"Babes, the Vogue Boutique will close up if we wait any longer!" Ruth said as she applied a final coat of her lip-gloss.
Christine looked up from the book she was reading and turned her eyes to the window by the right side of the large room they have been occupying for four years now. There were so many memories within those walls that Christine couldn't just forget about.
"Are you even listening to me?" Ruth cried out as she noticed the long look on her best friend's face.
Christine turned her eyes in Ruth's direction and smiled. "It's going to rain. I don't think it will be a smart idea to go out—" she started to say but Ruth interrupted her immediately.
"Shopping is never a smart idea for you!" She hissed with a roll of her large brown eyes. "But not anymore. We just finished college and... With good grades. We have to celebrate! You have to come with me!"
"Ruth we can celebrate right here. We don't even have to go out..." Christine tried to convince her but Ruth was not in for that. Ruth was a free spirit. She enjoyed being out and having the time of her life.
"No can't do!" Ruth declared as she started to pull Christine off the bed.
Christine had no other choice but to go out with her friend to the boutique for them to shop for party dresses. It started to rain as soon as they got into the shop and Ruth squealed in victory.
"We can spend the whole afternoon here if the rain wants!" She declared.
Christine only smiled at this. She was used to Ruth's reckless spending by now and she knew that if the rain didn't stop, Ruth could spend her entire inheritance on dresses. Christine now had to silently pray for the rain to stop so she could drag Ruth out of the boutique.
"Yes!" Ruth screeched making Christine jump out of her thoughts. "This is the one!"
Christine walked to where Ruth was standing and screeching at the line of dresses. Christine couldn't find whatever it was that had made Ruth scream so excitedly. They were all... Just dresses.
"Huh... Did you find something?" Christine finally asked her.
Ruth took out two identical red dresses with price tags Christine could never even imagine calling out loud and flashed them at her.
"These dresses are the bomb!" Ruth exclaimed.
Christine looked over the short red dresses a second time and she knew it was wrong... Very wrong.
"Ruth, have you seen the prices?" Christine asked in a small voice.
Ruth just rolled her eyes and placed one of the dresses on her body. "I need to try this out!"
"Ruth, didn't you hear what I just asked you? We can't buy these—" Christine said but then bit down on her tongue as she remembered whose daughter Ruth was. Ruth Davies was the daughter of one of the richest men in the city, Richard Davies of the R & D Enterprise. She could afford whatever she wanted. But not Christine.
"Ruth, I can't buy these."
Ruth turned a cold stare at her and said, "and who said you are the one paying?"
Christine frowned at this response. Ruth had done so much for her already. She was an orphan who had no one but herself and Ruth was the angel who had helped her out throughout their years in college. She couldn't possibly accept this gift from her...
"I am sorry Ruth, I can't accept it..." Christine protested.
Ruth corked her head to the side and smirked. "Accept what?" She asked with sarcasm.
"I won't—" Christine started to say but Ruth was already walking away from her with the dresses held firmly in her hands.
"Ruth!" Christine called out.
"I am not listening to you!" Ruth replied dramatically as she swayed her curves to the counter and said, "I want these dresses packaged. Here is my card." She offered the girl her credit card and waited patiently for the packaging to be done.
"Ruth please, once that money leaves your account—" Once again Christine didn't get to complete her statement before her phone started ringing out from her pocket.
Christine's heart hammered in its cage as she took out the phone to check who it was. Her face turned white as blood drained out of her as she saw the caller, it was Ruth's mother —exactly who she feared.
"Chris pick up your phone. You are starting to embarrass me," Ruth mouthed in irritation as the ringing phone attracted other shoppers' attention.
Christine swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to calm her racing heart before she swiped the accept button and placed the phone to her ear, "Good evening Mrs. Davies!" She said and Ruth rolled her eyes and snatched the phone from her. She knew exactly why her mum was calling.
"What is good about the evening Christine? Why did Ruth just buy two similar dresses?!" Mrs. Davies asked in a cold voice.
