NOVEL NEXT Chapter 488.
Chapter 488. Heading to the Peak: The Descent. (3/3)
When we made it to the lot there was someone waiting for us there.
A golden blond-haired girl with serene blue eyes wearing a holey white sun hat sitting on the roof of her pickup truck. When she noticed us she waved.
“Why’s Dawn here?”
“I asked her to pick us up here tonight after watching some fireworks in the city with her mom so we could head back to her farm together afterward. It’ll save us money on gas, plus it’d be pretty daunting to drive all the way back to the farm at night from here on your motorcycle after all we did today.”
“You really thought of everything.”
“Of course.”
I wheeled my motorcycle over to Dawn’s pickup truck and Dawn greeted us, “How was your day together?”
“It couldn’t have gone better.” Rosa gave Dawn a big thumbs up.
While I strapped my motorcycle down in the trunk, I asked what was on both of our minds, “Forget about us, how’d things go with your mother, Dawn?”
“At first... it was a bit awkward... and we didn’t know what to talk about… but after we got past the awkwardness… we talked about a lot of things.”
“Did she get back together with your father?”
“That… not yet… she’s still struggling… with it.”
“Still? You’ve got to be kidding me.“ I should have made it a clause in the contract she signed.
“Yeah. She said even if she wants to see him, things aren’t so simple and that she needed some more time to prepare herself.”
“If she won’t go to him then why don’t we bring him to her?” Rosa suddenly chimed in and made that suggestion.
“I… want to believe in my Mom. She promised she’ll see him once she settles some of her affairs in the city like with her work.”
“Haaaah. I really don’t get your Mom at all. If it was me, I’d drop everything and jump on my lover if I hadn’t seen him for almost two decades.”
“We’re just stupid kids, Rosa. Adults have a lot of responsibilities. Life isn’t nearly as simple when you get older. Her mother’s a surgeon after all. Her work determines whether people get to live or die.”
“Hmmm, I guess that’s true. Being an adult can really suck, huh? Aren’t you feeling a bit disappointed, Dawn?”
“I’m just happy I was finally able to meet and talk to my Mom. For the first time ever I got to watch fireworks with her... though it was a bit embarrassing because she started crying and hugging me during the display in front of everyone.”
“She’s probably kept it all bottled up for a long time. I still haven’t seen you crying yet though. You should have just let it all out when your Mom was hugging you back at the hospital.”
“I didn’t want to make my Mom worry, or for the first time where we met to let her see me crying. Thanks… for back then though...”
“For what?”
“For everything yuh did for me.”
“I didn’t really do anything.”
“Yuh helped me keep it together in front of my Mom, stalled my Mom until I got back from the washroom, and so much more.”
“Hmm~ how suspicious~ you two sure are getting along well~” Rosa chimed in.
“Rosa…” Dawn called out her name.
“What is it?”
“I think… I’m in love with your boyfriend.”
When Dawn suddenly came out and said that so bluntly, I was caught off guard and speechless. It felt completely out of character and I couldn’t understand where she worked up the courage to say that out of nowhere.
“Oh? What makes you say that all of a sudden?”
“When talking to my Mom, I talked about Ran and yuh a lot and the different things I felt since I met the two of yuh. She’s the one who pointed out I was in love.”
“Haha, I think your mother is mistaken, Dawn. At best you might just have a little crush on a guy from a big city.” I tried to correct her mother’s misunderstanding.
“That’s what I told my Mom too. But she insisted it was love. It wasn’t just her who said something similar… my Dad did too. When I went to pay back the money I owed yuh that night, I showed him the picture yuh took of me and I also told him about my new friend who was your girlfriend. He said I should chase after yuh and try to snatch yuh away from your girlfriend if I like yuh. He said all’s fair in love and war.”
You’ve got to be kidding me. Of course he’d say that considering how he went to war with his friend for Dawn’s mother and snatched her away.
I should have anticipated this possibility after I heard his story. I’m an idiot. I can’t deal with this. I’ve got too many women on my plate.
“Dawn, I’m sorry, I can’t return your feelings.”
“Yeah, I knew yuh’d say that. But even then… I wanted to tell yuh how I feel about yuh.”
“Then you’ll give up with that?”
“No. Just like my dad, I won’t.”
“You’ll be making an enemy of your friend.”
“Huh? Of who exactly?” Rosa asked with a grin I didn’t like the look of.
“A friend,” I responded vaguely as I knew exactly how Rosa would respond if I said it was her.
“Even if Rosa thinks of me as an enemy and hates me for it, I still consider her a friend.”
“What are you talking about, Dawn? I’m your ally and on your side here. The one who’s your enemy is that bad guy over there. He’s the meanie who’s rejecting you.”
“Huh? What do yuh mean, Rosa? I’m trying to steal your boyfriend right in front of yuh.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just live doing the things that make you happy and I’ll do the same. That’s all that really matters. This guy’s unexpectedly popular with girls despite his gloomy face.”
“I’m not popular at all. I’m cursed with misfortune.”
“Rosa, when yuh say he’s popular-”
“Though I was his first girlfriend, he’s got more than one girlfriend.”
“Is that true?” Dawn directed her question to me.
“Yes, I’m an awful scumbag who’s cheating on his girlfriend.”
“Does your other girlfriend know yuh’re involved with Rosa?”
“Yeah.” They all know I’m involved with other women. I always make that clear.
“I see. If that’s the case... then I don’t need to feel bad.”
“Yeah, that’s right. You don’t need to feel bad at all.” Rosa concurred.
“You should just forget it though. We’re not from around here. We’ll only be here for about four more days before we leave. You’ll only end up sad and alone the same way your father was if you keep stubbornly clinging onto this forever. It’s best for you to find someone here close to home. You’ve got your mom to catch up with now. You’ll be much happier if you find someone here.”
When I dumped that bucket of cold water on her head, Dawn lowered her head and agreed, “Yuh’re… probably right. I’m an adult now and I can’t keep acting childishly. I need to… grow up.”
Rosa didn’t bother to intervene and refute what I said. She did shoot me a glare, but she understood I was correct. In the end, everything was up to Dawn. It was her choice who she loved and what she did in life.
“These last four days yuh’re both here… is it fine if I spend them together with both of yuh?”
“Of course it’s fine.”
“Don’t you want to spend that time with your mother?” I cut in.
“I’ll have plenty of time with my mother from now on but I’ll only have four days with the two of yuh.”
“Haaaah. Well, whatever, it’s your choice. I don’t particularly care. But I do have one day booked with Wisteria so it’ll be just you and Rosa that day.”
“That’s fine.”
The girl who’d been constantly spacing out with her head in the clouds only a few days prior had somehow grown a lot after facing her mother. It was like I was meeting a completely different person. She looked exactly the same on the outside, but she’d definitely matured a bit.
Kids grow up so fast.
What was this strange emotion?
Was this how fathers felt?
What am I? A parent?
In the trunk of Dawn’s pickup truck, I silently shook my head and dismissed the absurd thought altogether.
I wasn’t anywhere near old enough to be a parent, the girl’s even two to three bloody years older than me… technically.