In Love With Ms. Manoban

Part 6

Jeremiah

"I've never seen this bakery before." Ms. Manoban commented as she took a bite of her cinnamon roll.

"It's a bit secluded."

"How did you get to know about it then?" She asked curiously.

"My mother used to bring me here when I was little." Lisa nodded her head as an awkward silence soon enveloped us. I really want to know what happened yesterday after she got home so I decided to break the silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She seemed to be hesitating. "It's okay. You can talk to me." I told her as I put my hand on hers for reassurance. She visibly calmed down.

"I did the surprise." I already know where this is going when tears already started to fill Lili's eyes. "I thought he might be happy. We never discussed about having children but he knew how much I love them." At this point tears were already streaming down her beautiful face. I walked around the table to give her a comforting hug. Good thing I chose a booth.

"Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions. He was probably just shocked, right? Maybe I'm just being emotional because of the hormones." It was clear that Ms. Manoban was trying to convince herself. We both knew that wasn't the case but chose not to comment on it.

I sat there with her as she let out  little cries, whispering soothing words to calm her down. After a while, she pulled out from the hug.

"I'm so sorry, Jeremiah. I shouldn't be telling you this." The regret could be seen in Lisa's eyes.

"It's okay. I'm glad to help."

"This is so embarrassing." Lisa exclaimed as she cover her face with her hands.

"It's alright. You could tell me anything, whenever you need." I pulled her hands away to wipe the tears that rolled down her cheeks. Seeing this, she gave me a warm smile that surely melted my heart.

"Thank you." I pulled her into another hug. It probably wasn't necessary but I wanted more of her nice vanilla scent. She didn't seem to mind though. That was until I started sniffing the woman like a dog.

"Uhm... Jeremiah?" I was slapped back into reality when I heard Ms. Manoban's panicked voice.

"Oh. Sorry." I mumbled sheepishly as I awkwardly pulled out from the hug.

"So..." Thank God she broke the silence. "You said your mother used to bring you here?" I nodded at Lisa's question. "Where is she now? I don't think I've met her at school before. No matter what age their child is, mothers like to be involved in certain school events and meetings." She said innocently. 'Noooooooo.'

"S-She's right h-here actually. Just a l-little busy. And I'm old enough to take care of things myself anyway so there is no need to bother her." I nervously replied. I never liked talking about my mother.

"Well, I hope to see her soon anyway. Do you have anywhere you need to go right now?" I shook my head because my mother won't be coming home today. "Do you want to go for some ice cream then?" She asked, a pink tint forming on her cheeks. 'Is she sick? Maybe it's just the pregnancy.'

"I would love to but I don't have any money left." The cinnamon rolls weren't even that expensive and I'm already broke.

"I'll pay for it."

"I don't want you to spend your money on me."

"It's the least that I could do. Please let me do this Jeremiah." Lisa said with a pout. I tried guys but I couldn't resist.

"Sure." Her face lit up right away as she dragged me away from the bakery.

We headed straight to the ice cream parlour we went to yesterday, hands occasionally brushing as we walked side by side.

"Do you want vanilla again?" Ms. Manoban asked once we reached the counter. I nodded. She payed for the ice cream and we went to find a seat. We talked and Lisa told me a lot of funny stories.

Often, we would laugh so loud that other customers started looking at us. We apologized of course, then Lisa would giggle cutely after. Her laugh was like music to my ears and I tried my best to be as quiet as possible so that I could hear it.

After a while, Ms. Manoban groaned, making me look up to her from my second set of ice cream. That woman is quite stubborn, she would let me refuse.

"Little bump, you're making mommy really hungry." She said while caressing her stomach. A yawn soon escaped her mouth. "And tired too." Lisa chuckled as she looked at me, making me join in.

"Maybe we should go now."

"Aww. But I was having so much fun." She whined childishly.

"Don't worry. We could come back soon." I soothed her like a parent would to their child.

"Promise?"

"Promise." We both stood up and thanked each other for today. The customers cheered as we left, probably happy that they could have some peace, making me and Lisa laugh.