Spring had just come and the weather was still freezing cold, especially at night.
There weren’t many people walking on Green River Street at this time. At one glance along the street, all the vendors were starting to close up their stalls. Even the wind felt oddly cold on this gradually vacant street.
After Carmen took a bite of the sweet potato taco bought by Victor she was holding in her hands, she immediately squealed about how fragrant it was. Jolly felt her tummy rumble at the sight. “Share half of it with me.”
“No!” Carmen huffed and turned around with a grin on her face. “Cheapskate. Are you like this because I am usually the one who buys you snacks?”
“Alright, alright. I will let you have some.”
Persuaded, Carmen broke a small piece off of her taco and gave it to Jolly..
That in turn earned her a disdainful look from her friend. “Give me a piece from the gap between your teeth, why don’t you?” Jolly sassed.
“Do you want it or not?”
“No thanks. Enjoy” Jolly grumpily waved her off. She then turned around and asked, “Eh? Where are Chris and Justin?”
The group looked around, but still they couldn’t find the couple. However, a flower seller stood where Rachel and Justin were standing earlier, and the girl was wiping her newly acquired watch with joy.
“Are you looking for the couple from earlier? They left.”
“Left?” Jolly was taken aback. “When and how did they leave?”
“They bought my bicycle and rode off.”
“What?”
“I happen to be graduating in June this year, and I was going to sell the bicycle. They were willing to pay a high price to buy it, so I sold it to them. But I didn’t take advantage of them. Since it is an unused bike, I didn’t ask for money and only exchanged it with a watch from them. Look! It is pretty, isn’t it?”
The girl brought up the watch that had a neon blue glint to it, her face full of smiles. “I can have my father wear it.”
Jolly was stunned upon hearing that. It was only after the little girl skipped away that she and Leroy looked at each other and exclaimed,
“A Rolex watch for a second-hand bicycle?! What a prodigal man!”
Justin was the only one who would do something like this. Gloria, however, wasn’t as surprised as Jolly was. “That is so romantic. It is just a watch. What is the big deal?”
Jolly glanced at her. “I wouldn’t think it is a big deal if it was my father who did it because I always thought that him making money is as easy and natural as breathing is. Justin is like your dad to you.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Get out of my hair!”
“It was just an analogy.”
“Who even makes analogies like you did?”
“Geez, learn to take a joke.”
As the commotion went on here, a certain prodigal but romantic man was already on his way home with Rachel. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out as romantic as Gloria imagined it would.
“You can’t ride the bike now. You drank alcohol.”
“Who said I can’t? Didn’t you buy it for me?”
“Come on, be a good girl. You can ride tomorrow, okay?”
“I don’t have time tomorrow.”
“The day after tomorrow, then. I will do it with you.”
“Not the day after tomorrow. I want to ride it now!”
Rachel was pulling the handlebars of the bicycle. She would have stepped up and started pedaling if Justin hadn’t stopped her.
She seemed fine earlier despite the drinks she had, but it must all have just rushed up to her head now as she was hit by a wave of dizziness. Like an unreasonable child, she refused to sit in the back, and insisted on getting down and cycling herself.
There weren’t many passers-by but embarrassingly enough, those who walked past them all did a double take on the couple.
Left with no choice, Justin could only concede. “Ride it if you really want to ride. Just be careful.”
Rachel was finally satisfied after hearing his words.
After getting onto the bicycle, Rachel held onto the handlebars and looked ahead. However, half a minute had passed after that, yet her feet were still on the ground as she remained unmoving.
“What is the matter?” Justin asked when he noticed what was going on. The woman only turned around and looked at him with hopeless eyes. “I don’t think I know how to ride a bicycle,” she whined.
“What?”
He thought that he had heard her wrong or that she was babbling nonsense because she was drunk, but seeing how she didn’t even know how to put her feet on the pedals and almost fell off the bicycle after she wiggled around, he finally understood the situation.
“Do you really not know how to ride a bike?”
“Mhm.”
“Has no one ever taught you before?”
“Uh-huh
It suddenly hit Justin how Rachel had no one other than her grandmother who truly cared for her after she was brought to the Hudson Residence at the age of eight. With how aged her grandmother was and how undependable the other members of the family were, there was no way Rachel could have learned to ride a bicycle.
“I will teach you.” He held the bicycle steady. “Put one foot on the pedal, step on it, and then put the other foot on the other pedal.”
“Like this?”
“Yes. Maintain the balance.”
“Don’t look down at your feet. I am holding you. Promise you won’t fall.”
Justin began to trot along while still holding onto the bicycle. First-time riders were usually not bold, but it was the carefulness that made it hard for them to maintain their balance. In fact, now was the best time for Justin to let go. However, being the worrywart that he was, he kept holding on so that Rachel wouldn’t fall.
“I can ride a bike!” The breeze from the river blew her long hair into a mess. Half-awake from her drunken stupor, Rachel cheered excitedly, ‘I can finally ride a bike!”
“That is right. You did it.”
Justin was still holding onto the bicycle, but he and the bicycle had both slowed down. He was sporting a doting smile while he looked at her.
The street lights were all that illuminated the way home in the dark of the night. By the time Rachel woke up early the next morning, Jolly was already on her way out.
“It is so early in the morning. Is the Civil Affairs Bureau open already? Rachel glanced at the clock on the wall. “What are you doing?”
“We are going to be the first couple to register today.”
“You’re even making a competition out of this?”
“It is for good luck!” She huffed righteously. “My mother said that this is a custom from her side of the family. You will live a happy married life if you manage to be the first to register.”
“Is Mrs. Carter just messing around with you so that you won’t oversleep?”
“How is that possible? It is such an important occasion for me.”
“Think about it. When do you think monogamy was implemented? If nothing else, your parents. were the first ones to get their marriage certificate in your family. Where did this custom come from?”
Jolly was taken aback upon hearing that. “Is that so? My mom really did lie to me!”
Rachel held her waist while she leaned against the sofa to hold back her laugh. “You are awake anyway. Might as well go now.”
What other choice did she have?
Naturally, this little episode could not dampen Jolly’s enthusiasm. She still went out with a cheery expression on her face. Rachel, on the other hand, had never seen her dress in such a traditional and formal way even at work.
After Jolly left, Rachel took a quick shower. She then took her coat and car keys before she headed to the company.
As soon as she walked to her car, she looked up and was greeted by a sight that made her smile. A light green retro second-hand bicycle was parked next to her parking space, occupying a single parking space. This was a rather glamorous thing, especially in the downtown area of Riverdale, where every inch of land was worth a king’s ransom.
The rattan basket was still filled with flowers, all still fresh and beautiful even after a night.
Rachel was surprised at first, but she soon let out a giggle.
