Was this an apology?

Ben waited outside for Dana to calm down. He knew that he had gone too far, but he couldn’t control himself. When he was around her, somehow his brain and body seemed to reject all proprieties and had one only imprint ‘she was his’. Noticing that she had no intention of coming out. He opened the door “Not coming? Do you want to continue?”

“Eh!” Dana stared up with a tear stained face

Ben felt his chest getting heavier as he noticed her tear stained face. He walked into the room and squatted next to her. She flinched back out of reflex. She didn’t want to be tangled with this man.

“I am sorry. I was out of line. Don’t cry” His eyes were filled with sincerity as he looked at her. He raised his hands and gently wiped her tears.

“You… you” She stammered for a while but couldn’t vocalize what she wanted to say. He helped her up and led her out of the room into the kitchen area. He turned around to face her and spoke seriously “I like you a lot, I don’t know why. Ever since we met 4 weeks ago, I have been thinking about you. I was impetuous, but I don’t regret it”. He grinned wickedly and continued “To be honest, I enjoyed it very much”

She glared at him. ‘Was this an apology? Bastard!’

“This look works for me as well” He smiled roguishly and took a step forward “Be my girlfriend?” Although it should have been a request, it sounded almost like an order.... an unrefusable one!

“Go to hell” she yelled as she stormed away; he watched with a smile on his face after being stunned for a minute. None had ever dared to yell at him before.

Shadow watched from the sidelines in wonder ‘His boss was yelled at and is happy?’

By the time Dana walked into the dining area, everyone was seated with Mr and Mrs Appleton at the head. Dana walked quietly over to the empty space beside Lara to sit. Noticing that it was Daniel on the other side, she pleaded with Lara to swap seats. She didn’t want to deal with him right now. Lara got up and pulled Dana to sit while she cleverly swapped seats without anyone noticing.

How could this escape Ben’s hawk eye? He was waiting for Dana to take a seat; once she sat down, he realized that the seat opposite her was occupied by Shadow. He stared at Shadow impolitely; feeling the dangerous gaze penetrating holes in his back, shadow looked up. Realizing the change in seating, he discreetly swapped seats with Ben.

After talking with the newbies, Cyril turned to her right to talk to Lara “Lara…Wasn’t it Lara…How have you been? I didn’t get to chat with you all day?” Cyril chatted excitedly as she saw Dana sitting beside her.

Dana laughed as she watched Cyril’s animated expressions.

“Why are you not responding?” Cyril pulled her hand childishly.

“I was considering which one to respond to” Dana smiled affectionately. Cyril was much younger than her and often acted like a spoilt child with her, often attracting Lara’s sarcasm.

“I didn’t want to be annoyed by someone with the mental faculty of a primary school student, so I swapped” Lara pipped impolitely.

“Same her” Cyril poked her tongue out.

“How have you been? Why didn’t you join us earlier?” Dana asked in concern.

Now that gossip was in session, Lara leaned in. But before they continue, Mr. Appleton tapped on his wine glass attracting everyone’s attention.

“Thank so much for you time today. You’ve filled not only the stomachs of those who walked hungry through these doors, but also their hearts. Our children thank you for your generosity and want to say this themselves, if you all permit.”

Everyone nodded and applauded.

The kids walked down in an orderly manner and stood in a row from oldest to youngest and sang a song they composed by themselves. It was out of tone and out of rhyme, but it touched the hearts of those at the table. They applauded loudly.

Sarah’s eyes grew misty. She leaned on Frank in satisfaction.

Dana felt a burning gaze on her and looked straight to see Ben sitting opposite staring passionately at her. She shifted her gaze uncomfortably and made a mental note to ignore him and not look straight ahead till she left the table.

“Let’s say a word of prayer before we eat”

“Hurry up, the kids have another surprise and its almost bedtime for the young ones” Mrs Appleton urged from the side.

Everyone burst out laughing as Mrs Appleton whisper was as loud as Mr Appleton’s announcement.

“Dear Lord, thank you for the compassion in our hearts, the ability you have bestowed and the food we share. Amen”

“Amen”

“Amen”

After the prayer, the chatter around the table got noisier. Mr and Mrs Appleton watched with a smile in their eyes.

Lara leaned in and urged “Cyril, you were saying…”

Cyril looked around uncomfortably and said in a low voice “I am not going to come anymore!”

“What??”

“Why??”

Dana and Lara asked in shock.

“I have already decided, I just came this week so I can tell Auntie Bess” Cyril continued with a dejected look.

