Chapter 254 Going Back on One's Word
Before getting off work, Erica received a call from Caroline asking her to dinner.
No need to guess—this meal definitely had Maddox's handiwork behind it.
Erica wanted barbecue, but Caroline booked the most famous barbecue restaurant in Seaside City.
When they arrived at the barbecue restaurant during dinner rush, the parking lot was already full. Caroline had to park her car on the block across the street.
She had just crossed the road when she saw Erica's car coming and waved to signal her to park on the opposite side.
"No spots left, park in the block across the street."
She stood by the roadside waiting for Erica. When she came over, Caroline said, "No tables on the first floor, I booked one on the second."
Erica handed her a shopping bag. "Here, I specially customized this for you."
Caroline opened the bag. "A Bearbrick? This one is so beautiful."
The one that was at Atticus's house before had been thrown away by Caroline. This was the same model, but the customized color was even prettier than the previous one.
"Thanks."
Erica raised an eyebrow. "Thanks?"
Caroline smiled. "Love you."
"That's more like it."
On the stairs leading to the second floor, there was a spot with spilled sauce. Erica stepped on it and almost slipped, but luckily, Caroline was alert and deliberately walked behind her, reaching out to catch her.
Erica patted her chest. "That scared me to death."
Caroline steadied her. "I was the one scared to death."
She called over a server to clean up that spot on the stairs so other customers wouldn't fall.
Their table was by the window, with a view of the Seaside City lake across the way. The landscape lights were on, creating a quiet and beautiful night scene.
While waiting for the food, Caroline poured a cup of hot water and placed it in front of her. "At this hour, Maddox should be free too. Let's call him to join us."
Erica shook her head. "I'm not eating with him. If he comes, I'm leaving."
Caroline said, "Why act like you're enemies?"
Erica took a sip of water first before saying, "You don't know how annoying he was today."
Caroline said, "I heard from him. I don't blame you for being angry. Anyone else would probably have hit him."
"You think I didn't want to?" Erica pouted. "If it wouldn't hurt my hand to hit him, I would have done it already."
Caroline tried to reason with her. "I also heard you gave him your bank card to help him out of a tight spot. That's not something enemies would do. He did mess up some things and said some things poorly, but Maddox really does care about you. Don't be mad at him anymore. Get angry and then let it go. Whatever happens, you two still need to talk things through, right?"
Erica sighed, "Honestly, I never thought that much about it before. But since I got pregnant, I don't know if it's the hormones acting up, but I've become extremely sensitive, and my emotions are like a roller coaster, fluctuating constantly. Then he suddenly proposed in a last-minute, half-hearted way, which made me even angrier. A proposal should be done properly, but he just stuffed the ring into my hand. There was no romance at all, not even the basic sign of putting in effort. Forget it, let's not talk about him anymore; the more I talk, the more annoyed I get."
From those few sentences, Caroline could tell Erica hadn't completely given up on Maddox. There was still hope for them.
Caroline changed the subject. "Where did your parents go traveling?"
Erica suddenly looked at Caroline with suspicion. "Are you going to tip him off? You're my best friend, you need to be on my side."
Caroline said, "Of course I'm on your side. How could I side with him?"
Erica said, "They went to play around Dusk Harbor. They won't be back for a month."
Caroline asked, "That far? Can they handle it physically?"
"They can handle it. Don't underestimate them—this middle-aged and elderly group has way better physical fitness than us."
Erica said, "Every time we need to change the water cooler at our office, I ask male colleagues to help, but at home, my dad and mom just lift it up like it's nothing. One day, the elevator in our building broke, and they climbed to the twelfth floor in one go, leaving me behind. I was almost out of breath when I got up there. I went night running with my dad, and I actually couldn't keep up with him. His average speed for five kilometers is just over six minutes, while mine is over eight."
"Every time they go out, they even send Coco to a special pet boarding place, saying they don't trust me and are afraid I'll lose Coco. That pet boarding center's daily food cost is more expensive than what I eat. I'm doing worse than the old folks above me, worse than the young ones below me, and worse than the dog in between."
Caroline laughed. "They're just being considerate of you. Seeing you work all day, they figure it's better to let someone else handle walking and taking care of the dog at night."
Erica said, "I can only think of it that way. If I were the slightest bit petty, I'd have a reputation for being jealous of a dog."
Caroline looked toward the kitchen serving window. "Your barbecue is here."
Erica turned to look, her eyes lighting up at the sight of her favorite food.
During the meal, Caroline really noticed something was off with her. Normally, Erica ate very little, but today she could really eat.
"Waiter, another bowl of rice," Erica called out.
Caroline felt stuffed just watching her eat. "You really have a good appetite now."
Erica said, "Not gonna lie, after I finish this meal, I'll need to have a late-night snack when I get home."
Caroline had seen pregnant colleagues at work before, but she'd rarely seen an appetite like Erica's.
"Can your stomach handle it?" Caroline was a bit worried.
"Don't worry, I just feel tight in my stomach right now."
"That's crazy."
Erica said, "When you get pregnant, you'll understand—you can really eat. By the way, why haven't you two had kids?"
Caroline said, "We're not in a rush. We've talked about it—we'll wait another two years. Right now, I'm in the rising phase of my career, and he's even busier. It's not the best time to prepare for pregnancy."
Erica's cheeks were puffed out with food. "If we both had babies around the same time, these two kids could continue our friendship, from kindergarten to elementary school, middle school to high school, maybe even go to college together. Just thinking about it makes me happy."
In her unconscious, beautiful vision, Caroline felt moved—Erica had indeed softened.
Erica also suddenly stopped, the smile gradually fading from her face. She slowly chewed the food in her mouth and looked at the person across from her. "Just now, I..."
Caroline smiled. "Erica, whatever decision you make, I support you."
Erica lowered her eyes. "I always thought I was childfree. How did I suddenly change my mind?"
Caroline said, "Don't think about what you thought before. We need to look forward. So, Maddox did mess up this time. You should vent your anger, but after you've vented, you need to think about the future together with him."
Erica looked thoughtful. "Let me think about it some more."
"Think about what?" Caroline asked back.
Erica said, "I'm still a kid myself. I'm not even settled. How am I supposed to raise another kid?"
She couldn't push her now—she needed to give Erica time to think.
Caroline said, "Okay, I'll give you time to think, but don't forget—she's growing every day. You need to leave some time for her."
Erica nodded.
After dinner, the two went to walk around the nearby commercial street, where there was a night market.
Erica encountered a girl whose facial features looked different from those of ordinary people. She looked about eighteen or nineteen, holding wrapped flowers in her arms. She asked Erica, "Would you like to buy flowers? They're not expensive."
Erica instinctively waved her hand. "No thanks."
The girl wore a pastoral-style dress with her long hair in cute braids. You could tell her family loved her very much.
After being rejected, the girl's eyes became evasive, but she still quietly replied, "That's okay. Have a beautiful day."
She walked away and continued shyly asking other passersby.
When Caroline came back with ice cream cones, she saw Erica with red-rimmed eyes holding a bouquet of daisies.
"What's wrong?" Caroline looked at her with concern.
Erica's tears wouldn't stop flowing. "The girl who sold me flowers has Down syndrome. I refused at first, and she actually said to me 'have a beautiful day.' After hearing that, I felt really bad. I went to buy a bouquet from her, and after I paid, her mom came over and kept thanking me. Caroline, do you know how bad I feel right now?"
Caroline quickly grabbed tissues to wipe her tears. "I know, I know."
When you were trapped in a difficult situation, the only one who could pull you up was yourself.
Pain and happiness were both equal forces.