CHAPTER 4

The alleyway was grubby. Discarded leftovers festered on the ground. Stray cats and dogs wandered about. Trash cans overflowed. But this kind of scenery wasn't new to me. Even after my mom married well into my father's family, she raised me the way she grew up as a poor village girl in Latin America.

What I couldn't believe is how Rowena brought me to such a place. I always thought she was some fancy girl who made dinner reservations at the Ritz and was chauffeured around by some burly guy who probably also doubled as both her butler and bodyguard.

But tonight, she invited me out and even drove the both of us to the "Orient of Huntsfield" as everyone liked to call it. We parked at the main avenue and walked. Rowena was now ahead of me. I tried to pick up the pace but the fatigue got to me. I took out tissues from my pocket, groaning after finding out I only had a few left, all rumpled with one ply each. I stacked them up together and blew my nose as hard as I could.

This was my consolation. Nasal congestion amidst the gunk. I wondered how Rowena was doing.

I saw her stop in front of a brightly lit shop. As I drew closer, I realized the light came from white, paper lanterns adorned with images of cherry blossom tree branches that were strewn on black, mission style roofing. The shop's beams and posts were made of light brown wood. The main entrance was a paper screen door, with glass windows sectioned into small squares on either side of it. A young Japanese man in a red yukata stood in front of a thin, wooden podium holding what looked like a menu with pictures of different ramen bowls greeting customers as they entered.

Rowena turned to me, the glow from the shop lights outlined her figure from head to toe. Her pale skin tinged with a subtle orange hue and emphasized her jet-black short hair. She smiled at me with her soft mauve lips as I reached her.

"You brought me to a ramen place?"

"It's the best in all of Hunstfield," she said plainly.

I smirked.

The shop wasn't big, but it was quite packed. We were brought to a booth fit for two and served hot tea the moment we sat down. The waiter then handed me a menu. I glanced at Rowena who sat quietly and empty-handed, waiting for me to browse.

I tilted my head. She turned to the waiter and already gave her order. I glanced down at the menu, a little overwhelmed with the choices.

"I'll just have what she's having," I did my best to say coolly and handed back my menu. But I could feel the mucus building up again and my voice sounding nasal.

After the waiter repeated our order and left, I turned to the napkin box on the table beside the condiments. It was empty. I held my breath, trying to hold on to my snot in the process. How annoying, of all the nights that I was alone with Rowena in a cute restaurant.

"Here," I turned to find she had placed a couple of tissues in front of me.

I gave her a sheepish grin and quickly blew my nose, hoping the speed would cover up the amount I had lodged up. Rowena said nothing and simply drank her tea. Despite her wealthy background, she looked like she was at home in such a quaint shop. But I suppose this was perfect for her. She was someone you wouldn't give a second glance. And yet the more you look at her—spend time with her and get to know her—you'll see how beautiful she is.

"Why'd you bring me here?" I blurted out.

She looked up from her tea, blinking a bit. "Well," she said. "Whenever I'm sick, the broth here always makes me feel better. And I know you don't get sick often. I thought, maybe this would do the trick." She retracted her hands from the surface of the table then shrugged.

I couldn't say anything. I just smiled. No girl has ever done something so thoughtful, so considerate for me. But I knew I could only expect such from Rowena.

"Gary?" A voice called him out from his thoughts.

Gary realized he had been standing in front of his apartment's large, glass windows. He turned to find his friends looking at him from the living room area. Jason Baker had one of his large buff arms resting on the cushioned backboard of the white sofa. His other hand held his ankle, which rested atop the opposite knee. He wore a plain white shirt and some gray joggers that highlighted his dark skin. His black eyes gave Gary a look of concern. Helga Veskabraunnen with her tear-stained face sat on the opposite white sofa. Her green eyes were downcast as she leaned on Richard's shoulder, who had one arm around her slender, fair-skinned figure and had been stroking her pale blond hair. She was gripping the hem of her coral dress.

"Gary," Richard said sternly.

"W-What?" Gary shook his head to recollect himself.

"You have to sit down," Richard said in a way as if he had been repeating it the past few minutes.

Something in Gary snapped. "Sit down? You're asking me to sit down?" He shouted. "We should do something! Rowena's out there! We shouldn't have let her go! You shouldn't have stopped me! She's... She's... alive..."

Gary's chest heaved. He massaged his temples as he walked towards the sofa and sat next to Jason, who squeezed his shoulder.

"We're not even sure if that's her," Richard said matter-of-factly.

Gary's hand fell to his side. "What? Are you crazy?" He stood up, inched towards Richard, and pointed a finger. "You of all people should know it was! You've known her since you both were in diapers!"

Richard's jaw tensed and he sighed, obviously trying to avoid a fight with Gary, who he knew deserved to feel heated. "Look," he explained. "I feel that it is Rowena. But I also don't want to scare some woman and child, if it wasn't her. I'm saying there are other ways to confirm this."

"A child..." Gary sighed. Images of Hope and the man that came into the emergency room along with Rowena flashed in his mind. "She has a daughter... She has a family..."

"Perhaps," Helga sniffed and sat up properly. "We can get to Rowena through the child."

"We can't kidnap a child, Helga," Jason teased, though only slightly as he knew Helga had some foreign tendencies.

"No, no," Helga said and waved her hands in defense. "We simply look for the child and we'll find Rowena."