“What’s going on?” Lara asked sternly.

Cyril didn’t know what to say and bit her lower lip and kept her head down.

“Has this got anything to do with Alfred?” Dana asked uneasily.

Cyril looked at Dana with a difficult expression, she was toying with the idea of whether she should tell them or not? ‘Could she trust them? Were they as sincere as they looked?’ Although she was only 22 years old and looked outgoing, she was weary of trusting people.

Although Ben had an indifferent expression and was pretending to listen to Shadow and Frank, his attention was solely focused on Dana and their conversation.

“You aren’t listening, are you?” Frank finally asked

“Nope”

“Actually, I quite like their vibe. I feel like I am back at University” Sarah butted in as she was also eavesdropping.

“Do you not enjoy doing this anymore?” Lara asked cautiously.

“No… no I love doing it. It makes my existence feel worthwhile” Cyril expressed her stance hurriedly and then pursed her lips into a tight line as she looked at Dana and Lara. She looked like she was making a difficult decision.

Dana and Lara waited patiently as they ate their food elegantly.

“Actually you’re right. It has a lot to do with Alfred” she sighed “Last week, while we were returning, my car had a flat tire and Alfred offered me a ride. I didn’t want to accept as you know how sleezy he is”

Lara made a puking expression while Dana knitted her brows.

“You two had left and I saw Daniel was walking towards his car, so I asked him if I could hitch a ride. He declined saying he didn’t want to be misunderstood by someone he was pursuing and walked away.”

Lara exchanged superfluous glances with Dana rolling her eyes. Dana responded with a warning glance. Although this exchange was missed by Cyril, it was not missed by the team sitting opposite them.

“What about Jessica and Payne?” Dana asked as she thought of them.

Cyril shook her head as if she didn’t know and continued in a low voice “I accepted Alfred’s offer. As we got on the highway, his hands began wandering. I told him to stop politely and impolitely. Do you know what he said?”

Dana and Lara did not interrupt her, Dana placed her hand on hers reassuringly.

“He said” she sobbed softly “that I should be feeling lucky that he wasn’t disgusted by a slut like me”

“What? That bastard!” Lara fumed, her voice raising a notch while Dana sat there stiffly. She thought about her encounter earlier and was grateful to Ben, although she didn’t know what he did. However, the minute she looked up and met his passionate gaze, she thought of what he did a few minutes ago, the gratitude she felt left without a trace and she glared at him before turning her gaze away.

Listening in on their conversation, Ben could guess her line of thought; he couldn’t help but be amused by her change in expressions “ Hehe…. hehe.. hehe...” He let out a low laugh.

Unaware of these subtle interactions, Cyril continued in a low voice “I sat there being abused until the car slowed in traffic and I took my chances to jump off.”

“You what?” Lara looked at Cyril with respect

“How did you get home? Were you ok? Dana asked anxiously

“I walked for a bit and hailed a cab when I saw one. What shocked me was the report from the people who repaired my car, they said the tire was purposefully punctured”

“Bastard!” Dana and Lara cursed in anger and looked furiously at Alfred who was oblivious to this and enjoying being the center of attraction with the university group.

“Actually you don’t have to stop doing this” Dana spoke after a little bit “We can come earlier than others and help out before leaving. I was thinking of talking to Auntie Bess about this earlier. I am tired of walking on egg shells too!”

“Really?” Cyril asked as her eyes lit up. She really enjoyed doing this.

“Is it okay with you” she looked at Lara apprehensively

“What?” Lara raised her eyebrows “Missing out on a chance to be abused” She twisted her lips regretfully “I will have to give it up reluctantly for you two!”

The three burst out laughing.

Sarah had a smile on her lips and decided to chat with them later. She was going to confess that she overheard their conversation and also ask if they would consider letting her join them. Although it was tiring, she felt satisfied.

Ben felt regretful. The one opportunity he finally managed to get to interact with her was also coming to an end. He looked vengefully at Alfred. Shadow felt the temperature at his side drop to a bone chilling level and followed his boss’s gaze and saw Alfred boisterously laughing with the group around him.  ‘That guy was not going to smile let alone laugh much longer’ Shadow silently said a prayer for him.

Everyone had finished eating when Daniel leaned over “Dana”

The three of them had just finished laughed and looked over guiltily worried that Daniel might have overheard them. However, that worry was for naught.

“We’re having a small celebration for my son’s third birthday tomorrow, would you like to come over?” He asked anxiously

“Is it just Dana or are you inviting all of us?” Lara asked with a cheeky smile

“All of you, of course!” Daniel quickly covered up.

