These siblings are cute. I want Raffy as my older brother.
“Was that a man on the phone?” Regina rolled her eyes. Owen obviously needed something from her, but instead, he dwelled on the fact she was conversing with a man on the phone. “That’s none of your business.” “What are you doing here?” “It’s my mother. Is she here?” “Why would she be here? I left her hours ago, and she was fine.” He pushed Regina to get into her house. “Mom, are you here?” “Excuse me! I told you she’s not here.” “Please, help me find her.” He pleaded. “From what I remembered this morning, you fired me. So why should I help you?” “I take it back,” Owen said under his breath. “You said what?” “I take it back. I shouldn’t have fired you. What you do with your personal life is your business.” Regina rolled her eyes. “Please, just help find my mom.” “Have you asked your uncle? Maybe he knows?” “I didn’t think about that. I have a meeting in 15 minutes, and my mother is missing.” “Okay, I’ll ask Mr. Dalton so you can go to your meeting.” “I’ll follow you to t
After Regina brought Mrs. Bennet into the house, Owen offered to drop her off at her apartment. “Was that your brother on the phone?” “What?” His question bothered Regina, so she chose not to answer. “When I picked you up, were you talking to your brother?” “Why does it matter who it was?” Regina stared at him in disbelief. Earlier, he had taken on a soft demeanor when they were looking for his mother, but it seemed he was in battle mode again. “Are you dropping me off because you want to interrogate me?” Owen sighed. “It’s not that. Never mind. Thank you for helping find my mom.” Regina looked out the window and rolled her eyes. She thought Owen was going to apologize. Instead, he asked who was on the phone. ‘What is wrong with this guy, anyway?’ She asked her reflection. “You can have your job back if you want it.” ‘What did I expect? He never liked me, so why should he apologize? I should just be thankful I still have a job.’ “Sure, thanks,” she answered with equal indi
The week was almost over, and it had been a rough few days. Mrs. Bennet was not her usual happy self. Instead, there was another persona that had entered the equation. Regina had expected this to happen, but not so soon. Regina and the physical therapist had been successful in enhancing Mrs. Bennet’s motor skills by introducing exercise to her daily regimen. She had been resistant in the beginning, but having Regina do the exercises with her had made it entertaining. But this week, her mind regressed to her 5-year-old self and would do nothing. It was as if spoiled little Hailey had come out and taken over Mrs. Bennet’s body. Regina did everything to coax her out of her shell, even bribing her with ice cream, cake, and cookies. Things a younger kid would appreciate, but there was no convincing her, so they just let Mrs. Bennet sit and watch TV all day, which had Owen concerned. They called Dr. Albright to check and see why his mom was running a fever on top of everything that was
“Uncle Tim, can I ask you something? You’re close to the Bennet family more than anyone I know, and I’ll understand if you don’t want to answer my question as it might be too intrusive, and you’re close to their family than you are to me, so it’s okay if you don’t want to tell me, but I hope you do.” “Ginny, just tell me what’s on your mind.” Timothy rubbed his forehead as he extended his arm away from his ear to soften Regina’s shrilly voice on the phone. She babbled too much and used ‘the voice’ when she needed a favor. Ginny had always been a talker since she was little, and when she was on her fact-finding missions, she was relentless. “It’s about Mr. Bennet, you see.” “Which one?” He feigned ignorance. “Just the one who is grumpy.” “Well, I know Myles doesn’t talk too much, and Yvan is always grumpy because of his schedule.” “Uncle, Tim! It’s Owen, I’m asking about Owen.” The old man smiled with amusement. He knew she was talking about Owen, but wanted her to say his name.
“Hi Regina, do you mind if I talk to you privately for a sec?” Myles looked bothered about something, and she wondered if she did anything wrong. “No, not at all. What is it?” They walk through the hallways to the gardens outside. “I’ve been digging around, you know, standard procedure for a background check, and I have a pressing question.” Regina knew this question would pop up, and she was surprised it took a while for one of them to figure out her real identity. “Why are you using Martin as your last name instead of Albright?” “First off, thank you for asking instead of accusing me of being a liar. Before I answer your question, can I ask you one first?” “Sure. Not the way I would answer a question, but why not?” “Now that you know I’m an Albright, has it changed your perception of who I was when I was just Regina Martin?” “Maybe.” “Did it get better or worse?” Myles shrugged. “When your last name holds a lot of weight, it’s hard to carry that around and live up to others’
A, I’m sorry. It’s been a while since I last sent you a message. I had nothing good to share with you back then, but now I do. Remember when we first started sending handwritten letters? I thought it was lame, but you said your aunt and uncle took away all your phone privileges, and this was the only way we could communicate. I even asked if you’ve heard of e-mail and the internet. And you sent me that drawing of the guy flicking me off. That was the best thing I’ve ever gotten in the mail. Man, you were good at everything you touched. I guess those were part of the no-communication deal, too. But then again, you were always smarter than everyone else, so you found a way. I hated to admit that I never even used the postal system to send mail before, so I had to ask this lady to help me. I never told you that before because I didn’t want to look like a loser. So lame, right? Me asking for help. Anyway, I’m writing again to tell you that our hard work finally paid off. I found her,
“Mr. Dalton, I brought snacks,” Regina knocked at his office door. “He’s not in the office yet, dear.” Laurie, his assistant, had just come in and was surprised someone was at his door early that morning. “Oh, hi Laurie, I didn’t see you at your desk. I thought you were in there.” “Are these from the new bakery?” Laurie looked at the boxes on her table. “Yeah, my friend owns the place, and he bakes the pastries daily. The chocolate cake is so good, so help yourself. You too, Arthur, for your assistance.” He smiled while setting his things on the desk. Arthur Johnson is the CEO’s second assistant. While Laurie took care of the phone calls and important business transactions, Arthur dealt with the paperwork and out-of-office errands. Mr. Dalton usually sent him to different job sites or offices to deliver time-sensitive materials, which is why Regina often sees him at the Bennet mansion. “Don’t mind if I do,” Laurie said as she poured some coffee and got a pastry. “Hmm… this hit
Owen was amused. Regina managed to avoid him all week by hiding in the bathroom or the kitchen when he came in to greet his mom, finding one task or another, so they had no interactions. He tried to be astute about his timings when he came home, but for some reason, she always knew the minute he arrived. He heard snippets of her voice as she talked to several members of the household, sometime catching glimpses or her as she darted to her car or moved about the house. It was Friday and Owen just wanted to relax, so he came home early and got himself a beer from the fridge. Regina usually took half the day off, so he knew he had the house to himself for a few hours until his brothers arrived. Owen was on the treadmill with only his riding shorts on when his mother walked in. “You’re on my machine,” she declared. It was the last 30 mins of his workout. After lifting weights, he was doing cardio to strengthen his lungs and his heart, and during this time, he usually listened to music