Saturday was a resting day, and Wendy knew that all too well. Laying on her sofa, she’d watched TV and lazed around her apartment all day, delighted to be sheltered from the chilly winter air. Gazing at her balcony, she noticed the afternoon sun gently shining through a couple of clouds, and the delicate way it's rays illuminated her living room.

'Velazquez: The baroque master',  one of the books she’d picked up from the library, laid on the table before her. Wendy had been reading through some parts of it during the week, preparing for the upcoming exposition on Monday, and she had been pleased to notice most of the information written on it’s pages was already familiar to her.

Picking up the book, she ran her fingertips across it’s cover. Wendy thought about how she’d have to return it sooner or later, and a part of her hoped she’d bump into Irene at the library once again. Her mind had just started to wander with thoughts of Velazquez and a certain raven haired girl, when her phone beeped from the other side of the sofa. Leaning over to pick it up, she read the notification.

Cute Joy <3  [17:03]

Want to go have a coffee? My treat~

Wendy smiled at the strange means of persuasion her best friend had, typing in her response after laying the book back on the table.

Wannie [17:03]

La Terrasse?

Cute Joy <3  [17:04]

Meet you there in an hour ;)

Getting up from her spot, Wendy headed to her room to get changed, knowing that had been enough laying around for the day.

***

The sun was setting, and Wendy basked in the smell of freshly baked goods as she walked down her favorite coffee shop’s street. Entering the warm establishment, she looked around, taking in the familiar surroundings. The wooden walls and soft lighting felt the coziest in the winter, when she knew they shielded her from the cold outside. La Terrase had always been a quiet yet lively place, with plants and decorations lining the dark marble counters, and soon after Wendy discovered it’s amazing pastries, it became the usual place for the pair of best friends to meet up.

After a few seconds, she spotted Joy a few feet from her, sitting at one of the tables lining the wall, looking out the window to her side. The girl’s eyes turned to Wendy when she heard the soft chime of the bells indicating someone had come in, and she instantly smiled at her friend. Wendy waved at her, walking over and setting her coat on the backrest of the wooden chair. Sitting down, she picked up on Joy’s playful tone as soon as she spoke.

“I see you only hang out with me if it involves me paying for your food.” The brunette said, running her hand through her hair.

“How could I say no to a pretty girl and free coffee?” Wendy answered back, wiggling her brows at her friend, who was now scrunching her nose.

“Greasy.” Joy cringed, chuckling at the brunette’s anctics. “So,” she asked, “how’s everything going? Are you an expert on Velazquez yet?” 

“Always have been.” Wendy joked, a soft smile on her face. “But being honest, I feel like this exposition is going to be great, we’re going to have plenty of beautiful artworks on display, and Velazquez is always popular among the visitors." She rubbed her hands together as she continued. "I’m looking forward to the whole thing, even if I can’t help but be a little bit nervous.”

“It’s going to go well, you’ve always been amazing at talking about paintings, plus, you have a talent for explaining techniques and small details.” Joy looked at Wendy, smiling. “You know, I’ve never seen someone speak about art the way you do.”

Wendy sighed and looked down, touching the back of her neck. “It’s not that big of a deal,” she shyly muttered, “I just… I love doing it.”

“That’s the point Wan, you love it, and people notice that.” Joy leaned back on her chair. “You’ll do great, promise.” She said with a wink.

Wendy smiled fondly at her best friend, before the gears in her brain started to turn, and her grin turned into a playful smirk.

“Wow, look at you sounding all mature, who would've thought this is the same person who whined to me all morning about her local grocery store running out of mint chocolate ice cream.”

Joy gasped, acting shocked. “Excuse me, but that was a very heartbreaking and infuriating experience I didn’t deserve to go through. How could they have run out of mint choco ice cream anyways? I’m like, their only customer.” 

“Of course you are Joy, you’re the only person insane enough to willingly eat toothpaste.” Wendy quipped, earning a gasp from her friend.

Before the dark haired girl could go on about how ‘mint chocolate clearly doesn’t taste like toothpaste, and if you actually brushed your teeth you would know Wendy’, the waiter arrived with a medium latte and an iced americano in hand.

Joy, who seconds ago seemed ready to fight the shorter girl, politely smiled and thanked him. After setting both cups on the table, the young boy left, and Wendy was left looking at her friend curiously, her head slightly tilted to the side.

“You know my order by heart?” She asked.

Joy took the small packet of sugar in her hands, ripping one of it’s corners off. “Duh,” She replied, rolling her eyes, “I’ve known you for ages, dummy. I still can't understand why you'd drink iced coffee in the middle of winter though.”

Wendy chuckled, “Aww, that’s so sweet, I can’t believe you love me that much.” She said, taking the cup of coffee in her hands.

“Don’t let it get to your head.” Joy scoffed, trying to stop a smile from showing on her lips. 

“Oh, believe me I will.” Wendy happily answered, taking a sip from her drink.


***


Joy had insisted on going on a walk, and after having ignored Wendy’s comments about the cold, the taller girl had now ended up with her nose closely nuzzled into her scarf as the pair made their way across a quiet park.

“Told you it would be cold.” Wendy casually said.

Joy took her hand out of her pocket, softly nudging her friend on the shoulder with it. “Whatever, but I told you it would be pretty.”

Wendy couldn’t argue against that, the sky had gotten darker, and the gentle lights of the city illuminated the gravel paths of the park in a beautiful way. As they walked, the fallen leaves crunched below their feet, and the soft hum of families getting ready to go home filled the evening air. Joy was right, it was indeed pretty.

However, the shorter girl’s happiness was short-lived, since soon enough, she felt her nerves start to crawl up her back as she walked. Taking a deep breath, she readied herself to talk about the concern that had been plaguing her mind for days.

