Mending broken relationships is not really my specialty, but I try my best to do so. The only thing you should be careful of is to know if the person’s apology is sincere and that yours is too. No one is perfect but there are people who tend to make promises not to do it again and end up making the same mistake once more. Believing in false promises is deadly to the soul.
“Can we eat at a different table?” Harvey whispered fervently in my ear, shifting uncomfortably. Halfway through the event, Harvey and I have been sitting in our seats eating silently. Mom and Mrs. Montgomery chatting away, the same with Dad and Mr. Montgomery. Not paying any attention. The reason why Harry keeps shifting in his seat in discomfort ever since was because of how flirty and touchy Heather came towards Chad.
My poor brother’s eyes almost gouged out when he saw Heather’s hand hitching up Chad’s thigh. Harvey let out a squeak, closing his eyes. We all looked at him in curiosity, I stared at him in concern, placing a hand on his shoulder. Heather glared at him in annoyance before diverting her attention back to Chad.
“I wish we could, Harv.” I muttered, drinking my glass of water. Giving my watch a glance, I mentally praised that it’ll only take ten more minutes before this whole event is over and we could go back home. I can’t wait to get back to my office and bury myself with work. Forgetting that this ever happened.
“So, you’re Rachel Maxwell.” Heather grinned slightly, leaning forward. I nodded softly.
“Yes, I am.”
She smiled, her red lips stretching. “Have we met? Dear Chad here told me that we did, but I don’t seem to recall.”
“Yeah, we did at the Montgomerys’ household.” I replied, folding my hands on the table. “During dinner.” You even took my phone. A giggle escaped her lips.
“Really? Well, that makes things official. You and I are friends, all right Rachel?”
I nodded, hesitantly. “Uh, sure.”
“Excellent.” She agreed before handing me her half-filled glass of juice. “A toast, to our new friendship.” I stared at her glass in contemplation, nevertheless I raised my glass. I didn’t know what I did wrong for Chad to stare at me, his eyes burning holes at my head. I shifted uncomfortably at how intense his stare is.
“Look at that!” Heather laughed out as she gestured to her now empty glass. “It’s all gone. My drink is empty.” She looked up and gleamed, handing the glass to me. “Can you be a dear and get me some at the buffet section?” I was about to take it but Chad grabbed Heather’s hand and pulled it away. “There are waiters meant to do that—”
“No problem.” I cut in, taking the glass from Heather’s hand, her face showing signs of shock. I smiled at her. “I was about to head there anyways. Another helping of a mango strudel sounds nice.”
A smile slowly graced its way on Heather’s lips. “Thank you Rachel.” Ignoring Chad muttering under his breath, I stood up from my seat and made my way towards the buffet section. While waiting for the man in front of me to finish refilling his own glass, I watched as the hostess began to auction a few things on stage. The first item being auctioned was an antique radio.
Turning back to the table, the man walked away and I proceeded to fill Heather’s glass with orange juice. Once the glass was already filled, I started my way back to my table. Approaching Heather from behind, I tapped on her shoulder to get her attention. “Heather, here is your drink. Heather.” She sharply turned, her hand knocking her drink over in my hand.
I gasped loudly, backing away in instinct as juice slid down my hand. My white jumpsuit is stained with orange. Heather’s jaw dropped. “Oh my gosh! I am so sorry.” I felt a lot of eyes on us as I set the glass down onto the table, Heather reached out to help by wiping the stains off with a table napkin. I held my hand up to stop her.
“It’s okay! I should’ve been more careful.” I laughed lightly, pulling out tissues that I always carry around in my bags or clutches. I’ve learned never to underestimate the use of these sanitary stuff, especially when these types of things happen.
“Are you okay dear? Do you want me to call Henry to bring you another set of clothes?” Mom asked worriedly, staring at my clothes.
“Yeah, I’m okay. No, I’ll be fine, I’m heading to the office later so I’ll change once I get home.” I replied, smiling to assure her.
“Do you need help with that?” Heather inquired, pointing at my soaked legs, the fabric of the jumpsuit sticking to my thighs and some parts of my legs.
I shook my head, “No need, I can do this.” She shrugged and I walked away, heading outside the tent. I started wiping the sticky stains of the orange juice, groaning in despair afterwards when it wouldn’t come off. Leaving some parts of my legs sticky and wet.
“You shouldn’t have obeyed her requests.”
Startled, I looked up and turned to the left to see Chad standing there, arms folded on his chest. Eyes narrowed on my stained clothes, he handed me tissues and I accepted them gratefully. Wiping the remnants of the juice off my hand, I smiled softly. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
When he didn’t make a move to walk away, I stared at him for a few seconds. “What are you still doing out here? Shouldn’t you be inside?” I questioned, gesturing to the tent.
