Lost in thought

After some time the conversation reached a natural lull. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while until Auntie Sun remembered the vegetables. She got up and headed to the kitchen to whip up a veritable feast.

Meanwhile, Emma sat outside watching the last rays of the sun filter through the foliage of the surrounding trees. She stared absentmindedly at some small birds fluttering in the bushes. From the outside, she looked calm, almost serene. But inside Emma was starting to feel restless.

All the way there she had been thinking about what to say to Auntie Sun, but now that she was here she was having second thoughts. The moment she arrived, she actually felt so comforted by Auntie Sun's presence that she was reconsidering whether she wanted to bother Auntie Sun with her problem. Could she really not come up with a solution herself?

Another reason why Emma was hesitant was that she felt embarrassed to broach the subject with Auntie Sun. There were a couple of reasons for this. First, because she felt embarrassed at the whole situation, being asked to be a mistress and to be the object of a man's desire. Secondly, because Auntie Sun was something between a real aunt and grandmother to her. The woman had in many ways raised her, and it felt awkward to talk about such things with her.

Still, she couldn't deny the fact that the problem with Mr. Long was not far from her mind. And now that she was sitting here in her own thoughts, she couldn't stop herself from returning to the problem. The frustrating thing was that she had thought of plenty of options by now, but none seemed to be a solution that would guarantee that Mr. Long would leave her alone.

Without noticing the sun had disappeared completely behind the and Emma was now sitting lost in thought in growing darkness. A soft touch on her leg brought her attention back to the present.

One of the little birds from before, a sparrow, was perched on her knee. The little thing chirped, cocked its head sideways and fixated one eye on Emma. She sat quite still, and observed as the little thing hopped up her leg. It seemed totally fearless. Emma didn't know why, but she felt oddly comforted. She reached out a hand, wanting to touch the little creature. But just then Auntie Sun shouted from the kitchen. "Emma, dinner is ready!"

Frightened, the bird took off and flew away.

They sat down to dinner.

Even though the food was as delicious as only Auntie Sun could make it, Emma had no appetite and forced herself to eat just because she felt that she had to.

Emma had slowly come to the decision that she should at least mention the situation to Auntie Sun.

She was trying to find a good way to broach the subject, but she couldn't seem to find the right words. She inhaled to speak several times, but each time she backed out and began fidgeting again.

Auntie Sun was a very perceptive woman and could tell from the moment Emma arrived that something was bothering her. But she was not the type to pressure her, wanting to let Emma take the initiative. However, it seemed like this time the girl needed a bit encouragement.

"My dear girl" Auntie Sun said, leaning over the table and squeezing Emma's hand gently. "Whatever is the matter? I could tell from the moment you came here that something was up."

"You did?"

Auntie Sun forced herself not to roll her eyes. This girl didn't know how obvious she could be when she wasn't purposely hiding behind a cold, unaffected mask.

"You always let me know before you come, and you have never showed up for a surprise visit before. Of course I knew that something was wrong. Well, am I right?"

Emma nodded.

"You already told me about how you studies are going fine, so that is not the problem."

Emma nodded again.

"Is it your father?"

Emma shook her head. "No, for once my problems have nothing to do with my family," she said with a bitter smile.

She hesitated for a brief moment, gathering her thoughts, before continuing.

"There's this rich guy, who has expressed an... uh... interest in me. He wants me to be his... girlfriend." Emma averted her gaze, felling a bit embarassed.

Emma decided to keep it brief and left out the part about Mr. Long being her boss. And the likelihood of him being a gangster. And the part where Mr. Long had made it pretty clear that he didn't just want a 'girlfriend'. However, Emma decided that Auntie Sun didn't need to know all the details.

"I'm not interested in him in any way," she continued. "But I don't know how to reject him. He didn't want to listen when I told him that I'm not interested. Also, he's a guy I can't afford to offend. He's a... uh... regular at the bar."

Emma was pretty sure if she told Auntie Sun the whole story, that she would tell her to quit her job immediately and never go back there. Unfortunately, this would mean loosing her only income, and if Emma had come to any decision about what she needed to do, it was that keeping her job was top priority.

Emma knew that if she mentioned this reasoning to Auntie Sun, then the kind woman would offer to help her with her expenses until she found another job. But Emma knew that Auntie Sun was already surviving on only a meager early pension, and Emma would not allow her to spend that sorely needed money on her.