“I’m sorry, I’m busy” Lara rolled her eyes with a lopsided grin.

“I have other commitments” Dana politely refused.

“I …I …” Cyril looked at the Dana and Lara for help. She had previously mentioned that she was free tomorrow. But she didn’t want to go after her last stint with Alfred, she was weary of everyone even though Daniel looked harmless.

“What? You just promised and you want to go back on your word?” Lara asked feigning anger

“No… no” Cyril smiled gratefully at Lara and politely refused Daniel.

“Oh” Daniel looked gloomy but quickly regained composure and scratched his head “It was really short notice…never mind, some other time” and flashed a handsome smile.

Their attention was once again attracted to the tapping of the wine glass, but this time it was Mrs Appleton.

“Before desert is served, the kids have organized a little surprise for someone who is very special to them and have dedicated today’s desert to that person. They pitched out from their money boxes and efforts to make this desert to show their affection” Mrs Appleton beamed while everyone looked at each other in suspense.

The oldest kid stepped forward and said “We love you not because of the items you’ve given us, but because you made us feel loved and cherished. This is not just a special day for you, but also for us. We know you might be annoyed with this celebration but we couldn’t contain our joy and wanted to express our love”

She stepped back and they all began to sing Happy Birthday. They sang it without mentioning the name.

Ben noticed Dana getting uncomfortable although she had a smile on her face; everyone else's expression was amused as though they were looking forward to the kids breaking the suspense.

Mrs Appleton bought out a heart shaped cake that was decorated with red roses as they finished.

The second oldest child stepped forward with a smile “This is our heart, decorated with your favorite flower”

Lara looked at Dana in suspicion. Dana ignored her and looked forward praying this was the end of the ruckus and that they would leave the suspense as is. But no, heavens sometimes chose to ignore her prayers.

The youngest child walked forward shyly with a card she made and a red rose. Everyone’s gaze followed her. She stopped before Dana, raised her head shyly and with a cute look on her face she beckoned Dana with her little hand to come close.

Lara and Cyril looked at Dana with wide eyes ‘Was today Dana’s birthday?’

Lara felt sad that she didn’t even know her birthday. She was not qualified to be called best friend!

Ben looked surprised and happy as though he struck a pot of gold. ‘He was here to celebrate her special day’

Dana bend down to face the little one; “ Mwaah” she smacked a kiss loudly “Happy birthday Auntie Dana. I love you most!”

Dana could not reject the innocence, she smiled and graciously accepted the gift and gave her a cuddle.

The kids were already lined up this time, from youngest to oldest; each holding a rose and a little box.

They presented their little gifts that they had made, kissed and wished her happy birthday.

The second oldest was Mark, a 13 year old he stood awkwardly in front of Dana and asked cautiously “Can I kiss you Auntie or would it be rude because I am a man?”

Everyone burst out laughing except Ben who sat there with pursed lips. Luckily everyone was immersed in the ruckus and no one noticed.

Dana laughed “Why does Mark want to kiss Auntie?”

“Because I love auntie like my own Auntie and want to give my wishes” he replied in innocence.

“Then would you hesitate to kiss your Auntie?”

Having received his answer, he happily hugged Dana and kissed her happy birthday.

When all of the kids finished personally wishing her, everyone gathered around for another round of songs before cutting the cake. Everyone wished her well smearing icing on her face except Daniel, Shadow and Ben. Dana was feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable. It had been a long time since anyone celebrated her birthday or fussed about her.

“It’s your birthday? I didn’t know” Daniel came around after almost everyone had wished her.

“Um…” Dana responded with a nod. She didn’t want to stand chatting with Daniel but couldn’t find any excuse to slip away.

“How about I take you out for dinner as my treat?”

“That’s not necessary” Dana politely refused.

“I want to”

“This…” Dana paused with a difficult expression.

“What do you want?” Lara walked up with a smile and 2 slices of cake.

“Eh” Daniel scratched his head embarrassedly “Nothing, I just wanted to treat Dana to dinner as my Birthday gift”

“Oh” Lara let out a light laugh and said imitating the automated announcement tone “Please register your interest with Lara Burton and when Dana’s diary is free we’ll give you a call. Please be warned waiting times may vary from 3- 6 months.”

“Wha….?” Daniel stared at them for a minute before realizing that they were rejecting his offer in a lighthearted manner.

Shadow was hesitating whether he should wish or not… after deliberating for a while, he walked up to Dana “Happy Birthday”

“Thank you” Dana smiled.