Mrs. B is such a character, isn’t she? What personality would you want to hang out with?
A few weeks ago, Mrs. Bailey woke up with enough energy and motivation to do the usual things she did around the house, so she requested Regina to accompany her shopping. During her heyday, she was a fashion icon. Paparazzi would follow her around to find out her latest attire, what she loved to eat, and who among the designers she favored. She had an expert eye for spotting potential newcomers, so designers always sent her stuff to try, but Hailey always loved being out in the mall. It excited her to see clothes on mannequins and bags displayed on the shelves, calling for her to take them home. Like Regina, she had an obsession with purses, and because she had a disposable income, she just bought everything she fancied. “Regina, do you have the latest Dior purse?” Regina was checking out the fragrances to distract herself from looking at the purses. It was not in her budget to buy one right now when she just splurged on the Gucci purse she had on her arm. “It’s painful to l
“Welcome to Tesoro Cafe. How can I help you?” A female server cheerily greeted Owen as soon as he approached the counter. “I want to talk to the owner of this cafe.” “Hi, I’m Jason, and I own this cafe. How can I help you?” Jason replied, though just one look at Owen told him looking for the owner early in the morning would end in a disaster. “I believe you are a friend of Regina’s.” “Who are you?” Jason’s defenses were up at the mention of her name. “I want you to wrap up all her favorite breakfast items immediately.” “You cannot buy her affection with pastries. She’s much classier than that.” “You bribe her with favors and these sweet things all the time. That’s why she’s here every day, isn’t she?” Owen smirked. “That’s none of your business.” Jason’s eyes narrowed. “It is my business because she is important to me.” “If she was so important, why did you let your mother order all those things and leave Regina with the bill?” “What? I thought my mom took care of those. Re
“Thank you for bringing me breakfast. You want to take some of it home. I can’t finish all of this.” Regina was trying to dismiss him, so she could get back to relaxing, but he couldn’t take the hint. “Sure,” he nodded. “I heard you ran in the mornings, so I wanted to go with you.” “Are you implying I’m fat?” Regina was on her 2nd pastry and wondered when he was leaving. “It’s the weekend, and I try to rest for the next two days.” “That’s fine with me. We can stay in all day. I bet we have a lot to explore about each other.” He grinned mischievously, like a man with ideas in his head, and all of them required getting naked. “Your idea of a date is not fun,” she mumbled while chewing her food to avoid replying to his sexual innuendo. “It’s okay if you’re not up to it. We can take a walk so you don’t get left behind.” “I see what’s happening. You fed me pastries so you can outrun me.” Owen laughed. “No. I got those because I didn’t know what you ate for breakfast. There’s ham and
Regina swam all the way to the other side, expecting Owen to stay on the sidelines when she got pulled back under the water. She turned around, and Owen pushed her back up to the top. She sputtered water while laughing and threading the water on the deep end to keep afloat. “You’re awful!” “And you are a big tease.” Owen splashed more water on her. They did several more laps before ending up on the lounge chairs, exhausted from all the exercise. After lying in the sun a bit, Regina took out all the pastries Owen brought with him earlier and served more iced tea on the patio table. “I can show you the bathroom if you want to get out of your wet clothes.” “My workout clothes have moisture-wicking qualities. They’re already dry.” “I’ll take a shower later after you finish eating.” “Well, I eat slow. I want to relish the food and enjoy the outdoors.” “I’m not complaining.” “Being at the hospital all day got me cooped up. The only time I saw daylight was when I took a break. I
“My sister is a character, isn’t she?” Owen nodded and waited for Ronnie to say more, anticipating the lecture he knew was coming. “Regina is the youngest member of my family, and my parents gave up hope of ever having a daughter until she came. I was a teenager when she arrived, and she was the most precious thing I’ve ever held in my arms, so you understand why we love her a lot. It is also the reason we get protective.” Ronnie poured himself a mug of coffee and offered Owen one when they walked to the kitchen to sit at the counter. Owen never thought of Regina other than as a blonde bimbo who was out to get him and his brothers, but getting some input from her brother changed his perspective. Now he could see her as a sister with very caring brothers. There were three of them in the pictures, and now he could see how she got her spunk to speak up to him. “I understand,” he answered. “I trust Regina, and if she said nothing happened here today or last night, then I will believe
“Regina?” “Come in.” She knew only one person wanted to see her at the moment, and she was ready to start with the badgering. “Do you like this guy?” “What?” “You invite him to your apartment and let him walk around naked. Do you like this guy?” “I don’t know. He wants to date me, but I’m not sure. Did you scare him off like the others?” Regina peeked from her walk-in closet to see Ronnie’s reaction. He sneered, “If he easily gets intimidated, then he is not for you. You need a stronger man.” “So, does he pass your test?” “I don’t know yet. He seems capable, but that’s only from what I read about him. Is he your type?” “I’m attracted to him because he’s sort of unpredictable. Not your regular, boring, calculated guy. So I guess I’m intrigued.” He smirked. “That might be an outstanding trait or a terrible trait. So make sure you know him before you jump into whatever this is.” Regina took her time changing clothes while they were talking, so Ronnie tried to sit on the bed, bu
Regina closed the door and said, “I’m sorry about my brother. He rarely comes by, so I was surprised as you were when he barged in here today.” “It’s okay. I understand why it pissed Ronnie off. I would too if I found my sister with a naked man walking around our apartment.” “After that ordeal, I think I lost a ton of pounds. I feel hungry again. Do you want to stay and have lunch? I’m whipping up this new recipe. Care to be my guinea pig.” Owen never tasted her cooking before, so he was a bit afraid it wouldn’t be good, and he would end up insulting her. He wanted them to date, so everything had to be smooth. “Are you sure you don’t want to order in? I think you’d be tired after the morning we had.” Regina’s heartbeat felt like it was coming from her ears, as Owen came closer and leaned over her on the sofa. She did not know why she felt a tingling feeling now when she’d been trying to avoid him all day. The conversation with her brother made her look at things differently. It
He shook his head. “I have something else to ask you.” She nodded for him to continue as she took another mouthful of chicken. “Remember that day, uhm…” Owen cleared his throat. “Which one?” “The FMK day?” “Oh geez, don’t tell me you want to ask me about that comment. That was a joke. It was before I got to know you. Can we leave that behind?” Regina covered her face with the napkin she had in her hand. “That’s not what I was going to ask. We can discuss that later.” Owen took the napkin away so he could look at her directly. “You left your notebook at the house that day.” Regina stared at him, and the color drained from her face as realization dawned on her. “You read the notebook?” Owen nodded. “Yeah, it had my mom’s medical and progress information, so I couldn’t help but browse through it.” “Did you see anything else?” Regina felt scared, not because there were drawings of Owen in the notebook, but because of her secret. She had drawn Owen in all states of undress and e