Chapter 559: Mystery Box
“Tomorrow at noon! I’ll pick you up from work, okay?”
Thus, tomorrow at noon it was.
A scouting expedition with the woman of many surprises herself.
Paraphrasing a famous line, if life was indeed like a box of chocolate... then Amanda has gotta be one of those family-sized packs they got displayed out of candy stores.
We talked for a while longer, more than half my meal devoured by her gluttonous lips as we did.
‘Course she didn’t once leave the comforts of my lap throughout the entire ordeal, broadcasting her displays of affections like an open theater for the world to see.... and judging by the public’s reactions, I’m seeing a lot of green eyes.
Green with envy, that is.
.....
Once Amanda had her fill of what was supposed to be my hearty meal, she clambered off my lap. Apparently, there’s an afterparty mix thrown for the cast after every shoot starting soon, and she was plenty keen on keeping her perfect attendance streak going for the seventh time running.
“It’s a pretty fun event, you know?” She said, drawing out her tone long and full of ideas. “All fun and games, full of songs, full of people, good food, and – obviously not your kind of thing. Right...”
“Very wise,” I said, smiling pridefully at her astuteness. “Go on, you go have fun. Just not too much fun, alright?”
“Too much fun, how?” She playfully asked, tugging my hat down over my eyes. “You aren’t there.”
When I pried my eyes free, Amanda was already at the door – on one hand, blowing tender goodbye kisses, and on the other, glaring warning eyes screaming ‘or else’, if I was ever to forget – ahh, never change Amanda.
Y’know, you ask me, I consider the day already well spent. It’s only midday but it feels as though I spent a whole week awake, that’s how exhausted I was.
Should go home, should hit the hay, I daresay I do deserve it, but I didn’t... back on my bike, for the second day in a row, I took another detour to the shopping mall – and yes, still also dressed in my Sunday best.
In hindsight, I should have brought a change of clothes.
Welp, at least I’m learning more and more about the dos and don’ts of movie-making.
Once inside the complex, I went hanging around my usual hunting grounds, admiring glittering gemstones, taste-testing the bitter sweets of chocolates, feeling the smooth silk of dresses and gowns, round and round I went, alternating between floors, scouring hard for the perfect gift that would put on the widest smile... to no avail, though.
Coming up empty still.
Actually, know what? Y’know what my problem was? I’m thinking too much... or too many, so to speak.
Yeah, exactly, I got too many people on the mind. I go into one store thinking of Ash, and by the time I reach the second aisle, I got Adalia hovering in my thoughts.
How exactly was I supposed to pick and choose anything when my priorities were also picked and chosen at random too?
A smarter individual would have narrowed his thoughts to a single one, filtering out the rest, and going through the process, a single gift at a time.
But even then, there was still another matter to deal with after that – the million-dollar question of who that single one oughta be first. Another conundrum, because if I do pick one to bump up to first priority... isn’t that just me playing favorites?
Eh, whatever... not like any single one of them can read minds anyway.
I hope.
For some strange reason, I found myself retracing my steps back into the fancy little confectionery tucked away in the corner of the third floor, and for an even stranger reason, I walked through the sliding doors, hearing the welcoming chime ushering me in, thinking only of Irene.
Regardless, I went with it, funneling myself into a random aisle, scouring the many selections of delectable, colorful sweets on display.
Every time she walked through the cafe door on my shift, without fail, she’d always order the same thing: a chocolate latte with extra sugar, and if she was feeling extra frisky on that day, maybe also a chocolate sponge cake on the side.... and even way back on our date from before, she wolfed down dessert and was already on her seconds before I was even a quarter of the way through my first.
So, based on the given evidence, it seems the detective has quite a sweet tooth to her rare, somewhat infrequent smiles... and a very sweet one at that.
We got that in common... I like my sweets too.
Alright, it’s decided, a box of the sweetest, tastiest chocolate it is.
Knowing her, I’m sure she wouldn’t want something that’s too lavish, or extravagant. That’s just not how she was. No, simple and straightforward is the way to go... just like her.
Still, don’t think it’d hurt if I splurged a bit...
As luck would have it, I found precisely what I had in mind. One of those highly expensive rosy-red heart-shaped boxes, coincidentally also the last of its kind on the store shelves still yet to be plucked... until now that is.
On tiptoe, I reached for it, and with a self-satisfied smile reflecting back in the shimmering ribbon around the box, I made my way to the counter.
One gift down, four more to go...
“Um, excuse me, Sir – yes, you there with the tall hat! Stop!”
My shoes squeaked, screeching to a halt.
Was something talking to me?
Closer and closer, I heard the clack of heels from behind me, and as I turned, I heard that voice again, a familiar voice.
