When Love Dies | 1 ✔

Chapter 28

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"Where are we off to?"

Without delay, Tess led me into her car—um, technically her dad's car but whatever belongs to her father belongs to her, doesn't it?—and we zoomed off. She drove slightly out of control and I wondered how she would drive my Range Rover if I gave her the chance. It had forever been her dream to drive it and I was almost compelled to let her on some occasions but my perception of her driving skills today had crushed every hope of allowing her drive my SUV.

Perhaps one day, I'd let her. You never can tell.

"Nowhere fancy. We could just drive around town and I'd give you a spoken tour of England, Sounds nice?" She asked reluctantly. Nice didn't sound fun to me but I decided to take as much as I could get. I nodded.

Instantly my phone rang and I wondered who the caller was.

"I hope it's not my brother asking about you? That guy is just too whipped and overprotective of you." As she spoke, she clasped my phone out of my hands before I could pick.

"Oops! It's your mum." she stated.

Why was mum calling? I hope she wasn't calling to request that I return? She was without a doubt, capable of anything, especially having her way. But I won't let her this time. I picked the call and placed it on my left ear.

"Hey mum." I avoided saying good morning because of the time difference. Mum in her highhanded self could scold me for my lack of knowledge of the time differences. Yes! She was autocratic and overbearing.

"Cassieopia my darling. How are you? Have you eaten? Have they been treating you competently? Are you having fun? Are...? " She rambled on and on. Here we go again!

"Mum, slow down a moment. I'm fine and yes to all the other questions." I replied.

"I'm so sorry love. It's just that I miss you terribly. I've been to your room twice. I even slept there last night. I miss my baby." she sobbed with convulsive gasps.

I was surged in a force of love too deep to control. Love for my mother. I missed her too. I missed dad and Ana so much too. This hit me with the fact that beyond mum's hard exterior, beneath is a sweet woman.

"I miss you too mum. You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine. England is fine so far." I replied a moment later.

"Frabjous!" She exclaimed.

This made me laugh as I instantly remembered Gemma and her simple use of words. Her word, "Cool" sounded new school ish. It was unlike mum's which sought to radiate her sense of lexicon. Mum was a walking Thesaurus. It wasn't right to compare them but it crossed my mind.

"I tried calling you non stop but you never picked. I opted on trying my luck again. I didn't expect you to answer. I was astonished when you did." Mum said.

"I'm terribly sorry. I was jet lagged after the flight soi slept a long while. You should have tasted the meals Gemma prepared. One was chicken something, I can't remember the name. The dessert was..." I excitedly bantered on the food. If there was anything that would make me spend more time in England, it'd be for the food.

"Good. I'll talk to you later then. Bye. I love you." She hung up without giving me a chance to reciprocate. It felt strangely unwonted that after everything she said about missing me, she would hang up without hearing me out. Now I could add "Mysterious" to mum's qualities.

"You don't look happy." Tess commented about two minutes after the call.

"It's nothing. Where are we now?" I changed the subject, totally not in the mood to go deep into spilling things about my mum.

"Feel free to talk about it if you want." she urged me to speak but I declined.

"I'm alright." I replied curtly.

"You know what, I heard you say England is fine. That's not the word to describe my country. I have to do something about it. We need to have fun. A girls day out. Whatcha say?" I was surprised and nodded my head till I felt it would snap out of my neck.

"Yes please." I managed to say finally.

"Let's make England fun." She responded.

I heard a shuffle and before I knew it, Cardi B's Bodak Yellow played at an average volume. Tess screamed at the top of her lungs and I joined her, engrossed and basking in the beat and peculiarity of the song.

We grabbed some ice cream on the way while I listened as she explained what she knew about England—which was after she turned down the music— Her accent was thicker now that she was in her country and it amazed me how English people could switch their accents based on the setting they found themselves in.

"What about the family lunch slash dinner, don't you think we should get something new and fancy?" I suggested the instant I remembered the event. I wanted to impress everyone and I had my credit card fully loaded back at Tess' house.

"It's not a fancy get together. Besides the clothes you brought along are perfect. I was there when Ana packed them up."

"Alright then." I resigned myself, relaxed.

"Have you ever been on a Ferris wheel or Roller coaster before?" she asked. That was very odd to ask a typical American that question but because of my disability—scratch that, blindness wasn't such a disability— She had a very good point asking me that question.

"Of course I have. But it's been a long time. Perhaps six years ago."   I answered. Ana and I often went to the park which used to be fun. I really couldn't remember why we stopped.

"I've got a splendid idea. Let's go have some girls time at the park. It'd be so much fun." Clearly from her manner of speech, the bubbly and enthusiastic voice and titters in between, I knew history was gonna repeat itself.

We were gonna have fun!

"Let's go!" I screamed emphatically.

And off we went.

England was turning out to be just as I dreamed it would!