WHEN BREAKFAST was served, Peter led me to a large dining room, maids were scurrying in and out with different dishes, Adeline stood beside the wide glass table giving them directions on how to place the dishes.

She beamed at us as we approached her.

"My husband will be here in a minute." She referred to me and gestured for us to sit.

I sat beside Peter who leaned and gave me a kiss on my cheek.

A tall handsome man, made his entry through the door and I stared at him. He looked exactly like Peter, only he was older.

"Ah! you must be Florence, whom my wife has been talking about." He said with a smile, pulling his wife tenderly to him. Again, I observed the cordiality existing between the two of them. It was real, not just for a mere show.

"Call me Gabriel."

"It's a great pleasure to meet you, Gabriel."

He nodded and chuckled softly, giving his son a knowing look.

"Let's eat, shall we?" Adeline spoke up and we consented.

Comfortable silence fell on the room as we ate. The only sounds emitted was the occasional clinking caused by the meeting of cutlery with plates.

💭💭💭

After a lovely breakfast with the Ross family, Peter drove me home after I earned an invitation to dinner on Friday.

Tamara glanced at me as I walked in through the door. By the look on her face, I knew she was angry.

"Get your stupid butt over here."
She commanded and I rolled my eyes before approaching her.

"Spill." she snapped her fingers at me.

"Fine..."

"Including your adventure yesterday." She added.

"Remember yesterday, when I went to get your purse?" She nodded. "I ran into Philip, and we got stuck in the elevator, that's all that happened."

She stared pointedly at me with her mouth hanging open.

"Philip? That psychopath?"

"Oh please, don't get too dramatic."

"What do you mean by that, isn't it this same man that triggered your reaction?"

She was so furious, this was the first time I'm seeing Tam very furious. I decided to play cool.

"Tam, calm down, I'm over that" I placed a hand on her shoulder and she shrugged it off.

"Don't touch me, I can't believe you." She shook her head in disbelief and I pursed my lips not knowing what else to say. She can't blame me, I forgive easily, it's my nature. I'm not someone who can keep grudges against anyone, I just let whatever they've done against me pass, whether they apologize or not. My mom always calls me a 'softie' and I don't mind that.

Tamara's soft hearted too but when she hardens her heart, nothing, absolutely nothing can revert that.

"Anyways, where are you coming from?" She placed an arm across my shoulder.

"Peter picked me up for breakfast with his family, I enjoyed it. I even got invited for dinner on Friday." I replied, tucking my hair behind my ear as it prevented me from seeing clearly.

"That's great news, and..."

I knew what was coming next.

"No Tam, you aren't choosing my dress, not this time." I interrupted her and she scowled.

"Fine...but..."

"Don't sweat it."

She sighed and got up from the chair. There was a knock on the door so she made a beeline for the door.

"Oh! I've been thinking about you baby!" She squealed and jumped on Michael who I saw from my position.

He kissed her on her lips and she responded, wrapping her hands around his neck.

I fake-sneezed and they broke their kissing session. Tamara glared at me as she unwrapped her legs from his torso.

"Get a room, preferably outside this house."

"Hi there Florence." Michael walked towards me with a smile.

"Hey Michael, how are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm just fine. I was wondering if you girls are free, I wanted to take you out to see a movie." He sat on a sofa and pulled Tamara down to his lap.

Observing their position, I wondered if it was right for me to go along with them on Michael's offer, I don't want to be a third wheeler, I hated third wheeling. Just in case one of those love scenes come on and everyone else becomes cuddly, I'll be left out. I definitely don't want that.

"Thanks Mike, but I can't come along."

Tamara frowned. "Nonsense, you're coming along." She spoke authoritatively like mom and I rolled my eyes.

That's how I got forced to see a movie with Tamara and Michael. And fortunately the movie turned out to be pretty interesting without any sappy love scenes.

We came back home at 10:30p.m and mom had returned from work. We moved to the kitchen to see her preparing something to eat.

"Hey babies." She wiped her hand with a towel and swept us into her arms.

