100 Days With Mr Romero

“Is there anything else you will need Ma’am? ” Will asked Emma’s mother who sat on the couch sipping the tea he just made for her. She wrapped herself in a shawl and declined Will’s offer. The man had done more than enough for her and her husband since Emma’s departure. “Thanks for everything. God bless you my boy. ” Pearl told William as he stood in the parlor, looking around to see if there was still anything left to be done.

“Don’t mention Ma’am. ” he replied. “I’ll check whether the guys I asked to clear the shrubs behind are done. ” Will told Emma’s mother before dashing out of the living room.

“Such a good young man. ” she acknowledged. Ever since Emma left, he had stepped in acting like the son or rather son in law they never had. Pearl missed Emma terribly but she knew her leaving town was the best and fastest way for her to heal yet it didn’t stop her from feeling the way she did. Her husband Emma’s father had tried to console her explaining how important it was for their daughter to go but Pearl never obliged. Her husband was positive she will get over it but Pearl might be taking too long to. Ryan’s death obviously fueled the whole sadness around her.

Will had always been there for Emma’s parents especially now that Peter their nephew had gone to college. Will showed up once in a while and sometimes made breakfast for the aging couple. Pearl barely cooked and Will knew how much she hated junk food which leaves the supplies her husband gets for her lying around the kitchen.

One day, Will popped in and saw a rotten loaf lying on the table next to the refrigerator. The Pizza and burgers were untouched. So Will made egg sauce and coffee for the couple. Since then, he showed up frequently and helped them cook. Pearl is a chef so she never really hired a chef. Will had been a life saver for the couple. Aside doing small chores, he also kept Pearl company. They’ll talk about past experiences, fun childhood memories of Emma and him and Pearl will smile when Will reminded her of how she spanked them for running the bathtub, how she scolded them for painting her white wall and soiling the carpet with flour.

Will is glad over Catherine’s responsiveness recently. Unlike before when she was always indoors, she now came out to watch TV and Will made her play games like scrabble, chess or monopoly. While playing the games, he will steal chances to tell her why it was important for Emma to be wherever she was. Will tried to make her understand that with Ryan out of the picture and Emma’s crashed marriage, her daughter needs all the space she could get. Pearl fears are Emma’s survival in a strange land with no family especially in her broken state. Will reminded her of how strong her daughter is and he’s 100% sure that Emma will be just fine. Will also took Catherine to feed the pigeons in the park at evening and they once went to the cinema nearby. One time Pearl blurted to the hearing of her husband and Will how she wished her daughter married William instead of Gideon who ruined her life. Emma’s parents were never a fan of Gideon after all their marriage was as a result of Emma getting pregnant with Gideon’s baby.

“The shrubs have been flattened ma’am. ” Will told the woman.

“Thank you very much Will. ” she said. “I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve been doing for us. ” she added. Will smiled and said.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“It’s nothing ma’am. You guys are like my family. ” he added.

Pearl smiled to this and said to “That’s true. We are family. ” shortly later, Will had cooked rice and warmed up the sauce. He carefully placed it in the kitchen. ‘It will serve as lunch.’ he presumed. Pearl walked to the kitchen and saw will turning off the cooker. “You are so homely. ” she said with a smile. “I learnt it from you. ” he replied. He was right. Pearl taught him and Emma how to cook. She introduced them to recipes and made them fall in love with the kitchen. Emma’s family had a great influence on Will. He always looked forward to spending time with them.

“When are you leaving? ” Catherine asked him. He knew she wasn’t asking when he was leaving the house. She wanted to know when he was leaving New York. Will had been away for sometime now. When Gideon fired him for kissing Emma, Emma lied to her parents that Will had secured a better job elsewhere and had to leave.

“Uhm. ” he stammered. “I won’t be leaving. ” he finally replied.

“And your new job? ” she asked. Will can’t leave his better paying job to help her overcome her grief. That is a sacrifice too grave to make abs she knew it.

“I had quit that job before coming here. ” he revealed. “Really? ” she retorted. “Yea my homeboy who happens to be a cousin told me to come home. He had secured a spot for me around here in a delivery company. ” said Will. “That’s wonderful. ” replied Pearl “I’ll be starting in a week. ” Will said. “So for now, get used to my annoying shadow casting over this home. ” he said while chuckling. Catherine giggled and they both left the kitchen.

After Will left the city when Gideon fired him, he moved about a thousand kilometers further from them. Neither Emma nor his parents ever saw him till he showed up at Emma’s parent’s house warming. While he was away, Emma thought of him once in a while and wished him well wherever he was. Above all, she wished the kiss never happened.