My second year of university life at Boston University went by even faster than I had expected, there was a lot going on during the course of the semester and was clearly even busier than a bee; the work load for each course was way more than I had anticipated, especially when it came to preparing for the group discussions, individual and group project presentations, mid-term exams, quizzes, and final exams. After classes would always be in the library or in the coffee shop working on my assignments, essays, and the presentations and once I returned to my room was preparing for my next lessons doing the pre-readings and completing the reading questions on Moodle.
It was safe to say that with all the crazy workload and school life, I still managed to wake up early, get to my classes on time, complete and submit all the assignments, essays on time, be prepared and ready for the quizzes, mid-terms and finals. I was also able to meet up with Chris, Jaime and Anderson after 5pm and continue practicing my archery on Mondays and Wednesday after school. It was essential to learn to not only focus on school stuff, but to also maintain a social life to keep my sanity intact. My social life was very private with a small circle of friends, well there were only three friends; Chris, Jaime and Anderson, there were also my classmates, but our friendship was mainly seen during class time when we had discussions; group discussions and group presentations as each group member had a task to complete which required communication with other members of the group and of course ensure we completed the work and did a good job in the presentation for a good final score. Apart from that it was me minding my own business, staying away from drama and trouble.
On the family side my parents had been doing quite well, but I was very worried about my mum. This past summer when we spent time together, I noticed she had gained a serious amount of weight especially around her stomach and hips, was not quite sure what was going on, whether she was ill or it was due to age, but it's not that my mum was old either, she was quite young and enjoyed keeping herself busy around the house and travelling a lot with my father especially on his business trips. So I didn't quite understand what was going on, and wasn't sure if it was right to ask my mum either. Even though in the back of my mind I wanted so badly to ask my mum, knowing with my curiosity, I told myself as long as they were doing well that was all that mattered. As for my dad, his business trips around the US and across the globe to Europe and Asia were becoming more and more frequent. Sometimes, he would be gone for three weeks to a month, living my mum alone at home, but the good thing was that mum was able to accompany him on some of the business trips; at least she would enjoy a different environment, lifestyle and also help my dad with some of his work which was a good way of keeping my mum busy. To me this was true happiness, trust, and a great marriage and friendship my parents had between them.
Winter of 2021 kicked in with three weeks of winter vacation; Chris, Jaime, Anderson and I decided we would stay in Boston this winter vacation and explore the Boston winter life. Despite the severe cold winter in Boston, we managed to explore and enjoy some of the winter sightseeing places in Boston, including learning how to skate in the skating rink. This experience was quite scary something I was not sure how to master the courage to skate on ice on my own. Chris, Jaime and Anderson were already pros at skating just watching how they were skating was amazing. Anderson was a great and patient teacher who gave very good lessons on how to skate especially as a beginner myself. I needed a lot of practice, including how to balance and skate on my own; it felt like I was learning how to swim which was not pleasant; falling, sliding, hitting myself and falling on my butt were some of the most embarrassing moments I had during my skating learning experience. By the second week of our winter vacation, I had learned the skills and techniques of skating and didn't need to hold the side rail or Anderson's hand to skate. It was a wonderful feeling, almost felt like I was flying like a bird, so free, so relaxed, so calm and exciting and so much fun. In addition to learning how to skate, we also went to the Public Garden, Faneuil Hall Marketplace to see the street performances and shopping for Christmas and New Year, Castle Island and finally the Bunker Hill Monument.
Our winter vacation was jammed packed with lots of activities and events, took lots of lovely photos we shared with our parents. Our Christmas and New Year were celebrated with having a fancy lunch and dinner at one of the five star hotels and restaurants downtown Boston. We made sure to treat ourselves to the finest of the finesse, celebrating all the accomplishments, achievements and all the success in our studies, including my birthday (very important-turned 19), exchange of gifts and our many years of friendship and my relationship/anniversary with Anderson and finally thanking our parents for their support, encouragement and their forever love. We all spoke to each others' parents' wishing them 'Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,' and also sent them pictures of our celebrations in Boston.
With 2021 coming to an end, we all made wishes for 2022; this included, successfully completing our studies at Boston, having good health, wealth and prosperity not only for us but for our parents and that our friendship will last forever, and finally Anderson made his wish that "our relationship will forever grow with love, we continue to be together and that he hopes to marry me before we are both thirty and grow old together." I was in tears and wasn't sure what to respond as was taken a back with his wish; it was truly a wonderful and loving wish for both of us, I could only give him a hug and a kiss saying 'thank you.'
