Gloria gave Jolly a strange look. “What are you talking about?” In the meantime, Rachel also heard the doorbell as she walked out of the kitchen, shooting an annoyed gaze at the two ladies. “You ladies are so lazy that you’d rather chat than answer the door, aren’t you?” She nagged at them while heading toward the door.
As soon as Gloria saw the visitor, her eyes were left wide open. At the same time, Jolly quickly snapped a picture of her reaction, asking herself how much money she could blackmail her with her unflattering photo. I wonder how much a genius pianist would pay for the ‘right’ of owning this unflattering picture.
Rachel grabbed a pair of flip-flops and gave them to Justin, asking. “Did you come from Burton Group?”
“Yeah.”
“How did everything go?”
“It went smoothly.”
“Didn’t he give you a hard time?” “Well, sometimes we win; sometimes we lose. So, that’s not how I would describe it.’ After putting on the flip-flops, Justin shifted his eyes to the ladies who were enjoying their snacks in the living room and greeted them with a nod.
Then, he rolled his sleeves upward and asked Rachel what he could do to help her. “Is there anything I can help with?”
“Yup, there is. Charlotte has a craving for your grilled fish, so I need you for that.”
“No problem.”
While Gloria was stunned, seeing Justin following Rachel into the kitchen, Jolly lifted her friend’s chin and said, “You might want to close your mouth. Why are you so surprised?”
“How can you not be?” Gloria turned her attention to her friend. “Don’t you find this surprising at all? Both of them are back together, aren’t they?”
As Jolly nodded in response, only to shake her head shortly after, Gloria became more tempted to hear more from her. “Come on. Don’t keep me guessing. Out with it already.”
“They are kind of back together, yet that’s not quite the case.” “Can you just tell me the whole story without making me guess?”
“Let me put it this way. They both buried the hatchet earlier when the two of them were working on the charity, but who knows what’s next for them? What do you think of them, judging by what you just saw?”
“Great!” Gloria’s eyes lit up. “I guess my prayers have been answered!”
Jolly stuck out her finger and shook it, making it hard to read to Gloria. “It’s not like what you think it is. Things may look promising for them, but they are not really what they seem.”
“Just tell me what I want to know. What good does it do you to keep me guessing?” Gloria eagerly showed her desperation.
Jolly decided to reveal what she knew and answered in a serious manner, “The way I see it, it’s no longer easy for them to take things one step further, although they may seem close to each other at the moment.'”
“Why?” “They’ve lost the mystery between them and hence, the intimate feeling together with it.”
“They can rekindle the old flames and start their life together anew.” “How many couples in that situation have you seen successfully getting back together?”
After hearing Jolly’s question, Gloria was speechless. She then looked in the direction of the kitchen, her eyes falling upon Justin and Rachel, who were both preparing the ingredients for cooking. At the same time, both of them appeared comfortable and natural with
each other while working in the kitchen, smiling and laughing happily amidst their delightful chat. In that instant, Gloria began to understand why Jolly said it was hard for both of them to take their relationship one step further. After all, both of them had been through countless sweet and bitter moments together as they had witnessed each other’s shortcomings.
However, when their love seemingly came to an end, they looked past their differences and wished each other the best in their future, even putting their regrets behind them, yet neither of them ever thought of rekindling the old flames with each other. At the thought of that, Gloria suddenly lost her appetite to continue enjoying her snack.
“Come on, what’s with the sigh?” Jolly patted Gloria’s shoulder and tried to lift her spirit. “I’m just saying it’s difficult for them, but not impossible. Who knows, things may take a turn for the better at some point in the future?”
While Gloria appeared to be preoccupied, she caught a glimpse of Jolly rubbing her shoulder with her hand. “What are you doing?”
Jolly pretended to be confused as she retracted her arm. “Nothing. I was just trying to comfort you.”
“Why are you rubbing my shoulder with your dirty hand?!” Gloria glared at Jolly’s oily hands, with which she ate her chips.
“Come on. My hand is clean.”
“Like hell, I’m going to believe that! Stay right there, Jolly!”
“Alright, please don’t get mad! I’ll buy a new shirt! Alright, I promise!”
“Have you run out of things to say to calm me down every time you piss me off? You’re just trying to flex about how rich you are! Don’t forget. You were responsible for the fact that my ring went missing the last time!”
“But I thought you found your ring, didn’t you?”
“It wasn’t you who found it. Stop right there!”
Jolly was stunned. As the living room was filled with the ladies’ bickering, Rachel peeked at the place in an amusing manner. “Do you think the two of them can stay that way for a lifetime?”
Victor replied, “I think they can. In fact, when both of them grow old, I wonder how it’s going to be for the one who can’t walk to be chasing the other with a walking stick.”
“Jolly.” Justin, who was cooking the fish, responded in a serious tone. “Why?” Rachel and Victor were confused.
“That’s when the Carter Family’s heirloom will come into play,” Justin replied, rendering Rachel and Victor stunned. A few moments later, Rachel burst into laughter as soon as she snapped out of her trance. In the meantime, Victor asked in confusion, “What do you mean?”
“There is a walking stick made of black cherry wood in Jolly’s family. It’s been passed down from her great-great-grandfather and is currently kept in her family’s memorial hall.”
In fact, the Carter Family made a living by selling walking sticks in the old days across five generations. Not long after Jolly’s ancestors started picking up carpentry, they began to extend their production to furniture and slowly made a name for themselves, which cemented the foundation of their family’s business empire in the early years. In order to remember the beginning of their success, Jolly’s great-great-grandfather kept the walking stick that was made of black cherry wood in the memorial hall so that it could be passed down through generations. While there were not many people who were aware of that history, Rachel disapproved of Justin for making fun of Jolly with her family.
“Are you done with the pierogi?” Jolly’s impatient voice was heard from outside the kitchen. “The kids are getting hungry.”
Really? When is she ever going to realize that it’s not going to work in her way, using the kids as an excuse? At that moment, Charlotte and Samuel were busy enjoying the snacks Gloria brought them, which was why Rachel doubted they would be interested in knowing when the meal would be ready. Thus, she replied, “Well, the only ‘kid’ I see here is the one who weighs over a hundred pounds. I guess I’m grateful and lucky to witness that for the first time because of you.”
Gloria immediately laughed at Gloria. “Jeez! I didn’t know you’d gained over a hundred pounds. “Who are you talking about?! Of course, it’s not me!” Jolly glared at her cheeky friend.
“Who else could it be besides you? Haha.. You’ve gained quite a bit of weight recently. In fact, you know what? You look like a big chunk of meat to me. Haha!”
“Does that sound funny to you? Stop laughing! I dare you not to put on weight at all for the rest of your life!”
“Don’t worry. I’m nothing like you because you lose control of yourself once you fall in love. In fact, you should really watch your diet because if you put on too much weight, Leroy might lose interest in you. No, wait a second. He wasn’t there with you during Christmas. So, don’t tell me that is a sign of him wanting to break up with you simply because you’re too fat.”
“Watch your tongue, Gloria! Why does nothing nice ever come out of your mouth?!”
Although Gloria and Jolly looked like they were about to start fighting each other, the few of them in the kitchen didn’t seem to show any intention of defusing the heated situation. In the meantime, Rachel, who was preparing the pierogi, asked Justin something. “By the way, have you heard any news about Leroy? Have you been in touch with him?”
“There is something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.” Justin knitted his eyebrows.
“What is it?”
“It’s about Leroy.” Justin’s serious tone made Rachel’s heart skip a beat.
