Chapter 53. I Got You, Riley
“Mrs. Marris, you don’t have to bother coming in with food. Riley and I are making dinner in the kitchen.”
Riley heard Wren’s voice at the front door. She strained her ears to catch their voices, but Wren’s voice was muffled by the wind.
Riley left the onions and went to see Wren. It seemed like the one who had just rang the bell wasn't Logan's errand boy.
"Who's coming?"
When Riley reached the front door, Wren turned to her and smiled softly. Wren shifted his body to the right so Riley could see who their guest was.
"This is Mrs. Marris, she's come with chicken soup."
"Oh, you are very kind, Mrs. Marris. I'm Riley."
Riley's first impression of Mrs. Marris was very positive. She was very kind and friendly. Mrs. Marris looked very fit even though she was over seventy years old.
"Nice to meet you."
"You are so beautiful. This is the first time I've seen Wren bring a girl here."
Wren cleared his throat loudly. He gave Mrs. Marris a sharp look and signaled her not to embarrass him in front of Riley. He was embarrassed enough with everything that happened that day. Especially after he kissed Riley. He cursed his stupidity a hundred times for suddenly kissing Riley's forehead. At that moment, all he could think about was Riley's beautiful forehead. White, shiny, and so beautiful. A strand of hair hung down from Riley's beautiful forehead like a curtain. He suddenly felt the urge to reach out to Riley and kiss her forehead. He wanted to feel Riley's skin on his lips. And it all happened just like that. He suddenly pressed his lips to Riley's forehead, and then, Riley went to her room with a red face.
“Wren is a handsome doctor at the hospital. He has a lot of female patients who are crazy about him. I'm just a little bit luckier than them because Wren took me on vacation to this beautiful place.”
"I'm glad you like living here. I try to take care of this place as best I can.”
“You do it well, Mrs. Marris. Do you sew the cushion cover yourself? So pretty."
“I learned to sew when I was very young. I made that cushion cover with patchworks from my house.”
“It's very beautiful. You should teach me to sew next time.”
“I don't mind at all. Come to my house tomorrow.”
“Sure. I'll come to your house tomorrow.”
“Well, I have to go. Don is waiting for me to watch a movie. Good night, have a good meal.”
“See you tomorrow. Thank you for the soup.”
Riley waved cheerfully. Mrs. Marris reminded her of her late grandmother who was lovely and warm.
“An amazing woman. She looks like my grandmother.”
"She's amazing. I don't know how my life would be without Mrs. Marris and Don. They took care of me while my father was busy at the hospital.”
"You call her Mrs. Marris?"
"She used to be a kindergarten teacher. All her students called her Mrs. Marris. And everyone here ended up calling her Mrs. Marris too. That was her nickname for the rest of her life."Mrs. Marris. And everyone here ended up calling her Mrs. Marris too. It's a nickname for her life."
Wren stepped into the house. He closed the door and walked into the kitchen, following Riley, who had gone to the kitchen earlier because she had left the baked potato in the oven.
"What are you cooking?"
“It's a simplified version of pottato au gratin. But you can call it a potato casserole,” Riley laughed crisply.
"So what's the name of your real dish?"
“This is my modified potato gratin recipe. I don't want to cook anything too complicated, so I don't layer the potatoes with cheese layer after layer. I just mashed the potatoes, piled them in the tray, then added the heavy cream and cheese. I'll also sauté the onions and minced beef for topping.”
"Perfect. Now, we have a sumptuous meal for dinner. Shame, I don't have wine. There's only water in the fridge and orange juice."
"I don't mind orange juice."
“Then I will prepare the orange juice and set the table.”
Riley was pleased with Wren's arrangement. They work together to complete all the household tasks. She had completely forgotten about Wren's kiss. It wasn't something she needed to worry about anymore.
“Daydreaming again. What are you thinking, hmm?”
Riley reflexively jerked her head back. Wren suddenly appeared in front of her and lowered his head very close to her face.
"Many things. I want to know whether you like my cooking or not”
“Why do you want to know?”
Wren smeared Riley's cheeks with flour. Riley screamed hysterically and moved quickly to smear flour on Wren's face. But Wren moved faster and more agile. He managed to escape from Riley, who was carrying a handful of flour.
“Stop right there, Wren! You dirty my face."
"Catch me if you can, Riley."
Wren ran away from Riley like a nosy little boy. The sound of their screams and the sound of their laughter melted into one in that magnificent and spacious house.
"Wren, stop there! You naughty boy.”
"You're too slow to catch me, Riley."
Wren kept running to avoid Riley's pursuit, moving in a zigzag, in and out of every room in the house. He had the advantage that he knew every detail of the house by heart, so Riley couldn't possibly catch him.
Riley stopped chasing him and panted near the stairs. Her chest heaved up and down, sweat dripped down her forehead, there was flour on her face that had melted with her sweat.
“Tch, you’re annoying, Wren!” Riley shouted in frustration. She bent down, her hands holding on to the railing to support her wobbly legs after running to and fro like a mad woman.
“Give up on me, huh? I got you, Riley!”
"Kyaaaa!"
Suddenly, Wren appeared behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Riley yelped in surprise and threw a handful of flour in Wren's face, making him cough as the lump of flour was inhaled by his nose.
"You really are full of surprises."
“Aha, you can't underestimate me,” Riley turned over her body to mock Wren who was still coughing behind her.
"Okay, okay, you won. I give up. I won't mess with you again."
"You promise?"
“Mmm… what do you think?”
Wren stole a kiss on Riley's cheek before he sped off to the kitchen and laughing loudly to make Riley scream in anger.
"I'll make you pay for what you did to me, Wren! Tsk, you're so annoying." Riley wiped the mark of Wren's kiss on her right cheek. There was a warmth left there and something like comfort. Wren's kiss was very different from Logan's. Wren's kiss radiated warmth and sincerity. His kiss felt like the kiss of an older brother who loved his little sister very much. Meanwhile, Logan's kiss felt more intimate and sweet. His kiss felt like the kiss of a lover.
Riley tried to get rid of all the images of Logan from her head. She cast a spell to make her brain forget about Logan and stop thinking about anything related to him. She was free from Logan. No more Logan and his intimate touches. There were no more agreements that she had to fulfill because she would live a new life as a new person.