Sweetheart Series I: The Politician's Wife

Chapter II

Chapter II
Decision

-RICHARD-

The room was filled with voices, council members were debating the finer points of the budget proposal. I simply nodded, half-listening, doing my best to stay engaged tough the monotony of the week was wearing on me – endless meetings feeling like endless loops of the same arguments.

My phone buzzed on the table beside me, just a quiet vibration, but enough to break through the fog. I glanced down, planning to ignore it, but I saw the notification. It was from Mama – a message with a photo attached.

Against my better judgement, I found myself checking the message.

It was a picture of a lady and for a spit second, the noise of the room faded into nothing. She had a smile plastered on her lips – the kind that would make you smile back in reply. Her wavy her fell loosely on her shoulders, framing her soft chubby cheeks in the most natural, effortless way. He eyes, bright and intelligent, drew me in immediately.

There was something about her – something elegant, graceful, yet warm that held my attention longer than it should have.

"Mayor? Everything alright?" a voice broke through my thoughts. Realizing what I was doing, I quickly straightened up, locking my phone and placing it back on the table, hoping no one noticed.

I cleared my throat, regaining composure and focus. "Yes, yes. Where were we?"

As the meeting resumed, I couldn't help but take glances at my phone. For the first time, I was eager to finish the meeting and leave the room.

Mom: She's pretty. Isn't she? She's the one I would like you to meet.

-KASSIE-

My heart fluttered at the sight of the beautiful baby Roxanne cradled in her arms. Her delicate features resembled that of her parents – although majority of it she took after her mom. The only thing she got from her dad was her brown hair.

"Welcome to the Christian World, Little Stella!" I greeted the baby.

"You're such a cutie." I couldn't help by smile as I witnessed how she let out a small yawn. I then brought my hand to caress her soft and pinkish cheeks.

"She's both a bundle of joy, and the source of my stress." Roxanne chuckled. "Do you want to carry her?" she then asked.

"Nope!" I hurriedly shook my head despite my utmost desire to do so. "I might not want to give her back if you give her to me." I pouted.

Roxanne then looked me in the eye. Something about it gave me a hint that she was onto something. Perhaps she had already heard of the news from Dale.

"You can always have one yourself," Roxanne said with a meaningful smile. "After all, aren't you getting yourself a husband?

I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. I knew quite well what she meant.

"Y-You heard from Dale?" I asked.

"Nope." She shook her head in reply. "I heard from my husband. He and Dale shared a few drinks the other night."

I shook my head and sighed. Dale can be quite talkative, especially when he's drunk.

"It's Papa's Last Wish," I said.

"What about you?" she then asked. "What do you want?"

Truth be told, I been thinking about it for days – it was unfair of Papa to decide my future, yet based on my circumstances there's nothing wrong with it. I'm twenty-seven and single... and looking back, I had always wanted to settle down before the age of thirty.

"I want to give it a try," I said, looking into Roxanne's eyes.

"Then do so, Kass. It's your decision to make." She smiled.

Moments later, Roxanne's Husband joined us, snaking his arm around her waist and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Here you are, my wife," he said.

"Do you have to act sweet in front of a single lady like me?" I pouted, then they both chuckled.

"You don't have to stay single forever, though, Kass."

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Enough with my love life1 Our friends are probably waiting for us."

We then made our way to the table where our other friends were. I then sat on the vacant chair beside Lauren who was holding her sleeping son.

"What a sleepyhead." I chuckled. "Just like you!"

Lauren let out a soft chuckle. "I only slept once in class, and I never did it again after I got scolded by our teacher," she defended, then we all laughed as we recalled what happened that day

"Wow, Dale! Don't you dare laugh! You also had your fair share of faults." Lauren said while pointing her finger at Dale, who was laughing while hugging his daughter.

"Right, right! I'll never forget the standing ovation moment." Tina laughed.

Dale stopped laughing then looked at her, "Poverty and sympathy, we need sympathy to eradicate poverty..." he said as he mimicked Tina. He was teasing her by reminding her about her speech back in senior year, and then Tina blushed in embarrassment.

"For someone who the calculus teacher scolded, you sure are silent, Kassie," Dale said.

"Mind you, it was your fault!" I glared at him.

"You were the one being noisy, yet I was the one who got scolded."

Reminiscing about our youth brought a warm feeling. It reminded me of how we've grown into the people we are today. As the banters continue, I couldn't help but silently watch them.

Most have started building their families, except for Tina – she was very committed to her job as a pediatrician. Meanwhile, here I am contemplating about whether I'd give in to my father's will or not.

"It's your decision to make, Kass."

For the nth time, I took a deep breath mustering up the courage to knock on the door of uncle's office.

"You can do this, Kass," I said to myself, finally bringing myself to knock.

"Come in," I heard uncle say.

Slowly, I brought myself to step into his office. From the looks of it, he was busy reviewing papers – probably for the cases he was handling.

"Have a seat." He said.

"What brings you here, Kassie?" he then asked.

"It's about Papa's Last Wish, Uncle..." I said after making myself comfortable on the sofa.

He paused his reading and looked me in the eye, waiting for what I was to say next.

"I am considering to give it a chance..."

"But before anything... could I perhaps meet with him at least once?"