"Helga might be on to something," Richard said. "Glenmont's not that big of an area. I'm pretty sure they only have a few schools, especially kindergartens, compared to Huntsfield. I can have someone look around."

They were all silent. But they nodded, each of them determined and desperate. Gary once again turned to look out the windows, realizing that somewhere out there is the woman he once knew and loved.

Rowena felt a thud. She slowly opened her eyes and realized she was in Hope's school. She was the only parent allowed inside to stand directly in front of the classroom while the rest waited in the outside area of the kindergarten. Hope tired out easily and sometimes had to be carried to the car. Rowena cleared her throat and fixed the dark grey blazer she had on even though she was alone in the hallway. She had been dozing off recently, tired from all the overthinking she'd been doing since last week. The sound of Gary's voice calling out her name haunted her dreams. Will they see each other again? Should they move somewhere?

"Mama!" Hope dashed out of the classroom, gripping the straps of her pink backpack. It's a habit that signaled she was asserting her independence. The other students made their way to the hallways and were saying their goodbyes to each other. Rowena crouched down to level with Hope as soon as she finished her greetings with the other kids and stroked her cheek. How could they move when Hope was adjusting so well?

"Did you have a good day, sweetheart?"

Hope nodded earnestly. "We learned three new songs and I—"

"Mrs. Von Dame," Hope's teacher, Ms. Pepper, called. She wore a long-sleeved, yellow sundress with white daisy prints that complimented her dark skin and black curly hair. She still had a youthful glow to her, having just graduated college.

Rowena stood up, patting down her clothes. "It's just miss. Not missus."

"Oh," She gave a polite smile. "Yes, my apologies. May I speak with you privately in the classroom?"

"Why?" Hope asked, a little too defensively.

Ms. Pepper smiled at her. "It's just about the Parent-Teacher conference."

Hope pressed her lips together, seemingly unconvinced. Rowena patted her head. "Why don't you double-check your things if you have everything?"

The little girl nodded hesitantly and removed her backpack to check inside.

Rowena and Ms. Pepper entered the classroom and made their way to the other side by her desk. Ms. Pepper grabbed something then turned to hand her a familiar orange pill bottle. Rowena opened it to find that the contents had been untouched. She looked back up at the teacher who had a solemn look on her face.

"I'm sorry, Mrs—Ms. Von Dame," She bowed her head. "I tried but she just wouldn't take it today either. She said she doesn't want to take it at all."

Rowena sighed. She pocketed the bottle into her black slacks. She then gave Ms. Pepper a reassuring smile.

"It's okay," She said. "Thank you for telling me. I'll talk to Hope myself."

The two adults exchanged their pleasantries and Rowena exited the classroom. She found Hope standing patiently with a slightly worried look on her face, gripping the straps of her backpack. Rowena looked at her for a moment then just extended her hand. Hope relaxed and took it. They walked side by side, silently and slowly. Once outside the building, they made their way towards the parking lot.

"You were interrupted back there, sweetheart." Rowena gently squeezed Hope's tiny hand.

Hope looked up at her and finally smiled. "I want to tell you the songs we learned."

"Sure, honey," Rowena said. "What are they?"

Hope recounted the songs. Then began singing her favorite one, Baba Black Sheep.

As the song came to an end they reached their SUV, ready to open it.

"Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full." Another voice suddenly joined in.

It caused Rowena to flinch and Hope to stop singing. They turned to find a man with black hair and blue eyes dressed up in a suit.

"Hi." Richard smiled awkwardly.

Rowena's jaw clenched. She took a deep breath then quickly pressed on her car keys and opened the back seat door. She let Hope in, removing her backpack from her shoulders and tucking her into her booster seat, trying to obscure her view from Richard. She strapped her seatbelt and placed her bag beside her on the seat. Finally, she closed the door and sighed.

Rowena turned her back against her car and leaned on its side.

"I didn't think Gaspar was still working," she said without looking at him.

"Well," Richard said. "With clients like me, who would want to retire?"

Rowena crossed her arms and closed her eyes for a moment. She sighed again and finally turned to look at Richard. "That didn't seem to be the case five years ago?"

"Judging from your short letter, I suspected you had your reasons." He said with a calm voice. "And you know me, I always respect your choices."

"Would you respect them now? Would you leave me alone?"

Richard's jaw tensed and he seemed to be controlling his breaths.

"We thought you were dead."

Rowena looked away, trying to mask the shame she was starting to feel. From the corner of her eye, she saw Hope curiously looking at them from within the car. She took a deep breath. None of it mattered. She had to protect her daughter.

"You think this is easy for me?" Rowena said, anger coating her voice. "I left for a reason. And I know I can't undo what I did. But I stand by it. I need to stand by it."

"You think it was easy for us?" Richard almost shouted. He caught a glimpse of Hope looking at them from the car. He cleared his throat. "We just want to talk, Ro."

"Chard... I can't. I just can't."

"We want to hear you out." He said with such kindness. "Please."

Rowena bit her lower lip. She finally exhaled in defeat.

"Okay. We all deserve it." She nodded.

Richard gave a big sigh of relief. "Thank you," he said. "Let's meet tomorrow at 6 PM at The Barkley Diner."

"The diner?" Rowena expected a fancy restaurant, not the diner they frequented back in college.

"Can you go to Huntsfield?"

She nodded. Then she pressed her lips together. "How... How do you know I'll show up?"

Richard just looked at her. "Even after five years, Ro, we'll still trust you."