Getting Even With Mister Smooth

Chapter 12

"She looks so similar to me," Rose softly spoke from the hospital bed, recalling the first time Maria and her first met in the office. Vanilla nodded her head in agreement. Even though both sisters are ten years apart, you couldn't tell with Rose. She looked youthful with her long hair. Rose covered Vanilla's hands, "Thank you for doing this."
"This was all Stephan's doing," Vanilla smiled.
"All this time, he knew," Rose slowly inhaled, trying to fight back tears. All she ever wanted was to have a family to call her own after she lost her mother. She never expected that finding her dad would caused him to lose his. A tear slipped through, unleashing the anguish she have kept in over the past twenty years. Her mother lost her life to illness at an early age and Rose knew one day she would fall to the same illness. Before that happened, she only wanted to make happy memories. Then she realized how selfish she was when she fell in love with Stephan. Only more people will get hurt if they knew her. That's why she pushed him away. She's dying. More tears streamed down her face, "I'm sorry, I'm crying too much. (Sobbing). Thank you for looking after my sister. I hope you continue to look after her."
"Of course," Vanilla promised and squeezed her hands. "Stephan will continue to respect your wish until he hears differently from you."
"My wish remains the same," Rose responded. She did not have the guts to face him. He saw right through her. All these times, she have pretended and he knew all along.
"Maria doesn't remember much from that night though," Vanilla commented.
"It seems like he does," Rose remembered the look on Stephan's brother's face. He never took his eyes off of Maria. "Something must have happened. It's not like him to be interested in someone this long."
"Rose," her father softly knocked on the door and heard the cue to come in. He greeted Vanilla from the doorway and behind him followed Maria and Rea. Tears began to swell up in Rose's eyes as everyone gather around her bed. Vanilla squeezed her hands one more time and then excused herself.
Maria wasn't surprise to see Vanilla since her best friend explained everything to her that night she went to see her mom. Her mother later then filled in the gaps. Her mother already knew of Rose's existence and never told her husband. She felt guilty about taking ten years away from both them, and even more so after she found out Rose would suffer the same fate as her mother. Knowing how her guilty her husband must have already felt, she wanted to give him the opportunity to make it up to Rose. It was also another way for her to repent. That's why she pushed him away. She knew it was selfish of her, since it meant Maria would grow up without a father.
"I'm so sorry," Rea first spoke and began to cry.
"Please don't cry. I'm just so happy to see everyone here," Rose responded. Everyone came in for a hug and all seemed right at the moment.

For a week, Maria reconnected with a sister she never knew she had and gotten to know her father better. Her mother was the happiest Maria has ever seen. Both her father and mother picked up from where they left off and spent as much time with the two daughters. Rose refused to let Rea feel regret for the choice she made. When the final day came, Maria wasn't prepared as she thought would have and couldn't believe how quick it came.
"How do you feel about him?" Rose asked her on that day.
"I don't know," Maria shyly responded. She knew exactly who Rose was asking about. With everything that has happened, Mister Smooth kept his distance from her to allow her space. They never got to discuss what happened before she found out everything. Honestly, she missed him, and is afraid he has a change of heart. Changing the topic, she asked, "Will you see Stephan?"
"No," Rose responded. "I'm too ashamed to face him after everything. He knew all along and went with it."
"That just means he loves you that much."
"That's why I want him to remember me forever."
"What do you mean?"
"I love him so much and don't ever want him to forget me."
"Then why won't you see him?"
"So that whenever he thinks of love, he will always think of me first," Rose answered. "Maria, thank you for accepting me. I wished our time was longer. This week, I've been truly happier than I have ever been. Please tell Stephan I will love him always."
"Of course," Maria smiled, then froze as Rose continued to stare. Maria waved her hand in front of her eyes and then panicked when nothing happened. She let out an anguished cry, alerting a nurse to come into the room. Rose has passed away and she has lost her only sister. It was really unfair, she thought.

Maria walked along the beach, trying to process everything that had happened in the last few weeks. Rose was buried near a view of a lake. Despite her encouragement, Stephan refused to attend the funeral. "I will not come see her even if she begged me," he declared after he found out Rose had passed away. He was upset that she still refused to see him, even up to her last day. These past few days took a toll on Maria and felt more tire than she had ever felt. Walking along the path going towards the parking lot, she caught a whiff of the barbecue smell from nearby, sending her into a gagging fit.
"Are you okay?" A concerned passerby asked her.
"Yes," she muffled with a hand over her mouth. She swallow and felt more in control, "Sometimes, the smell of some food doesn't sit well with me."
"Must be the cause of pregnancy," The other passerby commented.
"Not possible. It must be the stress from my recent loss. My sister just passed away," Maria explained.
"We're sorry to hear that. Hope you feel better."
She hurried to her car and pulled up her phone. There was nothing to be concerned; however, she was still concerned as she counted the days on the calendar. Now that she thought about it, she hasn't had her period for quite some time. She had it before, she looked at the date ... before that one night, she groaned. There is no way she could be pregnant, right? She may not have much experiences with love, but she wasn't stupid. She knew where babies came from. Even though she didn't remember what exactly happened. She did remembered she drank a lot. The night was also the same night she met Mister Smooth. She covered her face. They couldn't have, right? She drove to the nearest gas station and picked up a pregnancy test. How did the worst day turned into the worst month ever?
In the bathroom, she opened the box and read the direction. A minus means negative and a plus means positive. She tore open the plastic that covered the stick. Here goes nothing, she thought. She felt silly doing this since it's going to be negative. She pulled the stick in front of her and waited for the result. The test area slowly got wet and the result faintly appeared.