Well here I am family. Jayde got off her pink cadillac and looked at the front steps of her home, just for the weekend she has put up with her "loving" family.

"Glad you could make it, honey." Mrs. Lee kissed her daughter in her cheek.

"Well, wouldn't miss it for the world mother." Hinting a little of sarcasm in her comment. "So, what's the occasion? marriage dinner for sister or you finding out she already has tied the knot?"

"Stop joking and it is a marriage dinner for your sister, so be on your best."

"Figured." Jayde took long steps to the staircase. Once more do it for sister, once more be nice, once more ....it's not for Jayde.

≈≈

The man was in his late thirties, had a beard and a pot belly. Only good qualites that would come out of him would be having Hazel live the good life and being loyal unless he takes her for granted and becomes a jerk who likes scandels. 

"So, Mr. Ling, how is business?" My father asked.

The man stuffed himself another spoonful of pasta before answering. "Good enough to have your daugher living like a queen for the rest of her life." My dad smiled at his cliche comment.

"Oh, Mr. Ling, my daughter would be happy with just having you by her side." Like always my mother makes an obvious lie.

"Well by my side she will always be happy and I hope..." Mr. Ling leaned over to Hazel and grabed her hand. "...by her side I will always be happy."

Finally Hazel speaked up. "Aren't we getting to ahead of ourselves." She turned to look at father with pleasing eyes. "Dad, you said this was just a dinner with family not with strangers."

"Honey, he is not a stranger, he is Vietnam's top entreprenuer, a good friend of your dad and a potential partner." Mother, tried to calm Hazel.

"Dad, I meant to tell you earlier but I already have someone."

"I know honey." Dad kept his gaze on his food.

"You do?" Mr. Ling said in a confused tone.

"Oh, no need to worry Mr. Ling, it's nothing serious just a fling." Mother made it sound not big of a problem and looked at dad for comfort.

"No, I love him and I plan to marry him, whether you like it or not." Hazel stood up and confessed what she was trying to keep a secret and with a pitiful look she directed towards me, as if she was waiting for me to back her up as any sister would.

I held the stare until she shook her head as of she couldn't believe I was taking their side and walked out the diner room.

Mr. Ling stayed conversating with parents, finding out what he can do to get Hazel to be by his side and then went out to find he in the balcony. From the look of it, it looked like she was trying hard to not be touched by the man and kept on saying the same sentence to him by the look of her hand gestures. Parents and I were in the tea table observing, I got up not being able to withstand the childish act. 

≈≈

I was in my room when I heard a knock in my room. "Jayde? You asleep?" I put down my glasses and called her in. 

"What is it?" I was still foucs on my laptop. I felt her sit  at the end of my bed.

"Remember when we were young and you'd promised you'd marry me if I didn't find somebody and I promised the same to you."

"Yeah, so?"

"I remember it was in Germany, in our primary school courtyard. We were wearing those awful uniforms which I hated and you were reading me a book."

I was typing away barely paying attention to anything she said. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again.

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Yeah, what happend Jayde, huh? We used to be so close, but now we don't have conversations about ourselves as a matter of fact this is the first time I see you since well I can't remember."

"Well, I mean I'd see you more if you stopped taking trips and started to take your job more seriously."

"Well what about our intimate conversations, huh? What about talking as friends, sisters, you know our secrets."

"We aren't children anymore."

"But what about just a sincere talk about how life is going, you know I met this guy, he is handsome, Korean and really nice. I'd think you liked him too, I talk to him about you all the time and he admires you the way I do. I think I love him, I think-"

"Look, Hazel. You might not be busy but I am and I need to finish this report before the weekend is over and it's dreading on me. So if you would please let me do my work and you go talk to one of your friends about your love stories, okay." I tried hard not to sound mean, she is a part of me, I care for her but she is going to ignore my adivce and keep on going in her beliefs. Actually I already knew about the guy, I do have to keep my eyes on Hazel, what people she is meeting, what she is working on and her encounters with that guy she believes she loves; he doesn't seem to be a bad man, he sounds like a decent man with all the reports I read on him, by public artilces and from my informant.

"Okay." She got off my bed. "I do feel lonely sometimes, you know."

If only I could tell her that that is normal, we all do, I do and she just can't seem to comprehend that, work would keep her off those negative thoughts. If only she could see that, instead of being blinded by her childish acts. I got over it, she can do it too.

≈≈