Meanwhile, Edward, Daniel, Terrence, and Peter came to the small café to get cool and eat in a quiet atmosphere. People do not have to wait for an order for a long time, but nobody rushes, as if they want to spend much more time at the place where air conditioners are working. And the café staff is quietly serving clients, watching the cleanliness of the room, cleaning dirty plates, and cooking food. While Edward showed up from a corner a few moments ago and came to the cash, Daniel, Terrence, and Peter sitting at the table have to distract themselves from the thoughts of being hungry by talking.
“So, doesn’t Sammy wanna share Helene with you?” Terrence asks with a laugh, leaning on his hand with his face and on the table with his elbow.
“He hasn’t stopped,” Peter replies quietly, leaning back in the chair with both arms crossed over his chest. “But this time, his behavior crossed all the lines.”
“And how did he do it?” Daniel wonders and chuckles kindly. “Doesn’t the fluffy let you hug and kiss again?”
“It’s half of the problem. But the fact that he broke the shelf and some things placed on that at my home is a shameless thing.”
“The shelf?” Terrence frowns slightly.
“Yup, the wooden one that was placed in the hall. Some shit was placed on that. When we asked the doggy to leave my room and leave Helene and me alone, that hooligan decided to do a dirty trick. Nothing was left of it! It crashed in many pieces to the fuck.”
“And what did you do to that?” Daniel asks.
“I had to throw it. I could do nothing with it!”
“Okay, old man, be happy the fluffy didn’t break anything else,” Terrence replies cheerfully.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done to that dog if he’d broken something else at my home,” Peter replies gloomily. “Yes, I love Sammy, but that idiot became insolent. I don’t even care that Sammy is always stuck with Helene and me and watches everything we do. And I don’t care that he may start to bark loudly or try to grab me by something. But that hooligan loves jumping in the bed and stealing food from the table. He especially loves chicken. When I cook my own baking chicken, that insolent asshole jumps on the chair and starts to eat it.”
“And what does Helene think of it?” Terrence asks.
“She also doesn't like Sammy’s behavior. We’re afraid that we may actually lose control of him.”
“Oh, c’mon, Rose!” Daniel waves his hand. “The fluffy is joking!”
“Fucking jokes!” Peter exclaims. “I do feed that idiot, wash him, walk with him, and amuse him when Helene can’t do it, but he thanks me in that way!”
“You know, I’d also be happy to eat baked chicken!”
“I shall look at your face when that little monster breaks something at your home or jumps on the sofa or bed with dirty paws,” Peter throws gloomily. “You’ll one hundred percent want to slap him with a skillet.”
“What’s wrong with the fact that a dog lies on a bed or sofa? If it has clean paws and a stomach, why not?”
“Helene and I don’t like it! We’ve told him a million times that he must not jump on beds, sofas, couches, and other things. Neither home nor someone’s home!”
“C’mon, Sammy just wanted to play a little,” Terrence says confidently.
“Sammy acts like a capricious teenager, who does what they’re banned from. It’s a kind of protest! A protest against his owner’s relationship with me! It seems like that idiot bites my ass, lies on my bed, eats my food, and breaks my things on purpose…”
“Gosh, why are you grieving for that shelf?” Daniel exhales sharply. “It was old and breaking down. You should’ve thrown it away a long time ago!”
“Before Sammy broke it, it had been fine.”
“Sammy couldn’t do that on purpose! Or he could actually do nothing! But you and Helene thought the fluffy did that.”
“Ah, Perkins, it’s easy to speak when it doesn’t happen to you,” Peter smiles slyly. “It was Sammy’s work. Helene and I heard a crush and a bark from that monster.”
“And what, are ya gonna be mad at the doggy?”
“Of course, he got a punishment for his tricks.”
“I hope you didn’t decide to slap his face with a slapper?” Terrence chuckles kindly. “If you did, I wanna make you ‘happy’: Sammy’s gonna bite all your shoes and pee on them.”
“No, no physical violence. Helene and I just deprived him of some tasty food that he loved for one week, and we feed him at a scheduled time. And I hid all the toys. I usually kept them where he could come at any time, but now I moved them to where he won’t put his face in.”
“Marshall and you are cruel!” Daniel chuckles. “You stole the only pleasure in the doggy’s life.”
“It’s okay, next time, he’ll know that breaking someone’s things will have a great cost,” Peter replies confidently. “I’m ready to close my eyes to his jealousy of Helene and me, but he’ll have to pay for destroying my things.”
“Yay, Pete, I guess you’ve got a serious competitor,” Daniel laughs quietly. “Sammy doesn’t wanna share Helene with you. He lets you know he is the only one to have the right to go around his owner.”
“Indeed, Rose, I’d advise you to be careful,” Terrence adds confidently. “I’ve gotta confess that your opponent is worth enough. Toothy, confident and jealous…”
“I shall show him who the leader is,” Peter promises confidently with his head proudly raised. “That walking trouble won’t be controlling me. I shall make him respect me and accept the fact that he won’t get off me easily. You’ll see, guys, I won’t let the dog make me a slave.”
“But before it happens, he’ll be resisting, doing dirty tricks, destroying everything at your home,” Daniel chuckles quietly. “Everybody understood that the boy wouldn’t give you Helene so easily. He believes his owner only belongs to him, and nobody else can share her with him. Even you, buddy.”
“He hasn’t just understood whose way he stood in,” Peter smiles slyly. “He hasn’t understood that Helene is my girlfriend, and that little monster won’t get away with me. I believe that Sammy loves me, but he sometimes starts to get wild and terribly jealous of me and Helene.”
Peter sharply exhales, running his hand over his face.
“It seems like he won’t let us relax if I live with her someday.”
“C’mon, find him a girlfriend!” Daniel exclaims cheerfully. “I bet my tooth! When Sammy gets a crush on a sympathetic girl doggy, he will forget you.”
“I doubt it. And that idiot needs a little to learn to open doors in case we wanna close them.”
“Don’t worry, buddy, if he gets a crush on someone, Helene and you will do what ya want. I can make an example of Chelsea. She forgot us for one week when she got a crush on a homeless dog. That little hooligan often got out somewhere through a pet door to run and play with that dog all day.”
“What if she had gotten a flea or some illness?” Terrence wonders. “Who knows where those homeless dogs hang out!”
“Mother wasn’t happy and took Chelsea to a vet doctor after every date. And it was okay! She just got mites out at times. But it’s not surprising ‘cause we lived in a wooded place where there was a lot of shit. mites, spiders, and something like that… Even rats and mice got into it.”
“And Helene gives tablets to Sammy,” Peter confesses. “But putting them in the mouth of the fluffy is an epic story.”
“Chelsea was actually very active and couldn’t stay in the same place. She started to have a lot of rest only at an old age. But when that girl was young, literally everybody in the house had to catch her.”
“Hey, what did her dates with that homeless dog lead to?” Terrence asks.
“To a visit to a vet doctor, who said Chelsea would get puppies soon. Two months later, she gave birth to four very cute creatures. Three boys and one girl. And I must confess that she was an amazing mom. She didn’t almost leave the puppies, fed them well, and punished them for any bad thing.”
“And what did you do to those puppies when they grew up?”
“Sold. Father published an advertisement about selling our puppies when they turned two months old. We started to receive calls immediately. Although our puppies weren’t thoroughbreds, they were sold quickly. Four family couples came to our home with their children, who chose a puppy. Or they took those, who a puppy chose.”
“Good,” Terrence cracks a slight smile.
“Hey, Cass tried to make our parents sure to leave at least one, but they said having Chelsea was enough. And she asked them to get a dog after she died, but Mother and Father didn’t want to. They kind of had no time to take care of pets. My sis swore she’d walk with a doggy, feed it, wash it, and bring it to a doctor, but alas… It didn’t help.”
“Oh, listen, guys, maybe, one of you should get a sympathetic doggy, so Helene and I introduce our little monster Sammy to her?” Peter suggests, running his hand through his hair and leaning on the table with his elbow.
“Well, I don’t mind it,” Terrence replies thoughtfully. “But I’ve never had dogs or cats. I played with my friends’ pets, but no more.”
“I ain’t allowed to get pets yet, ‘cause Marta and Hillary will burn me and my apartment down. They can barely tolerate Sammy and always give me their claims. But if I had a dog, my bad life would turn into a fucking hell.”
“You must get out of that shit,” Daniel replies confidently. “You could buy good housing and live quietly: with a dog or with Helene. How long are you gonna tolerate it and complain that the cat's choir wakes you up at five in the morning?”
“I’ll open a little secret to you, Daniel: I’m already considering some variants and getting morally ready to change my housing.”
“Yeah, getting ready! You’ve been getting ready to move for hundreds of years! And you’re just talking!”
“I didn’t have time to look for a new home. But now I could get busy with it.”
“I won’t believe you ‘till I see the advertisements that you liked.”
“Oh, yeah, I’ve gotta call Chris and ask him about the apartment that he talked about.”
“Chris?” Terrence wonders. “Does he know someone to sell an apartment?”
“Yup, his familiar. But I’d like to live in a house, not an apartment. Well, if it’s not too late, we could suggest Raquelle’s aunt look at that. She’s looking for a place to live? Or has she already found?”
“Yup, as far as I know, Alicia is still looking for a home… She’s decided to move to New York with her daughter.”
“Then we could introduce her to Chris’ familiar,” Daniel shrugs.
“A little later.” Terrence runs his hands over his face. “I need to put my brain in order… And deal with the other businesses.”
“Yeah, we have so much to do…” Peter replies thoughtfully. “For example, I need to deal with Sammy and think about moving.”
“I’ve already told you what to do to Sammy,” Daniel waves his hand sharply. “If you send him to a sympathetic doggy, Helene and you are gonna have a wonderful time.”
“Yeah, maybe, you will tell me where I could find that sympathetic doggy if you’re such a smarty?”
“You never know where you can meet your fate,” Terrence smiles mysteriously. “You don’t know where and how you may get a crush…”
“M-m-m, you sound like your brother,” Daniel chuckles quietly.
“Yeah, shut up,” Peter moans tiredly. “Having one sentimental person is too much for us! Getting a second one would be too much!”
“C’mon, Peter!” Terrence exclaims cheerfully. “Why are you so gloomy? Don’t be mad because of your jealousy of Sammy and your fights with your neighbors!”
“Listen, MacClife, let’s exchange our houses? You’d go to my home, and I would live in your house and be surrounded by servants! So, we see how soon you’d start moaning and complaining. But knowing you, you wouldn’t tolerate it for one day.”
“No, no! I don’t wanna live in your hole!”
“So, bluffing?” Peter smiles slyly. “Are you shaking at the thought that rats and cockroaches would come to you for dinner?”
“Well, remembering how he always squeaked and complained about something when being in the hospital, living in your apartment would drive him crazy,” Daniel chuckles kindly.
“I just wanted to go home!” Terrence exclaims. “In my bed! I wanted to eat good food, not what I ate in the hospital. I wanted to put on my clothes! I wanted to take a shower, after all!”
“Okay, MacClife, stop!” Peter raises his hands. “We understood that you pronounced yourself a prince of blue blood that couldn’t live in terrible conditions.”
“C’mon, Rose, don’t be mad! Why are you so angry?”
“I am not angry!”
“I believe someone’s just too hungry,” Daniel assumes cheerfully. “It’s just time to feed our friend. Quickly. Before he tears a piece of skin off someone.”
“You’re right, dude,” Terrence agrees funnily. “We should feed the blond before he really starts to attack everyone like a hungry tiger.”
“Keep laughing, idiots,” Peter throws gloomily with both arms crossed over his chest. “I’d mock y'all if you had the same situation.”
“Alright, alright, we understood you’re kind of out of sorts.”
“When we feed him, he’ll get kinder,” Daniel replies confidently.
“Oh, fuck, how much you irritate me at times…” Peter moans tiredly with rolled eyes.
“Hey, as for feeding… Where’s actually our food?” Daniel quickly looks around and frowns slightly. “And where’s the fuck Edward?”
“Indeed…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully. “Where did that little rugrat go with my food? Where did he get the fuck out with our money?”
“He is standing near the cash!” Peter glances aside. “Talking to a guy!”
Terrence and Daniel move their eyes to where Peter is looking and see Edward really standing near the cash and talking to a young boy. And the two do not stop smiling widely and laughing at something so hard.
“Fine!” Terrence throws gloomily, crossing his arms over his chest. “We’re sitting here hungry, but that idiot is laughing with someone!”
“Hey, did he actually buy what we asked?” Peter asks. “Or sending Edward to buy food was a great mistake?”
“Seems like, no,” Daniel frowns slightly. “As if he wasn’t gonna order anything.”
“Because of that little chatter, we have to stay here and feel hungry.”
“What are they laughing at so hard that they even hold their stomachs?”
“Ar-r-r, I don’t know what I’m gonna do to him if that sentimental romantic doesn’t give me my food in two minutes,” Peter says confidently, groaning irritably.
“Do I go to kick his ass?” Terrence frowns slightly, stroking his chin. I want to the fuck eat! But Edward decided to work his tongue!”
“We should’ve done it five minutes ago,” Daniel replies confidently. “When we told him what we wanted to buy, gave him money, and sat down here.”
“Listen, let’s hurry him up,” Peter suggests, twisting nervously in the chair. “Otherwise, he’s gonna talk to that guy ‘till the evening!”
While Terrence, Peter, and Daniel are mad because they are hungry, but the air smells something very tasty, Edward keeps talking to the young staff member of the café, whom he likely knows well. A talk with this laughing young guy makes MacClife, Jr.’s mood much better, even if he looks cheerful enough.
“C’mon,” Edward pronounces with a laugh. “Don’t say it really happened.”
“I do tell you, it happened like this!” the man replies excitedly, gesticulating actively. “It was cool! I’ve already told the girls and the men on the job, and we were laughing at that for a long time. Even our forever gloomy chief took off his mask and laughed with us.”
“Okay, dude, let’s meet somewhere when we have free time, so you tell absolutely everything.”
“Deal, Edward!” the man clicks his fingers. “I’ve told you half of it: if you hear the full story, you won’t stop laughing for a long time.”
“I can’t calm down now,” Edward replies quietly, trying to catch a breath, runs his hand through his hair, and grabs his stomach for a second. “Oh… My stomach hurts…”
“Sorry…”
“Nah, it’s okay! Although my mood is amazing, it got much better after your story.”
“I think you’re never sad! Every time you come here, nobody sees you in a bad mood. Is your blonde-haired girl the reason for that?”
“My fiancée does know how to make me feel good,” Edward smiles mysteriously. “If I have a bad day, her pretense immediately makes me forget everything and feel happier.”
“You’re lucky, buddy!” the man exclaims cheerfully, clapping Edward on the shoulder. “It’s clear that you have a girl that you need.”
“One and a half years ago, I didn’t think it would happen. That I’d meet such a wonderful person.”
“Take care of that cutie. She’s so flawless that anyone could easily get her if she were single. Your fiancée is freaking attractive…”
“I only choose the best,” Edward says with his head proudly raised. “I’ve always been told I have an amazing taste for girls.”
“And you hit the bullseye this time.”
Edward smiles shyly and says nothing, putting his hands on his hips. Two seconds later, someone from the staff puts four big packs on the plate placed near the cash.
“Oh, here’s your order!” the man exclaims.
While Edward gives a five and says something to some members of the staff and examines quickly what’s inside the packs with a slight smile, the young man standing next to him glances at the gloomy and hungry Peter, Terrence, and Daniel, who look at MacClife, Jr., kind of gloomily.
“Erm, listen, Ed, I think you better hurry up,” the man says thoughtfully, knocking at Edward’s shoulder with a finger. “That trio is about to make you food for lunch.”
“What trio?” Edward frowns slightly.
“That one!” the man points at Daniel, Peter and Terrence.
“Ah! That’s my gang! I brought them here to feed them. They get mad when they wanna eat.”
“I think the black-haired one definitely wanna kick your ass much more.”
“That’s my gluttonous big bro, Terry,” Edward chuckles kindly. “He’s always hungry, but with a big crowd on his head. And those two are also gluttons.”
“Okay, man!” the man exclaims and claps Edward on the shoulder. “I won’t hold you anymore. Otherwise, they’ll surely tear you apart from hunger.”
“Yeah, I’ve gotta put a burger in their mouths…” Edward laughs quietly.
“Hurry up! We don’t wanna lose you!”
“Okay, dude, I will go to feed that hungry gang. See ya later.”
“C’mon, old man, stay happy!”
Edward strongly shakes the staff member by the hand and claps him on the shoulder. Then he takes the plate with packs of food and goes to the table, at which Daniel, Terrence, and Peter are sitting. At first, they talk about something, but they move their eyes to MacClife, Jr., when he comes to them.
“Oh, lads, look who has shown up!” Daniel chuckles with both hands up.
“Wow, I thought you left us to die here from hunger,” Peter adds confidently.
“Edward, where are you the fuck hanging around?” Terrence resents. “We’re dying from starvation, but you’re talking to someone like a girl!”
“Whoa, guys, quiet,” Edward pronounces quietly, putting the plate on the table and raising his hands in front of himself. “I was waiting for the order to be done. And I talked to someone of the staff members.”
“I wonder what you were talking about if you were literally rolling on the floor with a laugh,” Peter wonders thoughtfully.
“Well, nothing special,” Edward says, pulling his thin black choker. “Just one funny event that happened to that guy.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s something too funny,” Daniel chuckles kindly. “You still can’t stop laughing. And you left us hungry! It’s time to feed Peter! He is too mad now.”
“Right, his neighbors and their cats don’t let him live, and Sammy doesn’t let him stay alone with Helene,” Terrence agrees cheerfully. “They were supposed to have something grandiose, but the fluffy minded it.”
“You’re so curious, MacClife,” Peter throws gloomily, shaking his head sharply. “Even if we did, you don’t have to with it.”
“C’mon, Pete!” Edward exclaims and sits at the table next to Daniel, in front of Peter and Terrence. “If you and Helene wanted to sleep, and Sammy didn’t let you do that, say it.”
“Should I tell you when I sleep with Helene? It’s my business! I don’t ask you when you sleep with Natalia or when Terrence sleeps with Raquelle!”
“Ha, I did say you were mad ‘cause Sammy didn’t let you sleep with Helene,” Daniel says cheerfully. “You actually give a fuck about that broken shelf. You got wild ‘cause Marshall and you didn’t have wonderful sex because of the fluffy.”
“C’mon, guys, the fluffy isn’t just ready for such a sudden turn of events and resists it so hard,” Terrence assumes with a slight smile. “Sammy just got used to Peter, but these lovebirds decided to have some fun… C’mon, guys!”
“It’s okay, he’ll get used,” Edward assures. “Sammy will have to accept the fact that Peter won’t leave Helene’s life.”
“Say all the same to the little monster named Samuel,” Peter replies quietly, taking one of the packs with food and starting to check it out. “Maybe, you’ll make that idiot remember that Helene’s world doesn’t go around him only.”
“You know, blond, I think you’re sometimes too harsh to him,” Edward notices, taking a pack of food.
“Yeah…” Peter agrees, sorting out the pack with food. “Sometimes I’m harsh to him. But it only happens when Sammy starts to be capricious and get loose. Though, Helene is even harsher toward him than me.”
“Fuck it off, Peter!” Daniel exclaims, taking one of the two packs placed on the table. “Terrence is right: the fluffy isn’t just ready for your sex. And if you were moaning in unison, he’d crush the door of the room with his head and run to save his owner from you.”
“Anyway, I will show him who is the leader. So, he knows his place when Helene and I live together.” Peter knocks at the table with a finger several times. “That asshole won’t control me. He won’t! Yes, he’s a boy, but I’m a human. A human is more important.”
“Hey, are you and Helene planning to live together?” Terrence gets curious, taking the last pack of food and opening it.
“I don’t exclude it in the future. But after I get outta my fucking dump and move into a good house where there will be silence, peace, and much space.”
“It’s time!” Edward replies confidently.
The men check out their packs with food for a few seconds and listen to the music playing at the café, but then they start looking at each other and examining what’s inside each other’s packs.
“Hey, where’s my food?” Terrence asks. “There’s nothing from what I ordered in this pack!”
“Same…” Peter pronounces thoughtfully. “I didn’t order this burger.”
“Oh, it’s mine,” Edward says, takes the burger from Peter, and gives him a box of hot nuggets. “And I think it’s yours. You’re the biggest lover of chicken food.”
“And only your older brother could order so many French fries,” Daniel chuckles kindly and puts the box with French fries and the packed burger in front of Terrence. “And I can’t eat such a big burger.”
Peter, Edward, Daniel, and Terrence share some food and put everything in front of themselves, enjoying the nice smell that gets into their noses and makes their stomachs growl in a demanding way again.
“M-m-m, listen, it smells incredible!” Terrence pronounces with enjoyment. “Of course, all of it is not quite healthy, but fuck it all.”
“Don’t you tell us about healthy food, Terrence,” Edward chuckles kindly. “You eat anything – healthy food or not.”
“Aha, MacClife is gonna promote a healthy diet after filling his stomach with bad, high-calorie food and drinking two big glasses of Coke,” Daniel supports with a kind grin.
“And even if he grows a big ass, he will keep saying he’s an irresistibly handsome man, who all girls have a crush on,” Peter laughs quietly.
“And next, he’s gonna post a photo of his naked torso from a gym class on Instagram and sign it, ‘Workin’ out so hard to get rid of my big belly after a too gross lunch.’”
“Do you want the knickers of all the girls to get immediately wet?” Edward wonders.
“If his naked torso doesn’t have at least one hint of a six-pack, even he won’t feel hard,” Peter replies funnily.
“C’mon, man!” Daniel exclaims. “Don’t tell MacClife such terrible things! Do you want him to die? At the thought that he might stop being Apollo for girls!”
While Edward, Daniel, and Peter laugh shyly, Terrence looks at the three men with a disapproving look and shakes his head.
“I’m gonna pretend that I don’t hear the talk of the three annoying idiots,” Terrence says quietly. “I’d better have lunch.”
“Eat silently, then,” Edward pronounces with an innocent smile. “Your Highness has gotten everything. So, be nice to start your lunch.”
“Keep your sharp tongue with you, kid. Or you’re gonna stay without lunch.”
“If you take just something from my food, I shall cut your arms.”
“Don’t dare to look at mine. Or you will regret it.”
“Oh, I’m so scared!” Edward chuckles quietly. “Pete, Dan, help me! Big brother is hurting me.”
“Okay, I believe someone hasn’t gotten a good slap upside your head for a long time.”
“And you’ve lately, barely gotten your ass kicked.”
“After we leave this café, I will immediately kick your ass,” Terrence says confidently. “I shall educate you again. You went out of my control.”
