As Long As I Am With You

5

"Look, Ethan's not serious with you." Gerald said crossing his arms. I told him about the phone call last night. It was funny and confusing at the same time. "it's not like he's going to be my boyfriend or something." I snapped back.

"If ever he's going to ask you out, maybe don't go out with him. He radiates bad vibes to me though." he cleared his throat. I shrugged, "Your eyes are so puffy. What happened to you? Don't tell me you tripped your way here" he went closer to examine my face. I looked at him, weirdly.

"Stop. I balled my eyes earlier" I pushed him back, he sat on his table. "Why? What happened?" he asked, really curious. "I FaceTimed my mom" I laughed, shrugging it off. I'm that emo bitch.

"Look, I'm your best friend, Winter. I'm your best friend and the store manager of this shop, but that should not stop you from telling me whether you want to go visit your family in Texas or not. I'm always here, y'know?" he caressed my shoulder.

Fuck Corona, I stood up and hugged him, "Awh that's really sweet, Gerald. I don't really know when to visit them but thank you so much." I tightened the hug, "You can go visit Texas this weekend!" he suggested.

"You can also stay there maybe for a week or three? Not more than four weeks though, you know. School just finished and the shop can be a lot more busier." he smiled. We broke the hug.

"Really? Are you serious?" my eyes widened, about to cry. It's been centuries since I've been with Mom and Dad and Prim! "Hey c'mon! It's always serious when the topic is all about family. Of course I am serious! Just promise me to be extra safe and careful!"

"Of course, I promise that." A tear escaped my eye, I quickly wiped it. My eyes literally look like it was stung by a bee twice. "Wanna call your mom real quick?" he suggested, excited. I nodded in agreement. It's a good idea!

I rang my mom's phone and she answered it immediately, "Winterrose!" she uttered. "Hey mom! I'm with Gerald right now." I said really happy. "Hi Gerald!" she grinned. Mom's on the speaker.

"Mrs. Easton! We have good news for you!" Gerald said, covering his mouth. He's really excited about it. "Oh! What is it?" mom said on the other line. She started to call Prim and Dad. I heard them from the back.

Gerald looked at me, then back at the phone. "Winter will be there soon! Maybe this weekend!" he shrieked, clapping his hands like a seal.
"うそつき！" (uso-tsuki - liar ) my mom said, really shocked. I laughed really hard, Gerald's confused face just made it funnier.

"ちくしょう, スゴイ！" (chikusho, sugoi - Oh shit, wow) I heard Prim said at the back, I chuckled like a five year old kid. "I'm going to see Winterrose!" Mom celebrated through the phone, she made cute noises from the background. It made my day, honestly.

"Yeah Mom! Thanks to Gerald." I looked at Gerald and smiled at him, he smiled back and touched his heart and did that aww face. "Thank you Gerald! You're such a great person!" my dad said happily. I never smiled this big.

We talked to them for about two minutes and ended the call, and resumed our work. I did my job really happily that the customers vibed with my mood! We had couple of customers and Brian joined us too.

"Good morning!" he greeted everyone. We greeted back and smiled at him. I went to the customers' area and started cleaning the tables and the chairs. I was humming too, I've never been in a good mood though.

I went back to the counter and started mopping the floor since it was a bit dirty. Gerald, Brian and Nathan are busy doing their job. I saw this tall long haired guy walking in, again. No one's at the cashier so I decided to take it over. "Hi! What can I get for you today? " I smiled.