On Friday, after class, Sue headed over to the library as usual.
She did not see Will in class, and she was relieved. For the past few days, she did spot him in class (his height was hard not to miss), but she usually sat in the corner before his eyes met hers.
If he did see her, he chose to ignore her.
Her white dress floated off her waif, dainty figure as she walked down the street into the building. Humming a song as she walked up the stately stairs, she gasped in surprise when she saw Will sitting on one of the steps.
She quickly checked to see if he had spotted her. Perhaps she could turn around and walk away stealthily. And silently.
.....
Unfortunately, Will did spot Sue. He saw the look on her face, and he frowned.
Maybe he has made a bad decision for coming here to wait for her. But to hell with it, he was already here and he wanted to do this. He came to her, for she was rooted to the spot. His long legs covered the distance between the two of them pretty quickly.
Groaning inwardly at Sue's muted and reluctant reaction, he held out two paper bags from the deli and said,
"Hi, I bought you lunch. Please join me?"
It was such a cute gesture that Sue wanted to laugh. But she was still shocked by his appearance. On the library steps, waiting for her. How. Incredibly. Odd.
"Err... I do not think this is a good idea... Thank you so much for this. But I have got to work."
Sue made to turn around and leave, but Will caught her right arm as she was just about to walk away. She flinched, but did not fight his hold. His calloused hands were rough, but gentle on her skin. When she looked down at his fingers wrapped around her arm, he let go.
Her skin tingled.
She looked into his eyes, begging him, asking him for a reason.
He stared down at her, eyes as green as the Amazon forest. "Hey, I am really sorry for what I said to have made you react the way you did that day. And I would like to apologize by buying you lunch. Please, Sue. Let me do this."
Her name came out of his mouth like a prayer.
Hesitating, she bit her lower lip.
Will's voice came out a little more than a whisper, "Sue, don't push me away."
Looking at Sue like that, Will wanted to pull her close and shield her from the harsh things that have happened to her. Her rejection of his lunch made him realize how insignificant his presence was to her.
The nights spent thinking about her caused him to do this, to wait for her at the library steps. He simply could not get her out of his mind. Intriguing beyond measure, she was like a story book he was absolutely dying to read, to sink into the wonderful pictures and words.
Sue did not reply to Will's statement. Instead, she gave him a small smile.
"Alright, lunch it is." She took the paper bag from him and made her way up to sit on the steps, in the shade. The summer was kind, allowing them to enjoy the weather.
Will made a mental victory whoop of joy and followed her. Settling himself beside her on the stone steps, they took out their sandwiches from the paper bags.
"You look nice today."
Sue's almond eyes twinkled. "Why, so do you.", nodding at his leather jacket.
"Thank you... So listen, about that day, I am really, really sorry for the way I said things. I didn't mean them to come out the way they did. I messed up... And I apologize." He was saying things so fast that he was not sure she could decipher what he was actually trying to say.
Sue's fingers were fiddling with the hem of her dress. She was looking intently at her dress, as if trying to dissect the fibre with her eyes.
"No. no apology needed. I over-reacted. Look, the guy that was with me that last time, the one which you saw- we had some issues. Painful issues. You didn't know anything about it, so no need to say sorry, okay? It was stupid of me to react like that anyway. I should be apologizing about how I ran away and left you alone at the deli."
Her voice, soft but firm, was hypnotic. He could listen to her all day. Her chubby little fingers were still fiddling the dress. Her sandwich remained uneaten. Looking at her, he knew things must have been pretty bad between Sue and that guy. She is a level- headed and matured being, way composed beyond her age.
In fact, she carries herself with much more poise than all the other girls he has met. He could not help comparing between Sue and the Blonde. No points to who came out top. After the first day of meeting her, Will was hooked. Maybe it was because Sue did not behave like the other girls. Sure, she has got some issues to settle, but she seems to do it with such elegance.
He admired that about her. A lot.
"Alright then. The case is settled." He crinkled his eyes at her. "We both apologized for being crazy. So let's start afresh. Clean slate?"
She nodded and smiled in agreement.
"So umm... I was meaning to ask you this- I was thinking if we could work on the Accounting assignment together, you know, as a group? Mr. Lee mentioned two in a group right?"
