It was another blissful day at the restaurant for Jeremy, and after the night he had with Linda, he was having a very good day evident in his whistle as he was balancing his books, checking the stock, and being extra jolly with the customers. His day would have probably ended on an even higher note after seeing Linda for the second time, but as fate would have it, he got the message notification from John, just seeing the name pop up on his screen was enough to dampen his mood, 'What does he want now?', he thought. If it weren't for the fact that he still needed him for his plans, he would've ignored him, but he had to play ball,
He unlocked his phone, he was already unhappy to see his name but the content of the message had his face covered in disbelief mixed with disappointment, suddenly the air around him turned dark and cold, prompting his employees to question his mental state, the man was smiling a second ago, all of a sudden his eyes were shooting daggers at people.
He held his jaw in disbelief and anger, 'My aunt is in Town!', he exclaimed in his head, he didn't wait to finish reading the text, and he immediately switched to WhatsApp because he wasn't sure whether she already switched to the country number, to be precise, he wasn't sure of anything because he doesn't even know how long she's been in town. The phone didn't even ring twice, "Haa! Nephew, I guess your best friend told you the good news.", it was as if she expected his call.
He clenched his fist in frustration, he didn't understand why she didn't tell him she was in town when they made plans, did she hate him that much? He had to hear it from a stranger and how on earth did they bump into each other?
Good thing he understood the importance of cooling down at that moment because he was ready to go off on her, but their situation was tricky, the last thing he needed was to agitate her, besides, he had other burning questions for her, "Aunt, why didn't you tell me you were in town?".
She chuckled on the other end sounding incredibly calm, "Not only am I in town but I am 3 blocks from your eatery. See you in 10 minutes, I need to pass somewhere first", she hung up without even giving him the chance to respond. The brief call left Jeremy with a lot of mixed emotions, admittedly he was happy his aunt was finally in town, it meant he would finally apologize and maybe get answers to his questions, but why didn't she tell him she was coming? He sighed deeply at his concerns, he put the phone down and gestured for one of his waitresses to come over,
"Please reserve that corner table for two, and have the chef prepare two Eggs Benedicts. I am stepping out to my apartment for a few minutes; when a woman who resembles me walks in please direct her to that seat and take her drinks order. Will be down shortly".
The young lady nodded politely to her boss's instructions.
The thought of his aunt suddenly left him feeling flustered, he was soon hit with the reality that the last time he saw her, he was just a 10-year-old, he prayed that they still resembled each other. Overwhelmed with emotions, he needed something to ground his nerves before she showed up, normally, he had his art for moments he felt like that, but since he was working with 10 minutes, a cold shower would do.
Exactly 10 minutes later, the small restaurant bell rang as the door sprung wide open, in walked Jin Ae accompanied by Linda. The young lady from before came running to usher them to their seats. Her boss was right, they really resembled each other, but she was also covered in confusion, she was only told to expect one person, 'Should she add a third chair for the other person?', she pondered. "Welcome, this way please", she said directing them towards the reserved table.
"Please let me know if you need anything to drink, Mr. Tang will be with you short-", before she could finish her statement, a voice sounded from behind her, "It's okay Kimberly, I am here. Just take the drink or-order. Linda....you are here too?". Despite seeing her before she left for work, he still found her dazzling enough to make him lose his composure.
Kimberly bowed her head respectfully as she walked away with the drink's order, but she made sure to steal a glance at the woman who seemed to have captured her boss's attention, she smirked in her head, 'Is she perhaps his new girlfriend? He he, I don't think Maggie will like this,
Jeremy began addressing the middle-aged woman in front of him, "Oh aunt, I didn't know you were bringing a plus one", he asked seeing Linda who wore a wide flirtatious smile and also seemed to be taken back by his looks.
"Oh my God nephew, how else was I going to get here? Your fiancé here generously borrowed me her driver and how can I not bring her along? I owe you two a lunch for your engagement"
Jeremy furrowed his eyes brows, he never mentioned his engagement to his aunt and he could feel that her statement harbored a lot of disappointment, still on his feet, he dropped his face to offer a heartfelt apology to her, "I am sorry I didn't tell you about our engagement Ma, I wanted to tell you in person. But since you are here, might as well", Jeremy was about to pull a third chair when Linda stepped in, "I am sure you have a lot to catch up on, I am here to see those art pieces we spoke about in the morning. Maybe I can join you guys after I finish my work?",
Jin Ae was stuck on the first part of Linda's statement, she widened her eyes in shock at the words that just hit her ears, "Huh? Morning? Are you two already-" Both their faces turned red in embarrassment prompting Jeremy to quickly and anxiously toss his apartment keys to Linda, "Ha ha, here are the keys... I have marked the pieces I am auctioning, you can choose any three of those".
Jim Ae burst out laughing at her nephew's attempts to divert from the issue, 'they are adorably cute', she thought seeing both their embarrassed faces.
Upon Linda's disappearance, Jeremy readied himself for a serious conversation with his aunt. They hadn't seen each other in years, he was so nervous he couldn't stop fiddling with his fingers, 'Arg, the cold shower didn't work', he complained in his head. Just then Kimberly came with two coffees, "Here you go sir, I will bring the food shortly. Is Ms-", she asked looking at the chair that was now occupied by Jeremy,
"Don't worry about her, she will order when she comes back. You are excused", his aunt responded, however, sensing the tense energy that surrounded his nephew, she chuckled, "Relax nephew, I won't bite...." while nonchalantly stirring her coffee.
Jeremy stopped playing with his fingers, took a deep breath, then anxiously stammered "Aunt- Ma, uhm, so h-how have you been?".