“I was thinking about calling my mother.” Wendy muttered, almost unsure of her words.

Joy stopped in her tracks and turned to her friend, worried eyes wide in surprise. “But, I thought you weren’t on good terms with your family.” She warily said, careful not to sound harsh.

“Yeah, we aren’t.” Wendy tried to laugh it off, but it only ended up sounding like a gloomy huff. 

Softly kicking the gravel below her foot, she stuffed her hands in her coat’s pockets before continuing. “Still, I think I want to give it a try, fixing things, that is. You know, with the exposition coming up, I thought I could invite her to come and take a look. Maybe mend our relationship a little.” 

Joy looked at her friend attentively as she listened, waiting for her to go on.

“I’d invite grandma Anne, but she’s getting old, and I wouldn’t want to trouble her by making her walk around the museum for a couple hours.” Wendy explained. “And my father…” She paused, tilting her head to the sky, watching how the stars faintly twinkled in the darkness. “I still don’t want to talk to him.”

Sighing, she turned her gaze back to her friend with a bittersweet smile. “Guess my mother is pretty much my only chance.”

Joy took her friend’s hands in hers. “Are you sure, Wan? It’s been five years.” She asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

“Yeah,” Wendy started, softly squeezing her friend’s palms. “better late than never, right?”

Joy’s troubled gaze softened at the gesture. The younger had always seen Wendy put on a brave face, talk about her parents merely as people she had once known, as if there had been nothing more to it. But now, seeing the hurt in Wendy’s eyes, Joy realized a part of her still hoped she could have her parents back someday, that she could love them again. Pulling Wendy towards her, she wrapped her arms around her small figure, resting her chin on top of the brunette’s head.

“Right.” She softly answered, noticing the shorter girl hug her back.

The pair stood there for a moment, until Joy felt the shorter relax with a content sigh. 

"Wannie, as sappy as it may sound, just know no matter what happens, I’ll always stick by your side.” Joy promised, softly ruffling her friend’s hair “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Poking the taller’s side with her fingertip, Wendy heartily chuckled, still snuggled in the warmth of the girl’s embrace.

“Thank god I can’t.”

***

Turning the key to her door, Wendy was greeted once again with Snowball's white fur rubbing against her legs, soft purrs coming from the small kitten. Gently scratching her pet’s head, Wendy closed the door behind her, taking her coat off.

She had been thinking about her conversation with Joy the whole walk home, yet once inside the walls of her apartment, she didn’t feel any braver. Wendy knew what she had to do, and where she had kept it, and after entering her room, she stood before the wooden dresser by her bed. Her hand curled around the wooden knob as she opened the top drawer, eyes spotting the folded piece of paper lying inside.

Taking it in her hands, she ran her hand through her hair before opening it. The nine digit number scribbled on it seemed to gaze right back at her, almost expectantly. She recalled writing her mother's number down not long after she left her childhood home, in case of any emergency, not even bothering to save her contact details on her own phone. Looking back on it, Wendy felt a tinge of sadness remembering a time when she couldn't even fathom a future where she'd ever want to talk to her family again.

Sat on her bed, she twirled the small piece of paper between her fingertips for a while, before finally unlocking her phone. While she typed the digits in, Snowball entered the room with quiet steps, gracefully hopping on the comfortable bed to lay beside a nervous Wendy. Almost like he noticed the worry on the brunette's eyes, he softly bumped his tiny head on Wendy's thigh, to which Wendy tenderly smiled, absentmindedly starting to caress the small cat's fur.

"Do you think she'll pick up?" She asked her small companion, who remained silent by her side, only letting out a purr from time to time.

"Yeah, I don't know either." Wendy sighed, hovering her fingertip over the call button.

‘Here goes nothing.’ She thought to herself, pressing the green icon.

One ring. Two rings. Wendy continued to Snowball’s soft fur.

“Hello?”

She froze for an instant, her hand stopping it’s previous movement. It had been years since she’d last heard her mother’s voice, and the bittersweet familiarity of it had made her heartbeat halt for an instant.

“Um…hi, it’s me, Wendy.”

The brunette was met with silence from the other side of the line. Getting anxious, she decided to speak again, afraid of letting her fear take over and make her abruptly end the call.

“I know we haven’t talked in a long time, but I wanted to tell you that the city’s museum will be hosting an exposition on Monday. I’ll be working there as a guide, explaining paintings to visitors, and…” Wendy paused, taking a breath as she looked down at her pet. Resuming her gentle , she continued. “And I thought I would invite you to drop by. You know, maybe I can show you around?” She spoke, a hint of uncertainty in her question.

“Wendy..” Her mother sighed, an unreadable tone in her voice.

“Only if you’re able to come, of course.” The brunette quickly added, shuffling around in her place a bit. “The exposition lasts from 10am to 7pm, there’s plenty of time, it’s just…” Wendy stopped, swallowing the lump on .

“I’d like you to be there.”

After a beat of silence, the woman on the other side of the line spoke once again.

“I’ll think about it.”

A strange yet familiar feeling washed over Wendy at her mother’s words. She wasn’t sure if to feel relieved, uncertain, or simply unfazed. She didn’t know what her answer had meant, or if she even wanted to know.

“Okay, um… see you.” Wendy answered, quickly tapping the button to end the call.

Plopping down on her bed, she closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath. Tired from the stress, she took the nearest pillow she found, hugging it close to her chest as she shifted to lay on her side. A million thoughts raced through her mind, each of them more confusing than the last, and she just wanted them to stop. She just wanted everything to stop, if only for a moment.

For a while she laid there, eyes fixed on the wall as her thoughts started to become blurrier, and before she could even realize it, she had fallen asleep.