“That box you have there... do you mind, if, um, if I have it instead? I had my eye on it earlier, thought I could find better, but... yeah anyway, that box of chocolate is perfect for what I have in mind. So if you’re willing to part with it – I’d really appreciate that. It’s for a Christmas gift, you see... for someone... very special... to me...”
I knew that perfect inky stream of raven-black hair anywhere. That posture, confident... self-assured in every way possible. Those hazel eyes swirling with authority and strength, and most importantly that voice, that tone... the fondness resounding from her last few words.
“Special,” I spoke, fully turning around, and the second she heard me, realization struck, her eyes bulging wide. “How special exactly?”
“You!” She shouted in a whisper. “It’s you?!”
“Yes, me,” I affirmed, tipping my hat to her, the sole cause for her confusion. “Greetings to you, my fair lady, Irene.”
And fair she was, truly indeed. Aside from our date together, I’ve never once seen her dressed for the occasion... and yet alas, here she was now, her hair flowing free from its usual tight bun, knee-high boots and all... a special occasion, maybe.
“You, what are you doing here?” She breathlessly demanded, tugging me over and pulling me to one side. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“Not supposed to be...?” I blinked a few times. “I’m sorry, did the mall file a restraining order against me that I’m not aware of?”
“No, it’s – ” She took a moment to probe her thoughts. “Aren’t you filming?”
I just shrugged. “Finished.”
“Finished?” Once more, her eyes grew wide. “What kind of shoot finishes so – ?”
“Hello? Irene? You still in here?! Hello? Come out, come out, wherever you are!”
A choir of calls all with Irene’s name attached to them resounded from the entrance. I poked my head up, spotting a crowd of three other young girls dressed in the same formal style of fabric, and the gears in my head began to steadily turn.
I turned back to Irene, my smile of amusement shimmering back at me in her dull brown stare, “Girls’ day out?”
“Team-building exercises,” Irene groaned. “Compulsory. I got assigned to lead the rookies... they wanted to go to karaoke.”
It was my turn to stare with big saucers. “You sing?”
“They sing!” She sharply said. “I don’t. I won’t. I didn’t have a choice, I – !”
“Ah, there you are, detective!”
In an instant, Irene dropped her sentence – spinning in heels right around just as the three young rookies manage to slip into our aisle. One in green, one in blue, one in red.
“Oh, girls,” The detective cleared her throat, her tone calm and firm. “Didn’t I say to go on ahead first? I’d be right with you.”
“Yeah, ten minutes ago!” Spoke the leader of the pack, the blue, marching forward. “But we got orders too, you know! Commissioner said not to start without you, he said you might try to wriggle your way out.”
Irene sighed. “Of course he did.”
“So?” The green cheerily inquired. “Did’ya get whatcha need?”
“The Christmas present,” continued the red in a softer tone. “The one for your grandmother. Did you manage to find it?”
Briefly, I saw Irene’s eyes glance back at me, and the box in my hand, before snapping back forward. “No, all out of stock. It’s fine. Let’s just go.”
“Hold on, hold on,” piped up the blue, her eyes in the deepest shade of eyeshadow staring curiously at me. “Who’s this fancy guy you were with?”
I raised my hand and waved. “Oh, I’m – ”
“A good friend,” Irene sharply cut across me. “He’s um... an actor of sorts.”
Then, three as one, all of theirs sparkled in unison. “An actor...” came their starstruck mutters.
That’s kinda stretching it, but sure.
“Yeah, we just bumped into each other, pure coincidence, we were just saying goodbye,” and subtly, but sharply, I felt an elbow into my stomach. “Welp – Goodbye!”
I got the message, painfully at that.
“Yeah, bye, Irene,” I followed along, and began to walk the other way. “Be seeing you, then.”
But then on one of my coattails, I felt another hard tug stopping me dead in my departure.
“Hold on, hold on!” I heard the blue cry again, and when I turned back, her eyes were twinkling as blinding as ever. “We are allowed to bring friends, you know? In fact, it’s highly encouraged.”
“A good friend, especially,” softly said the red.
“A good actor, especially!” added the green.
“So,” The blue raised her brows at me. “What do you say?”
All this while the three were playing karaoke-saleswomen, Irene was busy frantically playing a life and death game of charades behind them, and so far every motion, every deathly expression on her face was leaning on a good guess for “NO!”.
.....
And to be quite honest – karaoke? I don’t know... seems like all fun and games, full of songs, full of people, good food... it frankly doesn’t sound like my kind of thing, really.
But, what was it again... life is like a box of chocolate, right? Never know what you’d get. Some things you might hate, some things you might like, never know till you try.
And throw in an exasperated Irene out of her element, and life really does drive a hard bargain, indeed. Maybe just once, I should pick a chocolate piece out of the box... see how it tastes.
“Yeah, sure,” I said, glancing at Irene’s utterly petrified expression dead in the eye. “I’d love to.”
Whoops. Guess I misread her messages.
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