"Mum! I bought the dresses because I want them!" Ruth replied with the same attitude.
Mrs. Davies took a deep breath as she heard her daughter's voice. "Ruth..." She started. "Baby, I don't understand why you will need two dresses with similar descriptions."
"I bought it for Chris. We have a party to attend tonight. And mum, It's good you called. I need more money. Thank you and bye!" Ruth said and ended the call.
Christine's face had even gone paler because she knew exactly what Mrs. Davies would say about such behaviors. She never blamed her daughter. Everything was Christine's fault. Always.
"Ruth you shouldn't have ended the call like that..." Christine said following after Ruth who had picked up the dress and was now heading out of the store.
Rather than reply, Ruth smiled to herself and continued catwalking to her sports car parked right across.
"Ruth, can you listen to me!" Christine cried out.
Ruth turned around and started walking backward as she smiled at Christine. "Sweetheart you worry too much—" Her last word got swallowed by a loud horn that came blaring behind her.
Christine took large steps and pulled Ruth out of the way just as the black Bentley moved passed them.
"Oh my God! What is wrong with people these days!" Christine hissed as she held on to Ruth. But she realized Ruth wasn't paying attention to her. She had her brown eyes fixed on the vehicle as it took a bend and disappeared down the road.
"Oh my God!" She exclaimed as she snapped out of her daze.
Christine just stared at her as she didn't understand what it was she was so excited about when she almost got hit by a car.
"Chris! That was A. P!"
Christine looked on with a blank face.
Ruth face palmed herself and then rolled her eyes. "That was Alexander Pencraft!"
"Why did you have to press on the horn so loud?" Alex asked his driver as he typed away on his phone."There was someone on the way sir," The bulky driver replied.Alex raised his eyes from his phone and glared at the man. "How many times do I have to tell you to learn to be patient? I am certain the person in question wouldn't have stayed on the road for too long. We could have waited."He had a dozen reports to submit to his father in two days. The last thing he needed was more distractions from his driver!"I am sorry sir," The bulky man squeaked.Alex was about to reply to him when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He hissed and took out the phone. Without checking who it was, he answered."Hello!""Hey man what's up?"It was his annoying college friend Brian. He had tried every possible way to ignore Brian but the guy had refused to back down from pestering his life."Brian, what do you want?" He gritted out."Look man, I know you are busy and all... but it's my birthday today an
"Chris, I am so stupid! I have lost Peter Pencraft!" Ruth cried out as she buried her face into a pillow."Ruth, calm down and tell me what happened!" Christine said rolling her eyes."You don't understand, I had him. He was talking to me and then I slurped! Babe, I embarrassed myself so much, I think he hated me now!" She added dramatically.Christine dropped the papers she had been reading and moved onto the bed where Ruth was hitting her chest like a woman who had lost her husband."When did you meet him?" She asked patiently.Ruth wiped her tears and stared up at her friend with a pout. "We met at the club last night...""When I was waiting outside or before then?" Christine had kept a good eye on Ruth throughout the time they were at the club. The only time she had lost track of her was when she went to the bathroom and was delayed at the bar."You were outside and I went to the bar... He came and then I was drunk. I was giggling like some fool!" She exclaimed slapping a hand to
"Ruth, guess what?" Christine jumped in excitement a few days after her interview.Ruth who was surfing her social media pages turned a bored eye to her friend. "What? You have been dis-virgin?"Christine rolled her eyes and said, "don't be silly Ruth! I actually got the job!""Oh," Ruth said and returned to surfing her pages. "Congratulations love," She added.Christine was used to Ruth's reactions by now so it didn't bother her. Ruth was only interested in news that had to do with boys or shopping for new dresses. Any other thing was left on the garbage can of her brain. She paid zero attention to it. Christine didn't care.She had finally gotten her dream job just a few days after her graduation. She felt over the moon. She hummed to herself as she searched through her closet for a simple dress she could go out with. She had to give herself a treat. Not every graduate made this much progress in their career just a few days after graduation.She knew working for the Davies wasn't go
