Working with Adrien in the evening cleared my mind a little. It was talks and laughs along the work, he was a perfect work partner, I thought. I felt comfortable working with him as he understood what I wanted to convey. Adding onto all that came his creativity too, I felt that he knew what he was doing, Hans did a great job taking him in anyways.
"Since it's a short story collection, why don't we add small details into each story." he brought up another suggestion.
"What do you mean by small details?" I asked as I looked at him.
"Like, some illustration that would have some significance to each story, or, like a small symbol."
"And where do you plan to keep that small symbol or illustration?"
"Well,... like this..." he showed me as he scribbled a small bird figure at one of the sample books.
I just looked at the small figure, and it made me smile, I looked at him, "okay." I said.
He smiled and started nodding.
I just chuckled, and he just looked at me and started laughing along. Suddenly he reached to my face, which made me naturally avoid by moving backward. I looked at him puzzled as if to ask, 'What are you doing?'. He just smiled back and took his hand away gradually,
"There's something here." he said pointing out now.
"Oh, should've known." I said as I quickly tried to remove whatever was on my face.
"It's still there" he said staring at me.
I just took out my phone and looked into the camera to find a small chocolate stain right beside my lips. I quickly wiped it off and was about to leave my phone away again when I saw the time on the display. It was already half past seven in the evening.
"Oh, my! It's so late, already." I said in surprise.
"Oh, it's already seven past." Adrien said in more detail.
"Don't you want to go home?" I asked him.
"I could stay a little more if we are going to work more." he said to which I quickly shook my head and said that I couldn't.
"I need to go." I said as I stood up. "Let's complete the rest tomorrow."
I was in a hurry that I left Adrien in his office and was already going back to my office to get my things. Once I was in my office, collecting all my things to hurry back home, I received a call. It was Miles, I quickly answered it.
"Mom, are you busy?" he asked over the phone.
"I was, ... I'm coming home now. Did you have your dinner?"
"Not yet, I was waiting for you."
"You go ahead to have your dinner, I'm still in the office. Did dad come back?" I ask.
"No, he hasn't yet."
"Okay then. I'll see you soon. Have dinner."
"I'll just wait for you." Miles said ending the call.
I was about to convince him again to have dinner without us, but I already knew that he was going to wait for me and Dave anyways. I packed all my belongings and came out of work to go home. On my way home, I was again reminded of how I was still bound to work on the genre I was forcefully given, and it brought in to my realization of what Hans had told me earlier too. I began questioning myself again, whether I really was stuck at one point and couldn't figure out a way to come out of my own pitfall.
It bothered me so much to even think of it all, I just swung my head and tried to forget all that was troubling. It might be avoiding problems, but it was troubling me too much, I wanted to avoid pondering on such thoughts.
In the midst of avoiding my thoughts I suddenly wondered when Dave would be coming, and that's right when I remembered of my promise to him in the morning. The notebook with the lyrics.
I had completely forgotten about it. I forgot to go home early and to look for it as I had told him that I would after work. I rummaged my bag right beside me on the other seat for my phone with one hand while driving, I found it and quickly dialed Dave.
I waited for him to answer, but there was no answer. I tried dialing again, but there was no hope once again. Maybe he is busy I thought and decided to go home as soon I could.
...
As soon as I was home, I quickly hurried to the basement. Marta followed me as she heard me come in.
"Ma'am?" Marta followed me. I just continued my way to the basement.
"Are you looking for something?" Marta kept on asking as I went from peeking into one shelf to another in the basement. I stopped for a while and wondered where it might be, the notebook.
"Have you seen a wooden box?" I asked as I couldn't seem to see one.
"Wooden box ma'am?"
"Yes, a storage box, old. Haven't you seen one?" I asked as I still look for it around the space.
"I can't remember seeing one." Marta said in reply.
I kept looking for it with Marta, but I couldn't seem to find the box nor the notebook. The basement was full of things we used from time to time, didn't, and used to use. How much harder we looked we couldn't find. Right then I was reminded of Miles.
"Miles!" I said aloud.
"Miles, said he was going to wait for you ma'am to have dinner." said Marta.
"Exactly, how could I forget it. Oh my goodness, what is wrong with me these days." I said aloud and told Marta to hurry and go to heat the food. She rushed off of the basement. I also thought of giving up looking for the notebook for the day and followed Marta after some time.
As I came out of the basement, I went up to call Miles down to have dinner. I entered his room to find him sleeping on his desk upon some open work books. I slowly made him wake up and told him to come down to have dinner. He nodded, sleepy with his eyes slightly open.
I went down after calling Miles, when I heard a car come in. It might be Dave I thought. Marta rushed out as I came down the staircase. I waited for Dave to come in, but Marta was, who rushed in quickly with his coat in her hand. I looked at her confused and linked my eyes towards the door to see Dave, to come in after her. Only to find him barely come in with the help of two other men. He was drunk.
I guided the two men to help him into the inside of the house and let them make him lay over the sofa. They greeted me and was about to go when the guy who looked like a co-worker from his work, stopped and told me that they had a company dinner.
Dave would rarely be drunk, he would casually drink but not to the extent to be this much drunk. I wondered whether something had been troubling him at work.
"Dave, are you okay?" I asked as soon as the others left.
"Oh! Look Who is Here...!" He screamed as he saw me.
"Dave!"
"Oh! Did you find it?" he asked as he barely stood up from the sofa and looked at me.
"The notebook?" I asked.
"Exactly." He said and laughed. "Did you?"
"Not yet." I said.
"You can't even do that?" he asked suddenly.
"What?" I asked back.
"I asked for ... something that... simple. And YOU can't even find that." He said pointing at me barely standing.
"Dave, I'll look for it later. Now let's go to the bedroom." I said trying to guide him over.
"I can walk on my own." He said slightly pushing me away. I let him go. He suddenly stopped and looked back at me.
"Don't I mean anything to you?" he asked me.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean what I said, Don't you even hear me now?" I didn't know what he was even trying to convince me, all of a sudden.
"I'm just merely a person who lives with you, right? You're the boss here. I just live here. Boss!!!" He said shouting.
I just kept silent and listened to him. I now knew what he was pointing his words on. He kept looking at me from a distance.
The silence that swept between us now, was even hostile. We've been living with each other now for years, but one word, one action, one moment is enough to break down all that.