A new year 2022 rolled in which started on Saturday January 1st, and we had one more week before the start of our second semester. We spent the weekend and our final winter holiday week on campus getting ready to start classes on Monday January 10th, 2022. We did our usually monthly shopping, checked our Moodle for any updates, assignments or pre-readings that were to be done before the start of school. As we were preparing for the start of the new semester, I was able to spend some alone time with Chris and Jaime as I had not done so in a while, I chilled in their room all day the Friday before starting school on Monday. We also had lunch and dinner in their room. I also had time to speak to his parents who were very happy to see and hear from me as well, they were all doing very well but quite busy with their work and also travelling for business. As we were having our conversations, my phone rang and it was Anderson checking in to see how I was doing, from the video call, he right away could tell that I was hanging out with Chris and Jaime in their room. He had been quite busy these past few days mainly with his projects and family issues he had to deal with, but he seemed to be doing well. We planned to meet tomorrow and spend the entire weekend together. After our conversation, Chris and Jaime gave me an interesting look with smiles; I smiled back with a question "what, why are you guys smiling so hard?" Chris first spoke, "You are in love, and don't deny it." "We can tell that you love Anderson so much from the way you talk on the phone with him, to the way you talk to him face to face, and also all that you guys have been doing together even when you are with us." I replied, "I will not lie I do love and care a lot about him, Anderson just like the two of you have been by my side in everything from Chicago High School till now here in Boston University. I may not be the girl who shows her emotions openly, but deep down in my heart, Anderson is the love of my life too. It is my hope that we can have a long and last relationship and possibly marriage someday." "OMG" said Chris and Jaime. "Well you know we are always rooting for you, and we shall always be there to support you," said Jaime. "From the time I met Anderson, he has shown his respect, love, and care for you, but what I like most about him is his honesty which is one of the reasons we allowed you to be with him Diana. I love the way he defends you, always looking out for you. If he was one of those other boys who have no respect and are not honest, as you know we hate liars and people who disrespect others," said Chris. I know you both hate liars and people who disrespect and look down upon others," I said. "So we support the two of you to be together, and we shall always stand by you and Anderson," said Jaime. I was almost in tears after hearing this conversation; actually I smiled and hugged them, "I am so grateful and blessed to have you both in my life," I said. "We are too Diana." They both replied. At around 10PM I returned to my room, cleaned up, had a glass of apple juice with a snack, and went over the reading materials for my classes next week, replying to messages, questions and reading assignments that were posted on Moodle until mid-night when I hit the lights and went to bed.
The following morning was the last weekend we were to have before starting school on Monday. I had woken up at 8AM, had a cup of coffee, showered, made my bed and was just chilling while doing some reading and replying to emails. At 10AM there was a knock on my door and it was Anderson, as we had planned we were to spend the entire weekend until Monday together. He had brought with him; his reading materials, textbooks, laptop and snacks, I was smiling and laughing at him as it was almost as if he had carried his entire room and moved into my room. He actually had more work than I did as it was his third year and his workload was more including lots of projects, presentations which required him to prepare a Power Point and was constantly having quizzes. Although he had been feeling quite burnt out over the past semesters, he was very determined to make sure he performed very well and passed all his classes. It was also quite cool to see his work, his Power Point presentations that he had been preparing and I must say, they were awesome, you could see his effort, and time spent preparing them was worth him getting a full A plus in all his classes. He also had the talent of drawing and designing especially buildings, stadiums, and other architectural buildings, and all were original and top notch designs; no wonder his summer job offered him a part time contract after completion of his two internships; he was definitely doing a great job, and I had always known he would be a great architect/engineer one day. Whenever he would work in my room, he would show me his project, drawings and designs, ask for my opinion and feedback and although I had no knowledge of his courses, it was nice to be able to offer advice and be a part of what he enjoys doing.
Besides studying, we also made sure to give ourselves time to relax, watch movies, and do our laundry (Anderson brought his laundry over to have it washed), take naps, play card games while enjoying fancy lunches and dinner deliveries that Anderson had ordered. He had even ordered flowers which was a lovely surprise. Anderson truly spoiled me but his definition of being 'spoiled' was making sure I was happy and well taken care of regardless the situation and for that I truly commended him for a job well done. It was truly a romantic, lovely and a wonderful spent weekend before the start of our classes. We had also spent the relaxing time talking about our relationship, from the day we started dating till today, evaluating everything; from the good to the bad to the sad. Sometimes I would feel like our relationship is too good to be true or even real, but I didn't want to think about this but to enjoy every moment we had together and cherish what we built.
