Hearing Sam's words, Alex agreed. Debbie's mother rarely came to New York, so she should have the best of everything.
The next day at 5 pm, a flight landed in New York.
Donna's mother, Lisa, walked through the airport. She was a middle-aged woman, dressed in fashionable clothes, a sun hat, and sunglasses, and her skin was covered with a thick layer of powder. Looking around, she was filled with anticipation.
This time, she had brought along her two favourite sisters, who walked behind her. This was the first time they had flown to a bustling city like New York, and they were even more excited than Lisa.
"We've finally arrived," Lisa said. "This airport is so large and modern. And look at that skyscraper over there. It's so different from our little town." She looked around the airport.
"You're right, it's beautiful," her sister Fiona said. "Lisa, if your daughter can find a local rich boy, then she won't ever have to leave here."
"That's true," her sister Natalie agreed. "When we see Donna later, we'll have to remind her how important it is to find a rich young man. If we had gone to university, we might have found one, and then we wouldn't still be living in the town."
"We can't tell her who to marry. It's up to her," Lisa said, although she had already decided to remind Donna to find a rich boyfriend.
They walked out of the airport building.
"I'm a little hungry, what about you two?" Lisa said, patting her stomach.
Her sisters were also hungry. They had left their town early in the morning and then rushed straight to the airport. They had only eaten a few snacks on the plane.
"Come on, let's have something to eat. I have some home-made buns," said the woman who had been following them. She smiled and opened her backpack, preparing to take out the buns.
This was Debbie's mother, Carla, who was wearing a green shirt, black shorts, and a pair of old tennis shoes.
Although she wasn't dressed elegantly, she still looked neat. But working outdoors for so many years had darkened her skin slightly and caused shallow wrinkles to appear on her face.
"Put your backpack away. Aren't you embarrassed?" Lisa asked. The previous day, she had talked on the phone with her daughter, Donna, saying that she wanted to come to New York for a couple of days and wished to visit her. She hadn't expected Donna to ask her to bring Carla, whose daughter was also attending Preston University.
She'd had no choice but to bring Carla along. Of course, she knew her daughter wasn't that kind, so she had no idea why Donna had wanted to help her friend's mother.
"Quick, put it away," Fiona said to Carla with a frown. "Do you want people to know that you're just a simple country woman?"
Carla closed her backpack and put it back on her shoulders. She was quite confused. Was it that embarrassing to eat buns?
"If you don't want to embarrass us, then walk a bit further back," Natalie said, glaring at Carla. "If we walk with you, people might laugh at us." She turned to speak to Lisa. "Can't we just leave her behind? We already gave her the money to pay for the plane ticket. She's already taken advantage of your good nature."
Lisa glanced contemptuously at Carla through her sunglasses and snorted. "I'm afraid not. No matter what, her daughter is still a friend of my daughter's. Let her tag along. We'll just ignore her once we get to where we're going."
Lisa and her sisters walked on ahead, chatting together. Carla followed further back, walking by herself.
"Lisa, are there really a lot of male escorts in New York?" Fiona asked.
Lisa had plenty of money, and besides seeing her daughter, she had plans of her own for this trip. Otherwise, she wouldn't have brought her two sisters with her.
"Of course. Lots! Haven't you seen pictures on the news? There are lots of women's clubs here. They're everywhere." Lisa tried to look knowledgeable, but she was only pretending to be cool in front of her sisters.
Whether she could find such a club during this trip to New York would be a matter of luck.
"Well, when you put it like that, I'm relieved," Fiona said, happily. "Since I was young, I've dreamed of using my money to sleep with a male escort. And now I'm finally going to do it."
"Stick with me," Lisa said confidently. "You might not get any sleep, but I promise I'll get you into a bed with a handsome young man."
"Shh, lower your voice. There's someone behind you," Natalie whispered, glancing at Carla, who still walked behind them. It was embarrassing to talk so loudly about such things.
"Don't worry," Lisa said disdainfully. "If she dares to tell anyone, I'll just leave her in New York and see how she manages to get herself back home. And even if she does, I'll deal with her there. She won't dare to say anything."
The two sisters were reassured.
"Hey, isn't it a little embarrassing for women our age to go out looking for young men?" Fiona asked, and then the three women laughed loudly.
They walked to the main street outside the airport, talking and laughing.