He shrugged. “Nothing, I just thought that I should apologize to you for Heather’s behavior.” I stopped wiping and raised an eyebrow.
“Apologize? For what? If you’re talking about the juice incident, it was my fault in the first place.”
“No.” Chad exclaimed, startling me. “Obviously, she spilled her drink on purpose! Are you that blind not to see she wanted to humiliate you?”
What?
When he became quiet, I shook my head at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up from the ground and I gave him a small smile. “It’s my fault, I was not careful. And thanks for the tissues.” Chad blinked at me, lips tightly sealed. Okay… I waved goodbye and headed back inside the tent, leaving Chad to himself. I went back to the table, ignoring people staring at my stained clothes.
“Thank you everyone for coming today! I hope everyone enjoyed it.” The hostess smiled and stepped down the stage, signifying that the event was over. Heather has disappeared from her seat, and judging by the way Harvey is smiling, he was delighted. It was wrong of them to let my brother watch. Can’t they see that he is young?
“What have you got there?” I asked, staring at the box of comics on his lap. Harvey grinned widely.
“Guess what? I requested Dad to bid for me, I told him I wanted the box of comics. And since no one bid higher than mine, I got it for only a hundred dollars! Look at all these neat comics!”
Ruffling his hair, I took the slightly heavy box as he stood up. “Now, are you glad that you came here today?” Harvey nod vigorously in enthusiasm and both of us followed our parents out of the tent.
“See you later, Helen!” Mrs. Montgomery smiled, embracing my mother and following her husband to their awaiting car. My eyes caught Chad’s tall figure behind a few bushes, lips near Heather’s ear as she giggled. I froze in place once she caught me staring, her lips parted in surprise. I bit my lip, ashamed that she caught me and looked away once their lips met each other.
“Sis!” I turned to face Harvey gesturing to the waiting Range Rover. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go.” I hurriedly went to his side as Joseph opened the car door for us to get in.
“Hello Joseph. I got this.” I assured him when he reached out to take the box of comics from me. It isn’t even that heavy for me to require assistance. Once Harvey and I settled in, Joseph climbed into the driver’s seat and we sped away.
“Harvey, don’t read that way, you might hit your head.” I warned, seeing Harvey reading one of his comics sitting upside down. Head on the floor and his feet high up in the head rest of the seat. Harvey obeyed and sat down properly this time. Feeling vibration and hearing the familiar tune of my ringtone coming from inside my clutch, I took it out to see Patty calling. I answered at the second ring.
“Good morning Patty, any updates?”
“Good morning Miss Maxwell. Um, I hardly call it an update but someone here wants to see you. She says it’s urgent.”
“Name?”
“It’s Miss Winstel Ma’am. She arrived a few minutes ago, begging to see you. She has been crying nonstop.” This only alarmed me. Francine never cries unless it involves someone she loves. Why is she crying? Why didn’t she try and call me in a second? What is going on? Only way to find out is to go and ask her why.
“Patty, please tell her I’m on my way.” I said, hearing her soft reply of affirmation. I hung up. “Joseph, drop me at my office please. I got a few things to take care of.” I ordered, typing a message to Francine.
“Yes, Miss Maxwell.”
“What happened Sis?” Harvey inquired, worry evident on his face. “Did something bad happen at work?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s Francine. It seems like she’s in some sort of trouble, I wonder what.” I mumbled the last part to myself, typing away on my phone.
To: Francine Hey Fran, what’s wrong? What happened? Look, I’m on my way. See you there.
“I hope nothing bad has happened to her.” Harvey mumbled, expressing his worry. I hope so too Harvey. It took around ten minutes for us to arrive in front of the building due to traffic caused by people rushing to work. The moment the car slowed down to a halt, I kissed Harvey on the head and bid them farewell as I got out of the car. Removing my blazer, I tied the sleeves together around my waist while struggling not to let go of my clutch. Even if the blazer didn’t cover half of the stains, there is no other choice. This’ll have to do for a while.
I entered the building, greeting the doorman as I strode in. Passing by employees greeted me with a smile, I returned their greetings.
“Good morning, Miss Maxwell.” The receptionist smiled at me.
“Good morning, Gertrude.” I replied. I treat my employees and co-workers with respect, unlike some employers who take their power and wealth to another level by abusing it. I respect my employees and they respect me back. It’s a win-win thing. I got inside the elevator and pressed level 21 where my office is located.
After stopping at a few floors and dealing with silent vacant stares, I got out and hurriedly went to my office. “Hello Ma’am,” Patty greeted me the moment I stepped in, a pen on her hand and a few folders. “Miss Francine is over there.” She mumbled, gesturing to the closed doors of my office. Peeking in, there Francine sat on the couch, her back to me. I dash inside, startling her with my presence. Her eyes red with tears, it broke my heart to see my best friend cry. But why?
