Tragically Yours

| 26 |

After the whole dirty dishes "conflict", Gail had been quiet. Well, mostly. She'll utter something about what she had observed, and throw questions at me about the city. Occasionally, blurring out some jokes and giggling at herself. I find myself smiling internally, happily seeing that Gail hadn't changed since the last time I saw her. Even though she sounds and looks fine, I can't help but to feel that she's worrying about something. Throughout the drive to work, my mind is occupied with how I could ask her what she's worrying about.

Which leads us here right now, in the parking lot outside the company building. I turn to face Gail, who now has a worried expression that is quite evident. "Throughout the ride, I've been sensing that you're worried about something." I wait for her to face me with her piercing blue eyes, confirming that worry. "What is it?"

For a couple of seconds, we fall into silence. The only noise was coming from the cars outside. I watch her silently, waiting for her to answer. But then, she spoke out. "Are you sure that it's okay for me to be here? Like, have you asked your boss about a visitor?"

That's what she's worried about? Initially, I thought it's something huge, but I did not expect it to be that. Seeing her serious expression gave me enough strength to keep myself from laughing. I clear my throat, "It'll be fine. You don't need to worry about that. I'm sure my boss will be fine with you being around." A smirk escapes from me, "Hell, his wife is always in the building even though she doesn't work in the company. So, I'm sure everything will be fine." But if it's not fine, which will be unfortunate for Favian since I ain't sending Gail home. He will have to deal with that. In my mind, I hear myself laughing, since I wasn't this bold to Favian in the beginning. At first, I was intimidated by him when I was just starting to work in his company, but after a while of knowing him more, I end up not feeling scared about him. Well, thanks to Ethan Miles. He helped me overcome Favian's intimidating nature.

I shake away the thoughts in my head and force myself to get back to reality and stare at my passenger. Even though I look her in the eyes, I still can't seem to catch my breath properly. And I also can't seem to keep my mind in the right place, since it was a bit late for me to realize that she was speaking. "I'm sorry, what was that?" Doing my best to sound confused so that it will not make it obvious to her that I wasn't paying attention. There's a difference between confused and oblivious. I'm trying my damndest not to sound like the latter. Because first it'll be rude to her, and the last thing I want is to be rude to her. And second, she'll make fun of me for sounding oblivious.

Luckily, she'd noticed my confusion and didn't shed a single about her being annoyed by me. "I said that, if you're sure that it'll be fine, then I guess there's no use for me to worry about it." She flashes me a smile before breaking eye contact. When I realized that she's unbuckling her seat belt, I undid mine and hurriedly got out of the car to open her door. A snort came out of her as she stepped out of the car, "You didn't have to do that, Vy."

A small smile crawls its way toward the corners of my lips. "I know, but I wanted to."

She narrows her eyes at me as I slam the door shut. "Here's a proposition..." I turn to face her and raise an eyebrow, waiting for her proposal. "You have to choose between doing the dirty dishes or acting like a gentleman towards me." She points a finger at me and jab it lightly in between my chest. Thank God she doesn't have sharp nails because this time her jab hurts a bit. "You can't do both, Vy. Choose one."

I can't believe I'm pondering my answer towards this ridiculous question. If only I had it my way, then I would have done both of them. But no, Gail won't let me, and I'm not going to risk her getting annoyed by my actions. I need to think this through. It's best to just choose to be a gentleman since that can happen every time I'm with her, rather than doing the dirty dishes, which only happens when we eat at home. My heart skips a heat at that last word. Home. How long can I convince Gail that my home is her home as well? Never mind that, for now, I have a question that needs to be answered. "I suppose I should just become a gentleman and become a dishwasher." I did my best to sound defeated, but inside I'm having a fanfare.