Baby's Breath and Roses

Chapter 7: Redemption?

Liam stood by the door, his hands hovering above the doorbell. His hesitation was obvious as he pondered if he was doing the right thing. Before he could regret it, he pressed on the doorbell. An elegant old lady answered the door. She smiled fondly at the boy before letting him in.

"Now, I had high hopes for you, young man," Eric took a sip out of the traditional Chinese porcelain cup. The aroma of the oolong tea floating in the air. "Yet you hurt our precious daughter,"

"I know. I'm so sorry for it. I was a big jerk and I wasn't mature enough to make good decisions and I hurt her really bad," Liam admitted. He played with his fingers, his nervousness obvious to the eye. He held his cup in his hands and hoped that he wouldn't shatter it. He doesn't need to add the cup to the list of things he's shattered from the Li household, right below Sienna's heart.

"You are a brave young man," Mei commented as she refilled Eric's cup. Eric smiled as he took his cup again.

"You know this type of tea?" Eric asked, pointing to the tea bag in the middle of the coffee table. Liam shook his head.

"We grew the leaves. Come here to our backyard every single morning for two weeks and harvest the fresh leaves. Dry them for two weeks naturally. Once you're done, give them to us, if we approve of the taste, then we can talk about you and Sienna,"

_____

For the next two weeks, Liam came in the early hours of the day, an hour before sunrise, and harvested the tea leaves. Mei would always stand by the kitchen with a cup of tea in her hands, silently watching him work. On the last day, she offered for him to stay for breakfast, but he declined. He didn't want Sienna to see him like this. It's a good thing she usually doesn't wake up till seven or even eight in the morning, minutes from when their school starts.

The day after Liam finished with the tea making, Mei surprised him by calling him and inviting him over. The boy made his way to the Li household as fast as he could and carefully knocked. The elegant but much smaller lady opened the door for him and invited him in.

"You did great in showing your dedication and patience completing Eric's task for you," Mei said calmly. She opened a room Liam's seen before but never really been into. The two walked inside and walls of fabric and sewing thread immediately came into view. Two sewing machine sat side by side in one corner.

"Eric has forgiven you and given his blessings. Before you get mine, please, sew a cheongsam with me," Mei walked over to the wall of fabric and picked one out. It was a white fabric with blue lining. The blue and white porcelain embroidery looked amazing. Liam could imagine Sienna in it, she would look stunning.

"If we start now, we can finish right around your graduation trip. Then maybe, Sienna can even wear the dress to prom," Mei smiled as she sat down with the fabric cut and the other sewing materials. She handed Liam a piece of fabric.

"Shall we start?"

_

The sewing process wasn't easy. Liam wasn't good at it at all. But thankfully Mei was very patient with him and helped him when he got stuck. The cheongsam came out pretty decent to say the least, and Mei was impressed with the young man's attitude.

Not before long, it was time for their graduation trip. The groups had been decided on last year, before everything happened, so as awkward as it was, Liam was in a group with Sienna, Oliver, and Amelia.

On the bus to the airport, Oliver and Amelia sat next to each other. Amelia naturally rested her head on his shoulder. Oliver felt his heart sped up a little, the reddening of the tips of his ear being the only visible change to him.