On Monday morning it was rise and shine at 6AM, coffee was brewing as we were getting ready for our first day of school. We packed our school stuff as we were having our first cup of coffee, showered, got ready and finally had our second cup of coffee with a pastry, toast and cereal (Anderson's favorite thing to have every morning). By 7:30, we were already out the door heading downstairs via elevator when we bumped into Chris and Jaime. We headed out of the dormitory as we were talking and catching up on how our weekend had been as we were walking to our classes. There were no changes with our schedule or times of the classes and the locations were in the same building. The second semester of my second year in Boston University had officially begun and was looking forward to ensuring a successful semester ending it on a fine note before the start of my summer vacation.
We hit the ground running in the second semester and it was assignments after assignments, project presentations, group discussions, quizzes and even more readings. There were days it was impossible to keep up with all the work, even had to cancel my practice at the archery club just to make sure I could get ahead of the course semester schedule but it was the pre-readings, readings, journal entries, and essays that took so much of the time and energy. My room was full of research papers, textbooks and materials all over the floor, bed and table and of course had to read the internet to get recent information for some of the readings. Moreover, my intake of coffee levels had increased from two cups a day to four cups of black coffee a day; I needed the caffeine to boost my energy for all my classes, after classes and during archery practice.
The second semester found us engaged and really focused on a lot of things that kept us quite busy and by the time April 2022 had reached, the weather had changed, the classes were concluding at the end of April and it was time to prepare for our final exams and start making plans for the summer vacation. April was the kick off for reviews, studies and preparations for the final exams, which also included doing research and writing essays at the same time wrapping up individual and group projects before beginning our final exams. This was never an issue on my side, as I loved doing presentations and writing essays, the challenge with the essays for this year was they were to be 5000 words long. As always would do the research, gather all the materials, thank goodness for having a printer and spare cartridge, then write the essay. It was going to be tough as five of my courses for this semester were not having exams but submission of essays, and individual presentations for the final exams. Although Chris, Jaime and Anderson were not in my department, as always they were very good at helping me with my essays; they could identify based on the essay requirements and expectations, identify and figure out whether I met the requirements and expectations and they were also brutally honest with their comments and feedback, which I could handle as it helped me shape, rewrite, edit, and modify my essay that flowed like music with class, well written in the perfect refinement. Furthermore, I always knew with their assistance, passing my exams and courses was never going to be an issue.
Chris, Jaime and Anderson were also getting ready with preparations for their final exams and just like me; not only did they not have individual project presentations but also had lots of research and essays to prepare and write for their final exams. There were days they would be sleeping at 2AM trying to finish up their project presentations and researching information for their essays. We would also meet up in the library to review, prepare and study for our exams starting at 9AM to 2PM or even later. It was sometimes so stressful that I had to go to the archery club to release my frustration and calm down. I remember there was a day I had gone to the archery club and practiced four hours straight without taking a break, what was even scarier was that my eyes had turned red and smoke was beginning to come from both hands. If it had not been for one of the staff members who noticed the state of my hands, my hands would have turned completely black and would have lost my balance and focus. I immediately threw my bow and arrow on the ground, got my backpack and ran out of the club back the University and went straight to my room. Luckily I wore a long jumper which had long sleeves and a hood and glasses so that people would not recognize my hands, and eyes. As I was in my room standing in front of the mirror, suddenly noticed and felt that I was not alone, when I closed the bathroom cupboard which had a mirror I saw 'black hood' with red eyes. I glanced; glared at 'black hood' "what do you want?" was my first question statement. I was clearly not in the mood for any conversation or pep talk. "You seem to be going through a lot of pressure and stress, from what I saw at the archery club," said 'black hood.' "It has been quite a tough semester with lots going on and with lots of studying, reviewing and preparation for exams, the pressure and stress was too much for me, so decided to head over to the archery club and take out my steam, didn't think would go through the same situation I went through last year during my exams, I get it have to learn to relax and be calm, working on it, thanks." I replied. I think 'black hood' sensed that I was not interested in talking or listening to anything 'black hood' had to say. As I prepared to get changed, I turned and saw 'black hood' had disappeared but he sent a telepathic message saying "I understand your feelings and thoughts, but everything will be fine, we will talk another day, good luck with your exams." I replied "thank you." I spent the rest of the day in my room without picking up any phone calls, didn't review or study but showered, dressed into my pajamas and crawled into bed and slept.
