"Oh, you're back son. Go freshen up. We're having healing mass at 6 pm," Mom said as she walked past me to the kitchen. For Pete's sake, I just came back from work. Now I have to go out again?
Ugh! I'm exhausted from work.
Maybe going to church wasn't a bad idea, but still, I needed rest. I felt completely drained from work today, not literally dying or anything. I dragged myself upstairs and collapsed on my bed, until Brenda, my little sister, yelled at me to get ready.
I sighed.
I got up, freshened up, and sprayed some perfume on my shirt. No, I wasn't trying to attract any women—I just wanted to smell nice since I'm a smoker, you know?
"You're only wearing black?" I rolled my eyes. Heidi, my older sister, complained about my shirt. "What's wrong with my black shirt? Just let me breathe, please."
"Nope, you're not wearing black today. You always wear black like you're going to a funeral," said Heidi as she marched into my room and grabbed my baby blue shirt. She handed it to me, and though I sighed, I put it on.
"Now it's perfect! My cute baby brother!"
"Please, I'm an adult. Stop babying me."
"I don't care. Now let's go," and then Heidi drove me and Brenda to church. Mom and Dad took another car in case they wanted privacy. As usual, Brenda sat with her choir mates on the first bench since she's a member. Mom sat with her fellow choir members since she's a commentator at church, and Dad sat with his fellow church wardens. If you're wondering where I sat. I was at the last bench.
With my older sister Heidi.
After years of being an altar server sitting in front facing the altar, I finally got to sit at the back bench. Judging everyone from behind, I guess. Sometimes I miss being an altar server, it was fun. Serving God at a young age, being close to Him, it meant a lot. I can't describe the feeling. I learned a lot about God back then.
"She's beautiful, but why is she wearing black?" I turned to look at Heidi beside me as she judged a girl dressed almost entirely in black. She had long wavy hair with red highlights, wore glasses, and just as Heidi pointed out, was dressed like she was attending a funeral. So this is how Heidi sees me whenever I wear black.
"Sis, you don't have to jud—"
"Her eyebrows look pretty. I wonder where she gets them done," she cut me off. I rolled my eyes and looked forward.
"Dave, can you ask her where she gets her eyebrows done? I want mine like hers," Heidi whispered to me. I sighed, patted her shoulder, and told her to focus on Father, who was giving the Homily. After a few minutes, we received Holy Communion, and I noticed that same girl who caught Heidi's attention staring at me. When I walked past the column, she looked away.
Something told me this girl looked familiar. Maybe she used to come to church during my time as an altar server. I didn't think much of it—there were many familiar faces here.
Ah... I miss my best buddy from my altar server days. Jackson, where are you now? I miss you, buddy. Jackson Phil, my classmate from kindergarten through Form 5. We went separate ways after SPM—I went to Polytechnic while he continued to Form 6. We never got another chance to meet. We're still in contact, just both busy with work and studies and whatever else.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Someone had left missed calls and spam messages on my phone. I rolled my eyes when I saw the contact name.
Amanda.
What doesn't she understand? I already told her we're done. I told her our relationship never worked. What part of that is unclear? I unlocked my phone and blocked her number. So annoying.
"How rude," Heidi commented as she watched me block Amanda's number. She shook her head and looked away. Then we had to queue for the Oil of the sick, pure olive oil used for the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. Despite the long queue and my impatient nature, I joined the line.
I walked to the longest queue. That's when I noticed the same girl Heidi mentioned earlier looking at me, more like holding her gaze. I'm serious, she looked so familiar, as if she held memories from my past that I couldn't quite place. A staring contest began between us. I don't know why, but it was fun, and she seemed to enjoy it too. I didn't realize I'd end up queuing right behind her until she looked away.
I watched her, a small smirk appearing on my face as she tried to peek over her shoulder before quickly looking away again. She stayed frozen for the whole session, pretending nothing happened even though she'd clearly been caught stealing glances at me. How cute. I hoped she might turn around again, maybe ask for my number? Usually, I don't let women ask for my number—I'm the one who asks—but this time, I wanted her to make the move. I notice her cheeks turning red and pretend not to see it. Come on, girl, just ask for my number already! I want to know you better. Maybe we could grab coffee after church? For a moment, I forget I came here with my family. Heidi might kill me for ditching her.
Sorry, sis. I love you, but my love life comes first.
She didn't though, walking away instead with two men—her brothers, perhaps? If they are her brothers, they look much taller and tougher than me. I'm just a slim guy with a slight build. I can't imagine facing them if they decided to knock me down, since I'm so much smaller.. But hey, she kept stealing glances at me like she wanted something. Before she left, she smiled at me and nodded. What did that mean? I mean, it's not wrong for people to smile at strangers, maybe she always does that, I don't know. Heidi dragged me to our car, but I could still see her from afar.
"You know her?" Heidi asked as we got inside the car. This time I drove back home. Brenda, who sat in the back, came forward, interested in the gossip. I raised my eyebrows.
