Awkward Around Him

"Tell me you miss me,"

"I miss you," Lina obediently replied. "And Ena misses you too."

"Aww...she does? I miss her too." Sharon cried into the phone. "My cute little princess. Where is she?" She asked, darting her eyes through the phone in a busy search for Serena.

Tilting the phone to the side, Lina turned the camera toward the bedroom door left ajar. "There she is." She said, and Sharon saw the little angel seated on the floor, looking very serious and busy

"What's she doing?" She curiously inquired, and Lina turned the phone away from Serena and back to her.

"She's been on some secret project she doesn't want to show me or talk about. She says when she's done, she'll show it to me, and I'm giving her the space. But I think she's making something with her beads."

"Another friendship bracelet?" Sharon wouldn't be surprised if it were a gift. Lina shrugged, but she shared Sharon's thought. She briefly looked over at Serena.

"She made me make macarons for her entire class as a welcome gift. They should be the ones welcoming her, but my daughter thinks things should be done differently." She sighed. She still ached from the macarons and cupcakes she had made her make.

Sharon giggled. "I wonder who she takes after?"

"Definitely not me." Lina refuted knowing what Sharon was trying to imply.

Sharon snorted. "You were just the same in eighth grade. Remember when your grandma made cookies, and you stole the whole jar to share with the class? You thought stupid Keisha Simmons and her brainless underdog Mya Reeds would stop bullying you and become friends with you instead. You were so stupid back then." She hissed amidst a chuckle.

Lina rolled her eyes at her. "You also ate from it. And I didn't want them to become my friends. I just wanted them to stop being the devil's pawn they were."

Lina snickered. "Yeah, right."

They burst out into laughter.

"So about those devil's pawns, which of them have you seen?" Sharon inquired. "Please tell me Keisha, because I've been dying to come pay her a visit in Newfaux." As a matter of fact, she has been itching to pay a lot of people in Newfaux a visit, especially since Lina had returned there.

"So, who have you seen?" She probed when Lina didn't answer.

Shaking her head and maintaining a smile on her face, Lina replied, "None."

Sharon narrowed her eyes at her. "Why do I feel like you're lying, Lina?"

"Because you have trust issues?" Lina answered, even though she was indeed lying. She had seen Mya Reeds, but it had been from a distance. They had exchanged pleasantries, and that was all, and she didn't see the need to report that to Sharon, who had been itching for a fight for the longest of times.

"I know you're lying, Lina, but if any of those bitches do or say something stupid to you, if anyone says anything to you, I'm coming to Newfaux, and you better not hide anything from me. You hear me?" She demanded, and Lina readily nodded.

"Yes, boss." Her lips twitched with a smile.

"I'm not joking, Evelina Wilson." She glared.

Not able to hold back her smile, Lina nodded again.

"I know. I just feel happy having such a protective mother." She said, and Sharon rolled her eyes.

She sipped her coffee cup while watching Sharon doddle on some documents.

"About the shop, have you found a space?" Sharon asked when she remembered.

"Not yet," Lina sighed. "But the renovator said her brother is helping with that and that we'd get a place in a few days. I hope that happens because it's been chaotic in the shop."

"I hope you get a place soon. And a big thank you to the brother who's helping out. I heard getting temp shop spaces in Newfaux is difficult these days."

"Really difficult. You don't want to know the countless calls I've made and the hours I had to stay awake." She frustratedly sighed.

"If it all works out, you should thank the renovator and her brother. Not many would put in much effort to do the job."

"I know." Lina agreed. "If it all pulls through, I'll definitely thank him, and I'll thank her too."

"Mummy," Serena's voice came calling to her, and she turned to her little girl running towards her with a grin and her hands tucked behind her back.

"Seems our project is completed," Sharon said through the phone as they patiently waited for her.

Serena didn't register her godmother's voice through the phone.

"Are you done?" Lina asked, and the girl nodded.

"Want to show mummy what you made?" Lina asked again, and the girl readily bobbed her head. She opened her palms and revealed twin bracelets, just like the ones she shared with Sharon and Cassie.

Her eyes held an anxious glint as her mother looked at her creations, but it eased off when Lina's eyes gleamed with awe. "Baby, it's this what you've been making?" She asked, and Serena nodded.

"I made it for Madeline and Max. Would they like it?" Her big brown eyes stared at her mom with anxiety.

Lina picked up the bracelet and examined it. She had spelt their names on it. She leaned down and kissed her cheek, her face holding a proud smile. "They'd love it." She told her, and Serena's face lit up.

"Can I see too?" Sharon's voice came through the phone, reminding Lina of her presence.

Lina turned the phone so Sharon could see the bracelets as well as Serena.

"Aunt Sharon!" She squealed, coming closer to the phone.

"Yes, baby. Oh my, you look so grown and pretty." Sharon said, and the girl giggled. "You made those for your friends?"

"Yes." Serena nodded. "Max said it's Madeline's birthday, and uncle Pete told mummy to bring me. So I made her a gift."

"Uncle Pete? Who's uncle Pete?" Sharon asked, looking at Lina, who looked at her daughter while wondering if she had met Pete.

"Uncle Pete is Max's uncle. Max is a boy, and he's my friend. He says uncle Pete is nice, and he's handsome like him too."

"Ah, uncle Pete is handsome, isn't he?" Sharon said with a tone, but Lina ensured to ignore her.

"How handsome is this uncle Pete?" Sharon asked in a gossipy tone.

"Like Max." Serena innocently answered, just as Max had repeatedly told her.

"Interesting." Sharon nodded, her eyes staring at Lina, who was evading her eyes, something she does when caught red-handed.

Not noticing her mother's discomfort, Serena looked at her mother. "Mummy, when are we going to the party? Should I wear my princess dress aunt Sharon bought for me?"