Having such moments with scary episodes, I thought it would have been easier to run or call Chris, Jaime and Anderson and tell them what happened, but I couldn't, I just couldn't, again it was not the right moment to tell them anything. I also didn't want to worry my mum again so the best and ideal solution was to sleep it off with the hope that all will be ok, and will not have another similar episode happen again. I had to also learn to train myself how to relax and how to be calm especially during stressful and frustrating situations. Yes, I could take it out by doing archery but I will need to be very calm and relaxed otherwise my worst fear would be that I will not only hurt someone but also hurt myself as well.
By the beginning of May, I had submitted all my final exam essays, completed all my individual and group projects and presentations and all that was left with was the final exams; which I only had three, thank goodness!! Although there was a lot of reading and preparation required, I was fine with having only three exams for my final semester and my final second year at Boston University.
After the completion of my final exams, had one more week before kicking off for my summer vacation and heading back to Chicago. Chris, Jaime and Anderson were still having their exams which they were only to be completed the second last week of May. We had planned once the exams were over, stay for three more days cleaning up, returning the materials, books and resources back to the library and cleaning up our rooms. We were scheduled to leave Boston University on Friday May 27, 2022 on a morning flight, and then we would have the weekend to rest, and then start our summer jobs the following Monday. These were exciting times for all of us, but for now it was focusing on getting through this semester and the school year.
At the end of May, we were done with exams, done with school, checked out, and received our grades for the second semester which was quite fast, as I wasn't expecting the final grades to be posted until June. Anyway, Chris and Anderson got an A plus while Jaime and I got an A minus and boy did we celebrate upon receiving our results, couldn't have asked for a great way to start our summer vacation. On Friday May 27, we left Boston University for the airport at 10AM for a 1PM flight, arriving in Chicago shortly after 3:30PM. Jaime's mum was to drop me home as my parents were not in town as they had travelled for business trips around the States and was also travelling to Europe for a month returning towards the end of June. We did keep in touch via phone which was good, this kept my heart at ease knowing they were safe and doing well. Since I was going to be alone, Anderson discussed with his parents if he could come and stay with me until my parents returned. His parents were agreed with no hesitation and the next day Anderson had come with half of his stuff as he was going to stay for more than a month until my parents returned, which also meant he would be going to work and back to my place during this time. It was very thoughtful of him but I also thought it was a good idea as it would good for our relationship. It was going to be a challenge as it was not the usual where Anderson would stay for two days or a couple of hours then go back home, he would be staying, living with me every single day for more than a month, so it was going to be interesting to see how we cope living together in a house, going to work together and seeing each other every day. Despite all of these thoughts, nothing negative crept into my mind as we both knew each other quite well to be able to understand each other's thoughts and expectations and was more than confident that it was a good idea, and remember it was Anderson who suggested to his parents that he wanted to stay and spend time with me until my parents returned so he definitely knew what he had asked for and knew what he was doing.
Once our summer vacation begun we were busy from the word 'go', but it was good being back to work in my father's company for another summer as an intern and most of the colleagues whom I had worked with last summer were still working in the company. This time the treatment was different; everyone was respectful, kind, helpful and every time they gave me work to do or complete it came with full instructions, even sticky notes and a signature. On top of that my colleagues also bought me coffee and lunch, it was definitely not Christmas but clearly things had changed, the people had changed, the environment was more open, friendly, and more relaxed. However, my working hours were still the same 8 in the morning to 6 in the evening, which I didn't mind as long as was able to get most of the work done before going home, that was all that mattered. I had asked about the CEO and Director and was informed they were on business trips and was not going to be around until end of June, this included my father as he was the CEO of the company. Cynthia was left in charge of the operations, day to day work and routines of the company while my father was away. I liked Cynthia, a very calm, friendly, kind and down to earth person; she was very understanding and never favored anyone, if you were wrong, you were wrong, but she would always analyze and investigate the situation before making final decisions. It was truly an honor and pleasure working with her again this summer.
