The Writer's Romance

She already had enough crying while earlier and it made her thirsty, "I need to buy a new one," she whispers while staring at the empty milk box.

"Hey," Bea softly greeted while standing beside the table with her hand on her tummy.

"Yeah, sorry about that fuss. You need to rest, Bea. It"s not good for the baby," Sheen said as she throws the milk box on the trash bin.

"Pfft, no biggie. This kid has to be by your side as well. He said you guys will talk tomorrow, I mean, later since it"s already past midnight," Bea said and went to take a sit.

Sheen sighs as she went to sit beside Bea with a forced smile, "Don"t you think I"m a bit... you know, not made for relationships?" she asks with a sad tone.

Bea stared at her for a moment, "Well... Sheen, you grew up surrounded by few people, mostly bad people and I won"t blame you for thinking that way. But, you"re in your golden years, you have the dream job, you"re a well-known writer, you have friends..."

Sheen intertwined her fingers and rests them on top of the table.

"But... relationships with other people is not something you can control. You and Clark are great and having fights are normal. Dan and I always have a misunderstanding but we clear it up before the sunsets. And honestly, you"re the only one who can say that your fights are normal or not."

"Yeah... I mean, Clark and I are good friends even before we are in this relationship. I already had that feeling that he"s important to me before realizing that he"s someone I love. But, maybe I"m only greatly affected by our conflicts because I rarely have a misunderstanding with someone."

Sheen moves her hair all to her right shoulder and cracks her knuckles, "I don"t know. Maybe I was just shocked by what I saw earlier. I never saw him so angry. Even when Cj was kidnapped, he was never that terrifying."

Bea stared at Sheen and rests her chin on her hand, "Yeah... It was something new to me as well. He was so jealous that he suddenly became someone we don"t know."

"But I know Wyn wasn"t doing anything, I asked him to wake him up and I must"ve moved while sleeping so I ended up leaning on his shoulders."

"Yeah, that must be the reason why you were so close to him, but Wyn, he likes you," Bea said.

"I know, but he would not kiss me. He"s nice and he won"t take advantage of things," Sheen sighs and lays her head on the table while facing Bea, "Clark was just overreacting. He"s been jealous over Wyn since the other day and it"s p.i.s.sing me off."

"It"s normal, Sheen. Let"s put it this way, if Clark suddenly thought of another girl and his mind is occupied by that woman the whole day and even ending up seeing him with her, what will you feel?" Bea asks.

"Well," Sheen started and she closes her eyes, imagining the scene, "If I knew that he was worried because his female friend suddenly ignored him, and if he was a paranoid like me, I think I will understand. I mean, you know I"m that type of woman, Bea."

"Yeah, you"re not the jealous type especially if you know every side of the story, but just understand Clark. If you can"t, then, why are you even with him?"

The question made Sheen open her eyes in terror, "What?" She asks with an irritated tone. Her puffy eyes are full of confusion, "What are you saying, Bea?"

"You guys are just starting out, I mean, you are about to start a life together and if you can"t understand each other, what"s the point?" Bea answered in a manner that she looks like she"s scolding Sheen.

Sheen sits up and crossed her arms suggesting that she has to understand what Bea really wants to say.

"Here, you fell for him because he"s always there for you and you said because he makes you feel happy. But Wyn can do the same, Blue, Kady, me... anyone can do the same, the only difference is that you opened up to Clark. You choose him to see who you are, but aside from the mess that you let him see, what else does he know about you?"

Sheen exhaled deeply as she looks at Bea while still listening to her words, "Does he know that you secretly hate your whole family because of what they did to you? That you secretly want to stay away from your parents who used you to live a comfortable life? Does he?"

Bea tries to stay calm while spilling everything that Sheen doesn"t realize about herself.

"So what? What do you want to say? That Clark doesn"t know me and that"s the reason why we are having misunderstandings?"

"Yes, it"s because you acted based on your feelings. You and Clark didn"t think through before getting engaged. I mean, yeah, it"s fun but, Sheen, breaking off an engagement is heavier than breaking up normally."

"And how"s that?" Sheen asked with a raised voice and eyebrow. "Isn"t it the same? You"re in that relationship and you start to create a life together, what"s the difference?"

"Because when you"re just starting out, the only thing that you consider is the good side of your relationship. But when you"re engaged, you"ve been through a lot, you know lots of things about him, and you"ll consider the possibilities of your future. The negatives are part of it as well. If he"s workaholic, you"ll consider not spending most of the time together but that"s fine because, at the end of the day, he"ll go home to you."

"I"m not a kid to only think of the positive things, I am mature enough to know that his world does not revolve around me," Sheen answered.

"That"s it. Then why can"t you see the difference between you two? Not because you guys are way too similar doesn"t mean that you don"t have differences. And the reality is that you"ll usually know your partner through fighting. I know it"s hard to commit but Sheen, Clark is my boss and of course, I don"t want t to destroy his reputation, but if you are having second thoughts on the engagement, better call it off as early as now."

