After two more days at the villa, one of the Chiu’s private jets was sent their way to take them home.

     “Are we gonna tell your dad?” Gerald asked, putting an arm around Kim.

     “Well, yeah. But we have to wait for the right time to tell them, of course,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

     “Okay. I’m sure he’ll be happy for us,” he said, pulling her closer—if possible.

     “Definitely,” she said looking up at him. And he looked back. He gave her small kisses on her forehead and a searing kiss on her lips.

     After two hours, the plane finally landed and the happy couple made their way home in the limo.

     “Kimmy, you seem bubbly,” he mom commented as soon as she saw her daughter smiling when they came in through the front door.

     “Bubbly?” she asked stepping into the living room with Gerald.

     “Bubbly; happier than usual,” she said looking at Gerald’s arm that was around Kim’s shoulders.

     Kim took note of this and stepped in front of Gerald, letting his arm drop. Her mother eyed them suspiciously with a mischievous smile, then stepped into the dining room.

     The two saw Mr. Chiu when they followed her mom in the dining room. “Kimmy?” he said looking at her intently.

     “Yeah? What you think I’m not your daughter?” she asked with a laugh.

     “You might not be,” he said standing up and looking at his daughter. “You’re smiling. And laughing!”

     “Papa,” Kim started, hugging her father. “You’ve seen me smile before.”

     “Yeah, five years ago!” her father recalled.

     “Daddy,” she said looking up at him. “You’re over exaggerating.”

     “No, literally. I have not seen my baby girl smile in over four years. I have a video of when you last smiled: it was your 18^th birthday,” her father told her and Gerald.

     “You’re serious?” Kim asked, thoughtfully. She hadn’t really noticed.

     “Yeah. A father cannot forget when his daughter had stopped becoming happy.”

     That afternoon, Gerald found Kim in the gazebo by the garden.

     “Hi,” he greeted. “Mind if I join you?”

     “Please?” she said. “I could use some company.”

     He sat down and put his arm around her, holding her hand. She laid her head on his shoulders and they just sat there, enjoying each other’s company.

     “Is it true?” Gerald asked.

     “Is what true?” Kim asked back.

     “That you haven’t smiled in four years?”

     “I don’t know,” she said. “I haven’t been paying attention. Why?”

     “Nothing,” he said. “I just wanted to know.”

     “Why is it bothering you?”

     “Well,” he said, looking at her. “I can’t help but feel guilty.”

     “Why?”

     “Because I have a feeling,” said he. “That I’m the reason that your beautiful smile remained unseen for four years.”

     “No,” she said. “Of course not. I mean—,”

     “Kim,” Gerald stopped her. “Come on now.”

     “Okay,” she said. “There is—might be—a possibility that—probably, maybe—it’s because of you.”

     “Kim.”

     “Okay, okay,” she said in defeat. She knew that he was right. She was mad at him. She actually hated him—for four years. If there is a possibility it’s a lot more than a slight one. “It wasn’t entirely because of you, though. I wouldn’t have minded having you around. If only my parents weren’t so ‘proud’ of you,” she said with air quotes.

     “That’s why,” he said smiling, “I’m going to make it up to you.”

     “How?” she asked interrogatively.

     “We are going out tomorrow,” Gerald said, assuredly.

     “’Out?’” Kim repeated, looking at him.

     “’Out!’” Gerald repeated once again. “You know: to the park, movies.”

     “No way, dude,” Kim laughed laying back down.

     “Why not?” Gerald asked, smiling.

     “Because.”

     “’Because….’ What?”

     “Look,” Kim said. “All that’s gonna happen if we go out are the following: people with make fun of you, girls with throw themselves at you, and those same girls will be staring me down or rolling their pathetic little eyes at me, forcing me to punch them in the nose, causing them to call the authorities, thus leading my parents to believe that I’m embarrassing them on purpose.”

     “Sounds like this has happened before,” he said.

     “Trust me,” Kim said. “It hasn’t.”

     “Then how are you so sure that all of that stuff is going to happen?”

     “Well, it’s pretty obvious, I mean, you don’t really need a lady with a crystal ball to figure out that all that stuff’s gonna happen.”

     “Come on, Kim,” Gerald said with those cute, can’t-say-‘no’-to puppy dog eyes. “Please?”

     “Urgh,” Kim groaned. “Fine. But only if we it’s somewhere close by.”

     “That’s fine by me,” Gerald smiled. “We’ll go to the park.”

     “Fine,” Kim said getting up. “I’m kind of tired right now. I’m going to bed.”

     “Yeah,” Gerald said, yawning, “me too.”

     “Come on,” she said, holding out her hand.

     “Let’s go,” he said, taking it. Hand in hand, the happy couple made their way through the garden and back into their home.