“I agree, I’ve lately, rarely chased you with a belt in my hands. And Raquelle has relaxed at all…”
“Don’t teach a grandmother how to suck eggs, brother.”
“Who’s a grandmother?” Edward smiles slyly and thrills with laughter. “You are?”
“Shit, Edward, stop the fuck laughing!” Terrence demands gloomily. “You’re kind of too funny and excited today.”
“Yeah, I have a wonderful mood!” Edward confesses confidently.
“M-m-m, I feel the past two days have been super hot for you and your gorgeous blonde.”
“Oh, yay, there was a lot of sex!” Daniel meddles with a kind chuckle. “And it was unforgettable!”
“Yeah, Natalia does know how to satisfy my bro,” Terrence notices cheerfully.
“Yes, I had an amazing time with my fiancée,” Edward says funnily. “And you’re three gloomy and sour.”
“Not truth!” Terrence protests.
“I ain’t gloomy!” Daniel exclaims.
“It’s okay, bros, I know how to shake you up,” Edward replies confidently. “I suggest we eat a little and enjoy this incredible food. Not worse than McDonald’s.”
“We’ll see it now,” Daniel replies.
“I’m so hungry that I’d even eat an anaconda,” Peter confesses funnily.
The friends start tasting something from the food and get immediately delighted by its incredible and unforgettable taste.
“M-m-m, guys, it’s amazing!” Terrence admires with a filled mouth, holding a big, hot hamburger with a juicy pork cutlet, salad, and a piece of potato. “I’ve never tasted anything better before.”
“Listen, that’s what I need,” Peter agrees, eating a delicious to look hamburger with a chicken cutlet, salad, and a piece of potato. “M-m-m… Guys, I’m speechless!”
“Listen, the burger is awesome!” Daniel confesses, eating his hot, recently cooked burger with a super soft fish fillet and sauce of mayonnaise and cucumbers. “I almost swallowed my tongue!”
“And what I told you!” Edward replies proudly, eating a piece of soft French fries. “I wouldn’t advise you anything bad! I often come here to have lunch or eat a little.”
“If only we could eat this tasty food and drink something. Don’t they make drinks here?”
“Ha, my brother didn’t order drinks,” Terrence chuckles quietly, checking one of the paychecks. “No drinks that we wanted to buy are in this paycheck.”
“C’mon?” Peter wonders. “Give it to me!”
Peter takes the paycheck from Terrence and runs his eyes through the purchase list.
“Yup. There is only food… No drinks.”
“Erm…” Edward stutters, biting his bottom lip slightly. “Seems like I forgot about the drinks…”
“Right, you need to talk less!” Daniel exclaims loudly. “Asking you to do an order was the greatest mistake.”
“Sorry, Perkins! I can’t keep everything on my mind!”
“You could just order what we wanted and get out to the fuck,” Terrence replies. “We’d feel good without ya.”
“And you should think of what you should do now,” Daniel adds with a quiet grin. “Instead of thinking about how beautiful Rochester is when she’s naked in parallel.”
“Ha, he’s now thinking about it!” Peter exclaims funnily. “He’s imagining how he’s gonna undress her on their first marriage night.”
While Terrence, Peter, and Daniel laugh quietly and try to swallow up what they are eating, Edward shakes his head and rolls his eyes.
“C’mon, the roosters started to crow!” Edward exclaims. “They started the riot in a fucking henhouse!”
“Stop thinking of Natalia at least for a while and get drinks for us now,” Terrence demands.
“Okay, okay, calm down! I will buy everything now!”
“No, MacClife, stay where you are!” Peter protests confidently, putting his burger in a box, and cleaning his hands with a handkerchief that he takes from the plate. “I will go to buy drinks. Because you may one more familiar of yours and laugh with them for half an hour.”
“Oh, Pete, you’re our salvation!” Daniel exclaims happily. “This romantic may really forget about us. As I understand, his pretty face is well known here.”
“Yup, almost all the staff members know me,” Edward says confidently. “Because I often come here. And I’ve been here with Natalia multiple times.”
“That’s why the blond should buy drinks for us,” Terrence replies.
“Don’t worry, guys, I will do it now,” Peter says with his head proudly raised and moves his eyes to Terrence. “Okay, MacClife, let me through. Be nice and get your precious ass up.”
Terrence gets up from the table silently and sits down when Peter moves to the edge and stands up.
“And yeah, Edward, give me the money that we gave him for the food,” Peter says confidently, pointing his hand. “You bought the food, but a change is supposed to be. So, give me what you have.”
“Oh, no problem!” Edward exclaims. “I don’t need anyone’s money.”
Edward takes some money from the pocket on his short pants and gives it to Peter, who counts it quickly and smiles happily.
“That’s good,” Peter exclaims confidently. “Don’t be bored, guys. I’ll be back soon. Go there and come back here.”
Peter quickly leaves his friends laughing alone and goes confidently to the cash register to buy drinks.
“I told you he’d get immediately kinder if he ate a burger,” Daniel chuckles kindly.
“Aha, maybe, he’ll forgive Sammy later,” Terrence expresses hope. “Rose is too mad at him because he didn’t have a chance to bring Helene to the top of the world.”
“He’ll have no choice!” Edward chuckles funnily. “Sammy will show puppy eyes, so that the blond can’t stay indifferent. That doggy knows what to do and what to press on. He’s a professional at it!”
“Well, I dunno…” Daniel replies thoughtfully. “I’m not sure if puppy eyes will help Sammy please Rose.”
“But on the contrary, we can understand Peter and Helene. I wouldn’t be happy if someone didn’t let Natalia and me enjoy each other. There’s such a beautiful and sexy girl, but a dog bites your ass.”
“Oh, bro, it doesn’t threaten you,” Terrence replies confidently. “You wouldn’t get off your blond-haired beauty even if a tornado or a zombie apocalypse started.”
“You won’t care about tornadoes if Raquelle stands next to you and starts to pretend that she doesn’t seduce you but madly wants you to throw her on the bed, undress her, and fuck her.”
“But you don’t have to pretend that you’re a sweet and obedient kitty, ‘cause it’s not the truth,” Terrence smiles slyly. “You were born to be a pain in the ass.”
“You two are worth each other,” Daniel notices funnily.
“Serious?” Terrence scoffs loudly. “Terrence MacClife can’t be compared with this kid!”
“No, my sweetheart, you can’t be compared with Edward MacClife!” Edward raises his head with a sly smile.
“Shut up, little rutrag!” Terrence shamelessly steals a couple of pieces of fries from Edward’s small packet.
“Hey!” Edward claps Terrence sharply on the hand. “Place it back, glutton! Place back, I said!”
“M-m-m, listen, they cook amazing French fries here,” Terrence replies with a slight smile, eating the stolen piece of French fries. “Oh, I should’ve bought more…”
“Are you fucking serious?” Daniel wonders loudly. “You did buy the biggest pack! If you buy two more packs, sellers are gonna stare at you like an idiot.”
“But I’m not the one to blame for loving potatoes so much. With a spicy sauce…” Terrence bites a piece of French fries and rolls his eyes with a wide smile. “M-m-m, so yummy!”
“You better say what you don’t love,” Edward replies confidently. “Or would it be harder for you than untangling cables?”
“Okay… I would not eat semolina, not for anything. Do what you want, but I will not even look at it! Mother constantly gave it to me when I was a kid. And when I said I didn’t like it, I was just told to shut up and eat what I got or stay hungry.”
“Wow, what a confession…” Daniel chuckles kindly. “I thought gluttons liked everything.”
“I eat anything but semolina.”
“I’m ready to bet that your servants and Raquelle are sick of cooking food for you,” Daniel assumes with a quiet chuckle. “Knowing you need a hundred times more food to feel more or less fed.”
“That’s right!” Edward agrees. “Once, Raquelle and I joked at Terrence because he ate too much. And Mother often says she had to spend a lot of time near a cooker to feed this glutton.”
“And the most interesting thing is that MacClife eats two times more than an elephant but remains as slim as a cypress. Another person would surely get fat and unturned, but your bro doesn’t!”
“Because his stomach is like an endless barrel! No matter how much you add to it, you can’t fill it to the up.”
“Blah-blah-blah,” Terrence rolls his eyes up as he watches Edward and Daniel laughing. “Who would say! You bought as much food as for a whole army, and you say something about me!”
“Yeah, whole army!” Edward exclaims. “It’s just five percent from your usual piece.”
“Oh, c’mon, don’t exaggerate! Rose also bought a lot!” Terrence takes Peter’s bitten hamburger, steals a piece of tomato, a green leaf salad, and a piece of chicken, eats them quickly, puts the burger in its place, and dries off his mouth with a handkerchief. “It’s delicious. Our lover of chicken has a good taste.”
“Agree, his nuggets are pretty good,” Edward approves, taking a nugget from a box placed among Peter’s food. “Super delicious!”
“You better taste his sauce,” Daniel suggests, putting a piece of French fries into Peter’s sauce. “I love everything spicy that makes everything burn in my throat.”
“I suggest you eat a couple of chili peppers,” Terrence advises. “I thought I’d die when I did it. My throat was burning so much that tears came out of my eyes by themselves.”
“Oh, I’m gonna have tears because of this sauce,” Edward confesses, puts a piece of French fries in Daniel’s spice sauce, tastes it, and exhales sharply with a sense of getting his mouth to burn slightly. “Oh… It’s too spicy. Not for me.”
“Awesome,” Daniel smiles slyly. “You won’t put your nose in my food anymore.”
Daniel puts a piece of French fries in his sauce and swallows it, enjoying the way his throat starts burning strongly. And a few seconds later, Peter returns to his friends, holding a coaster with four plastic glasses and straws that he puts on the table.
“Here I am!” Peter exclaims with his head proudly raised. “No lines! I didn’t have to wait!”
While Terrence gets up from the table to let Peter come back to his place, Edward and Daniel take glasses with drinks and taste them with a straw.
“M-m-m, awesome!” Daniel approves. “I dreamed of it so badly!”
“I wanna drink more in the hot weather,” Edward notices.
“Yeah, it’s too hot outside today…” Terrence replies, fixing his white t-shirt and exhaling slowly with a sense of heat. “We could walk naked on the streets.”
“But I like it!” Daniel confesses. “I adore hot weather!”
“Yeah, but not such a hot one!” Terrence grabs a third glass and drinks a little. “When my clothes get stuck to my body!”
“That’s good air conditioner is working here,” Peter notices, eating his food as well as the others do. “Or we’d die from this heat.”
“I dunno, I personally feel good in cold and hot weather!” Edward exclaims cheerfully. “Though, I prefer swimming in the sea in a swimming suit to wearing many clothes in the wintertime.”
“You’re always somewhere in the middle,” Peter laughs shyly, holding his glass. “You love all the animals, don’t care about the time of the year, and treat an Arctic frost and an African hot well…”
Meanwhile, Peter looks at his hamburger, which someone wanted to eat.
“So…” Peter pronounces thoughtfully. “A mouse has already examined everything. I mean, mice. The three gluttonous mice that wanna have more food. Where’s a fucking piece of potato? Where’s a leaf of salad? Who took a piece of chicken? Who tasted the sauce?”
Daniel, Edward, and Terrence look at each other and chuckle quietly, while Peter looks at the three gloomily and shakes his head.
“Alright, everything’s clear about you,” Peter says quietly.
“C’mon, blond, I just tasted the sauce,” Daniel replies. “Which I really liked.”
“I took just one nugget!” Edward exclaims.
“And I took a piece of potato, a leaf of salad, and a piece of chicken,” Terrence adds.
“If you steal my food, do this in front of me,” Peter advises.
“How could we resist this delicious food? They cook such amazing food for so little money.”
“Yeah, I can’t deny it. Their chicken is magnificent. Even better than what I cook.”
“Oh, yeah!” Edward rolls his eyes and raises his head proudly. “You did ding into my ears, ‘Where are you driving us? What the fuck? Blah-blah-blah!’ How much you resented!”
“Okay, romantic, we weren’t right,” Daniel raises his hands up. “The spent money is worth it.”
“If this food was disgusting, I wouldn’t take you or Natalia here.”
“Okay, okay, we got it,” Terrence jabs.
“Though, I should take you to the gym class.”
Edward steals the packed cheeseburger from Terrence, opens it, and bites a little bit of it.
“Hey, brother, stop stealing my food!” Terrence resents and claps Edward painfully on the hand. “You have a lot of yours! Hey, rutrag? Place it back now!”
“Wouldn’t you give a burger to your beloved little brother?” Edward asks with a sly smile and a filled mouth.
“You bought two ones! Why do you the fuck need a third one?”
“Eat at home.”
“Hey, give it to me!” Daniel suggests with a sly smile. “If you have something, put it in a packet. I wanna eat enough before tying my belt.”
“Are you gonna start a diet?” Edward chuckles quietly.
“I’m gonna start working out next week. Monday.”
“Come on?” Peter wonders. “Work out?”
“Yeah, I’ve lately been out of shape. And it definitely let me know about it…”
“Have you ever gone to workouts?” Terrence laughs quietly.
“I have, MacClife. Not regularly, but I spent time working on my body at least once per week.”
“Sorry, old man, but if you wanna get tons of muscles, you’ve gotta work literally every day,” Peter replies confidently. “Really work. Instead of going to a gym to take a photo in a sports suit in front of fitness equipment.”
“Thanks for the advice, brother. If I need help, okay, I shall make you a trainer of mine.”
“Yeah, why is it Monday? Why don’t you start to work out tomorrow? Sometimes the word ‘later’ may mean ‘never.’”
“It’s MacClife’s fault!” Daniel glances at Edward sitting next to him. “He was seducing us with food in this café, and I decided to delay my plans to beef up ‘till next week.”
“You can delay it forever,” Terrence notices confidently.
“Don’t worry, guys, I will start working out on Monday. Of course, I will not get up at six in the morning and run around my neighborhood. But I will one hundred percent work out at home and go to a gymnasium.”
“Since you easily succumb to temptations, you should work on your power of will.”
“Dan has a different opinion: you should fill your stomach to the up, gain nobody the fuck knows how much weight, and then you can work on your fat stomach for one or one and a half months or much more,” Edward chuckles quietly.
“C’mon, bros, he’s just been fed with something else except scrambled eggs or sandwiches for the first time in a while,” Peter chuckles kindly with a filled mouth. “Perkins can cook nothing but these dishes. And I would argue with it. He must not be allowed to go to a kitchen.”
“Indeed,” Terrence smiles slyly. “You look how much food there is! Anyone, who keeps a diet, may break down after sniffing all these amazing smells.”
“That’s why Perkins decided to eat as much as possible before starting his diet.”
“Ha, as if you’re a professional master chef!” Daniel rolls his eyes.
“At least, I can cook!” Peter says with his head proudly raised. “Nobody can be better than me at cooking chicken! But you can’t just watch a pot on the plate when you boil something or cut something without wounding a hand or a finger. You should go to a kitchen with a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher.”
“Oh, c’mon, anything happens! Even a professional chef may splash something over them, and cut their hand accidentally!”
“You can only put everything you have in your refrigerator on a piece of dough and place it in an oven. Or just open a semifinished product and pop it in the microwave.”
“At least he can use a microwave – that’s very good,” Terrence chuckles kindly.
“And if we teach him how to boil and broil and watch the process, it’s gonna be amazing,” Edward adds.
“C’mon, it’s already good!” Peter waves a hand. “Dan should better press the buttons of the microwave. It would be safer.”
While Peter, Edward, and Terrence laugh quietly, Daniel looks at everybody gloomily and shakes his head after drinking some drinks from his plastic glass.
“Oh, fuck, sometimes you really annoy me and get me exhausted…” Daniel says gloomily, clapping himself on the forehead.
“Don’t worry, dude, you have the people, who won’t let you die from starvation,” Terrence replies confidently. “Since it’s dangerous to let you come to a cooker and give you a knife, we’ll teach you to cook food in a microwave. I know some cool recipes.”
“You can go bankrupt if you regularly order cooked food at home,” Peter adds. “And who knows what kind of shit they add to it.”
“Thanks, my caring boys, but I’m doing this well so far,” Daniel replies with a slight smile. “I haven’t died from starvation or burned my house down…”
“And if you decided to work out, we will kick your ass. So, you don’t think of being lazy and grow your stomach, ass, and hips.”
“Ah, my friends are so kind…” Daniel leans back in the chair with a quiet chuckle. “They never let me relax.”
“A real friend is the one, who would feel free to call you at 5 AM and make you go for an intensive workout,” Edward notices with a slight smile.
The friends laugh quietly for a few seconds and try to swallow up what they eat, drinking their drinks at times and enjoying the coldness that settled at the cafe thanks to the conditioners. At some moment, a member of the cafe staff recognizes Edward, comes to him, and addresses him funnily:
“Hey, Edward, hiya!”
“Oh, hey, dude!” Edward replies cheerfully and shakes the member of the staff by the hand. “I didn’t see you when I came here.”
“Oh, it’s my blame!” the man waves his hand. “I didn’t hear my alarm and slept almost ‘till lunch. I got up like I was boiling, got ready, and came here. So, I’m now afraid of the brainwashing from my chief.”
“But Travis said your chief got kinder after what he told everybody.”
“Ah, yes, yes!” the man nods with a slight smile. “I heard it! The girls told me everything.”
“I almost got my stomach hurt when he told me about it.”
“Yeah, Travis is a humorist. And he always runs into stupid situations.”
“But he made the mood of all of us better and made us laugh enough.”
“I can’t deny it.” the staff member looks aside for a second and pays attention to Peter, Terrence, and Daniel. “Oh, I see you’re with your friends. Couldn’t your fiancée join you?”
“She’s spending time with her friends,” Edward replies amicably. “While I’m spending it with this gang that I should’ve fed.”
“Okay…” the man laughs shyly. “So, okay, I won’t bother you and will go to work. The chief may see me doing nothing.”
“Come on, good luck to you! It’s gonna be okay!”
“Thanks!” the staff member shakes Edward by the hand and claps him on the shoulder. “Same to you!”
The staff member goes to do his business quickly and starts talking to a visitor, who comes to him.
“Hear, Terrence, it seems like your brother is getting more popular,” Peter notices thoughtfully. “The whole café knows him and Natalia.”
“I know two or three people well and remember the others by their faces,” Edward explains. “For example, I still don’t know the name of that guy. But I know Travis, the one I talked with near the cash, well.”
“Yay, bro, I see you don’t waste your time,” Terrence smiles mysteriously.
“There’s nothing wrong with meeting some new people.”
“Oh, yeah, some! The entire café staff knows you: from sellers to cleaning people.”
“New people often come here to work!”
“You’d love to work your tongue with them!”
“I did say I knew only fewer people!”
Meanwhile, two girls in suits of the café staff pass by and address Edward with a sweet smile:
“Hi, Edward!”
“Hi, girls!” Edward waves his hand with a slight smile. “How are you doing?”
“We got much better when we saw you,” one of the girls replies.
“You brought the light to this café,” another girl adds amicably.
“I will stay a little later,” Edward promises confidently. “I’d be happy to talk to you, eating something delicious.”
The girls shyly smile and go to do their business, while Daniel, Terrence, and Peter barely hold their chuckles down.
“What was this?” Daniel wonders.
“My bro shows off with his shabby tail,” Terrence laughs shyly.
“I just greeted the girls,” Edward throws his hands up. “They’re sweet enough, just saying.”
“Oh, c’mon, we got it,” Peter chuckles kindly.
At this moment, another guy goes by the table of the friends and says to Edward with a slight smile:
“Hey, Ed!”
“Salut[1], Cole!” Edward greets amicably and shares a homie handshake with the guy named Cole.
Cole goes quietly to do his business, but another guy and another girl come to Edward two seconds later, waving their hands with a shy smile:
“Hey, Edward!”
“Hey, lovebirds!” Edward greets funnily.
While Peter, Terrence, and Daniel look at each other and laugh shyly, two more young girls come to Edward and wave their hands at him shyly:
“Hey, pretty boy!”
“Hi, Elina, hi, Ines!” Edward greets with a much wider smile and his head proudly raised.
When Elina and Ines go by the men’s table, Terrence, Peter, and Daniel chuckle much louder.
“Yay, MacClife…” Peter laughs shyly. “A whole herd has passed by, but you say you only know fewer people.”
“Aha, half of the whole café has greeted you!” Terrence exclaims.
“Oh, man, you’re our celebrity!” Daniel notices, hitting Edward on the forearm with a fist. “A little bit before you kick your brother off the throne of the leader.”
“Yeah, romantic, you’re getting more popular,” Peter notices cheerfully.
“Hey, Rose, notice that fewer people have paid attention to Edward, but nobody has noticed the worldwide famous Terrence MacClife.”
“Right…” Peter clicks his fingers with a wide smile. “MacClife, Sr., is a loser! He said everyone loved and knew him. Though, many people can’t actually remember this unforgettable face, which could actually be forgotten.”
“Aha, when everyone learned about his young, pretty brother, the guy got all the attention.”
“How could someone ignore a pretty boy like me?” Edward ruffles his hair slightly with his head proudly raised. “Young, sexy, smart, brave, caring…”
“Crazy, annoying, insolent, and stubborn little rag,” Terrence adds thoughtfully.
“I am the sweetest and shyest one of our gang.”
“If you were the one, you’d be a gem,” Terrence smiles innocently. “I did really like a shy, quiet, and sweet boy, who preferred to be silent and acted like he didn’t exist. A brother of my dream!”
“You know, I’d love you much more if you weren’t such an arrogant rooster, who still believes he’s irresistible, and young girls want him.”
“Any girl feels wetness between her legs when seeing me.” Terrence lets his fingers run through his hair with a proud look. “I’m like good wine: I get better and better every year. More handsome and more fantastic.”
“Oh, yeah, wine that is as valuable as water. I don’t see little girls run after you and ask you for an autograph and a photo.”
“They’re just shy. Coming to Terrence MacClife is the same as coming to a museum piece that costs millions of dollars.”
“Well, you don’t cost millions of dollars…” Edward pronounces thoughtfully. “But you cost two thousand dollars. Though, I wouldn’t pay one hundred dollars for you. Maximum – two cents.”
“Asshole…” Terrence smiles slyly.
When Edward wants to say something, a young café staff member goes cheerfully by his table.
“Oh, hi, Edward…” the girl greets amicably. “Glad to see you.”
“Hey, Corinne,” Edward greets with a slight smile. “How are you?”
“Fine. And you?”
“Super. Yeah, you’re too funny today. Can’t you still forget what Travis told you?”
“Well, it’s one of the reasons…” Corinne replies with a slight smile, wrapping a strand of hair around her finger. “And when I saw you, I felt much better…”
“I give happiness to people like a kind fairy.”
“I see…” Corrine pronounces thoughtfully, acting like she is flirting with Edward secretly and looking at him with interest. “Yeah, I see you brought new clients here.”