"Who?"
"That girl? "
"Which girl?" I asked, but I couldn't lie. I smiled when she mentioned the word 'girl' because my thoughts drifted to the girl I'd just met. Heidi narrowed her eyes, giving me that 'don't act like a fool, I know what you're thinking' look.
"Nothingggg... just some stranger..."
"Stranger, huh? But she smiled at you mean she knows you" I smiled as I started to drive, leaving my two sisters to chatter about my love life. Whether they called me a coward or a bastard for not telling them about the girl, I didn't care. All I cared about was...
When will I meet you again? I want to know her better, she look interesting anyway. And why did she smile at me? Does she know me or she just being friendly? I don't know.
---
"Heidi! Look at this idiot, he blew his smoke at me, and that's disgusting!" Brenda fanned her face using her hand as I blew the smoke to her face. I laughed at her then. We were hanging out in our backyard, having some sibling time before Heidi left the next morning. It was 12 am, and of course, Mom and Dad already landed in dreamland at this hour.
PAK!
"Ow! Are you trying to kill me or what?" I rubbed my head; Heidi took a seat beside me after she smacked my head. Heidi looked at me as if she hadn't smacked my precious head. "It is not funny, Dave."
"It's funny to see Brenda fuss around. Look at her face, she looks ridiculous." Brenda rolled her eyes as she threw my cigarette box at me, and I caught it. I laughed at her, as it was a part of my routine to make Brenda annoyed.
"Enough, Dave, before Mom and Dad get up and beat your ass for teasing Brenda too much," said Heidi as she took a sip of her coffee. Heidi couldn't sleep since she had to fly back to Kuching tomorrow morning. She lives with her boyfriend, Lucas, in Kuching. She came back to her hometown because, obviously, she misses me. I am her favorite sibling after all, not Brenda.
"Alright, alright. So what time do you fly tomorrow? Will Lucas fetch you at the airport tomorrow morning?"
"You asking many questions, and of course Lucas will fetch me, idiot. And my flight is at 7 am tomorrow morning," said Heidi. I nodded. Heidi works as a nurse at SGH Kuching, and I work at Sibu, which meant I have to commute from Kanowit to Sibu. Mom already told me to live at Sibu, so that will be easy for me. I have my own house in Sibu, but nah, I don't want to live alone there.
I told Brenda to live with me, but she rejected it since I am a bad brother for her.
Obviously.
"You're asking like you going to send Heidi to the airport tomorrow. When I am the one who is going to send her," said Brenda. I smiled at her and patted her head. Good girl. Brenda is on her semester break, and that's why she came home.
"Just asking, after all I am a good brother."
"Good brother my ass," spoke Brenda as she looked away. I'm pretty sure she wants to spit on my face right now for being annoying. Heidi shook her head; she bet she had a headache from having siblings who loved to fight like cat and dog. Even cats and dogs nowadays don't fight.
"Anyway, your girlfriend met me earlier at the pet shop," said Brenda, not again.
"Which girlfriend?" I asked.
"You sound like you are very proud of yourself for being a womanizer," shot Heidi.
"I am not a womanizer," I said. Brenda and Heidi look at each other. They even make faces! Okay, maybe I was a womanizer, but it was before.
"I also meet Clara. Your other girlfriend, after I meet Amanda at pet shop. You know what, I feel like I want to tell both of them about you having two girlfriends at the same time, but no drama, I don't want to involve myself with your stupid love story," said Brenda. Ouch, that definitely hit my heart.
"I thought you already broke up with Clara; also, I saw that you ignored Amanda's text the other day" Said Heidi.
"I already broke up with Clara, same with Amanda. I don't understand why they are being stubborn. Also I use Amanda to dump Clara so that Clara will leave me."
"And you also dump Amanda now. Why is that? You're hurting people's feelings, idiot," shot Brenda. I sighed. I don't want to hurt anybody; I want to break up with Clara, but she didn't listen, so I asked Amanda to help me, and she agreed, but I didn't know that she had feelings for me and made her deeply in love with me.
"I didn't mean to hurt anybody. I told Clara everything is over, but she didn't listen." Heidi and Brenda look at me, an unbelievable look and a disgusting look from Brenda. "Then, why did you use Amanda to dump Clara? I mean, you can use another way to leave her."
"Clara is stubborn, and I can't stand her. I told her that I wanted to end this relationship, but she didn't want to. She kept begging me and begged for forgiveness. I don't want to hurt her, and I have to use a harsh way to leave her."
"And use Amanda to leave her? What a brilliant way, Dave Micheal," said Heidi as she clapped her hand. Why are we talking about my love life again? I am sick of this, sick of people calling me a womanizer. Maybe I was a womanizer before, but you know what? I don't leave people for some stupid reason. Some of them leave me because they found someone better than me. And I leave them because I can't stand them, and I have my own reason why I chose to leave them. Maybe some of the reason is because I was bored and lonely, so I need company, but then I leave them after I don't feel lonely and bored.
