(DANIEL'S POV)
"Shit." I swear under my breath, refraining myself from putting a fire to the the whole room.
"Sir, maybe you should rest a little. You've been here since early morning. Now it's almost three and you haven't eaten anything yet." Rafael states, looking at his feet. Not again.
"Raf, what did I say? Keep the eye contact. Stay confident, firm. Stand your ground. Own the room. You've got this." I am a little deceived. I made a man out of the little boy he was but it has been a week since he has been behaving weirdly. He is back to being plain, a little lost and distracted.
"I apologize, sir."
"Stop calling me sir. That's just for the office. Come on, tell me what's going on that made you forget about our lessons." I push the few dresses that are in front of me away. I am done for today. Mom's things can wait. There is no hurry.
"It's Felicia. I think she likes me too. I've done everything you said and it worked. So, I asked her out and she said yes right away. We're having lunch on Thursday." Well, there you go, young man.
"That's actually good news. I am so proud of you." I say and he starts listing everything he would love to do with her, every place he feels she will like. He has potential and I am more than willing to help him upgrade.
I just love where this young man is heading. He is a hard-worker, loyal and committed. He has utmost respect for people and is so grateful even for the tiniest thing you do for him. He is very gentle in his approach and his problem solving skills and emotional intelligence do a lot of good to my tortured mind.
I like how he is always willing to take advice or learn new things even though they might not seem interesting or important. He is a sponge, absorbing everything he can, making him an open encyclopedia. You could be having lunch with him and he sits there, throwing random info on any subject between two bites of his sandwich. One time I choked on my food cause he told me that a certain species of duck had corkscrew-shaped penises.
"Do you think I can get her a gold bracelet? I've put some money aside and-"
"Whoa... Hold on... You've gotta slow it down a bit. She agreed to have lunch with you, she didn't say you two were a thing. Now, I would suggest you buy her flowers. Nothing big though. You gotta make a good impression but too much will kill it. It's the intention, the demeanor and the conversation that are gonna do the work."
"But what if it's not enough? What if she doesn't like flowers and wanted chocolate or maybe something more significative?" He starts to panic like we haven't worked on that for two months straight.
"Rafael... You saw the flowers on her desk every single day. You've complimented her on things that showed you were paying attention to the small details that everybody else couldn't see. You were very well spoken and dressed each time you approached her. Damn, your cologne almost made me fall for you. Opened doors, held the elevator, brought her coffee. You've encouraged her. You're good." He did a great job.
"I even consoled her when a bird came crashing against her window and she couldn't stop crying." Out of all the work he has put into it, this is what he is proud of.
"Yeah. But to be honest, it had more to do with her period. They tend to get sensitive during that time of the month." I am usually fond of our conversations but right now I feel like I am forcing things a little as I am tired and not in the mood.
I have been in mom's room for hours, trying to go through her belongings and figure out what to keep and what to give away. A very painful process I am sick of already. I thought I was strong enough for that but each and every thing she possessed have memories attached to them. I ended up reminiscing each five minutes while hiding how devastated I am. I don't want Rafael to feel bad.
