Rina stayed silent again. Expelling a deep sigh, Evonne went to hug her friend. "Look, I respect you, Rina, and if you want to keep it to yourself for now, then that's fine too.
We just want you to know you have us," Evonne said, hugging her friend. She knew the feeling, having refused to speak up when people bullied her when she was young.
Evonne didn't want to pressure her friend into confessing anything until she was ready. "We'll stay by your side no matter what happened," Rosa added. "And we'll give you our undivided attention."
"Yes, when the time comes, we'll all be here for you," Evonne said. " James included."
"Thank you, guys. I love you so much." Rina hugged both of her friends. Somehow it would be a long time yet before she could tell her friends what she had been storing in this heart of hers.
But it wasn't the time yet, and she prayed it would never come, hoping and wishing she would never have to face that moment, hoping and wishing this feeling within her heart would one day fade away.
"I miss my parents," she finally said, just to stop their curiosity for now. "I miss them too. Just know we'll always be there for you," Evonne said. "Same here." And then they all went into a little emotional downpour, with tears and snot mixed. Three boxes of Kleenex later, Rina finally broke the silence.
"Enough about me. I can't wait to see who's first on your dating list," Rina said, jumping to the laptop. Rosa followed, sitting on the other side. "
There's a list of potential suitors already?' Rina eyed the screen. Evonne, interested now and eager to see that list, squeezed herself between her two friends. She looked at the different profiles of the many males on display.
"They sure matched it fast," Evonne exclaimed at the staggering number that appeared on the screen. "Life is all about living in the fast lane now," Rosa said. "Here, let's see. Mmm, looks impressive." "That one looks nice. Pleasant, with glasses," Rina suggested, pointing to a man with mousy brown hair.
"What's his name, Lia or something?" "No, too dorky. He needs to be professional-looking. I don't want Evonne's man to be dorky," Rosa said. "Well, how about this one? He seems nice." Rina pointed to another profile on the screen.
"Rina, you can't judge if someone is nice or not by their looks," Rosa said. "But you just judged that man by his looks. You said he was dorky," Rina countered. "Okay, I'm sorry," Rosa apologized.
"Enough, you two. It's my man we're looking for. He needs to be attractive to me. Not you two," Evonne shouted at both of them. She was getting a headache again.
Dear heaven, all this talk about babies and partners was draining her energy. "Okay, okay. Calm down, Evonne," they both said. They both knew when Evonne got mad not to go near her.
It was like a gentle pig transforming into a wild boar right in front of their eyes. "Now we just have to wait until tomorrow to see which one they pair you with first," Rina said simply, sitting back to watch the laptop screen as more profiles popped up.
"Yes," Evonne said, looking forward to her very first date with the man that could potentially be the father of her baby… and maybe more. She was looking forward to tomorrow indeed.