His teddy pokes flustered her peaceful sleeping and she opened her eyes to see what was bothering her. Her vision seemed blurred for a moment. As things got vivid, the first thing she saw was the pink teddy bear.
“What’s this doing in front of me?” she wondered. Then, she placed her right hand at the teddy’s hips to get it. Upon raising it, an unexpected smile surprised her; thus, seeing Ian for the first time.
“Good morning, ugly duckling~” he softly whispered. Dorothy’s eyes enlarged because of such a close combat range of a conversation. Aside from being speechless, she unconsciously slapped Ian’s face. It was an exaggeratedly strong slap; Ian was knocked back to the bedroom wall.
(Evon’s surprisingly strong today eh~) he thought. She covered her mouth in shock when she realized that it was Ian, helped him stand up, and asked forgiveness.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just freaked out, that’s all.” She breathlessly explained. Ian saw it hilarious for her to apologize like that and told her, “No prob~ I should be the one saying sorry for disturbing your sleep.”
After things were settled, they sat beside each other on the bed. Of course, Ian couldn’t tell it wasn’t Evon due to the similarities. It took a while before they were comfortable with each other. Dorothy asked him, “Anyway, what’s this teddy for?”
“It’s a gift for you.” He answered with a projected calm and refreshing smile. Dorothy blushed a bit as she took a closer look at the teddy bear. Then, she spaced out and thought, (I know this is Evon’s. It will be just added to her collections. However, receiving this as myself, it’s my first stuffed toy.)
Ian noticed her smiling while holding the teddy and thought, (She really looks happy right now, but she has a lot of cuter toys than this.)
She noticed him staring comfortably at her as well as him noticing he got caught. The atmosphere becomes awkward for the both of them.
(What the hell is he silent for?)
It lasted for a few minutes but Dorothy couldn’t stand it, decided to break the silence by asking him, “What brings you here, Ian?”
Ian chinned up and asked her back, “Well Evon…Watcha say we have some fun at the park?”
Though he managed to speak smoothly, Dorothy could notice his legs shaking. She smiled and nodded as she answered, “Sounds good to me~”
Even if she’s Evon’s façade, the reaction on her face seemed heartily; so she thought, (I usually turn down dates. This might not be one but I’ll consider this my first.)
He seemed delighted to see her happy. He had to excuse himself because he still has to go home and said, “Let’s meet outside the park after lunch, kay?”
“Got it~” she nodded. Upon leaving, Ian had something in mind, (She sure was weird this morning.)
He started the car engine and immediately left the premises. Fredrick, on the other hand, hurried up stairs to see how his sister was. He slowly opened the door and saw her crying while holding the teddy bear.
(That Ian…)
He smiled as he left the door open without entering the room. Dorothy’s crying shed tears of joy. She hugged the pink teddy bear tightly onto her chest. She thought, (What a lucky girl Evon is… having such a wonderful guy for a best friend.)
It was already 10 in the morning when Dorothy decided to eat breakfast downstairs. The atmosphere at the dining area was surprisingly happy.
“You seem to be blooming today sis~” teased Fredrick. Dorothy hurriedly approached her brother, pounded his head and said, “SHUT UP BRO!”
He smiled for a while, but then he reminded Dorothy of her task, “Be careful sis. You’re carrying the name of my daughter. You might get carried away.”
Dorothy was confident that she could do the job properly and reassured her brother, “Don’t sweat it bro. I’ll handle this like a boss.”
He then stood up, gave his sister a pat on her shoulder, and told her, “If you say so… Guess I will hold on to your word then.”
After the late breakfast, Dorothy went back to Evon’s bedroom and opened her closet to choose clothes for the afternoon date. She got hold on a set of typical casual clothes and suggested, “Brother said Evon likes pretty dresses. Maybe I can wear this for a change~”
So she wore the casual clothes and jeans in contrary to Evon’s fashion sense and smiled, “This will surely surprise him.”
She smiled joyously as she applied make up on her face. Fredrick was outside of her room, eavesdropping on possible words she could say.
(That little girl…) sighed as he walk away from the room, took the car key downstairs and drove to the hospital.
(I know she can manage this but I wonder how my Evon is doing…)
Soon as he arrived, he immediately went to Evon’s room. He saw his daughter comfortably asleep. He felt relieved as he promised, “You’ll be fine, baby…”
Margaret sat beside Fredrick and leaned her head on his shoulder. He knew his wife was worried about the hospital bills, so he reassured her, “As soon as Mr. Lendington hands over the money, Evon’s operation will proceed.”
She sighed and asked her husband, “Why do we have to ask for a loan dear?”
The conversation was interrupted as Fredrick went out from the room to answer a phone call from Mr. Lendington.
“Oh Mr. Lendington?”
“I called to inform you about your loan. You can get the money later this evening.”
“Really? Thank you very much!”
Margaret overheard her husband’s reaction. When he came back inside the room to tell the news, he saw his wife smiling and crying at the same time. On the other hand, Dorothy was on her way to the park. At the front entrance was Ian; standing and waiting for his best friend to come. At that time, he planned on finally confessing his love to Evon.
A few minutes later, she arrived at the front entrance and met him. Just as she anticipated, it was Ian’s first time to see her wearing casual clothes on a date.
“Why do you look so surprised? Is this your first time seeing me in casual wear.” She teasingly said. He was star struck and speechless cause of what he saw and complimented her, “It’s just that, you look naturally beautiful with those clothes, Evon.”
“Dummy! Of course I am beautiful!” she added. He then reached out his hand to Dorothy. She gladly held on to it and began their “date”. He expected his well-planned date to occur, but it just turned to be a stroll around the park.
Dorothy sensed Ian getting nervous and heard him sing all of a sudden, “When the silver rain began to fall, I thought that it was a part of me~ Please stop the passing of time~”
(What’s up with him? He’s not used to hang out with Evon?)
However, his voice somehow reached Dorothy’s heart and unconsciously led her to asking him a question “Is this about your long time crush?”
She seemed to have snapped and realized she asked something Evon wouldn’t ask.
(This is bad… What am I asking?)
Ian looked determined. He cleared out his throat, manned up, and said, ”Evon… the truth is…”
However, she was startled with what he was about to say, leading her to unconsciously interrupt the confession,
“…that you like me?”
*END OF FLASHBACK*
YOU ARE READING
18th Birthday
RomanceThis tells a story of a man's struggle in saving his best friend's mother as his birthday gift for her.