Every day when I finished work at around 7pm, Anderson would come pick me up waiting for me at the reception area of the company. He drove his father's car which was a black SUV car; he had obtained his license when he was eighteen before he went to Boston. He was really good at driving and I felt quite safe in his car while he was driving. We picked up dinner from our favorite Italian restaurant on our way home as it was too late to head home and start cooking. We made a deal that every day after work would either eat out or have take away but would be healthy meals with salads and then we would eat fruits at home. We would do the shopping on Friday to cook over the weekend. During the first week of our summer vacation, my parents called to check up on me and they were happy to hear from me as I was happy to hear from them. I told them I had already started working in dad's company and Anderson was staying at our place to keep me company for the summer. In addition, we would go to work together, Anderson dropping me off at the company and picking me up after work. My parents were very happy and pleased to hear that all was going well not just with work and the summer vacation but also with Anderson. I asked them how their business trip was going, and they said "it was busy, but all is going well." Mum mentioned how she is enjoying catching up with friends she had not seen in a very long time while dad is busy with work. I had asked them if they were returning at the end of June, but mum's reply was "that is the plan but will see how things go with your father's business." I don't know why but I had a feeling something was not sounding right, even the way my mum would respond to some of my questions. I did ask her if everything was alright and if there was something she was not telling me or didn't want me to know. As always the same answer "nothing is wrong honey, all is well, and we are well." I didn't want to push any further and we began talking about other things. We spoke for almost two hours; even Anderson spoke to them and they thanked Anderson for staying at our place and looking after me. After the phone conversation, I expressed my thoughts and concerns to Anderson and told him that I was having a very bad feeling about everything and my parents. He asked for more information, details and examples and could understand my feelings, the worry and concerns that I had, I even told him about the weight gain my mum had since last summer. He tried very hard to comfort me reassuring that all will be well, and that maybe I was over thinking too much and not to worry. He gave me a hug with a kiss telling me not to worry and let's see how things go this June and we shall take it from there. That's exactly what I thought; let's see how things go on their trip this June and if they do make it back by the end of this month, then there really was nothing to worry about but if they don't, then will need to really investigate and find out what is really going on.
Over the weekends when we were not working, Anderson would make the breakfast and there were other weekends where he would also cook lunch and dinner and I have to say he truly is a good chef. Other chores we would do included cleaning the house, doing the laundry, watering my mum's flowers in the garden and then in the afternoon, I would cook a late lunch inviting Chris and Jaime to join us and hang out with us all day. It was just nice hanging out the four of us back in Chicago just like the good old days. They would also spend some weekend nights at my place and leave on Sunday evening as they had to prepare for work on Monday. They were both working at their father's and mother's company as they did last summer; they seemed to be enjoying it this time around much better than last year. They liked the fact that everyone was nicer, kinder and friendlier than before, their work load was less and they were now able to participate more in the company projects and presentations which is what they had always wanted to do. They were grabbing and enjoying every opportunity given to them.
The end of June was around the corner and we were all finishing our first working month. Things between Anderson and I had been going quite well surprisingly, there were some occasionally disagreements and conflicts here and there but nothing major and nothing we could not sit down and talk about like civilized adults. It was basically we both trying to understand each other's habits and whether we liked them or not and should we change and how we should change these habits. When you start living with a guy, you think you have known most of your life, you realize a few things you didn't know about him along the way which can either be surprising, shocking or manageable something you can handle. I am glad we are the type of people who don't like yelling or shouting at each other, but we are people who like to sit down, address the issue, discuss, and come up with ways of dealing with the issues we both can agree on, and I think this is one of the biggest reasons why we have both lasted together for a very long time. It was truly a great one month thus far, hopefully will continue to be this great as we move on to July and August.
At the end of June, I had expected that my parents were to return to Chicago but sadly they had called a week before to let me know that dad's business trips had been extended in Europe and especially Asia for another month. I was quite saddened by this news as I had been longing for their return and to spend the month of July with them before returning back to Boston in August. I tried very hard to hold back my tears and to show them that I will be OK, and that I understood their reasons for not being able to return. As I hang up the phone, I couldn't hold back my tears any longer and just started crying. Anderson had been standing by the door as he had sensed I was not right from the voice and tone used to speak to my parents. He put his arms around me comforting me as I cried; it was too painful and hard to understand that I was spending my first summer at the age of nineteen without my parents. I told Anderson that I needed to be alone for some time to digest all that had just happened; he left me in my room and went downstairs. I must have cried too much that I fell asleep because when I woke up it was already 11PM Friday night, and Anderson had be lying next to me, guess he wanted to make sure that I was fine and could sleep. I didn't want to wake him up, and since I was hungry, went downstairs to make something to eat. It was not long when I started finding something to eat from the fridge when I saw Anderson standing at the entrance of the kitchen door, he could see I was still crying, he came put his arms around my waste saying "hey it is OK, everything will be OK, I am here, you also have Chris and Jaime," I started nodding my head, then he placed my head on his chest. I still didn't feel like talking or saying anything, but dried off my tears and removed the left over pasta and meat sauce that Anderson had made for dinner. He warmed it for me and served it on a plate for me to eat with a drink, we sat in the kitchen and as I was eating, I didn't know he was watching as I was eating, which is something he loved doing, but was also a way of trying to make me smile and laugh and it did work. After a full delicious meal and was stuffed, I went to the living room, turned on the TV and relaxed on the sofa, didn't need to wake up early as it was the weekend. Anderson sat on the sofa and I lay my head on his thighs while I stretched my legs; I found the movie channel and watched a couple of interesting movies. We were both wide awake until 2AM, decided to watch one more movie then head on to bed. By the middle of the movie, was already yawning and had started falling asleep on the sofa; Anderson switched off the TV and we both went upstairs to bed. He slept in my room to make sure I was ok, just in case something happened or I would start crying again; he got the extra bedding we had and placed it on the floor, got the blankets covered himself while I turned off the lights, we kissed each other good night and slept till the next morning.
