My Perfect Lady

Jim"s heart was in his throat. Miya thought her chest would fall out.

They both looked at Ben gormlessly, not even aware of their own senses.

The little guy frowned at the elders, and then said, "What happened? Do you want to fight again?"

Albeit the little boy"s question was practical from his point of view, because Jimmy and his mommy always stared at each other before fighting. He, however, was too young to understand the ruthlessness of the situation right then.

The question somehow, made them both flush.

Jim"s brain was in a frenzy, dancing at that small voice in which his wife had called him "Jimmy". "She called you by name!" his brain was yelling in victory, "She called you by name! You did it! Let"s have dinner now!" The stupid, logical part of course, was relentlessly telling it to shut up.

Silence pervaded between the two. One of them had to talk now, and Jim took the initiative. Looking at the boy, he cleared his throat, and then said awkwardly, "She called me by name. Let"s have dinner."

And then he groaned out loud.

Idiot!

"I mean, it"s about to be midnight! Let"s have dinner!" he fl.u.s.tered, and then taking the boy"s hand, walked over to the dinner table briskly. Miya followed suit.

Her heart was still beating rapidly in her chest. For a minute, she wanted to clutch at her shirt to stable it down. What had that been all about? It was just a name!

Quietly, she whispered it to herself, under her breath.

"Jimmy."

And her heart was ready to leap out of her mouth again.

Horrified, she quickened her steps and went to serve dinner.

As Jim had expected, dinner was a very haphazard combination of all the things that the wife had found out to be his favourite. There was salami and grapes, melted chocolate on a cheese pizza, peanut b.u.t.ter and bacon, meat sauce, toast, custard, hotdog, and sandwiches. There was also black currant ice cream, and a jar which looked like there were avocados dipped in honey in it.

Jimmy"s mouth went dry. He wasn"t sure whether he wanted to laugh or cry.

Who in the world had Miya contacted, to be handed over this bizarre list?

Miya was thoughtlessly dumping the food in a single plate now, and Jimmy had the threatening premonition that the plate was for him. So before the missus could pour out ketchup on his rice, he hurriedly said, "Everything looks delicious, Miya. Did you make it yourself?"

Miya was fl.u.s.tered, and her heart was still in her mouth. So when the young master spoke, she stared at him blankly.

Jim went red too.

"Er… I… I was asking if you made it all by yourself."

Miya didn"t respond, simply stared at him with a blank expression. She did however, pick up the plate, pour the avocado and honey on the rice, seasoned it with custard and ate a spoonful. She stared at him with the same blank expression, but then her face slowly turned to horror.

Jimmy was feeling scared now.

Miya kept on having spoonful after spoonful, her eyes never leaving his, her expression becoming aghast. Jim had no idea what the girl was thinking, and only when she had finished off the food did she realize she was openly staring.

And then, she looked down at the plate.

Words couldn"t have described her expression right then.

The next five minutes were Jimmy and Ben collectively consoling Miya, as she apologized to him for eating first, when he was supposed to be the chief guest. Then she decided she was the worst human being in the world, and that she shouldn"t be existing.

Jimmy held his head, patted her back, and then heard her whine some more when she realized she still hadn"t served the young master dinner.

The situation seemed beyond control.

So, when Jim couldn"t think of anything else, he picked up a plate, hastily put on it whatever he could grab and stuffed it down his throat.

"I"m eating!" he said in panic, "Don"t cry! I am eating! And it"s amazing!"

The girl looked up at him with moist eyes.

"It is," Jim said, choking for breath as he ate hurriedly, "It"s wonderful! And it"s all my favourite dishes! Who gave you the list?"

Miya wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. Her nose had now turned pink, but her lips had begun to have the hint of a faint smile.

"I asked Mr. Park. And then the Chairman told me some."

Jim smiled at her tightly, a thousand curses roiling through his heart. That old man! And Park! They didn"t know a thing about him!

Those two idiots had given Miya a list of things that he usually got picked up to eat, when he was busy. They were not his favourites! And he did not like chocolate on his pizza!

He was sure Senior Hunter had done it on purpose, giving her a bizarre food list, but Park… he didn"t know him too!

"Is it okay?" Miya"s eyes were shining brightly now. She seemed happy with the speed at which the young master was gobbling down food.

Jimmy nodded viciously.

"Amazing, amazing," he scoffed.

Albeit everything tasted good, it still wasn"t proper food. Mostly, junk. But the fact remained that the wife had cooked it all, so he didn"t contest it.

That, or the ridiculous cuttings, or the ferry lights.

The ordeal of the dinner was over quickly, and Jimmy was thankful he hadn"t gagged on it. He kept thanking Miya for her effort every second, until she was smiling happily.

When they were ready to go to bed, and Ben had been tucked in, Jim informed the wife of the meeting that Senior Hunter had arranged. He wanted Miya to be there too, along with Rebecca Freeman Storm. The matter was going to be dealt with soon.

Miya nodded. And then, for a second, doubt spread all over her face.

"The food," she then whispered, "Was it really alright?"

"I told you," Jim said nonchalantly, "It was amazing."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Then should I cook you something again?"

Immediate horror spread on Jimmy"s face, but he calmed himself down.

"Yes," he tried to say with poise, "Just… you know, ask me for my favourites directly next time."

Miya"s face quickly dropped.

"I knew it!" she said, her shoulders drooping, "That was all mostly junk food. It wasn"t your favourite food at all!"

"Well, I did like the black currant."

"But I didn"t make it."

"And the peanut b.u.t.ter."

"I didn"t make that too."

"The sausage was delicious."

"Really?"

"Really. Until I accidentally poured the honey avocados on it of course. Which –" Jim stopped midway, when he saw the wife"s face pale further, " – Is amazing by the way! You should have tried some too!"

Over my dead body, Jimmy yelled in his brain.

Miya looked at him, and then almost suddenly, she giggled.

"You know," she then said in a small, quiet voice, "I"m sorry. It was all such a lousy idea. I should have come up with something better."

Jim visibly calmed down once he saw her smile.

"It wasn"t," he a.s.sured her, "It was all good. And the intention was to say thank you. I got that."

"Really?"

"From all these cuttings glorifying my existence? Of course."

Miya smiled again, cheerful now.

It was finally time.

He looked at the girl deeply, taking in her every feature, and that smile. Then, he made his decision.

Jim spread out his arms, not believing his own guts, when he smiled back at her and said, "If you have to thank me next time though, just simply come here. Give me a hug. We"re friends, right?"

Miya was again struck by the young master"s gaze.

It was like she was being pulled into a trance. And she didn"t mind at all, when he spread out his arms and said those words. Dazed, she looked at him confused, but then took her first step towards him. The rest was just lost to her, and she walked into his arms, and wrapped her own hands around his chest.

Jimmy felt surreal.

He was quick to grab her too, taking it as a good sign. He closed his eyes, pulling her into the hug tighter, until he couldn"t breathe himself. And he almost couldn"t, when Miya just tip-toed on her feet, while still pressed into his body, and kissed his cheek.

Oh f***.

Jim lost all his sense.

The girl had begun to quiver in his arms as well.

Of f***. Oh f***.

He wanted her.

He wanted her now.

Letting his breath come out in one go, Jim almost crushed her ribs from the embrace, when his eyes fell on her small hand, that was clutching at his chest.

It was her left hand.

And Simon Hunter"s face suddenly flashed in his head.

Jim couldn"t control his urges, and he swore silently under his breath.

He had to have her. And he had to tell her about their past as well.

He wanted her, yes. But before all that, she had to know that he was serious.

He wanted her.

And he now wanted her with a ring.