“Yup, my friends and brother kindly agreed to accompany me,” Edward nods. “I persuaded them to have lunch here.”
“I hope they like our food.”
“They liked it so much that they swallowed their tongues.”
“If a client is happy, we’re doing everything right,” Corinne laughs shyly and fixes her snapback that is a part of the suit and her hair put into a tail. “Oh, okay, I will go to work. There are many snitches, who may tell someone that I do nothing.”
“Alright, won’t dare to hold you.”
“Stay with us someday. So, we talk a little. All the guys often talk about you.”
“If I have time, I’ll surely visit you.”
“Okay,” Corinne gives an air kiss to Edward. “See ya later, pretty boy!”
While Edward smiles shyly with a slight blush on his face, Corinne goes to do her business and fixes her clothes on the way.
“Ha, pretty boy…” Peter chuckles kindly.
“Hey, what kind of chuckle!” Edward rounds his eyes. “I’ve never doubted I am attractive! And I was the boy, who everybody wanted to take to their bed, in any gang.”
“And you’re happy!” Daniel exclaims. “You got as red as a tomato when you were called handsome and a pretty boy! Just like Rose when I told him Cassidy had a crush on him.”
“Yeah, it’s nice!” Edward says with his head proudly raised. “Who would dislike being called handsome?”
“You know, man, anyway, better be careful when you talk to girls,” Terrence warns. “For example, this one undressed you openly with her eyes and definitely flirted with you.”
“Yes, yes, she was super excited!” Daniel adds thoughtfully. “And she fixed her hair too hard…”
“Stop talking shit,” Edward throws gloomily. “First, that girl has a boyfriend, who comes here often. And second, I’m not interested in any girls but Natalia.”
“You know, brother, some girls don’t even care about a ring on their finger or the last name of their husbands in the documents,” Peter warns. “If Corinne wants, she can fuck her boyfriend off for two seconds and start to seduce you and make you leave Rochester.”
“Hey, when I talk to a girl and smile at her, it doesn’t mean I’m interested in her!”
“Okay, okay, we just wanted to warn you,” Terrence raises his hands up.
“I ain’t a horndog and don’t fuck any gal I meet on my way.”
“We’re watching you, MacClife,” Daniel replies confidently, clapping Edward on the shoulder and threatening him with a finger. “If we see you flirting with another girl, you will regret it!”
“Okay, mommies, calm down, I got it!” Edward jabs. “I got it!”
The friends eat their food and drink their drinks for a few seconds, looking around at times, watching what’s happening around them, and listening to the music that is playing here. At some moment, they pay attention to an overweight, mad girl, who shouts at a skinny man being scared to death and pale and beats him on the head with her bag, telling him something loudly and making him leave the cafe, the visitors of which watch their big fight with interest.
“Oh, shit…” Daniel chuckles kindly. “The poor guy’s in trouble!”
“I’m kind of sorry for him…” Terrence replies thoughtfully.
“I hope she doesn’t have bricks in her bag,” Peter expresses hope. “Or a cast iron pan…”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t like to be instead of that guy,” Edward says thoughtfully, moving a strand of his hair off his eyes.
“Don’t worry, man, it doesn’t threaten you,” Peter replies confidently with a slight smile. “Our Blondie is not like the one.”
“Though, she sometimes shows her claws,” Terrence adds. “And Raquelle will not do it. That girl only fights like a cat with me. But she’s actually sweet.”
“Helene can’t do it, either. I can’t even think she could be a man in a skirt.”
“You can be calm, guys,” Edward replies confidently with a slight smile. “I knew who I choose.”
“We don’t doubt it,” Terrence replies confidently. “Or we wouldn’t have agreed to give you to Natalia. We agreed just because she is a wonderful girl. And she’s already passed my personal check.”
“I doubt that I’d ask you for permission if I loved that girl but knew you didn’t like her.”
“But since you have our permission, we’re ready to help you with your wedding,” Daniel adds.
“Yes, grooms, I think it’s time to start getting ready,” Peter says confidently, holding a drink in his hand. “Natalia, Raquelle, and their friends went to a store. And you better start with just something.”
“My bro, the girls, and I have started to solve questions about the organization,” Edward confesses. “And our relatives can advise something.”
“I hope you’ll do it without scandals,” Daniel expresses hope.
“No, everything is pretty sweet now.”
“Hey!” Peter exclaims, swallowing a piece of French fries. “What if we talk to Ashton and ask him to be responsible for music?”
“Ashton?” Daniel frowns slightly, drinking some drink from his glass.
“He said DJ’ing was his hobby, and he wanted to be a professional at it! So, why can’t we suggest Ash be a DJ at the wedding ceremony?”
“I think it’s a cool idea!” Terrence nods confidently. “We can try.”
“Hm, is that guy really so good?” Edward frowns slightly.
“Really!” Daniel replies confidently. “Ashton is a talented and responsible guy.”
“Okay, we will take a note.”
“And we can play something as a band,” Peter says confidently. “Work on a song and please all the guests.”
“Well, we’ll play anyway,” Daniel replies confidently. “And everybody is surely gonna persuade us to play.”
“Oh, yeah, we’ve got a lot of fans,” Edward notices proudly. “Not only teenage girls, as some people think.”
“They’re envying!” Peter exclaims. “Because we’ve reached so much and ain’t gonna stop!”
“That’s right!”
“Oh!” Terrence exclaims, drinks some drink, and puts his glass on the table. “About the band! Yesterday, I talked to George about what has happened over the past few days.”
“George?” Peter asks. “He’s finally shown up?”
“Aha, he called me in the late evening.”
“Did Smith say where he had been?” Daniel asks.
“He said he had to leave New York for a long time and solve his personal problems.”
“As I understand, do we need to meet him?” Edward asks thoughtfully.
“Nope, he’s not here yet. George will be back next week. But he’s very determined to talk about everything that has to do with our band and what has happened.”
“He knows everything?” Daniel asks with sadness in his eyes. “Does he know what happened to me?”
“Yes, Daniel. The lads and I met him several times and told him everything. We tried to do something not to let people find it out, but the situation was getting outta our control.”
“I feel I have to explain a lot to him…” Daniel sighs quietly, leaning back in the chair.
“Don’t worry, buddy, George gets it all,” Edward says quietly, clapping Daniel on the shoulder. “He doesn’t judge you or blame you for anything. Vice versa, Smith was very upset and worried.”
“Anyway, I betrayed many people. Including Smith.”
“Smith said he’d warn us about his return earlier,” Terrence replies confidently. “And the next day, we should meet him and talk about starting to promote our album and perform again.”
“Oh, honestly…” Daniel pronounces, folding his hands on the table. “Because of what happened, I forgot that we’d release the album soon.”
“But now we can focus on promoting the album,” Edward replies confidently. “Now, nothing prevents us from doing this.”
“While we don’t have shows, we can just rehearse and play for fun,” Peter suggests.
“I agree…” Daniel agrees and runs his hands sharply over his hair. “At least, we’d distract ourselves from what has happened over the past few weeks.”
“You say it as if you still can’t accept what happened,” Edward notices thoughtfully.
“I don’t know, Edward… On the one hand, I’m very happy we ended this terrible story. But on the other hand… I haven’t come to myself yet… I can’t realize if everything is real or just my fantasy… I… I still feel absolute emptiness.”
“It’s too early to say we’ve accepted what happened,” Terrence replies quietly. “It’s been only two days since the Potters got arrested.”
“The most important thing is that it’s all over, and everybody can do what they want.”
“Hey, haven’t you met Anna or her parents after getting the Potters arrested?” Peter asks carefully.
“No. And I don’t wanna meet Anna and her parents. I have nothing to tell them.” Daniel drinks a little from his glass. “Nothing…”
“But you understand well that you’ll have to meet Anna early or late,” Terrence notices.
“I know, but I don’t wanna do it now. I ain’t ready to talk to her.”
“And when are ya gonna do?”
“Who the fuck knows… May Anna come to herself after that nightmare without me. She has amazing friends and parents, who will help her distract.”
“Do you think you have a chance to reconcile with her?” Edward asks.
“Now I’m trying not to think about what’s gonna happen between us. There is no point in guessing and comforting myself with hopes. Let everything happen as it wants – I’ll accept anything.”
“Even the worst thing?” Peter specifies.
“I’m getting ready for it. I’d rather get ready for the worst earlier and accept it quietly. Not to feel like getting shocked by lightning after hearing everything is over.”
“I support you fully,” Edward nods and drinks a little bit from his glass. “And the fact that you don’t aim to meet Anna is also good. I don’t think she wants to meet you now.”
“Anyway, I won’t have to be bored and split at the ceiling ‘cause I have too much to do. Besides, I have to repair the living room that the Potters destroyed.”
“As George is gonna come back to the city in a week, you can focus on taking care of your sister and recovering your strength,” Peter suggests.
“I’m sorry that he’ll be back in a week,” Daniel expresses regret, running his hand through his hair. “We could focus on the band’s work now.”
“But nothing can stop us from improving our skills in play and vocal and getting material for our future projects,” Terrence smiles mysteriously.
“I often play a guitar and sing something to forget nothing and try to learn something new,” Edward replies thoughtfully. “And I can’t refuse when my parents ask me to play something.”
“And I love to sing falsetto and shut up the cat's choir,” Peter confesses with a kind chuckle. “But it doesn’t always work…”
“And it makes Marta much angrier,” Daniel adds with a chuckle.
“Yeah, she literally comes to me with a skillet in her hand. But it’s okay, she won’t tolerate me for a long time. Marta’s dream is gonna come true soon, ‘cause I will start to look for a new place to live.”
“Someone’s gonna be lucky to live in that apartment,” Edward laughs shyly, drinking some drink from his glass.
“If I don’t sell it, it’s okay. I’ll just buy a new place to live and take all my things from the apartment. Selling the apartment isn’t so important to me. Besides, I won’t probably get a lot of money for it.”
“Buy something good,” Terrence encourages cheerfully. “Quick! You still have the unused set for a studio. If you organized everything, we could record something for us.”
“You should bring everything to my home,” Daniel suggests confidently. “We could rehearse and record songs.”
“Just to test it all,” Peter replies thoughtfully.
“Think faster, I wanna record something so badly,” Edward says confidently.
“And I know what’s gonna be: something romantic and snotty,” Terrence chuckles quietly.
“Calm down, nobody’s gonna sing to honor you.”
The friends chuckle quietly and say nothing for a few seconds, eating their food and drinking their drinks with pleasure. At some moment, Daniel listens to the song much closer and recognizes it quickly.
“Hey, guys!” Daniel exclaims with a slight smile and raises his index finger. “That’s our song!”
Peter, Edward, and Terrence listen to the song closely.
“Yes, that’s ‘The Story About Us’!” Peter confirms happily.
“They often play our song at this café,” Edward confesses. “Several times per day.”
“Yeah, it’s fucking amazing when you enjoy the result of your hard work.”
“But I couldn’t recognize it immediately. It’s playing kind of quietly… And the voices seem different…”
“Yeah…” Terrence laughs shyly. “After sex with the blonde, your memory leaves the chat.”
“Your shyness has never joined it.”
“Don’t get too busy with it, guys,” Daniel chuckles. “Otherwise, when you go on the stage, you’ll have the nude body of your fiancée and her sensual moans on your mind, not words and chords.”
“I am always responsible for my work and never forget a thing.”
“When you’re dreaming, nobody can the fuck reach you. You’ll blink your eyes until someone hits you on the head with a drum.”
“Blink your eyes, just like you did when you once forgot all the words and everything about guitars?”
“I was just a little excited! And yeah, as if all singers clearly remember the lyrics of their songs? Open the Internet and watch videos of some famous artists failing!”
“Huh, I’d easily sing my songs when I’m half-awake!” Terrence says confidently. “I have an excellent memory and can memorize the lyrics of any song after the first or second attempt.”
“And I memorize my words and my drum play as well as all your guitar parts and lyrics,” Peter says with a slight smile.
“And I can play any type of guitar!” Daniel chuckles with his head proudly raised. “Blindly! Lemme listen to any song, and Daniel Perkins will play it brilliantly in five minutes.”
“Fucking braggarts…” Edward growls quietly.
Daniel says nothing and keeps listening to his band’s song with a slight smile, singing along with himself, shaking slightly, and clicking his fingers. However, Edward, Terrence, and Peter join him when it’s time for the chorus.
“Ah, it’s so cool to listen to your own songs!” Edward notices cheerfully, leaning back in the chair.
“That’s right!” Peter agrees. “I always listen to myself like for the first time.”
“And how cool it’s gonna be when we’re able to buy our album and listen to it in a car or at home,” Terrence replies confidently. “Drive the whole city at a high speed in your car and listen to our songs.”
“Yeah, drive in a convertible…” Daniel says thoughtfully.
“We could borrow a convertible from Raquelle and drive in the city,” Terrence smiles mysteriously.
“Sammy would get pleasure,” Edward assumes.
“Aha, yes!” Peter exclaims.
“Hey, isn’t Sammy with Helene, Anna, Raquelle, and Natalia?” Daniel wonders.
“Nope. Samuel stayed at home with Mrs. Marshall. May he stay home and think about his behavior. And learn how to behave well and show respect for me.”
“So, didn’t his puppy eyes help him this time?” Edward asks.
“No, they didn’t. And actually, even if Sammy hadn’t behaved so badly, he wouldn’t have come. The girls went to stores to look for what they needed for the wedding. I don’t think that little monster would be interested in listening to their talks about clothes, stuff, and more.”
“And he isn’t allowed to be in those stores,” Terrence shrugs.
“It’s for the best. Or he may break something, so Helene has to pay… Or he may see a kissing couple in love and annoy them as well as he does to us.”
“I guess he really cares about this thing,” Daniel assumes with a shy laugh.
“Who the hell knows what he has in his head! Maybe, it looked funny before, but now it irritates us.”
“Maybe, you just need to stop paying attention to him when he’s jealous?” Edward suggests. “If you ignore a person, they’ll shut up and leave you alone later.”
“Helene and I tried, but Sammy does get our attention. And if we locked him somewhere, he’d start a riot.”
“Maybe, he needs attention?” Terrence assumes. “Helene doesn’t spend too much time with him because she works or meets you or her friends. Sammy is our very talkative one and doesn’t like being alone.”
“But he never stays without attention. He’s always with someone: Helene, her grandmother, one of you or the girls, or me… We give him as much attention as we can and never swear at him without a reason.”
“Anyway, you and Helene shouldn’t be so angry because of his jealousy,” Daniel advises. “Sammy doesn’t consider you a stranger and is used to you and the status of your relationship with Marshall. The fluffy is just afraid that his owner may forget him.”
“I dunno…” Peter says thoughtfully, running his hand through his hair. “It’s not funny for me…”
“Then just wait for him to calm down. My Chelsea was also a super jealous lady and resented when my parents, my sister, and I gave each other much more attention than her. But she calmed down a little later.”
“The situation isn’t critical,” Edward replies confidently. “Daniel’s right: you and Helene need to take it easy, but not to forget to show him who’s the leader. And giving him a little punishment would be good.”
“So, he got his punishment. Samuel will live without his dog treats for a week. Dog food and water only.”
“It’s gonna be his terrible punishment,” Terrence replies confidently. “Knowing that he loves eating.”
“I wonder what’s gonna happen if you’re made to keep a diet?” Daniel chuckles kindly.
“I know!” Peter raises his index finger. “He’ll wash our brains and repeat he wanna eat.”
“I don’t doubt it! Remembering that he annoyed everybody when being in the hospital and always complained about his heavy bed, bad food, and something like that.”
“C'mon, guys, what are you talking about?” Edward meddles funnily. “How could you actually think so? The celebrity is sitting in front of you! The sex symbol of all little girls of the past! C’mon! My big bro must eat the best, most delicious, and most expensive food.”
“Yeah, the guy is using the fact that he’s got incredible genes, thanks to which he eats and doesn’t get fat.”
“Sorry, I’d watch what MacClife would become if he was fat,” Daniel confesses and chuckles kindly. “And laugh!”
“He’d be a cute, puffy guy, who everyone would pinch by his fatty cheeks,” Edward replies confidently. “And everyone would scratch his big, soft stomach.”
While Daniel, Peter, and Edward laugh quietly, Terrence shakes his head with a gloomy look.
“Fuck, I got such stupid friends,” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully. “And an annoying brother as a ‘nice’ bonus!”
“Don’t worry, bro, many people love chubby boys and girls,” Edward replies through a quiet laugh. “And even if you have ten layers on your stomach and three chins, and your cheeks are expanding on the surface like jelly, you will be cute anyway.”
“Don’t be jealous, guys.”
“Huh, If I had a reason,” Daniel chuckles kindly.
“Yeah, envying his peacock tail, with which he strikes everything in his way,” Edward laughs quietly.
“Don’t worry, bro,” Peter says thoughtfully. “If you don't get on the doorstep with your big ass, we’ll give you a kick.”
“Yeah, we won’t leave you in trouble,” Daniel laughs shyly. “Big trouble…”
Edward and Peter start laughing with their mouths closed, while Terrence, throwing a short look aside, rolls his eyes and growls quietly.
“The boneheads speak too much,” Terrence throws gloomily. “They have too much fun! You had been so nervous and mean before, but when you got food in your stomachs, you quickly got kinder.”
“Yeah, I feel much better,” Peter replies with a satisfied smile. “Today’s lunch was excellent.”
“I can’t deny.” Terrence takes one piece of French fries from a packet lying among Peter’s food and wants to eat it.
“Get off your hands, white-faced!” Peter claps Terrence on the hand.
“What’s wrong? I did nothing!”
“I said get your hands off my food!” Peter claps Terrence on the hand again, but much stronger this time.
“Hey, it hurts!” Terrence winces slightly, shaking his hand. “What the heck?”
“You won’t get your hands into what you shouldn’t do!”
“Okay then…” Terrence shamelessly takes a piece from Daniel’s burger but gets one more slap on his hand.
“Don’t touch my food, too!” Daniel demands with a threatening look. “First, eat your truck, and then get into someone’s!”
“Just one a piece,” Terrence pronounces with pity and tries to get another piece from Daniel’s burger. “I really love fish.”
“Hey, did you decide to take the food from all of us?” Daniel claps Terrence on the hand much stronger. “You have a brother! Take anything you want from him!”
“Ha, great!” Terrence chuckles loudly. “When you steal something from me, it’s okay. And when I take one little piece to taste it, you literally start to beat me.”
“Fuck, don’t you have enough food?” Peter rounds his eyes. “You’ve eaten almost everything, but it’s not enough for you! How much you can the fuck eat? Should they put three refrigerators here, so you’re fed enough?”
“I’m afraid it wouldn’t be enough,” Daniel laughs quietly.
“Go to the fuck!” Terrence throws gloomily. “I have a bro, who would always share everything with me! He won’t let me be hungry.”
Terrence steals insolently a piece of French fries from Edward, who just looks at him surprisingly. And when he wants to take a few pieces, MacClife, Jr., hits him slightly on the ankle and smirks with both arms crossed over his chest, watching his older brother wince slightly and make a quiet squeak.
“Ar-r, fuck, both of you clap me on my hands, another hits my legs…” Terrence moans tiredly, rubbing energetically his ankle, which hurts a little.
“Excellent, MacClife!” Peter exclaims cheerfully. “As always, you keep it high.”
“Ask me if his ass must be kicked,” Edward raises his head proudly, takes a couple of pieces of French fries from Terrence’s box, and swallows them. “It’s always a pleasure for me.”
“M-m-m, listen, they cook such good food here,” Terrence changes the subject with a slight smile, still eating a delicious but little cold piece of French fries. “Of course, home food can’t be compared with anything. But someone’s right when saying that the most delicious food is the harmful one.”
“But don’t put so much in your mouth like a chipmunk or squirrel. Or girls won’t consider it sexy.”
“M-m-m delicious!” Terrence drinks a little from his glass. “Thanks for taking us to such an amazing place, bro. I’m gonna come here often.”
“And I’ll come here regularly,” Daniel promises confidently. “I really like being here: tasty food, quiet atmosphere, and cool music…”
“By the way, I could try to get a little discount for all of you by using all my charm and asking them to add you to the list of regular clients,” Edward says with a mysterious smile.
“It would be cool. Discounts are always good.”
“But only if you really need it. And if you ask me gently.”
“Well, if you’re so popular here, agree that Terrence MacClife is served here with a discount of ninety percent,” Terrence says confidently with a sly smile.
“Yeah? Why is it not one hundred?”
“I don’t want the café to go bankrupt.”
“If you don’t decide to buy everything,” Peter laughs shyly.
“Listen, bros…” Daniel pronounces thoughtfully and frowns slightly. “How much money can I keep if I have a… Let’s say… Three percent discount?”
“Learn to count,” Terrence chuckles kindly.
“I can’t count percent!”
“You can’t count anything!” Edward exclaims.
“Yes, I’ve always had problems with it! I don’t deny it!”
“Wrong, Perkins,” Peter pronounces thoughtfully. “How many times have you been fooled, for example, when getting a charge at a store? How much money you’ve given them for nothing!”
“Not very much, Rose. Not very much.”
“Ah, what would you do if we weren’t with you, and…”
Peter does not speak his mind because a middle-aged, dark-haired man with glasses comes to their table, looking very solid and intelligent but kind of scared and insecure.
“Erm, excuse me…” the man pronounces hesitantly.
Daniel, Edward, Peter, and Terrence move their eyes to the man.
“Yes, how could we help you?” Terrence asks.
“I…” the man says hesitantly and falls into silence to catch some air that he definitely lacks due to the excitement. “Erm… I do not even know how to say it.”
“If you do not know how to orient yourself here, tell us, and we will help you,” Edward says gently. “Do you need a restroom?”
“No, no, not this…” the stranger shakes his head. “I just need… I need to talk to one man…”
“Excuse me, sir, why are you so nervous?” Peter asks. “As if someone scared you.”
“Sorry…” the man pronounces excitedly, pulling the collar of his shirt with short sleeves. “Sorry… I… I’m really a little nervous…”
“Do you feel bad?” Terrence frowns slightly. “Do we call an ambulance?”
“No, no, I…” the stranger falls into silence for two seconds, clears his throat quickly, and exhales sharply, barely bracing himself to speak much quieter. “I need one man… One of you…”
“One of us?” Daniel rounds his eyes.
“Are you sure?” Edward frowns slightly.
“Yes, yes, sure…” the stranger nods. “Say… Erm… Who is Daniel Perkins? Yes! Daniel Perkins!”
“Erm, it’s me,” Daniel pronounces hesitantly, frowning slightly. “What’s wrong? How do you know my name? I do not know you.”
“Yes, yes, I know. But I promise… I will explain everything.”
“Listen, sir, calm down a little at first. You are too nervous.”
“I know… But… I have a reason.”