In lieu of everything that had been going on and with the support and comfort from Anderson, I was able to see through the entire summer without my parents except talking to them on the phone and focusing on my internship. Earlier in the week, Anderson had spoken to Chris and Jaime telling them what had happened, they both came to hang out at my place to keep me company to try to make me laugh and be happy. He had also spoken to his parents about my situation and requested his parents to allow him to continue staying with me until the end of the summer and that we would return to Boston together in mid-August. It was truly a tough summer, but having the internship, my boyfriend Anderson and my two buddies Chris and Jaime kept me busy and distracted from thinking about my parents. There were times I would find myself going for long walks during lunch time just to clear my head or went to the malls to see the latest fashion to keep my mind occupied. I had a lot of questions going on in my mind trying to understand what was going on with my parents. It was hardly like them to not be around in Chicago in the summer and this was the first time they had been away for more than two months away from Chicago and overseas. I couldn't help but start thinking negative things, worried about their safety, worried if dad's business was going well or were they in trouble which is the reason for leaving Chicago or the States for such a long time. My mind and body was feeling very exhausted just thinking about everything. I needed to know what was going on, I needed to get answers but was not sure where, how or whom to speak to about any of this, but first I needed to recover, be calm, put everything into perspective and then start digging and investigating everything from the very beginning.
Our summer holiday was quickly coming to an end and there were quite a lot of things needed to be done before heading back to Boston. School was scheduled to start on Monday August 29th, 2022; we had three more weeks left. I was to complete my internship at the end of July, but requested from Cynthia to extend it for another two weeks which meant my last day of my internship would be Friday August 12th, 2022. My reason for this extension was in the hope that my parents would be back in Chicago before I returned to Boston, thus I can be able to see them and spend a week or two with them. I didn't want to tell Cynthia the truth so told her that I wanted to work more since we were starting school towards the end of August. I had also informed Anderson, Chris and Jaime of my decision and reason for extending my internship with the company. They all agreed and supported my decision which I was truly grateful.
As the month of July quickly came to an end, it was time to start preparing for the fall and our return back to Boston. For the next two weeks of August, I continued to work at the company, continued to enjoy Anderson's company and weekend visits from Chris and Jaime. For these two weekends Anderson and I were invited for lunch and dinner at Chris's and Jaime's place; the first weekend was at Chris's place and the second weekend was at Jaime's place. It was actually a good idea as I had not seen their parents in such as long time apart from speaking to them on the phone while in Boston, so it was a good time to see them, thank them as well. I had wanted to ask them questions about my parents, but then again I thought it was not the right time to ask questions and who knows maybe they might not know anything or might not be willing to share any information, so I decided to not bother them and do my own investigation and find the answers myself. Chris and Jaime's parents were very happy to see Anderson and me, they asked quite a lot of questions about our studies, life in Boston and how our parents were doing. They had heard from Chris and Jaime that my parents were not around for the summer, and I was having a very hard time adjusting without them around. They comforted and hugged me apologizing ensuring and cheering me up that everything will be well and my parents will be home in no time.