They were puzzled when a BMW stopped in front of them. Then, Donna, Debbie, Alex, and Darren got out of the car.
"Donna, it's you!" Lisa looked her daughter over carefully. They were about to greet each other properly, but they were interrupted by other voices.
"Mom, you really came! I'm so glad to see you!" Debbie held her mother's hand.
"Me too!" her mother answered. "It's been two years, and this is the first time I've come to visit you. I feel so guilty. My beautiful daughter, let me have a good look at you. You're looking well."
Debbie and Carla spoke as if no one else was present. But then they noticed everyone staring at them and immediately stopped talking.
"Sorry for disturbing you," Carla said awkwardly to Lisa.
"Do you think this is all about your family?" Lisa glared at her. "Do you have to be so loud?"
"Mom, let me introduce you to someone," Donna said, grinning as she pulled Darren next to her. "This is Darren, my boyfriend!"
"Oh…" Lisa was stunned for a moment as she took a closer look at Darren. He was handsome and seemed to come from a good family. He made a good first impression.
"Nice to meet you," Darren said, smiling. He looked over at the car. "I bought this BMW a year ago. My dad said that when I get married, he'll buy me a Porsche."
"Oh, I see." Lisa nodded, walked to the front of the BMW, and ran her hand over it, feeling proud. She had planned to remind her daughter to find a rich boyfriend, but Donna had already found one. And, even better, he was also young and fit, so he was worthy of being with Donna.
"Who is this young man?" Lisa asked when she saw Alex.
"Oh, him? He's Debbie's boyfriend, Alex," Donna said before Alex could answer. As usual, her expression was one of ridicule.
Carla couldn't help but look at Alex.
"Debbie's family is poor, but they are still from our hometown," Donna explained. "That's why I asked you to bring her mother with you. Alex's situation is similar to Debbie's, and he doesn't have much money, so I asked Darren to bring them here."
"Is that so?" Lisa relaxed when she heard her daughter say that Alex's situation was the same as Debbie's. Carla's daughter was only worth a poor loser. There was no comparison with Donna's family.
"Debbie, let me give you some advice," Lisa said earnestly. "You know your family's situation. You're going to university to learn and get a good job, not to find a partner. You're not like my Donna, who could leave university, and my family could still find work for her. But you need to keep your feet on the ground and not try reaching for the stars."
"It's the same for you, Carla," Lisa continued. "Debbie is young, but you're old enough to know better. If you continue as you are, then your family is destined to be poor forever."
Alex couldn't bear to listen any longer. I can't let this go, he thought. Even though it's not my family, I still have to say something. I can't let her mock Debbie and her mother like that.
Just as he was about to speak, Debbie stopped him and shook her head.
"Watch your temper, young man," Lisa said to him. "I was only telling the truth, and I said it for their own good, so what are you unhappy about?" Lisa was rich in her town, and no one dared to talk back to her. Seeing that a loser like Alex intended to argue with her made her angry.
"She's right," Fiona added. "Even if her words were a little harsh, she's older than you, so have some respect." She shook her head and muttered, "College students."
"Debbie, keep an eye on your boyfriend," Natalie said, squinting at Alex. "And see what kind of man he is. If he doesn't learn to behave properly, then get yourself a new boyfriend."
In the end, Carla apologized to Lisa.
"Okay," Darren said to Lisa. "You must be hungry after your trip. I know a good restaurant with great food, so let's go and eat."
"See? Darren is a polite young man, looking after us," Lisa said. "He's much better than some people around here. Let's go. I'm really hungry." She got angrier the more she looked at Alex, so she ignored him and got into Darren's car.
"Alex, you go with Debbie and her mom," Darren said. "I'll treat everyone to a meal, so you don't need to pay." He gave them an evil smile and added, "But my car is full, so I can't drive you there. Can you take a taxi? Do you have enough money? If you don't, I can give you some."
"No need," Alex said plainly. "I'm good."
"Okay. I've never been to the Sunset restaurant before," Darren said. "And you guys are really lucky to enjoy a great meal there for free." He smiled proudly, got into his BMW, and drove away.
Thinking about Darren's attitude, Alex didn't want to go, but since he had booked a room for them at the Azalea Guest House, why shouldn't he accept the meal?
But why does this restaurant sound so familiar? he wondered.
As if she had heard him, Debbie whispered, "That's the restaurant I worked in."