Chapter 3

Eloïse sauntered into the kitchen, mesmerized by the sweet scent of vanilla-flavored pancakes, where she met her mum was serenely flipping through the pages of a magazine in front of a cup of coffee as always.

"Good morning, mum," she kissed her mum and drove straight to the fridge, plucked out a bottle of fresh milk, and returned to the island. "Any updates on the show?"

"Nothing worth the worry." She shut her magazine portraying a fishy grin that made Eloïse want to join her friends back in bed.

The latter who had begun developing a nauseating feeling of paranoia focused her attention on anything else but her mum with a grimace yet a flush.

Zaphrina hummed in one of her many subversive tunes, "What's his name? How's he? Did he ask you out?" She attacked.

"Jesus, mum! I didn't even attempt to open my lips."

"You didn't have to, your face said it all. Come on, sweetheart," Zaphrina nearly squealed.

Again, Eloïse grimaced.

Heaven knew how much she wanted to spend more time with Craig but it was rather unfortunate that she loose track of him after Marila had cut her cake. She had embarked on searching for him with the pretense of going to the restroom just to return to the concrete bench to see it was void of human presence.

With a beaten-up countenance, Eloïse didn't feel like being a part of the party anymore. After all, the most essential part of it had been done so she left the party with the excuse of a sudden sickness.

"His name is Craig," she mixed her cereals, "he's good looking," she shrugged, "and no, he didn't ask me out."

"When are you bringing him home? There are some delicious recipes I'll love him to bite."

Eloise dramatically rolled her eyes, "to cut the story short and burst your bubble, I didn't see him again during the rest of the party." She took in a spoonful of cereal interiorly jubilating to have shut down her mum from the unwanted topic.

As expected, the woman's agitated stance slumped.

Bethany barged in and walked past the duo straight to the microwave to help herself with some pancakes.

"We didn't sleep on the same bed, did we?" Zaphrina switched to stern mode referring to her younger daughter.

"Sorry, mum," she dished herself half a dozen, "I didn't want to interrupt your conversation. Good morning."

"Food flooded brain. How are you going to be a catch?"

"Hey, don't start with me, Eloïse. Besides, I never told you I wanted to be a catch."

"Stop you two. It's too early for drama." Zaphrina's phone rang, "hum. It's your dad. I guess he wants to find out if you got home safely."

"Tell him you found me wasted beneath Hudson bridge."

Zaphrina replied to the call and walked out of sight.

"Heard Mr. Cinderella disappeared before twelve. I bet he'd had enough of you stammering." Bethany laughed uncontrollably.

"Not funny, brat. What did mum say about eavesdropping?"

"Nothing."

Eloïse was ready for a food fight until Zaphrina walked in, "uh-uh, girls, you won't like it if I repeat myself."

Bethany stuck her tongue out to her sister.

"Good morning, everyone." Marila and Bennie walked in on the scene. "Smells good in here," the latter sniffed.

"Help yourselves with some pancakes, hun. Eloïse was just telling me about the party. I'm glad it was successful," Zaphrina started.

"Yes, Mrs. Woods. I had some friends come over from Cali. It was more than I imagined."

That made Eloïse want to ask her about Craig. If she still had a bit of a link to him but on second thought, she bid out. It was going to be another men lecture and whatnot.

"You must have a sea of friends," Zaphrina innocently smiled. "Tell me, do you happen to catch up with all of them or know all of them? by name, by face, and all that."

Eloïse choked on a poorly masticated cereal.

"Not all," Marila poured syrup on her pancake, "but a good number of them."

Zaphrina nodded seriously. All Eloïse wished was to dot out or have her mum and sister dot out. When Nathan added, she excused herself to leave the table, reached her room, and messaged her friends to join her.

"What's up with you?" Marila asked the hyperventilating Eloïse, "you look like you're going to pass out any moment soon."

"Where's Bennie?"

"She wouldn't leave until she finishes her meal. You know how she is when it comes to food."

"What else did mum ask while I was gone?"

"If I was enjoying the food." Marila looked perplexed.

"Is that all?"

"You were gone for just a minute. What's wrong with you?"

Bennie walked in and Eloïse couldn't help but ask a similar question.

"If I saw you with someone," she deadpanned.

"Ha! And your reply was..." Eloïse narrowed her eyes into slits.

"Yes. Why?"

"Hum. Your mum is just as worried as we all are, huh? Hold on."

Eloïse said nothing. She just chewed on her inner cheek contemplating how she could slip out of the bubbling volcano of her friends and mum.

"Guess what? I'm in for that shopping we talked about last week. I'll shower first."

"Wait, wait Eloïse, wait a fucking minute," Marila's eyes widened as she approached the latter, "what is this I'm hearing? You were with someone? Yesterday? A boy for that matter?"

"Alone," Bennie nonchalantly added while she manipulated her phone. "Seated on a bench."

"And you didn't tell me? Why?"

"Let me shower first?" She gnashed her teeth behind her fake smile.

"There's enough time for that, sweetheart. Right now, all I want is to know about this 'someone'."

"There's absolutely nothing to know because nothing eventful happened or was discussed."

"Girl, you know this is no joking matter, you're nineteen and you need a manteen in your life. It's about time! Come on, tell me the 'nothing eventful' I'm all ears."

Eloïse sighed and plopped on the bed where she told them the little she and Craig talked about.

"Hmm. If he was in my party, it should definitely be someone I know. But the name doesn't ring the bell. Urgh why??" Marila ruffled her hair. "The description is trying to do something though. Bennie are you sure you couldn't identify him?"

"Told you, it was pitch black out there and they were in such a distance."

"Really, Marila there's nothing worth working your brain up about."

Marila stood up from the bed and began pacing with her index finger on her chin like a detective pondering on a murder scene, "was he specific on the dating site? Because I got three."

"No," Eloïse felt like a victim of circumstance.

"Craig Donnelly, Craig Donnelly hmm...did he give you the name he uses on the site?"

"No."

"Tough case," she said.

"Marila I said you should n--"

"Whether it's been three years or ten or twenty that we've lastly been in touch, I'll get you this boy before I leave New York. Ha! I just got an idea."

She rushed for her tablet and began punching.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going through my one-second acquaintances on each site. If he said we were friends then I must probably have our chats still lingering. There are only two or three people I've told about my real birth date," she kept scrolling. "But neither of them is called Craig."

And that is how they spent the whole day searching for Craig Donnelly from one site to another. Unfortunately, there was no result linked to the Craig she got to meet that night.

Marila laid flat on the bed in defeat, "had I known you were with a boy that night I would've stopped Bennie from interceding," she almost cried. "What a nightmare."

"You don't call twenty-five-year-olds 'boys', do you?" Bennie asked.

"Who cares? Even if he were a daddy the most important thing is he's got the necessary content down there." Marila brooded.

"Twenty-five was just a rough guess, Bennie."

"I'm hungry," Bennie confessed after they had declined lunch twice.

"Hold on," Marila suddenly jerked her upper body off the bed, causing Eloïse to roll her eyes. There was never going to be an end to this. "You mentioned he follows your mum on all her social media sites, didn't you? What if we--"

"Uh uh, Marila, we're not going to involve my mom in this in any way." Eloïse set on following Bennie downstairs. Her belly rumbled so bad in addition to the captivating aroma which had spread in the entire house.

"I was just thinking we--"

"No."

"Hear me out fi--"

"Noo."

"Say what you want but you're going to talk to him again before I leave," Marila screamed from upstairs.

"Him? Who is him?" Marley asked as he walked out of his study.