Although my parents and I had been keeping in touch via video calls, I was still having doubts of their whereabouts, worried if they were ok or not and why they had taken such a very long business trip this time around. I just didn't know what else to think or what to say, and as my two weeks as an internship were coming to an end, I needed to get some reassurance that my parents were safe and well and they would be returning home soon. The only way I would get this reassurance was by getting information from Cynthia as she knew and was always informed of the CED and the Director's travel plans. I casually mentioned to her that since I was ending my internship would like to personally thank the CEO and Director for giving me this opportunity and would like to put forward a request of working part time with the company next summer. Cynthia was quite pleased with my request but was unable to give or share any travel information or the current whereabouts of the CEO and Director, however she did mention that they were scheduled to return to Chicago this month which was August. After hearing that my heart, body and mind were in a state of relief and I could now return back home and happily prepare to return back to Boston.
When Anderson came to pick me up at 7PM, I told him briefly what happened at the company today and considering tomorrow was my last day working as an intern at my dad's company, I was quite relieved after receiving the information from Cynthia. "See I told you there was nothing to worry about," said Anderson. "Yes I was clearly over thinking and worried for no reason." Tomorrow was going to be my last day working as an intern, and it was also going to be our last weekend in Chicago as we were all flying back to Boston on Friday August 19th, 2022.
On my last day of work, my colleagues took me out for lunch, gave me nice gifts with cards wishing me all the best in Boston. I thanked them for their support and encouragement and truly enjoyed not only working with them but also learned and gained a lot of knowledge and work experience. It had been my hope that I would return next summer to start working part time as the Executive Assistant for the CEO and Director; this meant I would be getting a salary and some privileges; I was already looking forward to next summer. Before I left the office, I left thank you cards on the desks of all my colleagues including Cynthia, and at 7 PM, viewed the office one more time before leaving to go meet Anderson downstairs at the reception area. To celebrate our completion of my internship and his part time job, we had dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant this time not only with a good meal but with a glass of champagne and wine. Anderson made the dinner very special not just for me but for both of us, he wanted it to be a wonderful, romantic, amazing and a relaxing night and truly it was, couldn't complain. All the tears, stress, and pressure I had been feeling since the beginning of the summer were wiped away with the wonderful dinner surprise, comfort and an amazing night with music and dance from Anderson. I couldn't have asked for a wonderful way to end my day and summer.
During our last week in Chicago we were wrapping up a few things and taking care of errands; I had to make sure our house was clean, the lawn cut and cleaned, flowers in the garden watered, all the laundry including the bed sheets were washed and dried. All the food, drinks and snacks that we bought had to either be eaten or we would give them away, the good thing was that it wasn't much so we were able to clear everything from the fridge and freezer before we left. I had asked Mrs. Anders and Mrs. Peterson if they could from time to time check up on our house and water the flowers and just to make sure that everything was OK in the house to which they happily agreed. I had decided to stay at Anderson's for the last four days before departing for Boston; I had packed everything and locked up all the valuables, windows, cupboards and the storage rooms before leaving our house. On the evening of Sunday August 14th, 2022, Anderson and I departed from my house to go stay at his place for four days before departing on Friday August 19th for Boston. As Anderson prepared to drive off, I turned around and looked at our house one more time in the hopes that my parents will be coming back soon and I shall be able to see them again.
When we arrived at The Andrews, I was greeted and welcomed with open arms from Mr. and Mrs. Andrews. I took this opportunity to thank them for hosting me and for their support especially in my relationship with Anderson. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews had always been very respectful, friendly, kind and loving to me and my family. I had always appreciated their support and encouragement and everything they had ever done not only for me but for their son Anderson. It had been a fun four days at their place as his parents were very happy to spend time with both of us before heading back to Boston. Mrs. Andrews who enjoys cooking made some delicious cuisines including Italian, Spanish and Thai food including great desserts which were not to be missed. After lunch or dinner Anderson and I would help clear up the dinner table, wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen. Afterwards, we both chilled in Anderson's room and were on a video call with Chris and Jaime for about two hours while Mrs. Andrews prepared the guest room bed for me where I would be sleeping for the next four nights.
Our last night in Chicago had finally arrived; we spent it having a wonderful dinner sharing jokes, stories and laughter until 11PM. Before heading to bed, I thanked Mr. and Mrs. Andrews for their wonderful hospitality and for an amazing four nights I had at their place. We prepared for bed, showered, washed and blow dried my hair, by the time we hit the bed it was already past mid-night. Thank goodness we had already packed and all that was left was all the morning items we would use and our pajamas. The next morning we were all awake at 8 in the morning, took a shower, dressed up and went downstairs. Mrs. Andres and her husband were already awake and breakfast had already been made; sausages, bacon, pancakes, toast, coffee, and juice, all of my favorite foods for breakfast. As our flight was at 2 in the afternoon, we were in no hurry at all! We enjoyed a beautiful morning chatting while leisurely enjoying our breakfast until 10 in the morning. After breakfast, brushed my teeth and finished packing the last few items. I checked in on Chris and Jaime, and they were already awake, had already finished breakfast and were finishing up their final packing. We had planned to meet at the airport entrance at 12PM.