Fine, I love to play with other people's feelings, and guess what? People also play with my feelings, and now I want to change. I want to be a better person, so I want to be alone now. Sounds stupid, right? But that's me. Honestly, woman never say no to me when I ask them out. It's always a yes. I don't know if it's luck or charm but rejection just isn't something I'm familiar with.
"Can we stop talking about my love life?" I tried to change the topic, but Heidi didn't listen. She kept talking about me being a womanizer before and talking about Clara and Amanda. I rolled my eyes. Here we go, Brenda and Heidi talk shit about me in front of my face. I grabbed my cigarette from the box and put it between my lips, grabbed my lighter, and lit the cigarette.
Inhale…
Exhale…
Fuhh… I feel better after I blew the smoke.
"Or you dump Amanda after you saw a girl at the church the other day." I choked on the smoke as Heidi mentioned the girl that I saw last time at the church. "Gosh, don't involve strangers in my case, will you?" I said. Brenda moved her chair closer to Heidi, as she was interested in the topic that came out of Heidi's mouth. " Who is she? You guys talked about her last time but didn't involve me in this gossip. How could you two?" she said as she pouted. I smacked her head, and she groaned in pain. She slapped my arm.
"Nosy, you too young to understand."
"Excuse me, I am one year younger than you, Dave Micheal Masons."
"I know but you are being nosy in my love life, Brenda Nasha Masons," I shot her back. And then she slapped my arm again and definitely will leave red marks there. "Now, tell me, please. Who is she? Is she from our school too? Maybe ex-senior or ex-junior? I am curious," said Brenda
"Man, you never have interest about someone I like, you always said that my type is horrible."
"If she is from the church, that means she is a good girl, unlike you. Growing up as an altar server and then becoming a womanizer," said Brenda, rolling my eyes. I can't argue with that, we are human after all and can't run away from our sins.
"Okay, here the story" said Heidi.
"Not you, Heidi." I don't want Heidi to start this. I mean, I do know her, but I never spoke to her. As I remember, she was my junior back then in secondary school. We never talk, and then we never meet again until I see her again at the church. She had changed. I can't describe the feeling of seeing her again. I almost didn't recognize her if I didn't see her mole under her eye. Her mole makes me remember her.
Unfortunately, I never got her name.
"Hello? Dave Michael? Are you thinking about that girl?" Brenda snapped her finger in my face and brought me back to reality. Man, am I being obvious for thinking about her? Heidi smirks at me. She knows me damn well. " Look at him, he definitely will start his lover boy era," she said, once again rolling my eyes.
"Come on, how can I think about her when I don't even know her or her name? Think logical please." Brenda and Heidi laughed at me. "You? Think logic? Kiss my ass," said Heidi as she pointed at her backside, more to her ass. My sisters are making fun of me.
"She seems like she is a nice person. Why don't you go ask her for a date?" said Heidi again. I rolled my eyes. She was making fun of me again. " Do I have to repeat myself, Heidi? I don't know her name and I don't know her."
"It sounds like you are interested in her," shot Brenda as she high-fived Heidi. All of a sudden, they forgot about Clara and Amanda. Well, as long as they didn't bring up those names, I am fine with that, but involving strangers in this case is not fine! Heidi keeps chattering about that girl as she really loves her eyebrows. She also wants to ask where she does the eyebrows if she ever gets a chance to meet her.
And Brenda wants to meet her, and I bet Brenda knows her. If I'm not mistaken, she is friends with Graham? I don't remember. " And I think you know her," I told Brenda, she raised her eyebrows.
"How do you know that I know her?" I shrugged, then she slapped my arm again, which made me groan in pain since it is hurt. I get abused by my own sister. "Brother abuser." She rolled her eyes.
"I don't care. You should approach her and ask her where she does her eyebrows. I want to have eyebrows like hers," said Heidi.
"I don't know where she lives, and she doesn't know me."
"But you smiled at her last time, so that means you two know each other," said Heidi. I pinched my nose bridge, and my head hurt. What a logic.
"Sis, I don't know her. Okay.
"And it's time for you to know her, alright. Maybe she will be your girlfriend after that, and you can use her to dump Amanda. Just like what you always do." Heidi was being sarcastic; she added more spice to her words, and it hit my heart. Straight to my heart. "Nope, I will not do that to her." I put my hands up as I gave up for that.
"Cii… I hope you meet her tomorrow or maybe someday you will meet her again," said Heidi. I make faces at her as I mimic her. Nope, definitely not going to meet her again, but I'm also scared of her words. Sometimes, what comes from her mouth becomes real. It's like she is a witch who has a curse. But deep down inside my heart, I also want to get know her better. Last time I want to know her, I miss the chance and now, I don't want to miss the chance.
Maybe Heidi was right, I should approach her and ask where did she do her eyebrows. For Heidi's sake.
Suddenly I feel a buzzed in my pocket, I took my phone and I got a text from Graham.