of her.“Good morning, you
“You should wear the green gown we got from the mall recently. It complements your eyes and brings out your shape in a sexy way but classy sexy way, yunno?” Maddison shot her a suggestive wink. “What does that even mean, Maddison?” Clara groaned out in frustration. Jane joined the video call. “Sorry guys. I had to attend to a work thing. Oh, I hate my job! And what dress did you pick out, Maddison?” “The green gown she got from the mall some weeks ago...” Maddison replied while typing away on her phone. “Oh, yes! That gown is hot but like moderate hot.” Jane clapped her hands in excitement. “Exactly! That’s my point. It is moderate enough for little conservative Clara.” “Okay. Okay, guys. The green gown it is. I have to go now it almost seven bye guys talk later. “Byeee.” They both chimed before Clara ended the call. Clara wasn’t the dressing-up kind of person. What she loved were comfortable clothes. If not for the girls and her mum who could sho
Since her meeting with Aiden's family, Clara had decided to accept and embrace every change as it comes. There was no point in questioning the whole situation since there was no going back. Clara knew she should rather find solutions to every challenge she would encounter along the way. She got to work earlier to cover up for all the time wasted. She had some batch of flowers to deliver today and she had not even started. Alongside that, she was also supposed to plant some flowers seeds that got delivered a week ago. Clara had so much to do. Once she got to her shop, she set the flower display, and did some cleaning up and tending.Being so engrossed in her work, she didn't realize time had gone so fast. Her stomach rumbled signaling that it wanted lunch. After ordering some takeout, her phone rang. It was a call from her mum. She hadn’t been on talking terms with her parents since they dropped the wedding bombshell on her. Clara wondered what news the call could be about.
Since the argument with her mum, everything has been a blur, from deciding what day was best to announce the engagement to the wedding plans. It was so exhausting. Clara got better at being a whole more friendly and accommodating to Aiden. She still struggles with giving a real smile when she sees him, but little progress is still considered progress. The relationship between her parents and her has been a bit strained. She pitied her dad a lot, but she required him to be a man and speak to her. They all rarely talked, and when they did, there were always awkward pauses and conversations. She misses them so much.Clara decided to stay at home today. The last few days have been a roller coaster of emotions coupled with work. Today, she was going to take a break and breathe. At least, that's what the girls said. She was doing some cleaning whether phone rang. On checking the Caller ID and it was Aiden. Clara was beyond surprised, and for whatever reason, her heart began to
Clara flung her fridge open, and it was empty except for a jar of jam, a can of beer, and old bread. She decided to go grocery shopping as she was running low on provisions. She needed to at least stock up. Maybe going grocery shopping would lift her mood.Outside, the atmosphere was sunny and bright. It was ironic as that was the exact opposite of how she felt. The drive to the store was short as it was a few minutes away from her house. Clara spent extra time walking about the store, she didn’t want to go straight to her apartment after shopping. She headed to the cashier's point only to meet a long queue. Although she didn’t wish to go home early, she dreaded seeing familiar faces. She wasn't in the mood to greet anyone. It was almost her turn when a fight broke out. Two young men were at it. The security men came to try and separate the fight and took them both outside to settle their differences. The universe was really granting her wish to stay longer