Bea stands up, "I am not saying that you end your relationship, just try to figure things out." She took one last glance at her cousin who"s staring at the tiled kitchen floor, "I"ll go to sleep, goodnight. But if you still want to talk, just tell me."

She went on ahead and leaves Sheen behind.

Sheen just stayed there for an hour, with a blank mind, waiting for the sun to come out but she suddenly felt uncomfortable sitting on a stool and decided to go to sleep.

As she pa.s.ses by the living room, she saw her phone light up and went to turn off the T.V. as well as she takes her phone.

She saw Clark"s message earlier but she just read the message and went to read Wyn"s message: "Hey, I am sorry for what happened earlier. I promise I was not doing anything. Let"s continue the movie marathon some time. Goodnight."

Christmas time is only around the corner and Bea"s wedding"s a week away.

She stared at the window for a while clutching her phone in her hand, "I love you Clark, and I love myself." She said and pulled the ring out of her finger, "Let"s just start again."

The morning came and Sheen was awakened by a loud sound coming from the kitchen, she groans as she reaches for her phone.

"6 in the morning? Who"s up this early?" She said as she slowly gets up but chills run down her spine when she remembered that Cj has a cla.s.s at 8.

She immediately runs downstairs to find Bea sitting comfortably with her legs on the sofa while drinking coffee and watching the news.

She heard someone talking in the kitchen which made her clueless of what is happening, as she walks near the kitchen, she remembers whose voices it was.

"Mom? Dad?" She whispers as she enters the kitchen only to find her guess right, it was her Mom and Dad as well as Cj, in the kitchen talking to each other while making breakfast.

Cj saw her first and shouted: "Good morning, Mommy!"

Her parents look at her with a smile and walk to hug her, she hugs them back in confusion as Bea enters. "Well, what a family reunion, can I join the hug?" she asks.

Sheen"s mom called her and they all hug Sheen.

"Why are you here?" She asks as they all break the hug, "How?"

Her face is full of surprise, but she suddenly felt irritated for a bit.

She was just dealing with Clark last night and now she has to handle her parents, but suddenly she felt guilty for feeling that way when she saw their smiles.

Her mom giggled as her father carried Cj outside to the living room while tickling him.

"Clark took us here. He said he wanted to tell us something personally. We arrived last night but when went to fetch you, he came back with a frown, he said you"re sleeping already."

Bea looks at Sheen, "Yeah, she was. She sleeps in first."

"Clark told us to stay with you and tell you that it"s your free day. Is he a great boss? And I saw his finger, he wears a ring! Who"s the lucky girl?" Her Mom non-stop asks.

Bea just laughs and was about to say that it"s Sheen when she suddenly noticed that her ring"s gone.

Sheen noticed that her cousin"s staring at her finger so she hides it behind her, "I don"t know... Anyways, what are you cooking?" She asks to divert the topic.

Bea stared at her with sad eyes but decided to go out and leave them.

"Don"t you have cla.s.s today?" Bea asks Cj who"s sitting on Sheen"s Dad"s lap.

"No. Our teachers have a general meeting so it"s a free day. Dad told me to stay with Mommy with my granny."

"Wow, you"re feeling close. Granny?" Bea rolled her eyes at Cj.

"By the way, Cj, why are you calling Sheen "Mommy?"" Sheen"s dad asks while looking at Cj.

Bea suddenly felt nervous, Cj was about to say that Clark and Sheen are about to get married when Bea stands up and shouted as if she saw a c.o.c.kroach.

"KYAAA!! A c.o.c.kroach! Uncle! Uncle!" She cried and went near Cj as Sheen"s Dad took his slipper off to kill the c.o.c.kroach.

"Don"t tell them about the engagement, just tell them that Sheen"s like a mommy period," Bea whispers.

Cj looks at her weirdly, "Why can"t I?"

"Because it"s their job to tell Uncle that they"re engaged. It"s not a kid"s job," she answered while pointing at a certain spot to pretend that she"s still afraid of the c.o.c.kroach, "There, Uncle!"

Cj just went silent, "Did they have another fight?" he asks.

Sheen"s father went around the sofa to check with the slipper on his hand.

Bea stared at Cj, "How"d you..."

"Dad sneaks out last night to drink and Mommy looks like she cried."

"This is why they should clear things between them. Like clear."

"What?" Cj asks.

"What do you do to know someone, Cj?" Bea asks.

"I just watch them. And if I already know how their brain works, I will become friends with them if I like them."

"What if you were spending time with that person because you"re friends and you like them but suddenly you realize you don"t like them?" Bea stares at the T.V. while waiting for Cj"s answer.

"Well, I will tell them I don"t like them and why. If they can"t understand, I will leave them."

"I see. We"re the same, anyways, do you want to go to the Sunflower Garden?" Bea asks while staring at the news about the garden and trying to divert Cj"s thoughts.

"Yeah, I"ll tell Mommy!" Cj stands up and went to the kitchen.

Bea inhales and holds her tummy, "I hope they will fix their relationship first. It"s already unstable since day 1." she whispers.

"There"s no c.o.c.kroach here, Bea," Sheen Dad announced as he goes back to sit on the sofa.

"Maybe it flew away," she answered.