“What’s your name?”
“My name is Mark…” the man introduces himself hesitantly. “Mark Summers… We really do not know each other… I… Had not known you… Before some events.”
“What kind of events?” Daniel frowns slightly. “What are you talking about?”
“Erm…” Mark falls into silence for two seconds and looks hesitantly at Edward, Terrence, and Peter. “Excuse me, sir… Can we go out somewhere and talk quietly face-to-face?”
“I don’t have secrets from my friends,” Daniel replies quietly. “You can speak with the pretense of these guys.”
“It’s quite a delicate talk, sir. And… I would like to solve the problem face-to-face.”
“Do not worry, Mr. Summers. Speak here.”
“I… I am ashamed of saying it…”
“Excuse me for my curiosity, but what happened if you are so nervous and ask our friend to go out?” Peter asks quietly.
“Something not very good happened… I want to confess it and… Try to resolve everything.”
“Alright, I will listen to you and try to help if you need it,” Daniel promises confidently. “If you want, nobody will know about our talk.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t go out?” Mark asks very hesitantly.
“I am. Sit down.”
Mark hesitates for two seconds, still being very nervous and looking kind of white and scared. Then he looks around quickly, takes a chair, and sits on the table, while Daniel, Edward, Terrence, and Peter frown slightly, shake their heads, and throw their hands up when looking at each other.
“Speak,” Daniel nods. “I’m listening to you.”
“I will try to explain everything shortly and clearly,” Mark replies thoughtfully, folding his hands on the table. “But still… Mr. Perkins… Before I start explaining the situation, I want to ask… Has something… Terrible and dangerous happened to you lately? Maybe, you had problems or had to do with some criminals? Or something like that?”
Daniel frowning strongly falls into a greater stupor and looks hesitantly at Peter, Edward, and Terrence.
“Excuse me, is it so important in your case?” Daniel wonders.
“It is,” Mark pronounces more confidently. “Because I want to make absolutely sure that you are the one I need.”
“Maybe, you confused me with someone? Maybe, I do not have to do with your problem?”
“Alright, then I will ask you a clearer question. Have you been hit by a car in the past month?”
“Have I been hit by a car?” Daniel specifies surprisingly. “Erm… Well, yeah… I have gotten hit by a car once…”
“And when did it happen?”
“About one month ago… I can’t say it clearly.”
“Yes! You are the one I have been looking for. Now I do not doubt it.”
“Mr. Summers, why do you care about it so much?” Edward asks. “I don’t understand…”
“Erm, young men…” Mark pronounces thoughtfully, looking hesitantly at Edward, Peter, and Terrence. “Are you… Are you friends of Mr. Perkins?”
“Yes,” Peter confirms.
“Say, do you know something about Mr. Perkins getting hit by the car?”
“Not so much, but we know it for sure,” Terrence replies quietly.
“We know that the driver that hit our friend ran away from the crime place,” Edward confesses. “But we haven’t found out who did it. That person hasn’t shown up.”
“That’s how…” Mark pronounces thoughtfully.
“Excuse me, Mr. Summers, how do you know about that event?” Daniel frowns slightly. “There was nobody! I mean… There was only one man… The criminal, who ran away from prison…”
“And there was a driver of the car.”
“Do you know something about them?”
“I know…”
“And… Who is that? Who hit me on that day?”
“The case is… Erm…” Mark says nothing for two seconds and exhales sharply, looking at Daniel hesitantly. “The case is that I hit you with a car.”
Silence settles in the air, during which Daniel getting a little white looks hesitantly at Terrence, Edward, and Peter and swallows up nervously.
“You?” Daniel rounds his eyes.
“I was the one to hit you on that day,” Mark confesses hesitantly again.
“Are you… Sure?”
“Absolutely. It was me.”
“But, Mr. Summers…” Peter shakes his head. “I was there with my girlfriend on that day. But we did not see you and your car.”
“I ran away from there. I was forced to do it.”
“Forced?” Terrence wonders. “But who?”
“I think I know who,” Daniel confesses confidently. “Nobody but Wainwright could do that.”
“That was really him,” Mark confirms. “Eugene Wainwright… He made me run away.”
“Did he threaten you?” Edward asks.
“Yes. And I was scared.”
“Oh, wait…” Daniel exhales sharply, breathing a little heavily. “Let’s talk about everything in order. How did you end up there? How do you know Wainwright? What did he do to you?”
“I will tell you everything…” Mark clears his throat and runs his hand over his sweaty forehead. “So… On that day, I was too late for a business meeting with my partners and ended up in a traffic jam, in which I would’ve been stuck there for two or three hours. That meeting was very important to me… My career depended on it. And… When I saw an alternative way to go, I decided to go there. I did not know where to go… I just followed the instructions of the navigator.”
Mark tightly locks the fingers of his hands folded in front of him on the table.
“As it wasn’t always stable, I eventually ended up nobody knows where… And I was just going on the straight path. I was driving like crazy, calling someone and examining some papers on the way. Because of all of it, I didn’t watch the road and was more worried about my meeting… And I did not manage to stop in time when a man ended up the windshield. When I left my car and come to him, Eugene showed up from nowhere and started to tell me to get out. And he did not care about my words about having to help the dying person.”
Mark swallows up nervously.
“So, I had to leave, but I did not want to do it until the end,” Mark tells his story. “By that moment, I forgot about my meeting and did not go there. It ended badly, by the way… Because of me… My boss swore at me a lot later. But I didn’t care. I could not stop thinking of hitting the man because of my negligence and running away like a criminal. That’s why all my businesses went wrong. I could often take it out on people and could not focus on a good job. Everything was so bad that my boss wanted to discuss dismissal. I’ve received several warnings. One more before I lose my job.”
After listening to the story closely, Daniel, Peter, Edward, and Terrence say nothing for a few seconds and look at each other hesitantly. And Perkins pulls the collar of his t-shirt and tries to catch a breath, which is a little heavy.
“Oh, damn…” Terrence shakes his head.
“And were you silent all this time?” Peter wonders.
“Yes, I was,” Mark nods.
“Does someone else know it?”
“No, I told nobody about it. I was madly afraid to tell people that I probably hit the man to death. All this time, I tortured myself, trying to guess if that man stayed alive… I didn’t want to become a killer and go to prison.”
“But as you see, I’m alright,” Daniel replies quietly.
“And I’m so happy. I got a great relief at the realization that you did not die after that accident.”
“Did you memorize our friend, even in such a hard situation?” Edward wonders.
“Yeah, I did. Barely, of course, but I would’ve recognized him if I had been asked to show that man.”
“But you should’ve known that you wouldn’t hide it forever.”
“I know. I was on pins and needles for the first few days. But I knew I would have to confess everything, early or late. Telling the truth, I wanted to do it because I couldn’t carry that heavy burden. I should’ve confessed it and gotten what I deserved.”
“You ran away in fear of the one, who threatened you?” Daniel asks.
“Yes. I was seriously afraid that the crazy man could kill my family and me. But I was also hiding because I did not know how to find the one I hit. I really wanted to find that man and talk to him, but we didn’t know each other.”
“And how did you understand I was the one you needed?”
“A few days after what happened, my wife and I were watching TV. They were translating the news, and a host said that a member of the band ‘Against The System’ was hit by a car under unknown circumstances. At first, I didn’t pay attention to it because I don’t care about celebrities. But when they showed a photo of that man, I was speechless… It was you, Mr. Perkins! They called your name – Daniel Perkins, a bass guitarist and vocalist in that band.”
“Erm, just in case, all of us are a part of the band,” Peter confesses thoughtfully.
“Yes, yes, I know. After watching the reportage, I decided to learn more about the band.”
“We tried to hide it from the media somehow, but they found out that our friend was hit by a car,” Terrence confesses. “And then we said the situation wasn’t so critical. Our friend got just a couple of bruises and would come back to work soon.”
“Excuse me, you said Eugene Wainwright threatened you,” Peter frowns slightly. “How do you know him? How did you realize it was him?”
“I didn’t know that man,” Mark replies. “But after examining the band’s biography, I recalled how my wife was closely watching the trial of a certain Michael MacClife. So, the man named Eugene Wainwright was a part of that case. On the day of the accident, I didn’t pay attention to that man, but later, I remembered him.”
“Michael is an uncle of my brother and me, who was put in prison for money fraud, attribution of property, and an attempt to kill fewer people,” Edward explains, pointing at Terrence. “And Eugene Wainwright was his accomplice. But later, we found out that he did much more.”
“Yes, yes, I know. It seems like he raped a young girl.”
“That’s my fiancée. But luckily, he did not rape her, even if she tolerated a lot from him.”
“As well as my younger sister,” Daniel adds thoughtfully.
“But don’t worry. That man has already paid for everything by bridging himself to death.”
“I know, my wife read it on the Internet,” Mark nods. “And only after his death, I calmed down a little. I decided to do my best to find Mr. Perkins. But I hadn’t known where or how before today. However, when I came to this café and saw you and your friend, I was madly happy. Because it was my chance to confess everything and make amends somehow.”
What they hear makes the men deeply shocked, say nothing for a few seconds, and slightly wet their whistles by drinking a little bit from their glasses and trying to brace themselves.
“Oh…” Daniel exhales sharply, running his hand through his hair. “You know, you… Surprised me by your confession…”
“I’m very sorry about what happened,” Mark replies with pity in his eyes. “I swear, Mr. Perkins, I didn’t want it. I would not have left and would have helped you. But Wainwright scared me to death and made me leave.”
“I understand you, Mr. Summers,” Daniel says quietly.
“It happened because of my negligence. At first, I paid attention to some papers, and then my colleague distracted me with a talk and asked me to find something. I needed to open the glove box to do it. That’s why I noticed you on the front of my car at the last second and did not manage to stop the car in time.”
“Please, don’t excuse yourself. I believe that you did not want to get involved in that situation.”
“Mr. Perkins, for everything in the world, I’m begging you…” Mark addresses Daniel with pity in his eyes. “Do not report me to the police. Do not tell them I hit you with a car. I know a punishment will wait for me anyway, but… If I have a chance to make amends or avoid the worst, I want to use it.”
“Erm… Actually, I did not…”
“My wife still does not know that I hit the man. And I’m afraid to talk to her about it because she must not get excited now. She is pregnant and about to give birth to a second child. We are expecting a girl. A couple of weeks left. But if she finds out I almost killed someone, I’m afraid to imagine what would happen to her and my children. They… They will not be able to live without me. I am the only one to bring money to my home.”
“I didn’t even think…”
“Please, do it, at least for my children. They are too young. My family needs me. I’m working a few hours per day without a rest just to feed them and give them everything they need. I do not want my wife, son, and daughter to need something.”
“Oh…” Daniel exhales quietly and folds his hands on the table in front of himself, looking at the excited Mark confidently. “Mr. Summers, calm down, please. Don’t be so nervous.”
“Please, Mr. Perkins, don’t report me,” Mark begs with pity in his eyes. “I can’t go to prison.”
“Trust me, sir, I’m not going to report you to the police. I see no meaning in it.”
“I haven’t been able to calm down since the day it happened,” Mark replies excitedly. “That’s why I cannot even eat and sleep well. My wife has tried to find out what happened to me many times, but I say I just have work issues. And I especially said nothing to my son. He is a baby. He is only five. I don’t want my son to despise me and grow up with the thought that his father is a killer.”
“Your son must not know it. Yes, maybe, he will find it out when he grows up, but now you should not tell him what happened.”
“I am not going to… But I can’t hide it from my wife. I want to tell her about that accident after she gives birth to a child. I would’ve shared my problem with her if she wasn’t pregnant. But I can’t sacrifice her health or my daughter’s. Even if her pregnancy is doing pretty well.”
“I think it’s the right decision,” Terrence nods. “You should really wait.”
“But I’m nervous that everything happened at such a wrong time…” Mark runs his hands sharply over his face. “I’ve lately, actually been unlucky… After that Eugene made me leave, I almost crushed an expensive car. I don’t complain about my life to you and don’t play on pity. I just want you to try to understand me.”
“You better focus on your job and your child’s birth, Mr. Summers,” Peter advises amicably. “Luckily, our friend stayed alive, and he just told you he wouldn’t report you to the police.”
“If you want, I’m ready to pay you any amount of money. Pay for your therapy and recovery. I guess you’ve spent a lot…”
“No, Mr. Summers, don’t pay anything,” Daniel refuses confidently, raising his hand with his palm on Mark. “I repeat, I am not going to report you to the police or sue you. I will not change my mind and not give you claims later. And I have no reasons. I’m alive and healthy… That situation didn’t make me disabled or give you any serious problems. Yes, I had some problems, but they’re solved now. No matter how terrible the phrase ‘hit the head’ sounds, I can say I got off it easily.”
“Will you really not change your mind?”
“Nope,” Daniel confirms with a slight smile. “Live quietly, work, and take care of your wife and children. Let’s forget about that misunderstanding and say goodbye with a calm heart.”
“Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Perkins!” Mark exhales sharply. “Thank you! You cannot even imagine what a heavy burden you just took off my shoulders. I… I do not know how to thank you.”
“Don’t do it,” Daniel smiles slightly. “It’s alright.”
“You became the same victim as our friend,” Edward notices amicably. “But fortunately, this story ended once and forever.”
“And I’m very glad it ended well,” Mark smiles shyly. “I will try to accept what happened as a lesson. Now I will be watching the road carefully when driving a car. And I will not be answering calls and doing something else.”
“Everyone makes mistakes,” Daniel replies thoughtfully. “Though, a car is not a toy. As well as a human.”
“I know. It was… Hard to get into my car… For… Some time… But I had to… Because of my work…”
“I’m glad you learned this lesson.”
“You know… After that case, I didn’t even get upset because of losing one thing on that fateful day. But it’s not worth worrying. I must be happy that my victim is alive, and Wainwright did not kill me.”
“Erm, excuse me for my curiosity, Mr. Summers…” Terrence frowns slightly. “What did you lose?”
“A ring. My wife gifted it to me on one of our first wedding anniversaries. It was always my amulet that gave me luck. But sometimes I could take it off and just put it in my pocket. And I decided to do it on that day. I don’t know when it got out of my pocket, but I didn’t find it after the day I gave a hit to Mr. Perkins.”
Then Peter thinks a little and recalls the black ring that Helene and he saw on the day when they found the unconscious Daniel.
“You say, the ring…” Peter pronounces thoughtfully.
“Yes, black…” Mark nods. “Simple enough… That ring reminded me of my wife and children when I was far from them.”
Peter, frowning slightly, puts his hand in a small pocket of his white sleeveless shirt, takes something, and shows it to Mark.
“Is it the one?”
Mark rounds his eyes immediately when he sees this ring.
“Yes, it is!” Mark exclaims happily, takes the ring from Peter, and looks at it for two seconds. “It is!”
“Take it,” Peter shrugs. “We’re giving you what belongs to you.”
“But… Where did you find it?”
“Where you hit Daniel. It was lying near him as well as the knife, which, as we found out, belonged to Wainwright. My girlfriend, her dog, and I found those things.”
“So, did you have the ring with you all this time?”
“No, I had it at home. But today, I decided to put the ring in my pocket… I don’t know… A feeling made me do it…”
“Gosh, I’m so happy it came back to me. And that’s good my wife didn’t suspect anything. She was choosing it with love. She spent the money that she had after working at a bank.”
“Now you’ve got no reason to worry.”
“Oh… I… I don’t know how to thank you. Thank you so much, Mr… Erm…”
“Rose,” Peter cracks a slight smile. “Peter Rose.”
“Yes, Mr. Rose… Thank you so much for finding my ring. And your girlfriend. And her dog.”
“I will tell her you are grateful.”
Mark exhales with relief as he smiles slightly.
“Thank you so much for agreeing to listen to me, Mr. Perkins,” Mark thanks. “I’m so lucky you’re such an understandable man.”
“Try to forget what happened,” Daniel replies with a slight smile. “And I wish your daughter was born healthy, and your wife and son were fine.”
“Thanks, Mr. Perkins.” Mark shakes Daniel by the hand. “And thank you so much, young men.”
Mark gives a handshake to Peter, Edward, and Terrence, who smile at him amicably.
“Alright, I will not bother you,” Mark says thoughtfully after clearing his throat. “I’m sorry about what happened… And for meddling in your talk.”
“It’s alright, Mr. Summers,” Terrence replies amicably. “Good luck. And I am wishing your daughter to be born healthy.”
“Me too,” Edward and Peter pronounce with a slight smile.
“Thanks again,” Mark thanks gently. “Be careful… Take care of yourself and your close people… I don’t want you to have the same situation as I did.”
“Thanks, we will try,” Peter promises.
Mark gets up from the table with a slight smile and puts the chair where he took it.
“Stay happy, young men,” Mark says goodbye quietly.
“Stay happy…” Daniel, Terrence, Edward, and Peter say goodbye.
Mark turns around slowly and wants to leave with a calm heart. But two seconds later, he turns on the men and asks Daniel hesitantly:
“Erm, Mr. Perkins… Erm… Excuse me for my curiosity… But what’s your… Middle name?”
“My middle name?” Daniel rounds his eyes. “Erm… Christopher…”
“Christopher? Hm, alright… Christopher…”
Repeating Daniel’s middle name under his nose, frowning slightly and stroking his chin, Mark goes to do his business.
“I wonder why he needs my middle name?” Daniel frowns slightly.
“Maybe, he decided to name his second child after you?” Edward assumes.
“Yeah, but he said he was expecting a girl?”
“There are many female variations,” Terrence notices confidently. “Christen, Crystal, Christabel, Christina…”
“Hey, it would be cool if the child was born and named after you,” Peter says cheerfully.
“Yeah, probably, it’s the only reason why Mark asked my middle name,” Daniel replies thoughtfully, running his hand through his hair. “And it would really be cool.”
“Besides, he can pick up a similar name,” Edward says confidently. “For example, Danielle… Or Daniella… I think these names are cool.”
“Daniella…” Daniel cracks a slight smile, looking aside for a second. “I could’ve been named like this if I’d been born as a girl…”
“What?” Terrence frowns slightly.
“It’s true, friends! When my parents were expecting me, they were sure they’d have a girl ‘till the very end ‘cause a doctor said it during every ultrasound. So, Father and Mother chose a name – Daniella. But on my birthday, they, so to say, got a surprise.”
“That’s how!” Edward laughs quietly. “Did your parents tell you about it?”
“Yup, Mother told me when she was pregnant with Cassidy. She said she and Father even bought something for the girls. And they were surprised when they found out that a boy was born.”
“They wanted a girl so badly?” Terrence asks.
“No, the case is not about the sex. They had just been told a girl would be born so many times that they were one hundred percent ready. But when I was born, they had to choose a name. Though, they didn’t think for a too long time.”
“It happens,” Peter shrugs. “I heard ultrasound might often give wrong forecasts.”
“But as I understand, they did need the things for girls,” Terrence assumes.
“Yup,” Daniel nods confidently. “My parents didn’t give or throw off anything that wasn’t for me, and just put it all aside. And they took it back when the asshole Cassidy was born.”
“I guess they knew they’d have two children,” Edward shrugs.
“Yeah, my parents wanted another child. And they would’ve made a third one if they hadn’t died. Father and Mother were able and wanted to have a big family.”
“Did they have time for that?” Terrence wonders. “You said your father spent whole days working!”
“But there were weekends, vacations, and holidays. My parents always used them and spent time with Cass and me and each other. Yes, it was a rare thing, but everybody was happy with it.”
“Anyway, a baby named in honor of Dan might be born soon,” Peter notices with a slight smile.
“Oh, okay, guys, no need to guess!” Daniel waves a hand. “We’ll hardly know the name of that child.”
“By the way, Mark looked so pale and scared when coming to us,” Edward confesses.
“I ain’t surprised.” Daniel drinks some drink from his glass. “But to be honest, I didn’t expect the owner of the car that hit me would show up. I thought I’d never know who did that.”
“Honestly, I felt kind of sorry for him,” Terrence replies confidently. “He was strongly shaking and excited…”
“It’s impossible to be quiet after hitting a person accidentally and not knowing whether they’re alive,” Edward says thoughtfully, running his hand through his hair. “If everything had been bad, Mark would’ve gone to prison.”
“But it will not happen,” Daniel replies confidently.
“Anyway, you could demand the payment of damages,” Peter replies. “Make him pay the cost of recovery and therapy.”
“No, Peter, I don’t need it. I wasn’t gonna and ain’t gonna sue anyone. First, I don’t need anyone’s money. And second, it doesn’t make sense.”
“Did you do this for his children?” Terrence asks.
“One of the reasons,” Daniel replies quietly. “A child needs a father and a mother. I don’t wanna deprive the children of a father. Though, I told myself even if the owner of the car showed up, I wouldn’t sue them and put them in prison. In my case, only Wainwright is guilty, who is dead, as you and I know.”
“Agree, that bastard will no longer dare to kill anyone,” Edward says coldly, clenching his hands placed on the table into fists. “That bastard is now rotting under the ground and burning in hell…”
“Mark got involved in this story against his wish. The man was living quietly, working, and taking care of his family. But then fuck – he hit the man! Though, I don’t blame him. I didn’t die or become disabled. The doctor, whom I regularly visit for the examination, says everything is alright. I’ll go to him much more rarely and stop doing this someday.”
“Good thoughts…” Terrence nods.
“That man isn’t guilty of what happened, guys.” Daniel falls into silence for a second and looks at the café staff members passing by the table and talking about something. “We both became victims of the criminal. I don’t wanna spend the rest of my energy and nerves suing. It doesn’t make sense. So much has lately happened and struck me down. I don’t want any wars and fights. I wanna forget all of that.”
“Wise decision,” Peter approves with a slight smile. “Very wise.”
“Yes, Daniel, you did the right thing,” Terrence adds amicably. “No meaning in ruining the man’s life, making his wife nervous, and forcing his children to suffer.”
“I do mean it,” Daniel replies quietly. “It would be better for him and me.”
“We all would do it instead of you,” Edward replies confidently.
Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which the friends wet their dry throats with their drinks.
“So, as everything ended well, we can celebrate it,” Daniel suggests cheerfully.
“First, let’s just raise our glasses,” Terrence suggests with a slight smile.
“Hey, if you wanna drink, wait for me!” Edward exclaims and starts shaking his empty glass in front of his friends and brother with an innocent smile. “I will buy another glass.”
“What?” Peter wonders. “MacClife, are you serious?”
“What? I drank everything!”
“Be nice to explain, romantic…” Peter leans back in the chair. “How could you drink such a big glass of drink for a few seconds?”
“Not seconds, but minutes!”
“Yeah, but I haven’t drunk half of mine!”
“Hey, as the kid got secretly sucked to mine,” Daniel resents, shaking his glass. “It was full! But MacClife has drunk more than half!”
