Chapter 3

I could hear Aunt May talking but my head was in a whole other space.  

After Kerrington’s call, I spent most of the time searching online for cheap accommodation in New York, but apparently, the cheapest room cost the equivalent of the total money I had in my bank account at the moment. This meant that I would have catered for my living expenses without considering transport and food. If only I could…

As much as I tried pleading with the hoteliers on call, there was no other option for me but the very one that I was trying to avoid. Which led me to Aunt May’s house.

***

Aunt May, Lucas’s grandmother, had taken care of him since he was a child. After his parents separated, the child custody appeal had been finalized granting Aunt May full custody of Lucas until he was sixteen. This protected him from his professional drunk of a father and his poor mother, who then ran off to New York to get a job, promising to come back for Lucas.

Twenty-four years ago, when they moved down the street from where we lived, my mother baked some cookies which were her specialty whenever we got new neighbors. My younger siblings and I would then be sent over to the new family to tell them about the advantages of living together as a community, and remind them to knock on our door in case they needed any help with anything, no matter the hour.

Hence, as was tradition, my five-year-old self, accompanied by my siblings and this time, our mother too, walked over to Benjamin’s household. Unknown to me then as I met his eyes for the first time, this was the beginning of a whole new friendship that would later evolve into my first love.

***

It had been more than ten years since I last saw or heard from Lucas as the distance made it hard for our friendship to continue. True to her words, her mother had come back and taken Lucas to New York, where he resided until now. Our communication had slowly drifted, and soon enough, was non-existent. Now that I needed his help, I knew getting a hold of him would be as difficult as getting an affordable decent hotel in New York.

That is why I needed Aunt May.

She still lived a few blocks away from my parent’s house, and so as I came to break the news of my job to my parents, I passed by to see her and seek her help. I often visited her whenever I could, and we would enjoy our walks down the street or have quiet evenings in her garden where she planted all different types of flowers that filled the air with sweetness.

After making some tea and filling each other in on the gossip around the street and work, I explained my troubles to Aunt May, who sweetly lowered my burdens with a few dials on her phone.

It went quiet for a moment.

I held my hands together in anxiety as I observed her face for any reaction. Apart from the angelic smile that Aunt May always wore, it was hard to tell if he had picked up. Her eyes often gleamed with energy, especially when tending to her garden which seemed to always sprout with something beautiful every time. She was bundled up in a blanket whose ends she had been sewing when I walked in. No sooner had I completely taken in all her golden beauty than her green eyes beamed with joy.

Aha!

Reading about him in magazines and watching him on television was not the same as seeing him again. He was a billionaire who was reported to be living a Gatsby kind of lifestyle. Unsure of whether the cameras had done him enough justice, he still managed to maintain his good looks and even look much better over the years.  His memory, however, had never been one of his best qualities, and as I tried eavesdropping, I wondered if he even remembered me. 

But how could he? He has a lot of women running around him. How will he remember me? I wouldn’t remember myself…

What does it matter anyway? I do not love him anymore.

But how could I? … I…I am in love with Terrence.

But what if he loves me too? … No, he never did.

A loud laugh ruptured through the air, bringing me back to the conversation that was ongoing in Aunt May’s Garden.

“Of course. I am with her right now, and she is looking very enthusiastic about it actually. And you have all those rooms, surely you could spare one for her, couldn't you? I cannot bear the thought of her stranded in New York with you nearby.”

My heart started beating fast. The thought of being in the same city, same house, with him again, became more real at this moment.

“Yes, she is. Would you like to speak to her?”

What, no! What will I tell him?

“You kids! Okay, so her flight leaves early morning, so she should be there in the morning.”

It’s really happening.

I could not help but drift into the imagination of seeing him again. Staring into his eyes, being so close so as to feel his breath on my face, with his husky voice which always awoke every cell on my skin. This was my first crush, my first love, and my first friend. And a decade later, the universe was bringing us together again.

“Lucas says it’s okay. You can stay with him for the three days you are in New York. That’s okay with you right?” Aunt May asked.

“Yeah, it's more than alright. Thank you so much, Aunt May, I really appreciate this.”

“Nonsense. No need to thank me dearly. You are family, and family takes care of each other.”

With Aunt May, I always felt at home. Ever since that day she moved to our street, till now, twenty-four years later, she still feels at home.

In an attempt to change the subject from me staying with Lucas, I drifted my eyes to the new bed that had lilies that sprouted fiercely out of the earth. I stood up from the chair and walked away from her and towards the bed, as I have always been sure Aunt May could smell lies. Talking about Lucas would make the smell much easier for her to sense my worrying concerns.

“Aunt May, when did you plant the lilies?”

I did not want to think of Lucas anymore. Especially not when I had a fiancé waiting for me back at home.

Lucas and I were nothing but distant friends. I would only go to his house, stay for three days, and leave. And with our busy schedules, we would barely interact. There would be no time to reminisce on the past that was filled with what-ifs.

When it was almost dusk, I bid Aunt May goodbye, thanking her again for her immense help in getting me a place to stay during my business trip.

This was plainly a business trip.

Three days, in and out.

Nothing more!

And as I got into my Toyota Camry and sped off the street, I reminded myself that it was just a business trip, which helped me calm down the racing of my heart.