She bangs the door when she leaves (2)

Please forgive me, Heidi! Forgive this loose mouth of mine! I just didn't expect to come across your parents in that event!

I want to say that, but that will just make things worse.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my cheap mouth strikes again!

It all started in the after party of the Kan Lagerta fashion runway.

"Oh, Aldo! So nice to see you again! How have you been?"

"I love your last single!"

"As fashionable as always, Greco!"

"My sister still raves about you, is there a way…?"

Years of dealing with fame and I still feel a bit flat-footed when it comes to people throwing their sister, their cousin, their aunt, anything female. Thank the Heavens for mall mercies as they have not offered their grandmas. Yet. But I easily slink away from those trivial conversations, maneuvering with polite courtesy the most outrageous claims and laugh off the absurd comments.

That is when a pair, a couple, sidles up to me and greet me.

"Aldo! Oh, it's a surprise to see you here! I thought you wouldn't come." The voice familiarly speaks. The voice sounds a bit like the one from a certain gorgeous woman I am trying to pursue, but aged with the vicissitudes of life; meaning, the voice can only belong to Heidi's mother: Mrs. Dianne Ricci.

I turn around and, indeed, I find her and Mr. Ricci standing there. As always, they look elegant and poised and sophisticated, with clothes matching accessories in colors flattering their skin tone and the design accentuating their best features.

Although not as famous as Kan Lagerta, Mr. and Mrs. Ricci are well-known in the fashion industry with their designs. I have used a few of their more risqué options for my tours, and people have complimented the choice. Too bad they focus more on formal clothes.

"It is indeed a surprise. It's been a while, Mr. and Mrs. Ricci." I reply with a smile. I have greeted them from afar before, and exchanged a few polite words. But it is the first time I feel nervous while speaking with them; after all, they are the parents of my sweet and clueless Heidi.

"We can finally have a good talk." I unconsciously stiffen. Those words sound so very ominous. It makes me feel like a child whose parent knows I have taken a cookie from the jar, but want the confession to come from my own mouth.

I swear I've done nothing to your daughter!

"You've grown so handsomely. Such a pity Heidi couldn't hold you down back then." I almost spit my drink because of Mrs. Ricci's words. So, it wasn't only my mom with that plan on her mind? Heidi's mom, too?! But how could these women leave such a serious matter in the hands of children?!

I was a coward who was happy to see her from afar because I did not want to be rejected. Heidi was helpless ditzy who knew only how to play around.

What kind of sensible decision you wanted us to take being like that?!

"Please don't say that. I'm sure Heidi didn't think of me like that back then." I say with a strained smile. Though my own words hurt me, they are true. As far as I know.

Mrs. Ricci waves her hand while taking a sip on her drink. "That girl is so simple-minded. If you treat her well, then she falls for you. Many times, she would get back home saying that she liked this or that guy. I've lost count of the many so-called boyfriends she had." She unveils with a laugh.

By the side, I see Mr. Ricci's face darken as if he had remembered something especially unpleasant, taking big gulps of his drink – which, if someone asks me, smells heavily of alcohol. I understand the man. It is only by sheer stubbornness that I do not grimace at Mrs. Ricci's revelation.

While texting with Heidi, many times I wanted to ask her about her past relationships, but never got the chance and the courage. Sure, I was not expecting her to be an innocent and pure woman who dreamily waited for the blue-blooded Prince to whisk her away to his castle. And I am also not some awakened monk that took celibate vows.

But it does leave a bitter taste to know that our story could not begin and end with each other. Mayhap I am a romanticist at heart, or an idealist, or simply a dreamer. Or an idiot.

Anyway… let it not be said that cravens do not have their own methods! Lo and behold! The power of the over-sharing in-laws! If Heidi's mom want to help me out with some inside information, then who am I to deny such a boon?

"So, how boyfriend is a so-called boyfriend?" Cunning Aldo in the house!

Mrs. Ricci hums. "Maybe kissing and snogging."

Cunning Aldo took critical damage! Mr. Ricci took splash damage!

The older woman leans in and whispers in my ear, "I saw once a guy coming out from her room. My husband doesn't know."

I didn't want to know either! KO'd! I can take no more blows!

"But she never presented a guy formally. We sincerely don't know what's inside her head anymore." Mrs. Ricci sighs, stepping back. "She became a bit distant when we moved to F country. And even single-mindedly decided to go back to K country on her own. Due to our jobs, we barely communicated with her, so we don't know if she's doing well. We simply don't know anything."

Her words take me back to that day in that theater class where Heidi confessed what she felt about her parents. Now, seeing Mrs. Ricci's confused expression leaves me a bit off-kilter. I have to support my woman – though Heidi is anything but my woman – but I also want to help Mrs. Ricci.

Maybe if I'm subtle…

"She's doing well," I say with the certainty that yesterday she sent me a picture of her new haircut, and the picture is now my phone screen wallpaper.

Both of them looked at me with strange eyes. I unnaturally look away. Maybe I should have said something reassuring, and not be forward as if I knew what is going on with her life. Though, I can proudly and smugly say that I do know what is going on with her life!

But the in-laws mustn't know yet! What to do? What to say that can fix this?

"I… um, I met her recently, and I can assure you that she's doing well. She's famous and all, being a theater actress…" I suddenly close my mouth with a click, falling silent because I realized I just said something I was not supposed to.

"What? Actress? She told us she was studying medicine, and that she even graduated. You said she's an actress?" Mrs. Ricci's astonished expression tells me they knew nothing about Heidi's deception. Crap! And Heidi had even warned me not to tell them! More crap!

Time to bail out!

"Ah, someone's calling me, please excuse me! It was nice seeing you, Mr. and Mrs. Ricci. I hope to see you soon!" I lie on the spot to escape from an even more horrible situation.

And, that is how my cheap mouth struck again.