For the remaining two hours, Anderson and I spent it in his room, reminiscing, chilling in each other arms until it hit me that this was going to be Anderson's final year at Boston University, while it was going to be our third year for myself, Chris, and Jaime; this was already very sad news for me and while I didn't want to bring it up, my facial expression was already not looking happy at all. I told Anderson, "this is your last year at Boston University, I am already feeling sad." Anderson gave me a funny look like I had said something wrong, I also tilted my head as I was not sure if I did truly say something wrong or there was something he knew that I didn't know about his final year at Boston University. "This is not my last year," he says. I looked at him in a confused state of mind as I was not sure if I heard him correctly that this was not his last year and that he had one more year at Boston University, making it a total of five years. I asked "how is that possible?" Apparently because he is talking a double major engineering and business management, four years would not be sufficient to give him full credits for his double degree, so he has to study for five years, this meant he will be graduating at the same time as Chris, Jaime and I. Do you know the happiness and excitement I felt after hearing this news? It was almost as if I had won the million dollar lottery ticket and Christmas arrived early. I screamed and jumped up and down in his bedroom. His parents thought something had happened as they rushed upstairs to his room only for Anderson to tell them, "She's just excited as she now knows we shall be graduating in the same year, she didn't know my program was for five years." "I am sorry for the commotion Mr. and Mrs. Andrews." "No problem, glad all is well," they said. I turned around and hugged and kissed Anderson so many times telling him this is the best news of the day. I wanted to tell Chris and Jaime, but decided to tell them once we get to Boston.
At 11AM, we got ready, brought our luggage downstairs to the boot of the car. We hoped into the car and drove out of Mr. and Mrs. Andrews's parking garage and drove to the airport. I texted Chris and Jaime to see if they had left and they texted back "We already left and headed to the airport." "Great, see you soon," I replied. It took us forty five minutes to get to the airport, on our way we were chatting about our school year plans and other things we planned to do this semester. I had also sent a voice message and a text message to my parents' but didn't get a response. I figured they must be busy and decided to wait, should I not hear from them once I get to Boston, will call them. We arrived at the airport shortly after 12PM as there was traffic. Chris, Jaime and their parents were waiting for us at the entrance gate of the airport. Mrs. Andrews and Mrs. Anders and Mrs. Peterson were excited seeing each other again as it had been a while since they last met, even the husbands. They escorted us to the check-in area, where we checked in our luggage, got our tickets and boarding passes and were now heading to the immigration section. We all hugged each other, once again thanking them for everything and would let them know when we arrived in Boston. As we were heading towards the immigration, we were all waving at each other with kisses; once we were at the immigration we could no longer see them. It was a smooth five minute process as the line was not long as it was in our previous travels. We had another forty minutes before boarding our plane, so we decided to find a coffee shop not far away from our boarding gate to get coffee and a snack. Luckily there was a star bucks coffee and there were empty seats, I bought the boys coffee with snacks which they appreciated and enjoyed. At 1:15 in the afternoon, we were boarding our flight, once we were at our seats, we all sent messages to our parents letting them know; we are on the flight and will let them know once we reached Boston and then switched off our phones. It was a two hour twenty minute flight which was perfect for a good nap before landing in Boston.
As the plane was on the runway getting ready for takeoff, I started reflecting on everything that happened throughout this summer. I was trying not to think too much about it, but it kept on bothering my head, the images, and tears, the voices of my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Anders, Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, Jaime, Chris and Anderson, and the vision of our house. I was feeling confused, anxious and unhappy and started having negative feelings and doubts of everything. There were times and days I never panicked or worried about my parents and their whereabouts because I always knew they would come back home safely no matter what, but this time around my heart was not settled at all, and no matter how many times Anderson, Chris, Jaime and their parents tried to comfort me, making me feel better and assuring that everything will be OK, I still felt like there was a big part of my heart and mind that was telling me something was wrong, something did not feel right and sitting around was not going to help me at all. Before the plane was about to takeoff, I told myself "If I land in Boston and will not have received a message or a phone call from my parents' then I will call them. If they don't pick up, I will give them a week and then make a decision and take matters into my own hands.