“C’mon, stop exaggerating!” Edward rolls his eyes. “I drank a little bit from you!”
“Listen, Edward, you and your brother are phenomenons! The first one eats not for two, but for three. The second one drinks the same way. And he eats much more sweetness than others. The first one can eat everything he has for two seconds and starts to ask people to give him more. And the second one could easily drink a one-and-a-half bottle of water and eat all the sweet food that he sees in his way.”
“And after all of that, these two manage to remain thin sausages,” Peter chuckles kindly and shakes his head, looking at Edward and Terrence. “Where do you put all of that, guys? What kind of magical genes? You eat and drink anything you want as much as you want, but you don’t get the fuck fat!”
“Did you hear that a person with a good appetite is absolutely healthy?” Terrence replies with a full mouth.
“And they say when someone drinks a lot of water, they have perfect skin and a young, incredible appearance,” Edward adds with his head proudly raised. “Besides, sweet food is very nice for the good work of your brains.”
“Ha, okay, lads, I believe we’ve revealed the secret of MacClife, Jr.’s forever youth!” Daniel clicks his fingers with a kind chuckle. “Now it’s clear why he has the young face of an eighteen-year-old boy.”
“But I’m gonna look irresistible in an old age.”
“You’re gonna look like a baby at any age,” Terrence says confidently. “And I’m gonna get more attractive every year. Even when I’m of adult age, everyone will want me.”
“Yeah, old ladies will finally pay attention to you!” Edward chuckles quietly. “Only young girls have a crush on you! And you’ll have a chance to expand your fanbase.”
Daniel and Peter laugh quietly, and Edward closes his mouth with his hand, while Terrence decides to say nothing and keeps eating what is placed in front of him on the table. At some moment, Perkins stops his eyes on his food and notices something weird… As if something is missing…
“Hey, stop…” Daniel frowns slightly. “Guys! Who the fuck stole my nuggets? There was a whole box that I didn’t touch! But it’s gone!”
Daniel moves his gloomy gaze sharply to Edward, Terrence, and Peter, who are eating their food quietly.
“Hey, confess who did it! Terrence? You?”
“Why did I do this?” Terrence resents with widely open eyes.
“You’re always hungry!”
“No, I didn’t take your box of nuggets!” Terrence points at Edward eating his burger with an innocent smile. “Edward did it!”
“My burger would be more delicious,” Edward replies with a full mouth.
Daniel wants to reply, but Terrence, Edward, and he pay attention to Peter eating something with great pleasure too fast and smacking his lips quietly until he looks at his friends. The blond stops swallowing up, quickly dries his mouth filled with his hand, and looks at everybody as if he is caught in a crime.
“What?” Peter rounds his eyes. “Why are you staring at me?”
“Listen, Perkins, it seems like we know who stole your nuggets,” Terrence says with a quiet laugh.
“Yeah, there’s a lover of chicken here,” Edward chuckles kindly. “Who would walk on his head for it!”
“Fuck, I’m an idiot!” Daniel claps himself on the forehead with his hand. “Why didn’t I guess it before? It’s clear who can steal chicken food so insolently.”
“Okay, okay, I took them,” Peter confesses, swallowing up the last nuggets. “You caught me!”
“Don’t ya have enough of your food?”
“Sorry, dude… But they’re so delicious… And they tried to seduce me for a long time. I honestly held on ‘till the end, but it’s like sex with your sweetheart – there’s no way back. As they say, I can’t remember what happened next.”
“Next time, I won’t order anything from chicken with your pretense. You’ll surely steal everything from me ‘till the last crumb.”
“Ask me, and I’ll share it with you.”
“Ha, so, I buy food for my money, but you steal it and decide if you share it with me!”
“Nothing is too good for my old friend! He should just ask me, ‘cause I’m not a psychic and can’t read anyone’s mind.”
“Nothing is too good?” Daniel looks at Peter’s food with a sly smile and steals the unpacked burger from him so fast that the blond barely realizes what is happening.
“Hey, place it back! It’s mine!”
“It was yours, it became mine!”
“Not this one! Not this one!”
Peter sharply tries to take his burger from Daniel, but his friend moves his hand aside with a sly smile, and opens the beautiful and delicious burger to appreciate its nice smell that gets into his nose.
“M-m-m, spicy, I guess,” Daniel notices with enjoyment. “I hope they added a lot of pepper to the cutlet.”
“No, don’t take it, please…” Peter moans quietly. “It looked so delicious in a picture. I wanted to taste it so badly…”
“This is a compensation for the nuggets. If your long fingers get into something they shouldn’t, be nice to give something back.”
“It’s fair,” Edward chuckles kindly.
“So, I can also steal something from you,” Terrence replies confidently and takes the packet with the rest of the French fries from Edward, who only opens his mouth.
“Hey, where did ya take my French fries?” Edward resents and slaps Terrence on the hand. “Give it to me now!”
“It’s for sucking out half of my drink,” Terrence says confidently, eating French fries from the stolen packet with pleasure.
“Ar-r-r, if we weren’t in a public place, I’d throw all of it over your head.”
“Oh, c’mon, shut up and let me eat quietly.” Terrence swallows another piece of French fries and looks at Edward closely. “And yeah, dry off your mouth, smutty piggy. Otherwise, girls won’t love you.”
Edward touches a corner of his mouth with his fingertips, looks at his hand, on which he sees the tracks of red sauce mixed with oil, and quietly cleans his mouth with a paper towel. Then he crosses his arms over his chest and teases Terrence smacking his lips quietly. Who shows his brother a fist with a threatening look, while Daniel and Peter laugh quietly.
“You know what, lads?” Daniel smiles mysteriously, folding his hands on the table. “Let’s go to my home and play something in the garage? We haven’t gone there for ages!”
“I’m in, for sure!” Edward agrees cheerfully.
“I don’t dare to refuse!” Terrence replies confidently.
“Oh, yeah, go!” Peter exclaims funnily. “I miss my babies so badly!”
“Drums are your babies?” Edward chuckles.
“Yup, and I can’t wait to play on them. I’m full of crazy energy and ready to shake the ground.”
“Oh shit, you should also name all the drums,” Daniel rolls his eyes up.
“I’m gonna name one of them after ya. Do the honors to you ‘cause you’re my long-time friend, who I’ve known for five years.”
“Really?” Edward rounds his eyes.
“Aha. I’ve been in trouble because of this idiot for five years.”
“Hurting me, brother, hurting,” Daniel replies thoughtfully. “The past five years have been the best in my life.”
“Well, in honor of the anniversary of my acquaintance with my best friend, I’m gonna name one of the drums after you,” Peter replies confidently. “I don’t know which one, but I’ll decide later.”
“Maybe, you will name one of them after me?” Terrence asks. “While nobody wanna register a star in the sky in honor of mine, may a drum get my beautiful, rare name.”
“Sorry, bro, but there are no planets in the universe that could be named after you,” Edward smiles innocently. “So, NASA will not know about you.”
“I’d slap you on the head for your long tongue.”
“Okay, guys, when it’s five years since we met, I will name one of my drums after you,” Peter promises confidently. “When I buy a big house and move into it, I’ll take my babies away and play with them as much as I want. But you can visit me and admire them.”
“Nah!” Daniel exclaims. “Don’t get your hopes so high, blond! All the instruments in my garage are mine. Only mine.”
“Hey, they are mine, too, I have the right to them!”
“And I can decide whether I wanna let you and the MacClifes come to them.”
“Okay, please, don’t forget that they were bought with the money of you and me. I added a part of the price. A big one.”
“And what?” Daniel shrugs with an innocent smile. “These instruments belong to me ‘cause they’re on my territory.”
“They are not yours!”
“Listen, Rose, if you wanna play your babies, buy a drum set and play at your home as much as you want.”
“No, Perkins! Those drums are mine, and I can take them away at any time.”
“You only own the drumsticks that you break more often than girls buy clothes.”
“Yup, drumsticks are also mine. And one microphone.”
“Don’t be insolent, blond. I will give you nothing.”
“No, chocolate head, you won’t deprive me of my part!” Peter says confidently, knocking at the table with his finger. “I do have the right to the drum set because it was bought with a part of my money. As well as other instruments.”
“Buy new drums, Rose,” Daniel smiles innocently. “I’m sure you’ll find a better drum set.”
“Oh, Dan, why do you the fuck need the drums?” Terrence meddles, running his hand through his hair. “You can’t play them at all! And your attempts to pretend that you can be a genius drummer lead to nothing but people’s chuckles.”
“I won’t give! I won’t give you a rhythm guitar! And I won’t gift a solo guitar to your brother! I won’t give anyone what’s mine! Everything’s mine!”
“I have the right to my part!” Peter says confidently.
“Oh, yeah! Don’t tell me you also have the right to my house after living in it for two months.”
“No, I don’t need your house. But be pleased to give me the drums.”
“No.”
“Perkins…”
“I said everything, blond.”
“Hey, what do you mean ‘living in that for two months?’” Edward frowns slightly.
“Yes, MacClife, it happened once,” Daniel exhales with a slight smile. “I was kind enough to let my old friend live at my place for some time.”
“So, Rose, did ya get so sick of Marta and her cats that you decided to run away from your apartment?” Terrence laughs shyly.
“No, the case is not about it,” Peter cracks a smile. “I had to leave my apartment for a while.”
“But why?” Edward wonders.
“It happened about two or three years ago. Cockroaches started to show up in my apartment. At first, I periodically found one but, then once a month, and later once a week. And I could find more and more of them. I once found like ten or fifteen in one day. In short, I had to call sanitizers, so they work at my apartment.”
“It’s not surprising,” Terrence says thoughtfully. “You live in the old house where some shit may easily live.”
“Yeah, I often meet rats, mice, and some creeping shit at the entrance… But I never had as many cockroaches in my apartment as I did then. Even if my apartment is always perfectly clean.”
“And were they poisoned?”
“Yup. They sanitized my apartment so that it was impossible to live in it. I don’t know how they did it, but I couldn’t bear that smell for more than one minute. They sanitized my apartment with something my organism couldn’t accept… I breathed it in, and I felt immediately worse. So bad that I almost died.”
“Weren’t you warned that it was dangerous?” Edward wonders.
“Of course, I was told I’d better leave my apartment ‘cause they used a very toxic thing. But I thought I would’ve had to walk for two or three hours and then just wash everything well. But even after that, I kept reacting to that thing in a bad way.”
“But as far as I know, you should only wait for two hours after a room gets sanitized,” Terrence notices.
“Right. But I called sanitizers multiple times after that. And they sanitized my apartment with much stronger things. Though, cockroaches were gone for a while but showed up again later. My neighbors also got sick of fighting with them. So, we decided to get the whole house sanitized. Every single entrance. Every single floor. Every single apartment. I think you can imagine what kind of smells there were and how bad I felt.”
“Wow…”
“I don’t even know… Either they sent inexperienced people, or there were too many of them, but even in that case, the house was sanitized multiple times. It had been happening for a very long time. The people wore masks or got out somewhere. Someone was even taken to the hospital with poisoning. And I ended up there some time later… All the time, I lived with permanent dizziness and a feeling of sickness, and I could barely breathe. I felt so badly that I could die at any moment.”
“Why did you the fuck stay in the apartment?” Edward wonders. “Why did you the fuck smell it?”
“I know I did a stupid thing!” Peter raises his hands. “But first, I didn’t pay attention! I realized that the case was serious only when I got a strong dizziness at the entrance, where that shit smelled. And after entering my apartment, I actually passed out.”
“Excellent!” Terrence exclaims. “What I can say!”
“I quickly noticed that he looked kind of white and sick,” Daniel confesses. “But Rose didn’t say what happened and blamed tiredness or a lack of sleep for it.”
“Didn’t you know what was happening at his home?”
“Nope, I didn’t. And I eventually found it out not from Peter but from his neighbors, who were leaving the entrance with bags in their hands when I went to visit him. They insisted that I didn’t enter the entrance ‘cause it was sanitized with some shit from cockroaches. Then I realized Rose wasn’t gonna get out. So, when we met at Albert’s studio and finished the rehearsal, I told him I knew everything and made him go to the hospital by force. That’s good the story of sanitizing hadn’t lasted for too long before I found out everything. Or it would’ve been too late.”
“I hope he didn’t come back home?” Edward asks.
“Nope, after being released, he decided to live at a hotel for a while. But I suggested Peter live with me. What? I’ve got a big house! There’s enough space for everybody! So, I thought, why the man should’ve spent money on a hotel when he could live with me for free.”
“At first, I felt awkward and said I wouldn’t accept his offer,” Peter confesses. “I actually wanted to tell him nothing and thought I’d solve it. But Perkins was stubborn, and I eventually agreed. We had to come back to my apartment, wearing special suits that we borrowed from my neighbors, took some of my clothes, and got out to the fuck.”
“Yeah, Rose, I didn’t expect it…” Terrence shakes his head. “I thought you were a smart guy…”
“I just decided that was a chance to end all of that,” Peter confesses a little hesitantly. “I was cutting myself at that time and dreaming of dying at times. So, I decided… To stay in my apartment and… Let myself die.”
“I was sure you’d say it,” Edward replies. “You would’ve gotten out earlier in the opposite case.”
“Anyway, I’m madly grateful to Daniel for the help. I should’ve really paid money for a hotel, but I didn’t have so much. And I didn’t wanna get into debt… However, I wasn’t too happy that someone didn’t let me die.”
“No matter what, Dan got a benefit from that,” Terrence replies confidently. “Someone to be able to cook moved into his house, at least for a while.”
“And put his house in order,” Edward adds with a quiet chuckle.
“Hey, don’t say I suggested Rose live with me for that,” Daniel raises a hand with the palm of it turned on Terrence. “I just helped my friend at a hard time. Yes, his help was very good to me, and my house was really perfectly clean. But I did it only for our friendship. And I wouldn’t have dared to make him do it. And I rejected Pete’s suggestion of paying his for water, gas, and electricity.”
“But I became a free cleaning guy, his personal cooker, and his certain counter: I examined all the bills, counted the amount, put aside the paid ones…” Peter confesses. “Trust me, there was a mess…”
“Bills have always been my headache.”
“It’s good to have a much smarter and cleaner friend than you,” Edward laughs.
“I didn’t make him clean, cook, and examine my bills!” Daniel exclaims. “He wanted to help!”
“And I agreed to give him half of the amount for buying instruments because Daniel didn’t have a little bit,” Peter says confidently.
“Oh, Peter, here you go again…” Daniel moans quietly, running his hands over his face.
“Get my babies ready for a moving, dude. When I buy a big, gorgeous house and move all my stuff into it, I will take my drums.”
“Keep dreaming!” Daniel scoffs loudly. “The drums will stay at my home!”
“Hear, Perkins, if Pete moved his stuff to a mini-studio at your home, would you say it’s yours?” Terrence asks. “If everything is in your territory, those things kind of belong to you!”
“Ha, I will move nothing to him!” Peter sniffs quietly. “Fuck him off! What if he believes he owns my things!”
“Our buddy can do it,” Edward laughs shyly.
“Okay, guys, we sat for a while – it’s enough,” Daniel says with his head proudly raised, stroking down his rebellious hair. “Get ready to tear your asses off and go to rehearsal. The unplanned rest is over!”
“Oh, save me from the need to go to the hot street…” Terrence moans quietly, leaning his head back. “It’s much hotter than it is in a sauna…”
“Okay… You can sit for a while. I wanna buy a fish burger and take it with me. I really liked it.”
“Oh, and I need to talk to the guy behind the cash!” Edward exclaims cheerfully.
“Take your brother with you,” Peter says. “When I was buying the drinks, a girl asked about him. She wanted to take a photo.”
“Oh, I know! She’s asked me to bring Terrence to her. And there was one more, who wanted to take a photo with all of us. Also, one guy wants to get our autographs on a disc with a single for his younger sister.”
“Listen, bros, our popularity is growing!” Terrence notices cheerfully. “It seems like Edward promoted our band well here.”
“I didn’t have to. Everybody here loves our band: the men and the girls. And I promised to come here with all of you to eat. One girl is our huge fan! You know how she whooped for joy when she met me for the first time. And she asked to take a photo and sign her CD with our single when we met for the second time.”
“I imagine her yelling when she sees all of us,” Peter smiles mysteriously.
“Okay, then we’ll give some attention to all those people and buy something to take,” Terrence suggests. “Let’s consider it a reason to stay where the air conditioner is working.”
“Fuck, guys, someone, lend me some money,” Daniel says with pity in his eyes after checking out all his pockets. “I don’t have a card with me, and I spent all my banknotes. I promise I will give everything back when we go to my home. Or transfer to your card.”
“You have the uneaten burger that you stole from Peter,” Edward notices confidently. “It seems like you have nothing to eat at home, and you try to take as much as possible.”
“Bro, Perkins can’t cook!” Terrence chuckles. “So, he takes food from the café to put it in a microwave and eat it later.”
“Hey, gimme money, idiots!” Daniel demands gloomily, crossing his arms over his chest. “A few dollars for your close friend! At least for a fish burger!”
Meanwhile, Peter laughs quietly and shakes his head for some reason, looking at Daniel kind of slyly.
“Hey, why are you laughing, idiot?” Daniel resents. “What did I say?”
“Oh, Daniel…” Peter pronounces through a laugh, drinks the rest of the drink from his glass, and exhales sharply. “One question… I will ask just one question.”
Peter stops laughing, takes something sharply from the front pocket of the t-shirt of Daniel, who has time only to open his mouth, and shows it with a more serious look, asking confidently:
“What is this?”
When Terrence and Edward see a banknote in Peter’s hand, they start laughing quietly. And Daniel himself opens his mouth again and amazingly stares at the banknote in the blond’s hands.
“What?” Daniel opens his mouth with rounded eyes. “What the fuck? What kind of magic? How did ya find it?”
“So, Dan, you wanted to fool us?” Peter starts laughing again and slaps Daniel on the nose with the banknote along with Edward and Terrence’s much louder chuckles. “You’ve got one hundred bucks, but you pretend that you don’t have the money. You can buy half of the same lunch for these one hundred bucks.”
“Don’t explain it to him, buddy,” Edward chuckles quietly. “He can’t count even the simplest numbers. As well as manage money.”
“Yay, Perkins hoped to save some money,” Terrence laughs shyly. “But he failed this mission.”
“Yeah, Perkins, you screwed it up,” Peter adds with a laugh, waving the banknote in front of Daniel’s nose. “You screwed it up like an idiot.”
Peter, Edward, and Terrence keep chuckling quietly, and Daniel rolls his eyes up with a gloomy face and takes the banknote sharply from the blond:
“Hey, give it to me, blond head!” Daniel puts the back note in a pocket of his short pants. “I just don’t wanna exchange it. So, I asked you for money. Maybe, you had small bills.”
“Hey, do you know it’s a large one?” Peter laughs quietly. “It’s one hundred dollars! And do you know how to count the correct amount to buy a fish burger?”
“Why do I count when a cashier will give me a charge?”
“Yeah! And you’ll take it and leave without counting!”
“Ah, buddy, I understand you count much better than all of us, but I will surely ask you for help if I need the help of a counter.”
“If you hadn’t asked smart girls to solve problems for you and waited for someone to give you answers during a test, you wouldn’t have been worried about whether everything was right.”
“Yes, I was never an honor student in my school years. I don’t hide it, and I ain’t ashamed of it. It’s not the most important thing! Sometimes honor students don’t get such great success that those, who did and knew the fuck nothing, could get.”
“Yeah, I’m surprised that you actually graduated from school,” Edward chuckles. “If you’d been studying at my private school, they would’ve kicked you out before the end of the school year. It happened to fewer schoolmates of mine.”
“At least, I graduated from school. Your brother graduated, despite being busy with shootings. The blond did it. But you, MacClife, did not.”
“I studied at school very well. And I was kicked out because Isabella stopped paying for me after she found out about Father and Mother’s marriage and kicked him outta the home. I should’ve only studied for one year.”
“Anyway, you don’t have a school education.”
“I don’t care about it. I cared only when I was homeless and couldn’t get a good job. Though, if I hadn’t been put in prison, I would’ve built a brilliant career as a delivery guy.”
“Yeah, you’re madly lucky,” Peter notices. “If you weren’t Terrence’s sibling, it would be hard for you.”
“It was hard for all of us somehow.”
“Yeah, I jumped from one flower to another like a bee after Father’s death…” Daniel notices thoughtfully. “I didn’t work anywhere for a too long time… One-side job or a permanent job that I always left at my wish.”
“Or you got fired but don’t wanna say it,” Terrence laughs shyly.
“You’re gonna be surprised, but I was never fired. I always left by myself.”
“Yeah, your sister couldn’t help you with your work as well as she did during your studies.”
“How could I get the help of the girl, who couldn’t memorize the multiplication table and stop writing with mistakes?”
“But comparing you and Cassidy, she likely studied thousands of times better than you,” Peter replies. “Girls treat their studies with a greater responsibility.”
“Not in the case of my sister. She studied terribly and behaved disgustingly.”
“She was far from you.”
“Yeah, we were never called nerds, unlike you.”
“I’ve never said I was an honor student,” Peter smiles innocently. “It was just easy for me to understand all the subjects, and I never had problems with my studies. But I knew mathematics much better.”
“Ugh, I hate math…” Daniel winces strongly. “Who made up all these equations, square roots, graphs, and other shit?”
“It’s possible to get all of that if you make your brain work a little. And I liked it then.”
“You’re crazy, Pete. What’s wrong with you?”
“You can understand math, but it’s a terribly boring subject,” Edward replies quietly. “You just solve equations, try to define the square roots, compute the value of an integral, and build a graph.”
“I felt dizzy from just one look at the book.”
“Chemistry lessons were much better!” Edward leans back in the chair. “A lot of amazing experiments! It’s so cool to try to guess what would happen if you mixed something. Watch a reaction… Run aside with a loud whoop, so something doesn’t get on your skin or in your eyes…”
“I hope you didn’t burn down the school when you mixed something wrong,” Terrence chuckles kindly. “Or didn’t burn down your gorgeous hair. It would be a tragedy for you ‘cause you’re obsessed with your hair!”
“No, Terrence, I didn’t,” Edward replies confidently with his head proudly raised. “But I advise you to watch out because I could burn your hair down. Keep yourself far from the guy, who had the best scores in chemistry at school.”
“Oh, oh, oh, lads, I’m afraid we really have to be careful with Edward,” Daniel jabs. “He may really mix some chemicals and turn us into frogs or something else.”
“Calm down, man. I don’t hurt my people.” Edward smiles slyly. “Unless they don’t ask for trouble.”
“But I always stayed as far as possible when experiences were happening,” Terrence confesses. “My chemistry teacher arranged a whole show, after which everybody opened their mouths.”
“Right! If you had had burns on your gorgeous face, someone would’ve hardly wanted to invite you to act in movies.”