Sue blinked, completely caught off guard at the question. After a moment of silence, she laughingly replied, "Yeah sure. But I must warn you, I am not a group person."
Looking solemn, Will replied, "Really? I am not a group person either. But as it turns out, I am not doing that well in class. So I am going to need all the help I can get. So whaddya say?"
"A case such as this, hmmm... Am I supposed to be your private tutor as well?"
"If you are up to the task of teaching a moron. But I assure you, I am exceptionally hardworking, and am completely under your command." Will made an attempt to bow.
"Alright alright. No need for flowery gestures." Sue laughed. "But tell me, if you that lousy at accounting, why would I want to work with you?"
"Because if you don't, I would be extremely crushed. And I would hold you accountable for ruining my grades. Not to mention my career, future, and life." He ticked them off his fingers.
"Ugh. So we playing hardball now huh? Well alright, we are a team. But we should get started soon, if we were to survive this workload."
Relief washed all over Will's face. Mission accomplished.
"How about tomorrow? We could meet here, in the library."
"Saturday..." Sue pondered. "I've got some stuff to take care of in the morning. Meet here at noon?"
Suddenly, and gently, Will took her right hand in his, which was laid flat on her lap. He looked right into her eyes and his voice grew softer, "Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me."
Sue stared at him, shocked at his actions. Her eyes were wide open, staring at him. Her lips parted slightly. No response came from her mouth.
The hand in his felt cold, and tense.
Will continued staring into her, "Really, thank you." Then, he let her hand go. The moment passed. He picked up his bag and got ready to leave.
She hesitated, still looking dazed.
"So I will see you at noon tomorrow." Then Will left.
This time, Sue was left sitting alone on the steps.
......
On Saturday morning, Sue was looking forward to being at the nursery. Clad in jeans and a white peasant top, she looked positively demure. Except for the blood- red hair, which stood on ends. It contrasted with her graceful get-up perfectly.
On Saturdays and Sundays, she spends both mornings in the local children nursery. Volunteering on a weekly basis, she was compelled to get used to the presence of young children since the abortion. Under the advice of her psychiatrist, spending time with the children would speed up the healing, emotionally and mentally.
Upon reaching there, Sue equipped herself with a huge smile and bubbly personality. As usual, the children were squealing and screaming all over her. Her being there twice a week was not ever enough for the children. They miss her dearly. Every Sunday, Sue surely had to console a teary- eyed child or two before leaving, assuring them that she would definitely be back the next week.
Terrence, a boy of six years, eagerly asked her what they were going to do today.
Sue smiled broadly and said, "I was thinking about reading you guys a story. I've got with me an excellent book right here!"
All the children whooped and cheered, and in went the whole herd to the reading room. Sue set down her books and messenger bag in the corner. Standing up, she noticed a brand new mural on the wall. It was a picture of Earth, decorated and scattered with little drawings of every animal you can think of. The mural covered the entire wall. Sue went closer to look at the painting. It was beautiful.
After all 11 of them have settled down, Sue took out big, leather-bound book. She sat cross-legged on the floor, facing the children, and spread the book out on her lap. Then she started reading. All eyes were on her, attention rapt on Sue's voice.
When the story ended, it was just nice for lunch time. As all the children filed out of the room, a fellow teacher came in to lead the way. Sue joined Lily, and brought the kids to the kitchen to get their food.
Lily was about 10 years older than Sue. And often, she and Sue would meet up during weekdays at the nursery to chat while the kids were having their afternoon nap.
Lily faced a similar situation to Sue. But Lily's case was worse- she had a miscarriage.
After the father of the child dumped her, she made up her mind to raise the child on her own. Following the good news that her unborn child was a girl, Lily excitedly went shopping for baby clothes. Too distracted with her own ideas to decorate the room, she did not notice the approach of a drunk driver speeding in his car. Crossing the road, the car slammed right into her.
Miraculously surviving the accident, Lily wished she had died instead upon receiving the news of her miscarriage.
That happened five years ago, and the worst phase was over. Now, taking Sue under her wing, Lily vowed never to let Sue drive herself into the ground like how she did.
But she had to admit, Sue was a stronger person than her.
Leaving the kids to the care of a younger nurse, Lilly and Sue ventured outside to the patio.
