"He already left. Tonight is the last wake. He is so busy with tomorrow's funeral. Poor Joseph, he barely sleeps for the past 2 days now", Cecilia continued.
"Hi, big sister Christine"
"Hi Christine"
Claire and Jolo said at the same time.
"Hello. How are you, Claire?" Christine smiled and gave Claire a kiss on the cheeks.
"I felt sad and I miss you", Claire said. They did not see each other right after the incident. What happened was so sudden that until now, she felt like it was just a dream. Christine felt guilty for hiding in her room for the past 2 days.
"I am sorry and I miss you too", Christine said and gave her a hug. She looked at Jolo who just smiled at her. She felt relieved. She needs to talk to Jolo and explain what happened to him. Jolo seemed to have read her mind and said: "We need to eat first and we can talk later".
"Okay", Christine nodded.
They went ahead and ate silently. It felt so weird.
After dinner, they spent a few minutes in the garden while Claire was taken by one of the nannies to her bed. She needs to sleep early for tomorrow's funeral.
"Were you able to visit the wake"? Jolo asked
"No. I don't think it's appropriate for me to go?" she replied.
"Why would you say that?" Jolo was taken aback by her reply. Although she only stayed for a few years in D City before, people knew about her and they are expecting her to show up. It will not look good if she won't. People definitely wonder and start talking. They are in a small city with people who almost know each other.
"I am partly responsible for how she died. People will speculate that I did it because of what happened in the past", she explained. She could not stand the accusing stares of the people.
Jolo felt sorry for her. He once again felt guilty for being silent in the past. He should have taken responsibility before instead of her. He was just so scared of Joseph and his mother. He was so young then and he made poor decisions.
"Oh, Christine", he tapped his forehead.
"I know you did not have anything to do with what happened", he was sure of it because if not, Joseph would have done something to get it straight.
"I know. My conscience is clear. I just don't want to cause any trouble for you and Joseph. My presence has stirred a lot of attention already. What if the media will pick it up? You know how that works", she said. She has already made quite a name in the modeling industry and it's not far-fetched if this is going to blow up.
"Joseph took care of it. The police report was clear, it was an accident", he assured her.
"Uggh", she grunted.
"Be ready in 15 minutes and we shall go", Jolo said. His words are firm and he doesn't want to take no for an answer.
"Jolo", but her protest landed on deaf ears as Jolo had already turned around and left her. She shrugged her shoulders and decided to go back to her room.
She hesitated but decided to go. Anyway, she doesn't have to explain herself to anyone. She can just be there and keep a low profile. She decided to wear a white cotton shirt and paired it with black jeans that hugged her figure perfectly. She put her hair into a messy bun. She applied loose powder to her face and a little lipstick on her lips. When she was satisfied with her look, she took her pouch, her black jacket, and a baseball cap. She heard a knock on the door.
She opened the door and there was Jolo. He looked dashing in a white shirt and a black leather jacket over it with tattered dark blue jeans. She chuckled.
"What's funny?" he asked while wrinkling his brows.
"Are we going to dance?" She said.
Jolo looked at her and then at his outfit before bursting into a laugh. She was also laughing already. They looked like they were wearing couple shirts.
The atmosphere between them lightened up. She really misses this side of Jolo, he is such a happy soul and easy to be with. Jolo took her hand and they walked holding hands down the stairs. They crossed the living room toward the front door, still holding their hands. Midway there, the door of the office opened and Joseph came out followed by Cecilia. His eyes went directly to their locked hands and his face became dark, his fist is clenched as if he wanted to punch someone.
Christine saw his reaction but it was so quick that she thought it was just her imagination. She tried to let go of Jolo's hand but Jolo is not letting it go. She looked at his profile but he seems normal.
"Hey bro, we are going to the funeral house, are you going?" he casually said. He was satisfied with how Joseph reacted earlier even though it was so quick no one might have noticed.
"Yes. Let's take my car", he said and walked past them to the door. He stopped, just stood there but then continued to walk after a few seconds.
Christine and Jolo looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. They followed him to his car. Jolo sat on the passenger seat while Christine sat at the back. It was Joseph who opened the door for her and she silently hopped in the car and the door was closed. Joseph went to the driver's side and started to drive.
There is frosty air inside the car. Nobody wanted to talk. Joseph was focused on driving but would occasionally look at the rearview mirror. Jolo was also silent all the way to the funeral house. Christine felt so awkward but she definitely did not want to start a conversation with Joseph after what happened earlier the day with Donna. He seemed to have despised her more after that. She let out a deep sigh which was heard by both Joseph and Jolo.
"Wow, that was heavy", Jolo finally broke the silence. While Joseph just looked at her through the rearview mirror which he did since they got into the car.
"You're gonna do just fine Christine, relax, I got you", he turned towards her and smiled.
"You better keep me away from Donna", she caught Joseph looking at her in the rearview mirror and she looked at him provocatively.