The next morning, Valeria woke up after her phone has been ringing continuously, she knows who the caller is due to the ring tone.
"Good morning" Valeria greeted the caller rubbing her sleepy eyes
"Good morning Ria" Dennis voice greeted from the caller side
"How was your night? Did I wake you?" Dennis asked after hearing her yawn
"My night was long. You woke me up" Valeria replied still feeling sleepy
"Sorry about that" Dennis said
"It's fine. So you called?" Valeria asked
"Actually just wanted to greet you and ask when you will be coming to Chicago so we can atleast meet and I will show you round the school" Dennis replied
"Oh really? I came back already, thank you" Valeria said trying not to sound angry
"You did? When?" Dennis asked surprisingly
"Drop the act Dennis" Valeria replied still bottling up her anger
"What act Ria? You came to Chicago without my consent" Dennis said feeling annoyed
"In fact, I attended the career summit that took place" Valeria replied annoying Dennis more
"You did what? I was suppose to be at the event" Dennis said feeling less important now
"I texted you multiple times Dennis, I called and your number wasn't going through" Valeria said with hint of anger in her voice
"You texted? I didn't see any text" Dennis said then check his phone to see if she did and didn't see it because of his busy schedule
"You've changed Dennis" Valeria said brokenly
"Ria, I've been busy" Dennis replied
"Busy? When did you become too busy for me?" Valeria asked with shaky voice
"I'm sorry, my exams have been stressing me out" He replied feeling bad to hear her speak with pain
"Excuses Dennis! All those excuses won't work on me" Valeria shouted angrily forgetting that her family will hear her.
"I'm deeply sorry, my schedules have been unexpectedly tight" Dennis said calmly
"I shouldn't be laughing but you want me to. My daily schedule even when I was writing the most fearful exam of my life, the exam that will determine my entire life I made sure to text you. I sent this schedule to you so you won't feel lonely, so all those excuses are nothing" Valeria replied angrily and didn't notice when her mother entered the room
"No more excuses, I'm sorry" Dennis said after realising no matter how many excuses he gave her, they were all crap
"You are not forgiven" Valeria replied and gasp when she notice her mother's presence.
"Mother" She called out looking at her mother who is standing by the door
"I will talk to you later" Valeria said and hang up before Dennis could reply
"Come in mother" Valeria said acting innocent
"How are you this morning?" Her mother asked as she walk in
"Absolutely fine" Valeria replied pretending
"You don't look the part. Anyways, I came to talk to you about yesterday" Geraldine said sitting beside Valeria who adjusted
"Yesterday?" Valeria asked looking at her mother
"Yes, you did alot of things wrong yesterday and I want to address it" Geraldine replied smiling to make her comfortable
"If it is about Alexis and Daisy, I didn't say it the way she took it" Valeria said
"What did you say and how did she take it?" Geraldine asked
"They asked if James is Louisa's alleged soon to be husband and I said no, Alexis proceed to ask why all relationships end up broken, in my attempt to let them know Louisa was the unfaithful one, Daisy said I don't have one so how will I know not all relationships end up broken and...." Valeria explained, she took a deep breath before continuing
"And I told her my parents are still married and that was me trying to tell them not all relationships end up broken, she took it the wrong way because her parents are separated. I didn't mean it that way but what can I do if she took it the wrong way" Valeria added waiting for her mother to talk
"It was pure misunderstanding I guess, talk to her and let her know she misunderstood you" Geraldine said and she know Valeria was about to protest.
"Not because you are a fool dear, but because Daisy is hurting. I pray you don't know how it feels to have a separated family" Geraldine added
"Not my fault she misunderstood me, she shouldn't take things too far" Valeria protested not wanting to let her guard down
"She clearly misunderstood you but you verified she wasn't wrong with that last statement" Geraldine said since Valeria skipped that part in her explanation
"That's how Daisy have been, she says things she can't accept and expect you to accept it wholeheartedly. She has always gone too far with everything" Valeria replied understanding what her mother was talking about
"Exactly what you said, she is your friend and has always been like that, you definitely know it for her by now and the only way to coexist is to accept each other flaws" Geraldine said knowing Valeria won't apologise
"I don't mind letting her know she got it wrong but I won't apologise if she doesn't apologise for her bad attitude" Valeria replied and Geraldine nod knowing she won't
"Now, let's talk about you and Dennis" Geraldine said and Valeria shake
"It's not what you think, he's my best friend" Valeria said protesting
"I know he's your best friend and that's why you feel he has some responsibility towards you" Geraldine said and Valeria body became calm
"My child, not everyone can sacrifice for you, they are some people you will give your entire life to and will still be reluctant to give up a thing or two for you" Geraldine added holding Valeria's hand in hers
"It shouldn't be like that, it is good to always reciprocate the energy" Valeria said feeling it is wrong
"Life is not like that dear, I know alot of people shout life is about give and take but if life takes a child from you, does it give you another one immediately?" Geraldine explain leaving Valeria to think
"But some people end up having another child and some don't" Valeria replied after thinking for a while
"Another child that isn't the one that died and those that don't end up having deserves another one too but life is not fair" Geraldine explain further
"I still don't understand how this is related to I and Dennis" Valeria said
"Don't always expect the same energy you give to people back" Geraldine replied
"Now I understand, because I find time in my schedule to talk to him doesn't mean he will do the same" Valeria said finally understanding her mother's parable
"You are smart. Freshen up and let's cook breakfast" Geraldine said and leave the room. Valeria watch her mother leave and think of what she said before going to the bathroom to freshen up.