“I’ve gotta agree. No matter how much I wanna shit you up with a bun of your burger.”
“Yeah, you could ask your chemistry teacher to give you a special suit. Not to stand aside while everybody was pushing to try to see what she was doing.”
“I saw everything well. But to be honest… I was not exactly afraid of my chemistry teacher… I just…”
“Hey, bro, was she the only one not to succumb to your charms and give you great scores?” Peter chuckles kindly.
“I had good enough scores. She just often behaved kind of weirdly, said something wrong, and did strange things. She could talk about the subject for half of the lesson and then go on the wrong side. There were cases when she told us something and started to cry. I guess she had a deep depression. She always looked exhausted. As far as I know, she had a sick child. She spent a lot of money and strength on their therapy. And that woman was working for hours at school. She cared about all of her students and was ready to explain one or another thing over and over if something wasn’t clear.”
“And my teacher of science had his own mind,” Peter confesses thoughtfully. “He was good as a teacher, but he never let anyone get close to him. They said that man didn’t speak to anyone and never had lunch with other teachers.”
“The same thing happened to one girl from my school,” Daniel confesses. “She was always alone and only spoke about a business. Though, nobody played a fool of her. Vice versa, they respected her. But they were hurt that she ignored everybody.”
“But I had a cool teacher of English,” Terrence says with a slight smile. “A cool woman with an excellent sense of humor. Everybody went to her lessons with pleasure. Even if they did it just to laugh. And I personally loved English lessons. That woman knew how to explain even the hardest things.”
“Learning languages is cool!” Edward exclaims cheerfully. “If I had a chance, I’d be happy to learn one more language. Or learn a little bit of all of them.”
“Can you start with Chinese?” Daniel asks. “Japanese, Portugal… Russian, in the end…”
“It’s okay, guys, we're all gonna get a chance to learn something when we go on the worldwide tour,” Peter replies confidently. “At least, we must know how the words ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ sound in all the languages of the world.”
“Do you wanna start it now?” Edward suggests. “Imagine us looking sassy as we land in Spain, Mexico, or Argentina and say confidently, ‘Hola, amigos! ¿Cóme estás?’”
“And what does it mean?”
“It means ‘Hello, friends! How are you doing?’ You could address girls, ‘¡Hola, chicas!’. And address men, ‘¡Hola, chicos!’”
“It sounds cool… Well, I suggest you learn the same thing in German. It’s gonna sound like, ‘Hallo, meine freunde! Wie geht’s dir?’ You can greet girls by saying, ‘Hallo, mädchen!’ And welcome men by saying, ‘Hallo, jungs!’”
“Oh, keep going, bros!” Daniel exclaims with a slight smile. “Keep going!”
“Erm, listen, let’s learn Spanish, German, Russian, and other languages later and now go to rehearse?” Terrence suggests, knocking on the table with his fingers. “We’ve gotta get the fuck used! We have a week to work on everything before George’s return.”
“I’m ready to go now!” Daniel replies confidently. “You can’t tear your asses off the chairs and don’t wanna go outside.”
“As if you rush to tear off yours,” Edward throws with a quiet chuckle. “And as far as I remember, someone wanted to buy something to take home.”
“Oh, no, thanks…” Peter shakes his head, running his hand over his stomach filled with food. “I’m done with food now. I eat much less than usual when it’s hot.”
“But the lunch was incredible!” Daniel exclaims. “I’m admired!”
At this moment, a young man goes confidently by the table of the friends, while two girls of the same age hold him under his arms. They talked about something nicely, but when they saw Edward, they decided to come to him and greet him.
“Hi, Eddy,” one of the girls pronounces with a slight smile.
“Oh, hey, pretty boy,” a second girl smiles shyly.
“Hiya, MacClife!” the man exclaims cheerfully.
“Hey, girls,” Edward greets amicably and shares a homie handshake with the man. “Hi, Don Juan! Still picking girls up?”
“Why would I pick them up when they surround me at their wish?” the man wonders. “Though, it’s not surprising, ‘cause I’m the most handsome and attractive person at this café.”
“You called yourself the one?”
“No! All the girls say it! And when new girls come to work here, they all get a crush on me and dream of at least one date with me.”
“M-m-m, you know, buddy, you remind me of one person… Whose peacock tail I shall cut someday.”
“Whoever that is, that person will not outstand me.”
“I dunno…” Edward slightly strokes his hair down with a sly smile. “I’d compete with you for the title of the most handsome guy. I’m also freaking attractive and popular enough among girls.”
“It’s hard to deny it,” one of the girls smiles shyly. “You’re really handsome. The handsome man, who would drive any girl crazy.”
“Yes, I am!” Edward raises his head proudly with a smug smile.
“Hey, cutie, do you know everybody here talks about you? You didn’t come here for a long time! We already missed you!”
“Business, my darling, business.” Edward pulls his black choker slightly. “I try to do everything.”
“But will you often come to us now?”
“Yes, Ed, stay here longer someday,” another girl says nicely. “We’d talk. Give you something tasty. Share some latest news.”
“Sure, beauties!” Edward promises confidently with a shy smile. “It’s always nice to spend time with such charming ladies.”
“So, don’t ya wanna talk to men?” the man wonders.
“Of course, I want. I’d be happy to talk to you about all the latest news.”
“Okay, I took a note!”
“The doors of the café are always open for one of the sexiest clients,” one of the girls smiles shyly.
“Okay, buddy, the girls and I will better go,” the man says thoughtfully. “We won’t bother you and your gang. As I understand, you’re not alone here…”
“Bye, pretty boy!” the two girls wave their hands shyly.
“Bye-bye!” Edward shows his wide smile.
The man takes the girls away, while Daniel, Terrence, and Peter look at each other and laugh quietly.
“M-m-m, it seems like this is the second wave of fans of my beloved bro and his cute face,” Terrence chuckles kindly.
“Listen, how many people have passed by us and told him compliments?” Daniel specifies. “Five people? Ten?”
“Yay, Terry, here’s the one you should be careful with,” Peter laughs shyly. “Eddy’s gonna take your place on your throne soon. Girls run around him like cats.”
“I did tell you I’d become the sex symbol of the 10s, but you didn’t believe,” Edward recalls with his head proudly raised. “The whole world will go crazy for me soon.”
“Did you mean your pretty, pretty face?” Terrence snaps with a sly smile.
“Every part of my body is so perfect that all men will dream about them soon.”
When Terrence wants to say something, another man and another girl go by the table. The two wave their hands at Edward with a slight smile and greet him, and he answers them back with pleasure.
“Fuck, little asshole…” Terrence resents.
“MacClife loves walking in the city all day for a reason!” Daniel chuckles quietly.
“What can I do if I’ve got so much charm?” Edward smiles innocently. “You do see that girls can’t resist me, and men wanna befriend me.”
“Yeah, you really stopped being the shy, quiet boy that we knew,” Peter says thoughtfully.
“No, that guy no longer exists. And he won’t exist. Never. The former Edward stayed in the past. There is the new Edward MacClife, who’s gonna show everyone what he…”
While Edward says it, a young girl working here as a cleaning woman and a young man helping her carry something come to the table that Terrence, Peter, Daniel, and he are sitting on.
“Hello, Edward,” the girl greets shyly.
“Hey, Ed,” the man says cheerfully.
“Hey, guys,” Edward replies, gives a five to the young man, and nods at the girl with a shy smile. “How are you doing?”
“Everything’s fine,” the man replies funnily. “I see you don’t feel bored here with your friends. I watched you from afar and saw you laughing at something.”
“Yeah, we’re having a good time,” Edward replies amicably. “I showed them the place where they could buy amazing, cheap food.”
Meanwhile, Daniel, Peter, and Terrence sitting on the table bend closer to each other to whisper a little.
“Wow, they’ve remembered us!” Terrence notices in a whisper.
“Yay, MacClife, what kind of good older brother are you if you teach the baby to do all of this?” Daniel wonders funnily.
“Yeah, you’re losing worthlessly this fight for the crown…” Peter adds quietly.
“Okay, bros, let him show off a little,” Terrence smiles slyly. “I ain’t a greedy man and can share. I’d give anything for my beloved bro. For a while, of course.”
While Terrence, Peter, and Daniel whisper, the girl talking to Edward pays attention to the men, looks closely at every one of them, and opens her mouth slightly in surprise.
“Oh, gosh, guys…” the girl smiles shyly. “Are you from the band 'Against The System?’”
“They are!” Edward confirms with his head proudly raised, glancing at Daniel, Peter, and Terrence. “Terrence, Daniel, and Peter…”
“Come on, MacClife!” the man exclaims happily. “These are really them? You brought them here?”
“I promised I’d come here with all of them. I do keep my promises. So…” Edward shrugs with a shy smile. “Here we are all together: a lead guitarist, a vocalist, a drummer, and a bass guitarist.”
“Oh, God, guys, I love you!” the girl jabs excitedly. “You’re so cool! Your new song is incredible! I’ve been listening to it for a few days everywhere and can’t wait to buy your album.”
“Thanks, miss,” Peter thanks with a shy smile. “We’re glad you love it.”
“Come to our shows in New York!” Daniel suggests cheerfully. “When we are on the road. We’d be very happy to see you.”
“The entire café staff will come to your show when you’re performing in New York,” the man promises confidently. “I’m sure that we’re gonna have a free day for that case. Everybody adores you here! Even our chef!”
“Nice to hear it,” Terrence laughs shyly.
“Ah, it’s so cool to meet celebrities!” the girl notices happily. “Someone like you, Terrence. I love you as an actor! And I still watch the movies with you. I especially often watch ‘American Love Affair!’ Everyone says the movie is terribly banal, but I see a special meaning in it. It teaches us to love and befriend.”
“Thanks a lot,” Terrence thanks with his head proudly raised, straightening his back and spreading his shoulders. “I’m proud of that role, but I hope I will get rid of the image of the all-favorite pretty boy.”
“I’m sure you’d be incredible in any role. If you played an evil man, people would admire your character and adore them.”
“Yeah, but I’d like my character to be hated. I want to prove that I can make people feel different emotions. When a character is loved or hated to death, it means an actor did everything right.”
“Anyway, you’re going to rock on! When you’re back to acting and playing a good role, everyone will talk about you again.”
“I’m just waiting for good suggestions. Something that would not make me indifferent.”
While Terrence is enjoying the attention of the young girl with a smug smile and his head proudly raised, Edward puts all the empty packets, boxes, and glasses on the plate, comes to a dumpster, throws everything away, and comes to everybody.
“Look, look, Ed, your bro has finally gotten a piece of fame,” Peter notices funnily.
“Oh, oh, look how he’s showing off!” Daniel laughs quietly, watching Terrence say something to the girl with a wide smile on his face. “The girl is pulling the wool over his eyes, but MacClife is as happy as a well-fed cat.”
“Yay, our beloved Terry is in his element,” Edward cracks a slight smile.
“Let him show off a little! It seems like he got jealous when the girls showered you with compliments and called you handsome, but didn’t pay attention to him.”
“It’s okay, let him be jealous.” Edward crosses his arms over his chest. “The crown of the sexiest and most desired man is going to be mine.”
“Are you running in the fire with the naked ass again?” Peter smiles slyly.
“I just madly love watching him burn from anger when I get all the attention. So, as I love my bro, okay… I’m gonna share a piece of fame with him and let him sit on my throne.”
“I’d bet who would share it with,” Daniel smiles slyly.
“Calm down, bros, it’s okay. Enjoy while I want and can make him irritated.”
At this moment, Edward, Daniel, and Peter hear the man saying something loudly to the members of the staff, who are working on the cash, cleaning the café, and doing something else:
“Guys, you hear me? The guys from ‘Against The System’ have come to the café!”
“Go on?” the woman’s voice sounds. “Are you kidding?”
Another young girl immediately runs to the table, next to which her colleagues are standing, and barely holds down a whoop when seeing Edward, Daniel, Terrence, and Peter.
“Oh, my God, that’s ‘Against The System!’'” the girl makes a happy whoop. “I can’t believe it!”
“Who talked about ‘Against The System?’” another girl, who just came, asks.
“Gosh, Edward, you’ve come here with these guys!” the third girl exclaims happily. “Finally! A-a-a! I’m full of emotions!”
“Wow, I was so busy that I didn’t even notice how Edward came here,” the other girl jabs excitedly. “And brought his entire band here!”
“Girls, girls, calm down,” the man says quietly. “Do you want to scare all our clients and these men?”
“It’s okay,” Terrence says amicably, waving his hand. “We’re used to this.”
“Look, the handsome guys from ‘Against The System’ are there!” another girl exclaims happily.
“A-a-a, they’re more irresistible in real life than on a screen!” another girl pronounces excitedly.
“Okay, man!” the man, who comes to the big crowd, and claps another man on the shoulder. “The girls started going crazy.”
A few seconds later, half of the people predominantly of young age being in the half-empty café leave their businesses and come to the table, next to which Peter, Terrence, Edward, and Daniel, who feel a little shy from so much attention.
“I guess we won’t leave soon,” Peter whispers to his friends with a quiet chuckle.
“It’s gonna be a reason to stay longer where there’s a conditioner,” Terrence replies quietly and confidently.
“Look, MacClife didn’t lie to us!” another man notices funnily.
“Guys, I did tell you that I’d keep my promises,” Edward says confidently. “If I said I would do it, I would bring!”
“Listen, guys, can I take a photo with you?” one of the girls asks with a wide smile. “I will show these photos to my sister! She also loves you and can’t wait for your album’s release!”
“And with me,” someone from the crowd says, and then almost everybody starts repeating it.
“Please, please!” one of the girls begs with pity in her eyes. “Leave your autograph.”
“Calm down, people, calm down!” Terrence calms down confidently with a slight smile. “We will take a photo with everybody and leave our signatures for all of you.”
“Say, when will your album be out?” one of the girls asks. “When do we save money?”
“The album will be released at least at the end of the year or at the beginning of the next one,” Peter replies confidently.
“Will the songs be as cool as your first single?” a young man asks.
“Every song is going to find at least one listener. But we hope people will appreciate all our songs.”
“Whatever you release, it’s going to be a hit!” another man says confidently. “Men listen to you, too!”
“Yes, yes, I love ‘The Story About Us’ and play it when I do something,” another man adds. “And when it’s playing at the café, all of us dance along with it.”
“You’re going to feel tons of emotions when you’re listening to the album,” Daniel promises with his head proudly raised. “Dance, laugh, cry, and get sad…”
“If it doesn’t have only songs about love, I will become your number one fan,” another guy says loudly, making some people laugh.
“Don’t worry, the album will have songs about different things.”
“And we will use much more on our albums,” Edward adds. “Well, of course, if our first album is successful.”
“Listen, guys, that’s so cool you came here today,” one of the men replies confidently. “It’s usually impossible to move here, but today is kind of quiet.”
“Yeah, we wouldn’t get our heads caressed if we stopped working at the same time,” another guy adds.
“Sorry, guys,” Daniel replies amicably. “We don’t want your chef and clients to complain about you because of us.”
“Don’t worry, dude!” one of the men waves his hand. “Our chef also loves your creativity and would get it all.”
“And our administrator is also a huge fan of ‘Against The System,’” one of the girls smiles slyly.
Meanwhile, two more members of the staff appear in the corner where there are restrooms, and people in love come to the crowd.
“Listen, men, would you sing for us?” one of the girls suggests cheerfully.
“Yes, guys, sing something!” another girl agrees happily. “If you do it, we will give you a good discount for any food.”
“Yes, sing for us, please!” another girl says with pity in her eyes.
“C’mon, guys, show everything you can do,” the man named Travis, whom Edward had talked to before he ordered the food, adds cheerfully. “I guarantee you a life discount if you perform for us and take a couple of photos.”
“Sing! Sing! Sing!” one of the girls starts to encourage and clap her hands.
Everybody catches the wave slowly and starts to clap their hand, while Edward, Daniel, Peter, and Terrence look at each other and crack a slight smile.
“So what, gang, let’s make it hot?” Terrence asks with his head proudly raised.
“Let’s sing something from our album,” Edward suggests confidently. “So to say, exclusive.”
“The one we wanted to make a second single?” Peter asks.
“Right!” Daniel exclaims. “Let’s sing the chorus! It’s fucking powerful!”
“Come on, guys!” Terrence exclaims loudly.
“Hey, folks, help us,” Edward encourages cheerfully, clapping his hands.
Two or three seconds later, the men start singing a song, which is brand new for everybody, as they clap their hands and click their fingers. The people definitely, really like what they have never heard before and even try to make fewer sounds to listen closely to the song, the chorus of which is cheerful and energetic thanks to the way it’s performed by the talented four men, who sing it well even without preparation. And the café staff and some visitors that come closer have nothing but to admire and clap their hands with the rhythm, shaking sometimes with slight smiles and dancing without worrying about their dance skills. To keep this intrigue, Edward, Daniel, Terrence, and Peter only perform a little snippet. When they stop singing, the people applaud loudly, whistle, and shout out something. And a little later, they start to ask the four to sing something else or perform the full version of this song.
“No, no, no!” Edward jabs loudly, raising his hands. “You can hear the full song only when our album is out.”
“Sing it again, guys…” one of the girls says with pity in her eyes. “We really liked it… Please, guys, please…”
“Don’t worry, folks, you’re gonna hear this song and many others soon.”
“Please, guys…” another girl begs. “I promise we will tell nobody about it. Nobody will even film you on a video and publish it on the Internet.”
“Trust me, you won’t have to wait for too long,” Peter promises confidently with a slight smile. “You will be able to buy our album very soon. Besides, soon, we’re gonna have performances, at which every one of you may come.”
“At least one more verse,” Corinne begs with puppy eyes. “Sing at least a couple of solo and together lines. Please…”
“Listen, Edward, do you remember how you rocked on that scene?” Travis asks cheerfully, pointing at the side where there is a low platform, on which you can get up two wooden stairs, and on which there are two microphone stands and four floor columns. “How you made the whole café dance along with your song!”
“A-a-a, yes, yes, I remember!” one of the girls pronounces with admiration, clapping her hands and jumping. “Edward was imitable! I believe he sang the song that he performed in a video that is still available on the Internet.”
“Right, that’s the song!” another girl exclaims.
“So, are you also giving free shows here?” Daniel wonders truly, putting his hands on his hips.
“It happened just once,” Edward confesses shyly and rolls his eyes for two seconds. “Okay, two times! Or maybe, three! I can’t remember.”
“You’re a little rat!” Peter chuckles quietly.
“Hey, MacClife, maybe, you will do it again?” one of the men suggests cheerfully. “Start an unforgettable show that we will never forget!”
“May the whole band sing!” a girl exclaims.
“That’s cool the owner of the café gave an order to make a scene, so everyone can sing,” a man notices.
“C’mon, guys, sing on the scene!” Corinne claps her hands happily.
While Terrence, Daniel, and Peter look at each other, Edward glances at them and looks at everybody around him and his band with a sly smile on his face and his head proudly raised.
“Okay, while these boneheads think, I will sing for you!” Edward says. “I have a wonderful mood today and wanna share it with you.”
Edward claps Daniel and Peter standing on both of his hands on the shoulders.
“Okay, bros, stay here and watch how you must rock on. It’s gonna get super hot here.”
Edward comes to the scene quickly, gets up to it, and comes to one of the microphones while Peter, Terrence, and Daniel look at each other questioningly.
“What?” Terrence rounds his eyes. “Without us?”
“He definitely liked being in the middle of attention,” Peter notices with both arms crossed over his chest.
“Natalia does real miracles,” Daniel says confidently, putting his hands on his hips. “When she started to work on that guy, he changed before our eyes.”
“Okay, bros, let Edward show off with a peacock tail, and then I shall cut his wings,” Terrence replies with his head proudly raised, clapping Daniel and Peter on the shoulder and hugging them amicably. “I mean, we will cut.”
Meanwhile, one of the café staff members brings a laptop, places it on a small table near the edge of the scene, and quickly finds something along with Edward. Then MacClife, Jr., runs back to the scene and, waving his hands at everybody, asks loudly and cheerfully with his head proudly raised:
“Hey, folks, are ya ready to rock?”
Everybody paying attention to Edward applauds loudly with happy whoops.
“C’mon, Edward, rock on!” Travis encourages confidently. “Show us everything you can do.”
“On the ‘four!’” Edward exclaims cheerfully and brings the working microphone to his mouth. “Two! Three! Four!”
Edward moves his eyes sharply to the man standing near the laptop and nods, giving him a sign. That one makes a couple of clicks on the touchpad, after which the instrumental version of a cheerful and energetic song starts playing at full volume in the whole café. The people start to shake with the rhythm with a slight smile on their faces literally from the first seconds and encourage the young guy with loud whoops. After a short intro, Edward starts to sing confidently, holding the microphone that is set up on a stand, looking at everybody, and sharing a disarming smile with every single person. He remains a little discreet as he sings the first verse, but he lets himself become freer by the chorus and shows a wider range of his voice. The man starts to dance, jump, and run on the whole scene, letting himself fall into the music and encouraging people to do the same.
“Oh, MacClife is getting wild again,” Daniel laughs quietly, putting his hands on his hips.
“Yeah, when he grabs a microphone and hears music, he forgets everything,” Peter notices thoughtfully.
“That’s cool we invited him to join the band,” Terrence says with a slight smile. “We really missed that motor.”
“Yeah, as he’s got a lot of energy, he can use it to his best.”
“I think it will be enough ‘till retirement,” Daniel assumes. “Until we decide to retire somewhere thirty or forty years later.”
“It doesn’t threaten our rutrag,” Terrence laughs quietly, watching Edward fall on his knees at some moment and get up a few seconds later.
“If he’s doing this now, what’s gonna happen if your bro drinks on his bachelor.”
“I’ll have to make you responsible for not letting him kill himself in happiness. Because I’m gonna be drunk as fuck.”
“So, we will,” Peter replies confidently.
Later, Edward sings the last part of the song, still dancing for pleasure, jumping from one side to another and clapping his hands. Some visitors of the café come to the crowd to watch the performance of the young talented man, and someone listens to him from afar, sitting on tables or standing aside. At the end of the song, the man sings the last lines on high notes to show the power of his nose and ends his performance, raising his hands up. Everybody at the café immediately starts to applaud and whistle, warming the soul of MacClife, Jr., up and making him smile widely, spread his shoulders, and raise his head proudly.
“Bravo!” one of the girls shouts loudly. “Bravo, Edward!”
“You were awesome, pretty boy!” another girl makes a happy whoop.
“Excellent, Edward, excellent!” Travis encourages cheerfully.
The people keep applauding for a few seconds, during which Edward breathing heavily looks at everybody.
“Encore, Edward!” Corinne exclaims cheerfully.
“Yes, sign again!” a girl says with a wide smile. “Please, please…”
“If you want it!” Edward replies confidently.