After a little family time, we all retired to our rooms. Peter called just as I laid on my bed and we talked way into the night.

💭💭💭

I felt a tickle at my side and I flicked an eye open to see Tamara grinning at me.

I looked up at the clock which said 6:50a.m.

Wondering why she hadn't gone to work already, I propped my body up on my forearms.

"Why haven't you gone to work?" I demanded, groggily rubbing my eyes.

"I asked for permission to be away today, hopefully, my clients understood. Now get up and go shower." She seized me by my arm and I shrugged her hand off.

"It's too early, besides we aren't doing anything today right?" I grumbled, not willing to leave the comfort of my bed.

"We're going shopping, after that, we'll head to the park.We're having a Sisters Bonding Day."

I rolled my eyes and climbed out of my bed and began preparing for her 'Sisters Bonding Day'. Whatever that was.

After eating my breakfast of fruits, I headed out of the house with Tamara who locked the door and pocketed the key.

The Mall wasn't far away from our house, so we walked down there.

A few passersby glanced briefly at us as they walked by.

"How's your relationship with Peter?" Tamara asked, studying my face.

I sighed dreamily and placed my hands over my heart.

"It's the best thing that has happened to me."

My sister rolled her eyes.

"Tell me about it." She replied as we approached the mall. I began a detailed explanation of how great my relationship with my boyfriend has been and she listened attentively, contributing at different points.

The Mall was as busy as any other day though it wasn't as busy as during the weekend. A lot of people held shopping bags and were trooping out of the large building while others were just entering.

People clustered around different items, looking them over.

"Now what?" I turned to Tamara who had a smile plastered on her face as she saw the other customers.

"Now we shop. " She replied and pulled me along with her. Her statement plucked a string in my heart. I remember the words of Mr Philip once we were about to enter the airport a few months ago.

"Now what?" I asked

"Now we board a plane" he replied and grabbed my wrist, pulling me into the airport.

We spent over two hours at the Mall, I occasionally groaned as Tamara led me to same sections we had been to, checking and rechecking the items she had dumped into the trolley I pushed beside her.

She dumped many packets of chocolate into the trolley and I wondered how she managed to evade diabetes. She purchased some shampoos, the fruity type. She got banana shampoos for herself and normal ones for me. I detested fruity shampoos, I mean, even if I'm a vegetarian, it doesn't mean I have to smell like what I eat, right?

Fortunately, she finished tossing things into the trolley and we paid for the items. After bagging them, we stepped out of the Mall.

I sighed in relief as we piled the shopping bags into the boot of the taxi Tamara hailed.

On getting home, we took the items into the house after we paid the driver. We sorted out the different items and placed them where they belonged. After that, we left for the Park.

When we were seated comfortably, sipping from bottles of fruit juices I had brought along, we began a little discussion.

"This place reminds me so much of our family, that is, when we had one." Tamara sat Indian style on the grass while I splayed my legs out in front of me.

"Yeah, it does to me too, and we still have a family." I bent my head forward and took a sip of my drink.

"I'm happy that we still have mom, and I'm happy she's doing better than before."

"I don't think mom is really happy, she tries hard to be happy for us, but inwardly she's aching."

Tamara gazed at me, probably agreeing with what I said. She nodded slowly and took a sip of her drink, mine was close to finishing so I sipped little of it at intervals in an effort to make it last longer.

After being silent for a couple of minutes, Tam took my hand in hers interlocking our fingers.

"Everything will be alright, don't worry too much." She stroked the top of my palm with a finger and I smiled as I sucked on the straw a connected to my drink. Nothing came into my mouth.

My attention was fixed on the can which was now empty. I sighed and placed it beside me on the grass, hoping I'd remember to pick it up later as the Park management prohibited littering.

"Yeah, everything will be alright." I agreed with her.

This chapter's over finally. Though it was a little uneventful, I just had to write it. Hope you guys enjoyed it.

Lots of love and kisses,

Your Crazy Writer😋