Little MatchMaker

It's a date

"It is called a Pineapple because of the pine present over it, otherwise it is just as soft as an apple. But not as sweet"

" mm, I agree, Pineapples are hard to peel off though" Win pushed the said fruit into his mouth, the tangy taste making his senses tingle.

" Yeah, daddy peels it off for me" she pushes a piece in her mouth.

"As he should"

"Yeah, I know the names of all the fruits"

"Well, I always knew you were clever"

"Yeah, me too" she grinned, then frowned "but I can't say that" Jing had an adorable pout on her pretty face.

"Why not?"

"Daddy says it is more suitable if others praise me, something to do with humility"

Win laughed, he picked up a piece of pineapple and ate it pushing the empty bowl of fruits to the ground and leaning on the fence to converse with his tiny girl standing on the chair. It had rained for a few days last week and the weather seemed clearer because of it, the early July breeze was a bit nippy when the temperature dropped during the early mornings and late evenings because of the constant raining, it was almost four on a Thursday evening and both of them were waiting for Jing's father to come and fetch her.

Win had cut some pineapples and offered to the little girl and the few other children who were waiting to be fetched by their parents, not that there were many, most of the mother's had already picked up their children doing a surprised double-take after noticing a handsome young man deep in conversation with a little girl. The mums had felt giddy and disappointed all at the same time when they never got any attention from the man, but they also cooed at the obvious adoration he was displaying for the little girl.

After all, good-looking men who are good with children are always a sight to behold.

Win blinked, listening attentively about Jing's cartoon character, it had been a week he met this beautiful little girl who always had thousands of stories to tell, eyes shining every time she narrated one. He had fallen hard and fast. It wasn't even in question, Win voluntarily started making little adjustments with his daily schedule to make room for the beautiful girl.

Like when he postponed his plant nursery visit at 1 in the afternoon so that he could eat lunch over the fence with Jing. He made chicken for her that particular day. And although Aom had asked him to come over and eat on the dining table like a sane person he declined, he almost liked their over-the-fence interactions.

His plants, though, may feel a little neglected these days.

The thought of her Handsome father also entered his mind more often than he would care to admit but he mostly stopped himself from going there. He was a single father-and Win did not like being the one to assume, but Bright was most probably straight, and harboring a crush on a straight guy would not do him any good. It's better if he just admired his chiseled features from afar.

Or maybe find someone for himself. Like his grandmother always wanted.

For now, he must listen to how Jing has memorized the song "Do you wanna build a snowman?" and how her father was not free enough to take her to watch the new Frozen movie so now she was waiting for the DVD version.

Jing says it was outrageous.

Win agrees.

*

Bright sped through the suburban road to reach Aom's daycare, there was still a good portion of Jing's summer break left so he will have to come to pick her up at four in the evening. He felt bad for leaving his daughter in someone else's care but he was a VP in a print media company and he had a tough schedule to follow. He especially started working earlier in the day so that he could leave at 4 despite his clocking-out time being 5:30. It was easier when Bright's mother stayed with them, she took care of Jing so nicely, but two months back she had to move to the province to take care of Bright's grandmother. Old age was making things hard for her and Bright's mother had been torn but at last, agreed to go stay with her mother.