Christine walked into the fancy restaurant with her heart beating as fast as someone who had just run two miles. What was she supposed to say to Alex Pencraft? How would she even introduce herself? Would she be able to recognize him? Yes, Ruth had shown her a dozen pictures of the young handsome billionaire but she still couldn't trust her brain to remember the face. Her dark eyes searched the restaurant as if scanning a document. There were just a few people seated around the air-conditioned room. Soft music was playing in the background and the lights bounced around in different tones adding to the ambiance of the place. But Christine couldn't bring herself to enjoy it. The dress Ruth had forced her to wear was too short and the heels were already killing her as she stood by the corner trying to find her date. "Excuse me miss," someone said behind her and she jumped in fear. It was simply one of the waiters. Christine held her heart and took a deep breath to calm herself from th
“How long have you known Ruth?” Alex asked as Christine settled back into her seat. He knew he should have let her leave but something in him couldn’t let her go like that. There was something about her that made him feel at peace with himself. There was an aura of calmness that he just couldn’t put a finger on.Christine took a stray hair of her hair behind her ear before replying in a subtle voice, “I have known her for five years now but it feels like we have known ourselves all our lives.”A waiter came around the table and took their orders. Christine used this time to take in the dashing man in front of her. She couldn’t understand how Ruth could ever get bored of someone like Alex. He was calm and understanding. Handsome and alluring. Yet, Ruth had decided to leave him for her ex-boyfriend. If she were in Alex’s position, she would have gotten mad at Ruth, because why would my date not show and send her friend instead?It was outright rude.“Christine…” Alex called and Christin
"Believe me, princess, she's nothing but an opportunist golddigger! You can't see it because she's so good at her games." Rhoda lectured."I have told you times and again that you need to send that girl far away from you! But no, you wouldn't listen and now even your father thinks she is an angel!"Ruth sighed and combed through her hair with her fingernails."Mum, you're just paranoid. Christine is not that type of person," Ruth defended Christine as she passed an apologetic smile to Christine who smiled in return before exiting the room.She didn't want to imagine what Mrs. Davis could be telling her daughter on the other end of the phone. She was used to the woman's harsh behavior but she preferred not listening to all of that at all."Tell me, do you really love him?" Rhoda asked her daughter. Knowing the kind of child she had, she knew Ruth couldn't love such a daddy's boy but she had to somehow convince Ruth to do it anyway."Mum... Alex is so boring, I won't even lie about that
In the cold bustling streets of the city, Christine walked along the pedestrian bridge with her hands deep inside her fur coat pockets.It was a Thursday and she was heading back home. She needed to catch her bus.Working for the Davies was as hard as she could have imagined but the experience was one she would have never gotten without their help.She was grooming herself in her career and that was all that mattered.Christine was thinking about the presentation she had to do the next day when her eyes fell on a family of three across the street."Honey, your daughter is being naughty again," the woman told her husband, pointing to their daughter who giggled around with her doll.The man looked at his wife and Christine could see the love he had for her flash in his orbs.Her heart tightened painfully as she knew she had missed out on this sort of affection and maybe she would never even experience it.Her father never loved her and not her mom. That curse was probably passed on to h
"So tell me, how come you know so much about colognes?" Alex asked her.Their conversation had slowly but certainly shifted from Ruth to Christine. She found herself telling him about her love for perfumes and colognes."When you can't afford something, you stay content with recognizing them," Christine said with a small laugh.The interior of the restaurant was vintage. The furniture was sleek metal and neatly arranged with round sleek tables complimenting the wooden floors.The lighting gave out a comfy and cozy feeling as they were artistic lamps hung at different angles of the stylish European retro-style wallpaper on the walls.The atmosphere was welcoming, as expected of a nice restaurant. The ambiance was quite peaceful, with comfortable seating, chill music, and the delicious smell of food in the air.Christen was about to make a comment on Alex's question when a waiter gregariously bounced towards their table."