“Thank you Patty, you may go.” My assistant nodded and quietly left the room, shutting the door. I placed my clutch on the wooden coffee table and sat down beside her. Francine stared at me with her red teary eyes for a few seconds before sobbing.
“Oh, Rachel.” I pulled her close and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her. “Shh…Francine. It’s okay, just tell me what happened.”
It took a few minutes for her to calm down from crying, wiping her tears away. “It’s terrible Rachel! M-my dad had a heart attack early this morning. We were surprised to receive a call from his office that he was sent to the hospital. We hurriedly went there to see him, leaving Sean to a sitter.” She rambled, running her hands through her hair. “The doctor said I need to pay in advance for his medication. I-I don’t have money and I thought I could ask you. Dad’s earnings won’t be able to support his medication and my job as a waitress is not enough—”
I cut her off by shushing her, pulling away. “Say no more, I’ll take care of the hospital bills. You need to focus on your father and how he needs your support. Okay? I don’t want you worrying about the bills.”
Francine let out another sob. “I’m sorry for being a burden to you Rachel. I got no one to turn to anymore, my father’s brothers won’t even visit let alone see us. Thank you so much. Thank you, Rachel.”
I gave her a small smile. “It’s what friends do, Francine. We look out for each other, and your dad, he is like a second father to me. I care for his health as much as you do. Paying for the bills is just small compared to the compassion and care he showed me. It’s the right thing to do.”
I got up from my seat, taking my clutch. “Let’s go, your father needs your support right now Fran.” I called Patty to deal with a few paperwork that I need to review on. “And please cancel my meetings this noon. I’ll inform you more once I’ll be back.” I instructed before walking out of the office with Francine in tow.
As we waited for the elevator, I turned to see that she was staring at my clothes, particularly on the stained parts. “Rach, what happened to that?” She asked, pointing at it. I looked down and let out a chuckle.
“I spilled orange juice on it, clumsy of me, I know. I’ll just change when I get home.” The elevator doors slid open. We got inside and I pressed the button to the ground level. The elevator went down directly, not making any stops.
“In what hospital is he in?”
“He’s at Fairview Hospital.” Francine answered. The elevator stopped and the doors slid open for us to walk out. Exiting the building, there Joseph stood with his hands tucked behind his back, eyes covered by his black shades. The Range Rover is all ready to go. He takes his job too seriously, then again, who wouldn’t?
“Take us to Fairview Hospital Joseph.”
“Yes, Miss Maxwell.”
I let Francine in first before following, Joseph shutting the door afterwards. “Is Harvey safely home?” I inquired once he got in the car, a bit curious on how he arrived here just in time without getting stuck in traffic.
“Yes, Miss Maxwell. I made it sure to arrive in time.” He answered directly, turning the car to the left.
On the way, Francine wouldn’t stop playing with her fingers out of nervousness. I reached out and held her hands, a small smile on my face to calm her down. And it did, much to my relief. “It’ll be all right Fran, you don’t have to worry about a thing. Your dad will be fine.”
“Thanks Rachel, thank you so much.”
I smiled. Francine doesn’t deserve to go through this, let alone her dad. Ever since I met her and her family, all they ever showed me was kindness. Her parents treated me like their own. What did Mr. Winstel do to deserve this kind of fate?
My thoughts were cut off by my phone ringing loudly. I opened my clutch and took it out to see that it was Mother. What does she need now? I answered right away, holding it against my ear.
“Hello Mom.”
“Rachel, where are you?” She asks, worry evident in her tone, a few voices in the background.
“Mom, what’s going on there? Are you at home?” I questioned in curiousness.
“Yes, I am. The Montgomerys are coming here for lunch, I invited them over. You have to attend.”
What? Weren’t you satisfied to see them at the event earlier? I wanted to ask her, a bit surprised at her statement but I decided against it.
“I’m sorry Mom, but I can’t.” I replied as the car pulled up to the hospital’s driveway, an ambulance right behind us. Its sirens blaring loudly. Joseph skillfully made a way for the emergency vehicle to pass by.
“Rachel, why do I hear sirens? What’s going on and where are you?”
Joseph parked the car at the side and got out to open the door, letting Francine out first. “I’m at the hospital right now—” Like I expected, she began to fire questions away.
“What?! Why are you at a hospital? What happened? Did you get hurt?”
I got off the car and followed Francine inside the building, leaving Joseph to park the car to wait for me. I hurriedly catch up to Francine as she passes through the halls, ignoring a few stares people are giving us on the sides. “Look Mom, I’ll explain later okay? I have to go, bye.” I ended the call before she could even reprimand me and follow behind Francine as she leads us to her father’s destination.