The people start making happy whoops and applauding loudly, while Terrence, Peter, and Daniel look at each other, and Edward and one of the members of the café staff come to the laptop and look for something.
“Oh, no, a second song is too much,” Peter confidently shakes his head. “Of course, he sang incredibly, but he should know a limit.”
“Huh, Edward could easily have a whole show here!” Daniel chuckles kindly. “If nobody stops him.”
“C’mon, people!” Edward pronounces, running to the microphone stand, and taking the microphone. “Everybody, dance!”
Edward points at the member of the café staff, who turns on the instrumental version of another song that is no less cheerful and energetic. Then the man keeps pleasing the people with his incredible vocals and showing his brilliant dancing skills by performing some easy movements.
“Little rutrag!” Terrence says under his nose with both arms crossed over his chest. “I wish your microphone broke…”
“Look, look, MacClife is nervous,” Peter smiles slyly, slightly pinching Daniel on the hip. “He got red from jealousy…”
“I do feel it,” Daniel whispers with a kind grin. “I feel like Terry is literally boiling from anger. Because his little brother is rocking on there, not him.”
“Okay, let’s do nothing. Just watch and laugh. We do adore their brothers’ fights and would give much for them.”
“Yeah… We feel good, and they get pleasure.”
Daniel and Peter give each other a five with a quiet laugh, and Terrence glances at them as if he asks what they are whispering about. But the men say nothing and just smile at him shyly. Meanwhile, Edward brilliantly performs the first verse along with the loud whoops and dances of the staff members and visitors of the café, literally hypnotizing everyone, who is in his sight, with his charm and strong, melodic voice.
“It seems like we can really say goodbye to the shy guy we knew,” Daniel says thoughtfully, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Or he’s always been the one, but he was shy of showing it,” Peter assumes confidently.
“Or… Natalia should shorten the number of compliments not to let her soon-to-be hubby become the second Terrence MacClife.”
“Huh, if Natalia doesn’t shower him with compliments, other girls will do it. You hear how loudly all these girls whoop! Nobody yelled so loudly when they saw the half-naked Mason Houston.”
“Unlike his brother, Edward doesn’t have to undress to make girls hysterical. They can just look at his pretty face to start to lie in front of his legs.”
“Or he should just start to sing.”
“Listen, bros, that is wrong!” Terrence says confidently with his head proudly raised. “Don’t ya get confused ‘cause that little rag rocks on there, but we’re standing here and noticed by nobody? As if we’re invisible!”
“Sorry, buddy, but Edward’s gonna be a star at this café,” Daniel smiles innocently, putting his hand on Terrence’s shoulder. “Though, he’s gonna conquer the whole world soon.”
“Yes, MacClife, accept it,” Peter adds, clapping Terrence on another shoulder. “Your bro is gonna outshine you soon.”
“He can reach something,” Terrence replies confidently. “But he will never get the success that Terrence MacClife got.”
“Don’t be so sure, Terrence.”
“I am unique! Imitable and handsome! The original that nobody will ever copy. Even our little Eddy. Yes, he’s very similar to me and could deceive someone to be too naive by pretending to be Terrence MacClife. But the kid is too far from me.”
“You’re gonna be overwhelmed when it happens,” Daniel laughs quietly. “When girls will run to him for photos and autographs, not you.”
“It’s okay, when I start performing songs and come back to acting someday, people will start to talk about me as much as they did in the 00s. When Mason Houston was popular.”
“You’ve gotta wait for a long time,” Peter says thoughtfully. “Knowing that you’re only invited to play someone like Mason. Hot, little silly, and handsome guys.”
“While you’re waiting for the role of the incorrigible bastard, Edward’s gonna get much more popular,” Daniel adds. “And as he says, he’ll really get the title of a sex symbol of the 10s.”
“I doubt it,” Terrence replies confidently and glances at Edward. “Edward is just a sympathetic, young guy with a pretty face. What kind of sex bomb can this super sweet boy be?”
“Okay, okay,” Peter smiles slyly. “Girls would argue with ya. Many of them have a crush on him, if you didn’t know it.”
“And what? I am more irresistible, and attractive! I have the title of the sexiest man in the world, but he doesn’t.”
“Relax, Terry! We understand that you’re obsessed with jealousy and a sense of competition, but it’s time to accept the fact that your little bro is catching you confidently.”
“Am I jealous?” Terrence laughs nervously. “No, why do you think so? I ain’t jealous… Especially, this kid…”
“Yeah, sure…”
“I am not jealous! But I am better! Always and at everything!”
“Okay, buddy, give a fuck,” Daniel pronounces confidently, clapping Peter on the shoulder. “Talking about it with this handsome one is worthless.”
“You’re right, let them solve it,” Peter raises his hands.
“Okay, bro, you got a piece of your fame – that’s enough!” Terrence smiles slyly, watching Edward finish performing the first chorus. “The real star will go on stage now.”
Terrence ruffles his hair a little and claps Peter and Daniel on the shoulder, saying confidently:
“Stay here, guys. I need to kick the ass of this kid.”
Terrence goes quickly to the scene with his head proudly raised, steps on the stairs to get up, takes the microphone, chooses a good moment, and joins Edward, who chuckles and starts clapping his hand. The appearance of the older of the MacClife brothers makes the people whoop with happiness much louder. The girls express their delight especially loudly and shout something, while the men support the brothers by clapping their hands and whistling. Meanwhile, Daniel and Peter are standing in the same places with their arms crossed over their chests and smiling slightly as they watch the MacClife brothers, shake with a rhythm and clap their hands.
“Oh, MacClife…” Daniel shakes his head. “He adores his brother, but he won’t give his throne to him.”
“Yeah, love is love, but a sense of brotherly rivalry is always stronger,” Peter notices confidently.
“Jealousy doesn’t stay behind.”
Meanwhile, Terrence and Edward sing the chorus of the song together along with loud applause and happy whoops from the people, standing in front of each other and sharing a slight smile. MacClife, Jr., is still energetic, and his brother barely catches him and gets a little confused at first. At some moment, the men perform a short dance together, while the instrumental solo is playing, and the people encourage them and try to repeat some movements.
“Hey, tough guy, what if we sing something, too?” Peter suggests with a sly smile.
“Sing?” Daniel specifies. “On that scene?”
“Yup, so people don’t forget us. Otherwise, we’ll get jealous of the MacClifes and the band’s fans.”
“And what could we sing?”
“I dunno yet! But we could talk to that guy, who turned on the music for MacClife on the computer.”
“Let’s come to him now, while these pretty boys are trying to share the scene.”
“Let’s go!”
But when Daniel and Peter laughing shyly want to go where they need to, Edward and Terrence call them with a gesture.
“Hey, they’re calling us!” Daniel exclaims.
“Okay, we will come to that guy later,” Peter decides.
Peter and Daniel quickly come to the scene, get up, and come to Edward and Terrence. The four men sing the song until the end, while the people are still actively dancing along with such energetic music. And when the band ends their performance by singing a cappella together, everybody starts to applaud loudly, whistle, and make happy whoops.
“Bravo!” one of the girls exclaims loudly.
“Excellent!” another girl adds.
“You’re cool, guys!” a man says cheerfully.
Watching the happy people, Edward, Terrence, Daniel, and Peter do not hide their shy smiles and wave their hands at the girl, who sends them an air kiss.
“So, kid, did you think you’d enjoy the fame alone?” Terrence asks with a sly smile, putting his hand on Edward’s shoulder.
“Your brother got too excited when you were dancing here,” Daniel says confidently. “Just like he did when Raquelle paid attention to any man but him.”
“I was gonna call you,” Edward replies quietly.
“Oh, yeah,” Peter chuckles kindly. “You forgot about us and pretended to be a solo artist.”
“Not truth! I didn’t forget!”
“You’ve got a band, kid,” Daniel recalls. “The band that won’t let you go so easily.”
“Do you kind of keep me hostage?”
“Shut up, little rat,” Terrence smiles sweetly, ruffling Edward’s hair. “I’ll deal with you later. I don’t wanna kick your ass in front of everybody. Though, a public punishment would be very good for you.”
“I can give you a little bit of BDSM if you want. The folks are gonna be thrilled if they saw your naked, red ass.”
“Sing again, guys!” the teenage girl begs. “All together!”
“Yes, yes!” a girl encourages funnily. “I am delighted by the way you sound together.”
“C’mon, men, sing again, and we will let you go!” a man working at the café promises confidently.
“So what, will you make the people happy?” a member of the café staff, who shows up out of nowhere with two microphones in his hands and gives them to Daniel and Peter.
Edward, Terrence, Daniel, and Peter look at each other and nod confidently with slight smiles on their faces. And Rose and Perkins take microphones from a member of the café staff, who comes to the laptop after this.
“If we’re asked, we can’t refuse,” Peter says confidently.
“Get ready, folks, because it’s gonna get super hot here,” Daniel promises with his head proudly raised.
“I know one cool song,” Terrence says with a slight smile. “You are surely going to love it.”
Terrence starts singing a cappella of a certain song in the microphone, clicking his fingers and looking confidently at Daniel, Edward, and Peter, who join him a few moments later. The member of the café staff quickly finds the instrumental version, turns it on, and starts to dance along with the crowd. The men aim to move a lot on the scene, interact with each other, and shout out something to shake the people up. At some moment, they get down and start to communicate with the people from the crown. For example, they dance with the girls and play the fool with the men. A little later, Daniel and Peter, as they planned, perform one of their favorite songs along with loud applause from those, who come here, and workers of this café, while Edward and Terrence stand aside and dance with pleasure.
Additionally, the men leave their signatures on some pieces of paper or something else and do not refuse to take a few photos by one or all together. They talk about something with some of them, and someone expresses regret to Perkins due to the bullying that he was put under somehow. But the man smiles slightly and says it’s alright, and he is mad at nobody, claiming that he tries to think about it as rarely as possible.
***
Natalia, Raquelle, Anna, and Helene are walking at one of the best and most expensive shopping centers in search of the best dresses for the bridesmaids and checking out all the stores to examine the goods. Visitors to this center definitely live in luxury because everybody wears good and expensive clothes, many of them carry a lot of shopping bags and rush somewhere alone or with fewer people. Quiet, non-irritating music is playing here, and the members of the staff of the shopping center make sure that everything is clean, and people behave gently.
“Ah, girls, I haven’t been in stores for ages…” Anna says with a slight smile, walking slowly into the shopping center along with her friends. “I got a wish to buy something.”
“These goods are really amazing,” Natalia agrees, looking around with interest. “Gosh, look how beautiful those dresses are! I’d definitely buy the entire store!”
“There’s even a wedding salon here,” Raquelle says with a slight smile, pointing aside with her hand. “They’ve got fantastic dresses in the window.”
“What if we go there later?” Helene suggests. “Natalia and you haven’t picked up anything. Though, you should hurry up.”
“I know what kind of dress I want, but there is no perfection anywhere,” Natalia confesses. “One dress may have what I want and what I don’t want.”
“Yeah, I think we’ll have to make an order for dresses,” Raquelle adds. “So, all our wishes are noticed.”
“And didn’t you like anything when walking in stores?” Anna rounds her eyes.
“I liked one dress in a Greek style and one more…” Natalia confesses. “But it’s not the dress of my dream. Not what I would buy without thinking.”
“Your mother also liked that Greek dress,” Helene notices confidently. “She believed you looked good in it. And I agree with her. That dress is just amazing. I’d be happy to put it on!”
“Yeah, but I’d love to have a dress with a full skirt,” Natalia replies. “I don’t deny it’s magnificent, but I don’t want what you saw.”
“I personally liked the dress with big arms, but I’d add a couple of details to it,” Raquelle confesses.
“To be honest, I don’t like dresses with full skirts and long hems,” Anna confesses shyly. “I’ve always been afraid that someone would step on a hem and tear it apart. Or my shoes with heels would get lost in it. So, I prefer short or long dresses with a straight skirt.”
“I think the brides must put on a dress with a full skirt on their wedding, and we’d look great in dresses that look like the Greek one,” Helene replies thoughtfully with a slight smile.
“I believe we could find something much better,” Natalia replies. “I’m sure that there’s a wonderful assortment of dresses for you two.”
“I can assure you that there are magnificent stores here,” Raquelle says confidently. “They have amazing stuff. Not only evening dresses but also everyday clothes.”
“We don’t doubt it.”
While Helene says it confidently, she, Anna, Natalia, and Raquelle come to the escalator and stand on its stairs.
“I took a note of many beautiful things. I’ll check out all these stores with pleasure. Even if I ain’t sure I could buy them all. Prices are, to be honest, high.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to walk here all day ‘cause there are too many of them,” Raquelle notices cheerfully. “And some stores have more than one floor.”
“Why do we rush, girls?” Anna throws her hand up with a slight smile. “We have a lot of time! We’ll have time to check out everything. Maybe, we’ll buy something for us.”
“Ah, I haven’t bought anything or renewed my wardrobe for ages…” Natalia confesses thoughtfully. “No dress, no shirt…”
“Gosh, Natalia…” Raquelle chuckles kindly while she, Anna, Helene, and Natalia go upstairs, step off the escalator, and keep going where they need to. “Your wardrobe is full! You have no place to keep your clothes!”
“It’s not full!” Natalia protests.
“You’ve never worn half of what you have.”
“Not truth! I’ve put on all my clothes once and worn them for the second, third, and tenth time. Just because I have nothing to wear.”
“Seriously?” Helene wonders. “Rochester, you show up in new clothes every time we meet!”
“You just can’t remember what I wear!” Natalia pulls down her white top made of chiffon that perfectly fits her dark blue denim shorts. “For example, I’ve worn this top several times. And I’ve had these shorts for five or six years.”
“You’ve got so many clothes that we three wouldn’t be able to wear all of them,” Anna notices confidently.
“Yeah,” Raquelle chuckles kindly. “We’d need ten years for that…”
“Edward is gonna have to prepare a large room for Natalia’s clothes at the house where they’re gonna live after the wedding,” Helene laughs shyly.
“I hope he took a note of it, knowing that our friend is a lover of fashion, who doesn’t always wear what she buys,” Anna expresses hope.
“C’mon, girls, stop,” Natalia says shyly, moving a strand of hair off her eyes. “I don’t have so many clothes to free a room for them.”
“At least, my dressing room closes with no problems,” Raquelle smiles cutely.
“Oh, yeah, I don’t have as many cosmetics as you. Eyeshadows, mascaras, eyeliners, highlighters, powder, and foundation of various brands…”
“My cosmetics are old! And something is out of term! I haven’t bought anything new for ages, but I wanna check everything out soon.”
“And I don’t need a full pack of cosmetics, and I don’t like heavy makeup,” Anna confesses shyly. “Just give me a mascara, a powder, a foundation, and an eyeliner, and I’ll be happy.”
“I’d love to add dark eyeshadows to this pack…” Helene says thoughtfully. “I adore dark eyeshadows and smoky eyes.”
“Yeah, I adore smoky eyes, too,” Anna replies with a shy smile. “And I believe we’d look stunning if we had a beautiful hairstyle, put on a good dress, and did this makeup.”
“Ah, we need to choose dresses first…” Raquelle sighs quietly. “And when we find something good, we can reflect on our hair, makeup, and shoes.”
“Exactly!” Natalia jabs cheerfully and points to the side. “Oh, let’s go to that salon! Look how beautiful those dresses are!”
Natalia takes Raquelle and Anna going next to her under their arms and pulls them to the store, while her friends laugh shyly but follow her. When the friends come closer, they look at what they see in the store window with interest. Three female mannequins are demonstrating fantastic red, violet, and blue dresses, in which girls with perfect bodies would look incredible.
“Oh, God, girls, look at these dresses!” Helene gets delighted with a glow in her eyes. “How gorgeous the violet dress is! I’m so in love with it!”
“I like a red one,” Raquelle replies, looking at the red dress in the store windows with a slight smile. “It’s magnificent!”
“I madly love a blue one, but this bright color doesn’t fit me,” Anna says thoughtfully, fixing the strap on her purse placed above her shoulder. “Though, I love blue as much as I love yellow.”
“Why do you think so?” Natalia rounds her eyes and moves them to Anna. “You’d look very good in blue! It would look very unusual with your red hair.”
“I dunno…” Anna moves her eyes aside for a second. “I actually think it would be great if the dresses of the bridesmaids were pastel. Or better some kind of lilac or crème.”
“We’ll try on dresses of all colors and see what fits us better,” Helene replies confidently.
“Okay, beauties, let’s go to the store!” Raquelle suggests cheerfully.
“C’mon, let’s go!” Natalia agrees happily.
After standing in front of the shop window for a few seconds, Natalia, Raquelle, Anna, and Helene enter the salon and start to look around, knocking at the parquet with small heels on their sandals and examining the whole assortment with interest. When the friends enter, they appreciate the fact that this place is so light, comfortable, and spacious and believe that everything is decorated in a royal style. As if they are at a castle. The racks are placed in the salon so that people can walk here quietly, check out all the dresses and themselves in one of the mirrors, sit on a glassy table on the light leather sofa, examine the catalogs with all the available dresses, and choose the jewelry that is available here. There is nobody, but a few clients and the women working here and trying to serve clients very well.
“Oh, God, it’s so good, cold…” Raquelle notices with a slight smile, stopping slowly.
“It’s unbearably hot today,” Helene says thoughtfully. “We should go to a café and buy something cold… Or I’m gonna die…”
“But for a beautiful dress for a bridesmaid, I’m ready to tolerate it,” Anna replies confidently.
“Let’s go then!” Natalia exclaims cheerfully. “Choose any dress you like and go to a dressing room. Raquelle and I will also try to find something for you.”
“Oh, gosh, gosh, there’s so much interesting!” Helene jabs excitedly as she looks around. “I think I’m in paradise.”
“If it’s true, I’m in paradise with you,” Raquelle replies with a slight smile, glances aside, and gets delighted with something with a slightly open mouth. “Wow! What a wonderful dress!”
“I ended up where you are, girls,” Anna laughs shyly.
The friends go to different sides of the store and start to look at every single dress that they see. They sometimes take a hanger with a dress and look at it closely. If they do not like something, they put it aside and check out the others. But if they find some models beautiful, they put them against themselves and look in the mirror to see how they look in them.
“Girls, the dress from the shop window!” Helene exclaims happily, showing a long violet dress after coming to her friends. “It’s more beautiful than it is on a mannequin!”
“And I found a more beautiful one!” Anna admires with a slight smile, taking a dark blue dress with a gold belt and long chiffon sleeves. “Look how beautiful these sleeves are!”
“And look how incredible this one is!” Raquelle pronounces with admiration, putting a long, bright red one-sleeved dress with a belt covered with sparkles against herself and looking at herself in the mirror.
“M-m-m, I’d definitely put on something like this when we start celebrating,” Natalia says thoughtfully, looking at a long white dress with sparkle patches, a décolleté, and sleeves made so that it seems that they have a beautiful chiffon coat or cape.
“Hey, let’s pay attention to a short dress?” Anna suggests and shows her friends a short lilac dress with beautiful sparkle patches on the waist. “I think it’s very cute.”
“Hey, Helene, Anna, you can put on the same sparkle dress and do the same hairstyle,” Raquelle suggests, looking at a sparkle crème long dress with short sleeves with a gloss in her eyes.
“Thanks to this one, we can create a very tender look,” Natalia says confidently, looking at a pale pink dress with open shoulders and chiffon that is so nice to feel. “Do wavy hair, nude makeup, choose beautiful sandals with heels, and put on a wreath made from flowers…”
“Oh, my workmate wore something similar when she was a bridesmaid of her sister,” Helene confesses, looking at a light green dress with open shoulders, short sleeves made of chiffon, and an incision on a skirt.
“Very cute dress,” Raquelle approves with a slight smile. “What if we take a note of this dress?”
“Gosh, girls, I got lost!” Anna exclaims, looking at a dress and putting it in its place. “I don’t know what to choose! Everything is so beautiful!”
“I also got lost in this beauty,” Raquelle confesses, looking around the whole store. “Too hard to choose…”
“Let’s just pick up all the dresses we like and try them on,” Natalia suggests quietly. “And if we like something too much, you’ll find the same one and try it on.”
“Well, this one may seem too simple and modest to you,” Helene assumes hesitantly, showing her friends a light blue dress with straps and a closed front.
“Listen, maybe, let’s just choose a color, and every one of us chooses any kind of dress that she likes?” Anna suggests.
“I think you should better try on everything you like, and then we’ll choose a color,” Natalia replies confidently. “What if someone doesn’t fit the color we choose.”
“Well, I picked up a couple of ones that I wanna put on…” Helene replies thoughtfully.
“And I found something beautiful,” Anna says with a slight smile.
Helene, Anna, Natalia, and Raquelle come to the rack with many beautiful dresses and start to look at all of them with a greater interest. At some moment, a young girl with short, blonde curls wearing an elegant black knee-level dress comes to them and smiles gently.
“Hello, girls,” the girl greets gently, locking her fingers tightly. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, we are looking for dresses for a wedding ceremony,” Natalia replies with a slight smile. “Can you help us choose the best?”
“Of course, we have a great choice of wonderful dresses for anyone. For whom are you looking for dresses?”
“For bridesmaids.”
“As I understand, are these girls your friends?”
“She is a fiancé, too,” Natalia says confidently with a slight smile, pointing at Raquelle.
“Good. Then tell me about your wishes: color, type, length, additional accessories…”
“You know… I wouldn’t like to make my friends put on pale dresses. I want something bright…”
“I think the purple, blue, or red dress would look incredible,” Raquelle adds.
“Do you want to see your friends in long or short dresses?” the seller specifies.
“Better, long, but we can choose a color, and my friends can choose any type they like.”
“Alright, girls, which colors do you prefer?” the girl asks, moving her eyes to Helene and Anna.
“I would be happy to wear a dress of a violet color or any shade of it,” Helene replies confidently. “I don’t care about its length.”
“And I really like yellow and blue,” Anna says thoughtfully. “I took a note about one amazing bright blue dress, but I don’t think I will look good in it.”
“Why not?” the girl wonders truly. “You would look very good in blue. As well as your friends.”
“I don’t know… I’m… Not sure…”
“Listen, miss, if you mean the dress that you can see in the shop window, I advise you to try it on. It’s really gorgeous: you and your friend would not outshine the brides, but would not get lost.”
“Erm…” Anna comes to the rack, on which she found the dress, and takes the blue one with a hanger. “I meant this one.”
“Yes, yes, I meant it,” the girl nods confidently with admiration in her eyes. “I advise you to try it on. I’m sure that you will be gorgeous in it.”
“Say, do you have the same dress in various colors?” Natalia asks thoughtfully.
“Yes, you’re very lucky! We have the same dress in different colors. The colors that your friends love.”
