Jaquan was watching TV on the sofa when he received the call from Armando. It had been a few days since he came back home. There were still two days left before he went to work. He hadn't gone anywhere these days. It wasn't that he didn't want to go out.
It was because Felice and Allen had come to live with him.
They claimed to look after him, but were actually here to prevent him from contacting Emma.
Felice was so regretful that she had even encouraged him to find Emma.
Lying on the sofa, Jaquan put a piece of apple into his mouth with a fork and asked Armando on the phone lazily, "What's wrong?"
Armando came straight to the point, "Forest Hot Spring, want to come?"
"No." Jaquan replied lazily.
Armando hung up the phone.
After the call, Jaquan went back to the TV. Felice put a dessert on the coffee table and asked as casually as she could, "Who just called?"
"Armando."
Felice heaved a sigh of relief.
Jaquan couldn't help but say, "Emma doesn't have a cell phone. Don't worry. She has never contacted me."
Hearing this, Felice did not feel any better. She knew her son. When he had been in love with Arabella, he had asked her out every day. But now he had feelings for Emma and he could bear not to contact her.
It was clear who mattered more to him.
"What did he call you for?" Felice wanted to change the topic and talk about something cheerful with her son. Since Allen was the kind of people who was either reading in the study or on the sofa, Felice could not look to him to cheer Jaquan up.
"Asking me to go to the hot spring."
"You said you weren't going?" Felice wiped a drop of water from the coffee table with a napkin.
Jaquan stared at the TV without a blink, "Yeah."
"Why aren't you going?" Felice asked, "It's nice to catch up with your friends."
She said this because she knew it was Armando who asked him. But if she knew that Armando also knew Emma, she would probably regret her words.
"I don't want to go." Jaquan frowned.
"Just go." Felice urged.
"No way."
"Jaquan, mom and dad are both intellectuals. We don't want to be the subject of gossip. You being with Emma is just too much for us, and for our family, you know?" Felice said as she clutched the napkin in her hand.
She had seriously considered the pros and cons of this relationship before she said those words, and her face was filled with sadness and self-blame.
"Mom, I know." Jaquan paused the TV. "I understand," he whispered.
"Promise me you won't get in touch with her." Felice said.
"Mom..." Jaquan frowned.
"Promise me." Felice cried, "I know it's selfish. But I care about our family and I care about you. I just don't want our family to be the subject of gossip for the rest of our life..."
Felice wept miserably in the living room
After a long time, Jaquan closed his eyes and said, "Mom, I promise you."
"I believe you'll keep it." Felice wiped her tears with a napkin. "Your dad and I will go back to our home later. Take care of yourself here. If you need anything, just tell me." After a pause, she said, "You should go to that hot spring thing. Just don't stay at home all day long."
"I know."
Jaquan stared at the TV screen blankly.
Felice didn't have the heart to stay but went to the guest room to pack her things.
She was afraid that she would agree to her son being with Emma if she stayed any longer.
She could accept a divorced daughter-in-law but not one that had a child.
Felice thought of Emma, a woman looked distant but was actually nice.
It was such a pity.
**
"By the way, do you have Emma's number?"
Armando was fiddling with a teacup when the door was pushed open. It was Janessa who just had a shower. She was wiping her hair with a white towel.
"Why didn't you use the hairdryer?" Armando took the towel in her hand, nudged her to the bedside and turned to get the hairdryer in the drawer.
He had everything she needed at all times.
Janessa didn't stop him.
With the hairdryer in hand, Armando caught Janessa's eyes, which reminded him of the question she had just asked.
"Emma said she would contact me." He said.
"You mean Emily?" Janessa chuckled. "You seem close to her."
"She's nice." He added.
Janessa nodded, "Yeah, I like her too."
With the hairdryer in one hand and the other hand holding her hair, Armando gently dried it. They sat on the bed quite close to each other, which reminded Janessa the last time when they had watched TV on the same bed.
Janessa's heart softened, but she instantly realized it was not a good sign. Just as she was about to find an excuse to get up, Armando opened his mouth, "You said you wanted to go camping someday. How about we camp in the park next to the Forest Hot Spring?"
"Okay."
There was nothing else to say.
"I..."
Just as Janessa was about to speak, Armando opened his mouth again. "Next time, remember to dry you hair with the dryer. Otherwise, you'll get headache."
He went on and on just like the time when the two of them were still together. He was actually quite distant with other people, but he always got so talkative when with her.
Janessa couldn't help but whisper, "Stop nagging."
Armando fell silent and quietly blew her hair.
A few minutes later, Janessa felt as if something was pressing down on her head. "What are you doing?" As she asked, she turned around.
Right at the point, his lips brushed hers. It felt the same as the last time when she had fallen sleep in the middle of a movie.
Now all she could do was to play dumb.
"Why did you suddenly turn around?" Armando deliberately blamed it on her.
"..."
Janessa grabbed the towel in his hand and snapped, "Just go to sleep!"
These words came out through gritted teeth.
Armando stopped laughing and looked at her, "Good night."
Janessa paused.
"Normally, when a man says 'Good night' to a woman, he means 'I love you'. If he says it every day, that means he really loves you."
"Listen, Armando. If you meet a girl you really like but is too shy to tell her, just say goodnight to her every day.. She will definitely get it."