Page 4 of The Brides Brother

Things were looking up, so the moment I got off the subway, I went to her favorite Chinese restaurant and got our favorites for lunch and headed over to her apartment.

I had texted beforehand, so I was aware that she was at home; however, she wasn’t exactly expecting me. So, when I rang the doorbell and she didn’t answer, I wasn’t surprised. Soon enough, I could feel someone staring at me through the peephole, and then she pulled the door open. She removed the toothbrush from her mouth, and I couldn’t help but be amused at the tiny spiky ponytails that were sticking out from different sections of her hair.

“Were you pretending to see who it was so you wouldn’t have to open the door?”

She instead frowned.

“You said you’d be here thirty minutes ago.”

“Oh, I had to stop to get food; there was a bit of a late lunch line.”

I lifted my hand that held the bag up, and she squealed.

"Welcome, welcome…Oh, shoot, I’m going to get ready.”

I knew she meant going to shower and get herself as comfortable as possible so that she could enjoy her meal. So, I smiled and headed over to her kitchen to take the food out the boxes.

Afterwards, I brought up the phone number the girl gave me this morning and wanted to save it but realized that I hadn’t even asked for her name.

I wondered if it would be too soon to text her, but ultimately, I sent a quick text to establish our contact. Asking for a name and nothing else was casual enough.

She took longer than I had expected, which made my heart start to sink, but eventually, just as Anna came out from her bedroom, freshly showered and happy, she replied.

“Hey, I’m Aurora,” she said. “Nice meeting you again too,” I said, and I heaved a deep sigh of relief.

“What is it?” Anna asked as she grabbed a fork and instantly began to dig in.

“The new client I met at the cafe,” she said.

"Oh… She’s for real?”

“She better be,” I said, a bit too fiercely, and Anna raised her brows amused.

“She'll cover your bills for the month?”

“Maybe. Hopefully. I’m just happy I didn’t have to go looking for a job to pay for them just yet, plus she told me her wedding was in a church, so I am kind of excited.”

“It’s a big wedding?”

“No, small,” I replied. “Sounded intimate. She said she’d reach out to me next week.”

“Nice,” she replied, and then we kept eating. I kept staring at her though, especially as she ravaged her food with the utmost enjoyment, but eventually, she set it down to get a drink, and then she gave me a long look.

“What is it?” she asked, and I smiled.

“Mind if I crash here tonight?”

She seemed concerned. “What’s wrong?” However, before I could even respond, she produced the answer.

“Your air conditioner broke again? I told you to just get a new one last time.”

“Well, I fixed it, and the technician said it would be alright.”

“And now, is it?”

“Don’t be sarcastic,” I said. “Can I or can’t I stay?”

“Are you just asking because you want to make conversation, or you really plan on listening to me if I say no, don’t stay; let’s buy a working air conditioner for you instead?”

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