On Finding Chance

Part 2 - Chapter 22

It is humpday. The week has not been eventful. No Dylan. No Ethan. No Chance. Ok maybe there are few exchange of messages but nothing particularly special. Dylan seems to have a very busy week. He has been working nonstop. Ethan, on the other hand, has rest from all their gigs and shows. Chance, well, I have not heard from him. It is a bit worrisome in a way. I wonder what happened to him. I hope he is ok and sends me a sunflower soon. I miss it. I miss reading his messages. Despite all that occurred to me these past weeks, I still want to find him. I want to know who he is.

Speaking of the devil. His signature surprise comes right before I leave the office. The guard called me out and hand me my favorite flower and with it is his message.

Madison Alexandra Lee,

Did you miss me?

Just dropping by to make you smile.

Soon! I promise! :)

-Chance

Ok. Soon. I am holding on to his promise, to his word. The mystery will end soon. Might as well enjoy the ride. Besides, I have Dylan to distract me from obsessing about Chance. Gosh, I miss him and I hate it. I need something else to divert my attention to. Better yet, I shall force a special someone to entertain me.

Gab cannot make it due to work. She needs to go overtime because of a big presentation on Friday. I call my brother next.

"Harvey, are you home?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Let's cook dinner!"

He hesitates for a minute before he responds, "Uh....I have plans"

"What plans?"

This is interesting. Last time he made plans, he was out with a girl. He normally gives specific answers to my questions like "I have band practice. We have a gig in this bar. I'm reading. Stop bothering me".

Something is definitely fishy here.

"You have a date", I tease.

"Shut up", he defends.

OMG! Confirmed. My brother has a date. Good for him. It's been months since he went out. I wonder who the lucky girl is. On the other hand, this is bad news for Gab. She will surely cry when she finds out. I will interrogate him when he comes back.

Since Harvey is not home to help me cook dinner, I decide to treat my parents instead. We are having ramen in this new place near our subdivision. It is a small restaurant owned by this young group of entrepreneurs who dad met at the gas station last week. The interior looks like an authentic bar in Japan and the food is certainly mouthwatering. In spite of the broth being hot, I finish my bowl of Special Topping Tonkotsu quickly and order tea for better digestion. My stomach is too pleased because it is too full. Haha! As I wait for my parents to finish their meals, I ask them a few questions about Dylan. They are already forgiven but I believe that they still owe me this. It was not easy for me to fully accept their decision of hiding the truth from me. It took me weeks before I was able to give my trust again. I admit, it hurts occasionally. The pain resurfaces from time to time. It will take years to totally heal but I try to stick by my choice of understanding them instead of being angry at them. After all, they are my family. In spite of their flaws and lies, being in their arms is the safest place I can ever be. They are everything I got. They are home.

"Mom, Dad...I was out with Dylan last week"

My dad seems to choke but continues eating without looking at me. Is he mad? Disappointed?

"How was it?", my mom replies.

"It was great actually. We went to his cousin's restaurant. It looked like the same size as this but more cozy. The food is also good. We should go there next time."

"That's nice", says mom.

"It was, mom. Uhm...do you think it is okay if I go out with him again?"

My mother smiles but my father remains silent.

"Dad? Is it ok?"

"You don't need to ask for permission. You know what you are doing, don't you?", dad finally replies.

"Honestly, I am not sure. That's why I want to ask you something. But if it's too much, I will stop"

"It's alright, baby girl", mom responds.

"Ok. How do I put it? Uhm...was it really that bad? I mean, Dylan, as my boyfriend? Was our relationship really bad?"

Mom appears to be thinking intensely what to answer. To our surprise, dad speaks first.

"No Madie. It was not completely bad. You were happy with him. He made you smile."

Mom continues because it seems like dad have nothing else to add.

"We rarely heard you rant about him. You had fights of course but you handled them well. And he respected us as your parents. He brought you home before curfew. He gave us presents on our birthdays and other special occasions. He even called us regularly just to know how we are doing. He is a fine kid. His parents raised him well."

"Until he vanished", dad whispers.

Mom gives him "the look" and he shuts his mouth again.

"Madie, my baby girl, we are really sorry about the accident, about lying, about everything. We want you to be happy. If he is the man who can do that, you have our blessing. But, please, I only ask one favor from you. Make sure he will not leave you again when you give him your heart once more."

"Yes, mom. Thank you. Don't worry. I am not sure yet. I just want to know if you are fine if ever he becomes my boyfriend again."

"He is quite irresistible, isn't he?"

"He is."