"Uhm, baby, why don't you pack up your tools first, and we'll talk about the party later."

"Okay." The girl chirped. She turned towards the phone. "I miss you, aunty Sharon." She declared.

"I miss you too, cupcake," Sharon told her, and the girl waved before hurrying back to the room to do as her mother had asked.

"You know you're going to look at me, right?" Sharon said to Lina, who sighed under her breath and rolled her eyes as she turned towards Sharon. She caught the teasing smile in her eyes, and she knew what she was about to say.

"Handsome uncle Pete, huh?" She said, and Lina hissed.

"You shouldn't take the words of a four-year-old seriously. Everyone is beautiful to Ena."

"Hmm," Sharon nodded. "I hope you know that four-year-old is our beautiful baby, Ena." She raised a brow, but Lina wasn't going to reply to that.

"I have a question, though."

"Of course you do." Lina rolled her eyes.

Sharon giggled. "So this handsome uncle Pete isn't by chance the same Pete you had slipped out of a party and had sex with just a few weeks ago, right?"

Lina puckered her brows at her. "We never had sex." She refuted under her breath to Sharon, who had forgotten there was a child in the house and could very much hear them.

Why does she never mind her language? Lina sighed.

"Yeah, that's what you told me. But I wasn't there, so I can't tell if that orgasm you had, had been from a kiss."

"You're a fool." Lina cussed. She battled a smile when Sharon burst out in laughter. Wasn't this why she had not told her about Pete when she ran into him?

She was certain they'd have this conversation, and she had struggled with herself not to mention any part of it to her because Sharon was bound to get a good laugh at her expense.

"So, is it the same, Pete?" She asked and suddenly gasped. "Don't tell me you've suddenly developed a thing for men named Pete after one encounter?"

"Why are you so senseless?"

"Because I don't need one to be your best friend. So out with it." She pressed. "Is it the same, Pete?"

"Firstly, I'll let you know the name Pete isn't exclusive to one person, and yes, it's the same Pete."

Lina closed her lids when Sharon burst into a squeal. "I knew it! He was that good, huh? You bad, Lina." Sharon teased, her teeth on a full grin.

Lina speechlessly looked at her, not knowing what to say. "I said nothing happened. I just got carried away that night, but nothing really happened."

"Right! But he invited you to a party."

"Not me. His nephew invited Ena." She corrected.

"But he'll be there."

Lina shrugged. "I don't know. But I'm sure he'll be."

"Then what are you waiting for? Why aren't you getting dressed? And why didn't you tell me you met Pete Hudson?"

Lina raised a brow. "Isn't it obvious?" Sharon glared at her.

"I'm your best and only friend, Evelina. I should know everything, especially things like this since I've been the one begging you to find someone to fuck that brain of yours out."

"Sharon, Language." Lina chided.

"I'm sorry, but you should have given me this gist, which I'm certainly going to get, but first, when is this party?

The party? Lina silently pondered about it. "Today. 2 pm. Why?" She asked suspiciously. Her brows narrowed further when Sharon looked at her wide-eyed.

"2 pm? It's 1 pm already. Why the hell aren't you getting dressed? Why are you still sitting there talking to me?"

Lina stared at her confusedly, even though she shouldn't be. "Pardon me for wasting my time on you. I should have remembered that ungrateful ass of yours." She hissed, and Sharon giggled.

"Thanks for the compliment, but really aren't you going? I know you said you don't want to get familiar with people there, but this is for Serena, right? She needs friends, and she has already made gifts. Are you going to tell that little angel that she isn't going to a party she clearly seems eager to attend simply because you're scared of losing your pants?"

Lina scowled at her. "I'm not scared, and no one is losing anything. And who said I'm scared?"

"Me," Sharon answered. "I know you, Evelina. Hiding the fact that you met Pete again and not wanting to get close to him means you're acting awkward around him, and we both know what your awkward mean."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lina said, feigning ignorance even though she knew Sharon was right. She indeed acts awkward around him. She finds herself saying more than necessary, and there is always that attention she pays when he talks or smiles. It was indeed AWKWARD.

Sharon snorted. "Deny all you want, but we both know the truth. You'd never have let him touch you in that party if I was wrong."

"Sharon-"

"I'm not saying find love or be in a relationship. I'm saying let Serena mingle with kids her age, and if the heavens decide to throw in a bonus by having Pete Hudson tumble you in his bed, then I'd say take it. Maybe what you really need is good sex."

"I don't need anything, and why does everything you say always end up with men and being laid?"

"Because that's all I think about. Should I rather be thinking about the black hole in space? I already have one, and it's serving its purpose, yours? Not so much."

Lina looked at Sharon with incredulity. Could she ask how they were friends again?

She parted her lips to say something, but Sharon beat her to it.

"It's one party, Lina—a birthday party for a kid. Take Serena with you, and I don't think he will jump you there. But just in case, can you please wear one of those fine lingeries I bought for you? And don't wear your mum bra. I'll kill you if you do." Sharon warned.

She spent more minutes persuading Lina till she reluctantly agreed. Using Serena as a negotiating tool always worked like magic, and she was proud of herself.

"I'll call you tomorrow, and when I do, I need the gist, Lina. The whole complete thing." She said. "I love you."

"I love you too," Lina replied before ending the call. She reached for her bag and fished out the invitation that had been sitting in it for over a week now.

She looked at the name and address. 'Madeline Wright.' Why did the name sound familiar? She wondered.

Pondering about it, she wondered if it was the right decision to take Serena out on a party in a city they'd only relocated to.

She's a kid, and she needs her fair share of fun. A voice said in her head.

She looked towards the room, and she was surprised to see Serena running towards her with two dresses in her hands.

"Mummy, look." She said.