“Awesome!” Raquelle exclaims with a slight smile.
“Oh, show them, please,” Helene says.
“One second,” the seller nods.
The seller, knocking with her heels, goes further, while Anna keeps looking at the dress with sadness in her eyes.
“Hey, Anna, why don’t you wanna try this dress on?” Natalia wonders. “It’s amazing!”
“It’s really incredible,” Anna replies hesitantly. “I’m just not sure… I will look beautiful if I try it on… I… I actually doubt I’ll look good in any of these dresses…”
“Gosh, Anna, what you’re talking about!” Raquelle exclaims with pity in her eyes. “You’re gonna be a beauty in any dress!”
“I don’t know, Raquelle…” Anna sighs heavily. “I doubt me, my beauty… And I actually doubt everything…”
“Anna, darling, please, don’t say it,” Helene says softly, hugging Anna around the shoulders. “You’re very beautiful and sympathetic. Ask our men! And they all will say you’re a beauty.”
“Honestly… I don’t actually wanna pick up any dress… I’d be happy to come to the wedding in an old and simple dress.”
“Sweetie, please, don’t say these things,” Natalia begs with pity in her eyes, hugging Anna and caressing her cheek. “We understand why you think so. But believe us, you’re not the one. You only deserve the best.”
“How can I forget those horrible things so fast?” Anna swallows up nervously. “I was tortured and insulted for such a long time… I was told many times that I could do nothing and shouldn’t have lived in this world. It sounded so true that I really believed it.”
“You’ll no longer hear those things,” Raquelle replies softly and confidently and takes Anna’s hands. “The girls, the men, your parents, and I will not say a bad word about you. And if someone dares to do it, we will deal with that person. We won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“I know…” Anna cracks a slight smile. “But… I don’t know… It’s still disgusting for me to look in the mirror. Because I see the worthless and ugly gal.”
“It’s okay, honey, you’ll overcome it,” Helene promises with a slight smile. “These things can’t be forgotten for one day. And we’ll be next to you, so you believe in yourself again.”
“Do you think I can do this?”
“Of course, you can! It’s gonna get better soon. Just listen to us, and we’ll often remind you that you’re beautiful and talented.”
“Thank you…” Anna smiles shyly. “Thank you so much, girls. You’ve always been amazingly kind to me.”
“Listen, girls, let’s not talk about bad things,” Natalia suggests confidently. “It’s a bad time to think of what happened! I’m about to get married, but nothing is done yet!”
“You’re right, friend,” Raquelle agrees and looks aside. “Oh, the seller is bringing our dresses!”
Meanwhile, the seller comes to the friends, holding two gorgeous dresses looking the same as the one that Anna has in her hands, but they are red and violet.
“Gosh, this dress is more beautiful than the blue one!” Raquelle admires with a gloss in her eyes, closing her mouth with a hand.
“Just stunning!” Helene exclaims with a wide smile.
“These models would fit you two,” the seller replies amicably. “Take them, girls.”
“So…” Anna stutters, biting her lip and looking at the blue dress. “I will try on this dress.”
“I will try on this beauty with great pleasure,” Helene says confidently.
“Me too,” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“Alright, let’s go to a dressing room,” the girl replies gently. “Our staffers will help you.”
The consultant calls two more girls, brings Anna and Helene to dressing rooms that are placed in the corner, and leaves them. Natalia and Raquelle stay here to wait for their friends and just look at dresses and put them against themselves, looking in the mirror. They get so busy with it that they do not notice how the seller, who talked to them and her friends, comes to her.
“Thinking of your wedding?” the girl asks amicably.
“Erm…” Natalia gets a little confused, clears her throat quietly, and turns to the seller, whom she shyly smiles at. “Yeah… About it…”
“Are you two going to get married?”
“Yeah, on the same day,” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“Wow! My gosh… A double wedding.”
“Yeah, early or late, fate may lead us to wonderful people, who we’d like to spend our whole life with,” Natalia notices. “And once, I met the best man in the world, whom I love so much.”
“When I met my soon-to-be husband, we didn’t get along well and fought like cats and dogs,” Raquelle confesses shyly. “But this hate slowly turned to love. A strong love.”
“Your eyes shine with a special gloss when you mention your men,” the seller notices.
“Our men are our everything,” Natalia notices. “A part of our souls… Half of us. I had never met a more amazing man than my soon-to-be husband. If he had come into my life much earlier, I would’ve already been married.”
“You’re right,” Raquelle agrees. “Anyway, I’m really happy I’m going to have a wedding soon. I’m glad I’m getting married now.”
“Honestly, I even lost hope at some moment and thought I’d never get married,” Natalia adds shyly. “Men needed me just to use me. Nobody treated me seriously. Nobody but my fiancé.”
“By the way, did you choose a wedding dress?” the seller asks. “Did you come up with your look?”
“I have some thoughts about how I want to look. But I haven’t chosen a dress yet.”
“I can’t also choose anything,” Raquelle confesses. “As it turned out, it’s much harder than I thought.”
“I know,” the seller smiles shyly. “A wedding is a very exciting moment. Anyone wants to look stunning and foresee everything.”
“You’re right.” Natalia looks around the whole store with a slight smile. “By the way, your store is wonderful. So many beautiful dresses that my eyes run on sides.”
“Oh, everything you see here is half of our assortment,” the seller replies cheerfully. “We have many models in a storage room. And you can order many dresses from our catalogs.”
“Really?” Raquelle wonders. “Can we look at the catalogs, while our friends are trying on dresses?”
“Of course, let’s sit down.”
The seller brings Natalia to the soft, spacious leather sofa and makes a gesture to let the girl sit down, and they do it with great pleasure, putting their purses near themselves.
“By the way, do you want to drink something?” the girl asks. “Tea? Coffee? Sweet water?”
“Oh, no, thanks,” Natalia refuses gently.
“Yeah, thanks,” Raquelle pronounces amicably.
“Alright, but let me know if you change your mind,” the seller nods. “Here are the catalogs…”
The seller gives Natalia and Raquelle a few glossy catalogs with models of dresses and sits next to them. The girls take all of them and open the first page of one of them.
“Wow, what a beautiful patch!” Natalia admires, viewing the photo of a crème dress with sleeves and a wonderful patch with beads.
“And I like this one,” the girl confesses, showing a magnificent dress with a satin belt and a long multilayer skirt made of chiffon.
“It has such beautiful sleeves. It seems like there is a cape above them.”
“And this one is kind of simple, but so beautiful and elegant,” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“My mother would love it.”
“Sure.”
“Oh, gosh, diamonds and sparkles are my weakness,” Natalia confesses with a slight smile. “When I see something sparkly on clothes, I can’t leave it unnoticed. I can easily buy it, even if I don’t need it.”
“Sparkles look very unusual on dresses,” the seller replies amicably. “I think your friends also like the same things because they put an eye on a dress with sparkle patches.”
“They do, but not as much as she,” Raquelle says.
“Oh, yeah, I am a huge fan of them!” Natalia exclaims. “I could easily put on a lot of sparkly and bright clothes, but I understand it would be tasteless.”
“Say, do your friends treat different types of dresses in the same way? Maybe, someone prefers a revealing or closed one?”
“No, we all sometimes love putting on something sexual,” Raquelle confesses.
“Sometimes we may all have a playful mood,” Natalia adds.
“But I must confess that she and I love showing the best parts of our bodies much more than our friends.”
“So, do you not suffer from insecurity about your body?” the seller specifies.
“Nope, I’ve always thought my body is perfect, and many people often say it,” Natalia replies confidently. “Besides, I can show my dignity very well.”
“And I think I’m beautiful,” Raquelle confesses. “I’ve got a beautiful body that I’m not ashamed to look at.”
“The most important thing is that your men approve of your style and don’t try to make you wear closed clothes. You know, sometimes they may be too jealous!”
“No, come on!” Natalia laughs shyly. “Our men would be thrilled if we wore something sexual! They always feel as proud as roosters when they see us wear something like that.”
“So, are you lucky?”
“Yup, thank God. The girls and I love feeling sexy and confident.”
“And we’re lucky our men don’t usually get jealous of us or start a scandal for some clothes, which they think is bad,” Raquelle adds.
“Yes, every one of us wears something too sexy only for our men. But we don’t close ourselves from head to foot, so another man does not look at us.”
“Great,” the seller nods confidently. “I believe girls must feel attractive at any time. Age and status of a married woman are not the reasons to wear closed clothes and give a damn about you.”
“The girls and I always try to look good and attractive for our men and us.”
“It’s nice to look in the mirror and see a beautiful and desired girl,” Raquelle smiles slightly. “And… it’s nice when men notice it and make compliments for us.”
“It’s clear that your friends care about them because they all look very beautiful. “They have very good bodies. No matter what kind of dress they wear, they’d look gorgeous anyway.”
“Yeah, but we should work out before the wedding, so our dresses fit our figures amazingly.”
“I personally scheduled the extreme workout for a few weeks before the wedding,” Natalia says confidently.
“No, miss, you don’t have to torture yourself,” the seller smiles shyly. “Your body is wonderful and very feminine. You don’t want your future husband to get horrified at feeling all your ribs.”
“Yeah, I got wonderful genes and am very lucky to have this body,” Natalia smiles shyly. “But even in this case, I need to watch it closely.”
The seller smiles shyly and examines the catalogs of dresses along with Natalia and Raquelle, discussing every one of them with pleasure. And two minutes later, they hear a few pairs of heels knocking quietly. The staffers of the store are returning, and Anna is following them in the long blue dress with gold patches and a little décolleté and holding its hem.
“Oh, here’s the first look!” the seller exclaims cheerfully with a slight smile. “Let me look at you.”
The seller gets up from the sofa, comes to Anna, and fixes something quickly on it. While Natalia and Raquelle put all the catalogs aside, stand up and look at their friend with admiration in their eyes.
“God, Anna, you’re such a beauty!” Natalia gets delighted truly.
“I didn’t know a blue color fit you so well!” Raquelle adds with a wide smile.
“Do I really look good?” Anna asks super hesitantly.
“You’re gorgeous, miss!” the seller exclaims with delight in her eyes and slightly tucks the long hem of Anna’s dress under her. “This type of dress fits you perfectly!”
“Friend, you’re adorable!” Natalia exclaims with a gloss in her eyes and closes her mouth with both hands.
“If Helene looked as magnificent as you in it, I’d love you all to put on this one,” Raquelle says.
“Yeah, but it’s too long for me,” Anna complains, raising the hem of the dress. “I can clean all the floors and streets with this hem.”
“You can easily shorten it for your height,” the seller notices.
“By the way, a golden headband with flowers would fit this dress very well,” another seller notices. “And if you actually pick up jewelry, it must be only gold. A mix of blue and gold is incredible!”
“Yes, we have this headband!” the third seller exclaims. “I will show it to you now.”
The girl turns around on her high heels and goes quietly to find what she needs, while Anna does not stop looking at her dress hesitantly and feeling uncomfortable.
“Look in the mirror, darling,” Natalia suggests confidently, hugging Anna by the shoulders. “Look how beautiful you are.”
Natalia brings Anna to the mirror, in which the red-haired girl looks at herself from head to foot. And at some moment, she understands that her friends are absolutely right and do not lie to her when they say this dress fits her so well.
“You know…” Anna pronounces with a slight smile. “It’s really magnificent… I like it very much.”
“By the way, your friends can take the same dress and try it on, so the brides can see how you two look in one dress,” one of the sellers suggests.
“I’m definitely taking a note about this dress,” Natalia confesses thoughtfully, stroking her chin.
“Yeah, it’s fantastic,” Raquelle notices.
At this moment, the seller with an amazingly beautiful headband with golden flowers and petals that she carefully puts on Anna’s head. Also, she makes the girl’s ponytail more fluffy and puts her hair on the shoulder. Then the red-haired girl appreciates these changes and smiles wider at her reflection in the mirror.
“Gosh, friend, you’re so beautiful,” Natalia gets delighted with a wide smile.
“And you say you doubt yourself!” Raquelle exclaims. “Look how good and sympathetic you are!”
“If you don’t want to put anything on your head, try to pay attention to massive gold earrings and a necklace,” the seller of the store suggests.
“No, it’s good now,” Anna replies with a slight smile. “We can only pick up small earrings and a necklace.”
“I think so,” Natalia agrees confidently, fixing Anna’s hair slightly.
“This girl would look very cute if she had her hair down,” the seller, who gave the golden headband, notices with a slight smile. “Your friend looks like a doll with such a pretty face. And this look expresses it much more.”
“Thanks,” Anna smiles shyly.
Everybody discusses Anna’s look for a few seconds, while she starts to feel better and better thanks to such nice words about her. And a little later, Helene comes confidently to the others, wearing a violet dress. By her appearance, she makes everybody pay attention to her and makes them nicely surprised.
“Wow, Helene…” Anna gets delighted with a slight smile, closing her mouth with both hands.
“Gosh, Marshall, you’re a cutie!” Natalia exclaims happily.
“You look awesome in this dress, miss,” the seller smiles shyly.
“I really love it, too,” Helene replies confidently with a wide smile, looking at herself from head to foot. “The magnificent color and amazing model. And the dress is so nice to touch.”
“It fits your body so well,” Raquelle admires, looking at Helene from all sides with a slight smile. “I like it so much.”
After looking at them in the mirror, Helene moves her eyes to Anna and smiles widely, getting delighted with the way she looks.
“Anna, darling!” Anna exclaims with admiration. “Gosh… You’re such a beauty!”
“Thanks, friend, I like it, too,” Anna thanks shyly with a slight smile, turning around with a hem in her hand. “You’re beautiful, too. This dress fits you so well.”
“You love these colors for a reason, girls,” the seller says amicably.
“So, I guess we've got a problem…” Natalia replies thoughtfully, embracing herself with both arms. “I don’t know what color of dress my bridesmaids should have.”
“Indeed!” Raquelle agrees. “You’re both so beautiful… And these dresses are incredible…”
“Listen, girls, let’s pick up a few more dresses, so you can try them on,” one of the sellers suggests.
“Yes, choose!” another seller exclaims and looks around the whole store. “What about those?”
The seller quickly finds dresses that she wants, takes them from the rack, and shows them to the girls. One of them is long, pale pink, and one-sleeved, with a gold belt covered with diamonds on the waist. The other is also long, but it’s lilac, with a deep décolleté, silver patches on its sides, and short sleeves made of transparent chiffon.
“Or try this one on,” the third seller suggests. “I really like it.”
The third seller finds not a less amazing chiffon sleeveless blue-green dress with a deep décolleté and a silver belt placed crosswise above the shoulder like a shawl.
“I think I’ll try on this pink one,” Anna decides with a slight smile.
“And I’ll try on a blue-green one,” Helene says.
The girls take the dresses to try them on, and Anna carefully takes off the gold headband and gives it to the one, who found it.
“By the way, I have some ideas for jewelry and accessories,” one of the sellers confesses. “When you’re back, I will show them.”
Anna and Helene go to dressing rooms with slight smiles, and Natalia and Raquelle with the sellers, one of whom comes to the glassy window and starts to look for what she needs.
“Oh, gosh, I never thought getting ready for the wedding would be so hard,” Natalia sighs quietly, fixing her hair with a slight smile.
“Yeah, I thought it would be much easier,” Raquelle confesses. “But getting ready for the wedding is much harder than reflecting on the answer to the question, ‘Will you marry me?’”
“For such an important day in your life, you can overcome anything,” one of the sellers replies confidently.
“Excuse me for my curiosity, but how long have you been dating your men?” the seller asks, putting some jewelry aside.
“My fiancé and I have been dating for a little more than one year,” Natalia confesses.
“And I’ve been dating my fiancé for two and a half years,” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“But we’ve experienced so much that sometimes I think we’ve been together all our life.”
“It’s kind of little, as I think!” the seller exclaims. “Someone may date for a few years before a wedding.”
“I knew I wanted to get married to that man at the beginning of our relationship,” Natalia confesses with a slight smile, looking and fixing her engagement ring. “Really! I would’ve married him much earlier because I was absolutely sure my man was by my side.”
“My fiancé and I had a conflict that was the reason why we almost broke up,” Raquelle says thoughtfully, twirling her engagement ring. “We didn’t appreciate our relationship a lot and weren’t close. But after splitting up once, we realized we couldn’t live without each other.”
“So, if you are sure about it, it’s alright,” the seller smiles shyly.
“The fact that your future husbands are what you were looking for is clear,” the seller notices confidently. “You have a smile on your face when you hear the word ‘husband.’ No need to call your partner’s name! You light up at the mention of his future status.”
“Maybe…” Natalia smiles shyly. “It’s hard for me to explain everything I feel. But I can surely say I feel very comfortable with that man.”
“I don’t find him a stranger,” Raquelle confesses. “He’s so close to me… I’m attracted to him and can’t imagine my life without him.”
“And I’m not afraid to start a new stage of my life next to him.”
“I wish everyone found the same kind of love,” the seller expresses hope with a wide smile, standing near the windows.
“I wish.”
While the sellers put the coffee table placed near the sofa in order, sweep the floor, and hang on some dresses that clients threw before leaving the store, Raquelle and Natalia pay attention to jewelry in a glassy window placed in a special place. The girls see so many different assessors: gold and silver, modest and snazzy, light and massive. A lot of earrings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, headbands, and many other interesting and amazingly beautiful things that they look at with slight smiles.
“Did you like jewelry?” the seller asks after coming to Natalia and Raquelle.
“Yes, they are so amazing,” Natalia nods with a shy smile.
“I would buy something for me…” Raquelle confesses.
“If you like something, I will show it to you,” the seller promises.
“Yes…” Natalia nods. “Show me that pendant with a heart, please.”
“One second.”
The seller slightly pulls the handle on herself, takes the silver with a heart, and gives it to Natalia, who puts it on her neck and looks in the small mirror placed near the window.
“Simple but very cute,” Natalia says with a slight smile.
“Let me look,” Raquelle says, takes the necklace from Natalia, and puts it against herself. “Wow, very cute!”
“You know, I have an idea,” the seller says thoughtfully. “You could make a gift. Why don’t you gift every one of them a necklace or a modest bracelet?”
“Yeah, we’ve been thinking about it…”
“We’d really love to thank them,” Natalia says confidently. “For the years we’ve been friends.”
“If you want, I can put aside this pendant or something else,” the seller suggests. “So, you can come here without your friends.”
“Yes, be nice to do it, please,” Raquelle says. “We will come somewhere the next week or a little later.”
“Alright.”
“Erm…” Natalia looks through the window and pays attention to a modest golden bracelet with an infinity sign and a couple of small diamonds. “And that bracelet with an infinity sign, too…”
“Alright, miss,” the seller nods with a slight smile.
Raquelle takes off the pendant and gives it to the seller, who takes the golden bracelet, closes the window, and puts these things in another place. And one or and a half minutes later, Helene and Anna, return to the room, carrying the hems of the dresses that they are wearing now.
“Oh, gosh, girls, you’re all so beautiful,” Natalia gets truly delighted, closing her mouth with a wide smile.
“These dresses look much better than the previous ones,” Raquelle smiles widely.
“You two are beautiful,” the seller smiles shyly.
“I like this one, too,” Anna replies, fixing the hem of her pale pink dress with a slight smile. “At least, it doesn’t have a long hem.”
“And this one makes me feel like a princess,” Helene confesses with admiration in her eyes, looking at herself in the mirror and turning round so that her chiffon shirt twists beautifully. “If I do my hair and makeup and put on jewelry, I will surely be incredible.”
“This dress would look much better if you had your hair up,” Raquelle notices, taking Helene’s hair brushed into a ponytail up.
“As well as this one,” Natalia adds, raising Anna’s hair, too.
“By the way, I have picked up some jewelry for your dresses,” the seller says confidently.
The seller gives jewelry to the girls after taking it from the glossy window, and two more sellers help them put it on. Helene is delighted by a silver necklace with hanging gems and a thin headband with leaves of the same color on her head. And these two things perfectly fit the small silver earrings in her ears. And Anna really likes massive gold earrings shining beautifully in the light, a thin bracelet, and a hair clip with a big flower. It makes her more beautiful and completes the look of this cute red-haired girl with a baby face.
“Wow, you picked up excellent assessors!” Natalia gets truly delighted. “The girls are so beautiful!”
“I think these dresses look much better than the previous ones,” the seller notices with a slight smile. “They’re kind of made for your friends.”
“I agree with you,” Helene replies thoughtfully, looking at herself in the mirror from all sides.
“You know…” Anna pronounces shyly, turning around several times with a slight smile. “Sometimes you literally become a different person after putting on something new. Beautiful…”
“Sometimes new clothes help us get through stress and put a start to some changes,” one of the sellers notices.
“Yeah, but you should keep your clothes far from pets just in case,” Helene says thoughtfully. “For example, dogs. These dresses must be kept under lock and key.”
“Yeah, I agree,” another seller laughs shyly.
“Do you have a doggy or a cat?” the third seller asks.
“I have a dog,” Helene confesses. “He’s lately been too restless, and I’m worried that it’s going to be hard for me to keep a dress safe until the wedding day.”
“Don’t worry, Helene, we will find a solution,” Natalia promises with a slight smile.
“You should care about it later,” the seller notices confidently. “And now your most important thing is choosing a wedding dress and dresses for the bridesmaids.”
“Choosing something after trying on two dresses is too early,” one of the sellers says. “You should try on a lot of dresses to pick up what you need.”
“Oh, maybe, I should try on this one?” Anna asks, taking a long tender blue dress with a sparkly top. “I think it’s very cute.”
“Or pay attention to short dresses…” Raquelle adds thoughtfully, seeing a turquoise sleeveless knee-level dress with a little décolleté.
“Or add some sparkles to our look,” Helene suggests, taking a hanger with a sparkle crème dress with short sleeves and an open back.
“Erm, and try on this one,” Natalia suggests, showing her friends a short gray one-sleeved dress lined with edges made of chiffon frills, a thin belt on the waist, and an asymmetrical chiffon skirt.
“And this one!” Raquelle exclaims, seeing an unbelievably beautiful violet one-sleeve dress in the form of a mermaid tall with silver patches on its top.
“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Natalia exclaims.
Natalia and Raquelle quickly pick up some dresses, while Helene and Anna chose something else. The sellers nod slightly to approve the choice of the girls, who put an eye on different types of dresses of different colors, and send Anna and Helene to try them on, while Natalia and Raquelle are impatiently waiting for them, sitting in a comfortable armchair, and agreeing to drink a cold sweet drink one of the sellers offers them. And some time later, the girls start turning around in front of the mirror in stunning dresses, getting a lot of compliments. Considering all of this a way to have some fun, the friends walk into the store like models on a runway, making the sellers and some clients smile shyly and clap their hands and trying not to think about everything that they had to experience in the past few weeks.
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