Chapter 20
Josh Heid Thompson

Yes! Ezerette had agreed that he'd go on a date with me. I was so excited I was practically bouncing up and down. This would be our first - real - romantic date. I'd make sure that he would never forget this day. It wouldn't be as tragic as what happened yesterday.

Now I was back in the office, and Sylvia was scrolling through page after page of my schedules. I sighed. I needed to plan the date as soon as possible. I couldn't wait to swoop Ezerette in my arms.

"Mr. Thompson, you have a meeting with Mr. Harte," Sylvia, my secretary, said as she skimmed the pages. She didn't look up and wrote something on the page. "Tonight, 7 in the evening."

"Okay, Sylvia," I said to her, massaging my temples. "And also cancel my schedules tomorrow. I have something to do."

"Isn't it your mother and father's anniversary tomorrow? And they'll meet you here?" Sylvia said as she looked at me. Right. I forgot that Mom and Dad's anniversary was tomorrow. How could I forget?

"Right," I said, rubbing my face. "Thanks for reminding me, Sylvia."

"Well, I guess there's so much to handle," Sylvia said as she stopped skimming. "You're married. So I understand you have a lot in mind."

And then there's it. Her eyes flashed something I couldn't quite understand. She almost said it bitterly. But of course, she was being sweet. I knew she had feelings for me. But I was not interested at her at all. Well, before, I admitted she was hot and beautiful. But something changed. It felt like I was cheating on someone. Which I wasn't.

Deciding to brush it off, I typed something on my laptop and opened my Facebook account. There were lots of nonsense posts across my timeline and Charlonne's post was one of them.

Charlonne Montefield: Saw my crush smiling. It's beautiful. Wish I could always see it.

I commented on his post.

Me: No one cares. Probably your crush doesn't want to see you because you're creepy and not to mention a bitch. And also a freak. Hahahaha.

Sylvia was still standing in front of me so I motioned for her to go out. I did not want to deal with her today. She went out of my room and I called her through phone, telling her that she needed to fix my schedule tomorrow. She grumbled a yes and I grinned. I had said to her that I 'forgot' to tell her. She hung up the call and I did my work happily, reviewing files and all.

Hours later, I checked my phone if I had received a message through sms or Facebook. None. I sent Ezerette a quick message, telling him that our date would happen tomorrow night. He immediately sent a reply back that made me smile. He said that he'd get groomed for our date. I placed my phone on the desk beside my laptop and continued to scroll through my timeline, smiling.

I went home after work. I had thought of going back to Ezerette's house, but I knew his father was a bit uncomfortable when he was around me, or if I was around him. He was still adjusting. I knew it. So I didn't want to be a burden to them.

As soon as I stepped into my house, I felt the burden - like a hard rock had been placed - on my shoulders. It was overwhelming. The house had no light at all. It was basically the house of the dead. I was the only one living in this house. Well, except for the maids. But they went home after their shifts. So I was the only one left here always at night. I wished someone could just stay here and make me happy.

Trudging, I went upstairs to my room and stripped myself off. I was too tired to take a bath or even change. I just threw myself on the bed and sighed as my body relaxed. It was the best. The bedroom was my only sanctuary. I had yet to buy a house.

Soon, my body was getting limp and my mind was traveling somewhere, and soon enough, I could feel the lids of my eyes going down. Until I fell asleep.

The birds were singing as they flew from branch to branch. It was my alarm clock every morning. My lids opened and I saw the whole room was lit up with the sun peaking through the windows. Yawning, I stretched my whole body and rolled off the bed and stood up. When my feet collided with the floor, I shivered. It was hella cold.

I grabbed my cellphone in the pocket of my pants that I had worn yesterday. When I turned on the screen, I had a lot of messages. All from Mom and Yumi. They told me that we were going to have a family day. Huh. As if we were a family.

Dad was cheating on Mom. Mom cheated once. But still, she stood still with Dad beside her, holding his hand so everyone could think we were the epitome of a perfect family. Which was totally not true. We were more than far to that.

I've immediately called Sylvia to change all the schedules I had today and she replied immediately. She asked me why. I just told her that it was a family business. Of course, Mom and Dad would decide to show everyone how happy they were. I could sense it.

As expected, Mom called. I answered her call and as soon as I hit the answer button, she ranted on how I needed to get groomed and all because it would be on television. Apparently, they set up a party. Typical Mom and Dad.

Important persons were invited. The whole scene would be recorded. It would be the talk of the town. Mom always wanted to impress everyone. She was always that way. I had told her sure, that I was going, that I was going to get groomed just because of the stupid party. She scolded me and then she hung up. I groaned loudly.

Yumi sent me a text message, telling me the party would not start until 7 in the evening. So I still had a lot of times to do work.

I went to the bathroom to take a bath.

+++

Work was, as usual, just the typical. Sign some papers, review some information, check the sales. It was so boring. I still had hours before the party start and I'd guess I would just take a nap first. I called Sylvia, telling her no one should bug me because I'd sleep. She immediately told me that it's fine.
When I woke up, it's passed 6pm, meaning I needed to prepare for the party. I immediately ran to the other room to get my tux and wore it as quickly as possible. If I got late, Mom would practically kill me. And I didn't want that to happen. I struggled a bit on wearing the tux. I pulled out my phone and sent Ezerette an sms, telling him to meet me at the Munchkins, a famous bakery shop in town, owned by Mr. Hollister, the famous chef.

