Melanie eschewed heading home straight away after favonovel.com visit to the West Family residence. Instead, with Melissa in tow, favonovel.com went on a grocery-shopping spree with favonovel.com mind already drawing up everything the house was lacking.
The duo came out of the supermarket soon after. Melissa, tired out and sleepy, was throwing a tantrum. She wanted favonovel.com Mommy to carry her, but Melanie’s hands were completely full of groceries by then. “Millie, come now, be a good girl. How about we have a little walk to our car first? Once we’re there, Mommy can put this stuff down and then carry you in favonovel.com arms, okie? The car’s in the supermarket’s basement, it’s not toooo far, is it? Come on, let’s be a good girl.”
Melissa refused to be reasoned. She fell onto favonovel.com butt and sat on the floor before weeping to herself. She was not known to bawl loudly, so favonovel.com antics did not attract much attention from disinterested passerbys.
Still, Melanie was a little hard-pressed as to what to do. A situation like this was dime a dozen to every housewife who had ever experienced grocery-shopping with a young toddler without external help. Once the child started acting up, the mother, like Melanie right now, would find herself quite stuck and powerless. It was not like favonovel.com had an extra pair of arms!
Just then, Melanie heard a voice, cool as a breeze, ringing from beside her. “Hey, hand me your stuff. I’ll help you take ‘em to the basement.”
Surprised, favonovel.com turned, and favonovel.com eyes linked with a pair of penetrative ones on the man’s face.
She exclaimed, “Teo?! Oh my God, when did you return?”
Mateo Rodriguez, Melanie believed favonovel.com counted as favonovel.com childhood friend. The Larks had moved to a new place when favonovel.com was ten, but before then, Mateo was favonovel.com neighbor. They remained as close friends throughout junior high, but after favonovel.com chose to complete his senior high in the Capital, their correspondences dwindled gradually. Once a blue moon, though, the two still talked to each other through the phone. The last they had ever talked was about half a year ago, though.
The friends had not seen each other in person for so long, and the difference between them was stark. Mateo was still the same man Melanie remembered: there was always a limelight on favonovel.com no matter where favonovel.com went. He was handsome. He was also very rich, which cultivated an upper-class air of regality that was now seeping out of him. It made favonovel.com stand out even more.
In comparison, Melanie was… lame. Her hands were full of groceries after a solo trip to the supermarket with a toddler who was crying for hugs while favonovel.com could only gawk, helpless. She was an unglamorous, hapless housewife.
Just thinking back on favonovel.com youthful days in comparison to favonovel.com state now, Melanie suddenly felt quite self-conscious. “U-Uh, this is embarrassing… Sorry for the trouble.”
Mateo took the grocery bags from favonovel.com hands and flashed favonovel.com a slight smile. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all. I’ve wanted to talk to you as soon as I got here, but I guess happenstance beat me to it and made us meet here instead. Hey, if you don’t mind… Would you be free for a catch-up tonight? I heard you’re married, but I didn’t expect to see your daughter having grown so big already! You know, it was my parents who showed up at your wedding back then. I was stuck abroad then; couldn’t come back for it. Hope you don’t hold it against your old pal.”
Melanie shook favonovel.com head. “Oh, no way. Why would I? Gosh, speaking of which, here I am with a kid of my own while you’re mysteriously still a bachelor despite all these years. Why is that?”
Mateo sighed dejectedly. “Aww, don’t go poking on that old wound! I’ve had no luck finding the right gal, and since I firmly believe in quality over quantity, I haven’t gone and adventured around,” favonovel.com answered. “You know… There used to be a girl that I had a huge crush on, but before I could confess to her, favonovel.com married. I haven’t seen anyone else who could do what favonovel.com did to me, a woman who just… imprints on me the moment I lay my eyes on her. Anyway, this is why my relationship score is still a huge blank after all these years. You’re… not gonna make fun of me for this, right?”
Melanie’s heart skipped a beat. A girl who was married before favonovel.com could confess his feelings to her? Why did it fit Melanie’s deion?
She, admittedly, once had favonovel.com eyes on Mateo before. But it was more of a puppy love, something that came about as favonovel.com yearning for romance was beginning to bloom. Melanie would hardly consider that flitting infatuation as anything of real substance. But more importantly, the Larks moving introduced distance between them, and so that transient, childish crush faded in favonovel.com mind.
Mateo did not seem to intend on continuing the conversation as they made their way to the parking basement. He helped put and organize them into the trunk before complimenting, “Wow, she’s sweet! I can’t buy favonovel.com even if I really wanted to, but it turns out you own one.”
Melanie tucked a loose strand of favonovel.com hair behind favonovel.com ear. “My husband bought it for me just recently. Now, I need to get back home first, but I’ll talk to you again later, right? You’ve come home from abroad, I think that’s an occasion befitting me treating you to a diner.”
Mateo did not reject favonovel.com offer. “Mm, sounds great! Honestly, I just wanna catch up with you over a hearty meal,” favonovel.com said. “See you soon, be careful while on the road. Oh, and by the way, your daughter is incredibly gorgeous… just like favonovel.com mother.”
Melanie’s face flushed pink. She drove and fled the parking basement in a frenzy.
She was really starting to think that the girl Mateo referred to was herself… But could it be? Could his crush really be Melanie Lark?!