I got a reply immediately from him. He said to me that it was okay and that he'd meet me there. When I looked at the clock, it was now 6:52 and I still had 8 minutes. So I ran until I reached the elevator and punched the first ground. I waited for a two minutes and now, I was running across the lobby. People were staring at me but I didn't give them the acknowledgement.

I hopped in my car and started the engine, driving to a full speed.

It was 7:08pm when I arrived at the party. Famous people were giving me a look of appreciation and adoration. I smiled at them. I needed to talk to Mom because I had a date. But it would be tough. When I saw Mom, my feet stopped working. Like really. Beside my mom was no other than Jinky Heggings. She was my ex-girlfriend. She was my mom's favorite. Mom treated her like her own daughter and when she and I broke up, Mom was really depressed.

When Mom saw me, Jinky and I's eyes connected. Mom grabbed Jinky's hand and she led him over to me. Mom kissed my cheek and Jinky didn't know what to do.

"Now, I know that you won't have a date for tonight," Mom said as she gave Jinky and I a smile. "So take Jinky with you, Josh. She doesn't have any company."

"Um, sure?" I said, unsure. Jinky felt really awkward and shy. It had been months since we last saw each other. It was basically years. "So how are you?"

"Um, I'm fine." Jinky said without giving me a glance. Things got awkward between us when we broke up. We broke up because she cancelled the wedding of us. Nobody knew. I had proposed to her, but she declined. She told me she wasn't ready yet and all. And since then, we never had a communication. "You? How are you?"

"I'm also fine," I said, giving her a smile. "Been busy a lot lately. But I'm fine."

Mom and Dad would give us a glance every so often, just to make sure Jinky and I were really getting along. So far, the night had been great and on the outside, you could hear the rain coming down so hard.

It was the time for a dance. So Mom and Dad got into the center and they did waltz. Soon enough, some of the couples were following Mom and Dad. The music was calm and had a soft beat. The cameras were on Dad and Mom. And they were aware of it. Mom and Dad knew that it would help them get more money. That's how life worked.

The rain was pouring hard. Jinky took my hand and tugged it. I shook my head at her but she grinned. She pulled me to the center and placed her arms on either of my shoulders. I hesitantly placed my palms on her hips. I wasn't good at dancing. Sure I could sing, but not dance. Jinky and I grooved for awhile and we were laughing. The tension had been eased off and it felt like the world had become the world we wanted.

Sweat was forming on my forehead and I was so tired from dancing. Jinky offered me a drink which I gladly took. The rain was still pouring hard. It made me look outside and I frowned.

"So...." Jinky said, smiling up at me. "Did you have fun?"

Without thinking, I responded. "Yeah. It was nice. It was nice to see you again."

She chuckled. "Well, you're busy with someone else."

"Someone else?"

"Your husband!"

Oh shit. I told Jinky that I needed to go and something urgent came up. She just looked at me and nodded and told me it was fine. She knew something was up and let me go.

I checked the time and saw that it was 11pm. I had told Yumi to tell Mom and Dad that I went off already. Yumi sent me a nod and I ran until I got to my car. The rain was pouring really hard and it soaked me. Now I was drenched. The tux was sticking to me and I drove off.

I was disregarding the speed limit. I had to go at Munchkins and hoped that Ezerette would still be there. I had completely forgotten about our date. It was so idiotic move of me. I was glad that there was no traffic jam anymore. So I had the road all by myself. When I reached the Munchkins shop, they were starting to close. It was still pouring hard and I climbed down the car and ran to the store. A man pointed at the 'CLOSED' sign and I shook my head.

"Did you see a man here waiting?" I asked him, practically shouting since the rain was slapping against the concrete road. "He was waiting here. For me. Guy with dark brown hair?"

"Oh yeah!" He said in recognition. "He was actually in here half an hour ago. He's been here since 8pm. I gave him some cupcakes because our manager thought he was homeless or something. But he declined. He must have gone home."

"Thank you!" I shouted at him and went back to my car. I pulled off and drove towards his house.
When I reached their house, I pounded on the front door and Eclair opened thedoor with a frown. His expression turned into confusion.

"Is Ezerette here?" I asked Eclair, hoping he would say Ezerette was here or just nod. But that hope flew away when Eclair scrunched his nose up in confusion.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be on a date?" Eclair said. "No, he's not here. He left the house at exactly 7:30."

"Thanks, Eclair." I told him. "And oh, if your brother texts you, please text me. Okay?" I ran back to my car.

"But I don't have your number!" Eclair said and I went back running to him. I told him my number and he saved it to his contacts and nodded at me.

Worry was drawn on his face. I ran back to the car and picked my phone to give Ezerette a call. It reached his voicemail and I cursed under my breath. Damn it. Why did I need to forget that I had a date

I fucked up real time. I kept trying to call Ezerette but he wasn't answering any of my calls. It always went to voicemail. I drove back to Munchkins just to see if Ezerette would come back there, and when I reached the place, Munchkins had closed and there was still no sign of Ezerette.