FINDING LOVE
(My heart de-sire)
BY BLESSING SILVER
CHAPTER 13
“Wait what! Damien? CEO of diamond accessories” Leona scoffed, laughing out. “That’s absurd Amy, how can you even say that” she said.
“I didn’t say he was.. I-I just thought they had a bit of resemblance. That pipsqueak can never measure up to quarter of Liam’s fame. His whole family can’t. Even for a lifetime” Amelia said and Leona frowned at her.
“He has a dream you know, just like me he wants to be a lawyer” Leona countered and Amelia scoffed.
“No.. you can be a lawyer anytime you want but him..I don’t think there’s hope. He probably can’t afford the expenses or maybe his br@in’s too poor to learn what a lawyer does.. I mean have you seen a lawyer selling cu-pcakes outside a restaurant? He can’t even get a kiosk or something. Oh right, sorry, he’s too poor to buy one” Amelia mocked and Leona give her a blank look, sighs and looks away.
.
After having fun at the park, Leona drove Amelia home..
“Ugh.. I wish you’d come live here with me” Amelia sighs to her and Leona place a palm on her shoulder. “I can’t seem to stand her no matter how ha-rd I try, can’t you just stay the night? I’ll call aunty and tell her about it” she said.
“Sorry girl but I didn’t plan for a sleepover. I have just few online work tomorrow, so I’ll be work free tomorrow, we can hang out if you want” she said and Amelia nodded slowly.
“I’ll pick you up by noon. Gosh, I just wish the days were fas-ter than this.. I just want her to go and my stupid company sees it as the best time to give me a leave”
“I hope you’re not forgetting that she owns the house and she’s your mother no matter how much you dislike her. You wouldn’t be here if not for her, just give the woman a break Amy. Maybe you’ve been looking only at the bad sides and ma-king thick fog cover the good ones.. try to see the good sides too, who knows maybe she’s not as bad as you think”
“Ohh..who are you now, my thera-pist?” She asked, “quit preaching and get out. I’ll see you tomorrow” she gave her a pe-ck and started walking away.
“Say hi to aunty for me!” she called after her and Amelia responded with a wave, as if waving her words aside and Leona smile at her sas-sy friend before getting into her car.
💥
.
After a plate of cereal and evaporated milk for breakfast, Leona walked to her re-ading table and attended to work matters.. s£nding out treatise that she knew wouldn’t be accepted or re-ad, she just had to try. After the fifth one and a few talks with Kira, Leona shut her l@pt©p.. walked into the bathroom and had her bath, she pu-ll-ed into a knicker short and a flare shi-t, sli-pped her feet into her flops and walked out of her room, taking her phone with her..
It was two hours before noon and Amelia promised to be here throu-gh the call they had few minutes before she ate breakfast. She walked to the kitchen and met her mom frying turkey.. she walked to her and gr@bb£d a drumsticks from the big plate of alre-ady de-eply fried turkey.
“Any deliveries come up?” She asked and her mom nodded.
“Yes, I just nee-d to finish up with this before attending to them.. seems everyone wants a piece of fried turkey on their meal at the same time” she said and Leona nodded, taking another bite of the meat. “And I’ve got new followers on the website, I’ve got tons of messages to reply too. Will you help me reply them?” She asked.
“Sure” Leona answered.
“My l@pt©p’s on the dinning table, I was on it before the orders arrived.
Thanks honey”
Leona threw the bones in the wastebin and wiped her hands before walking to the living room, she set her phone on the table, close to l@pt©p before settling the l@pt©p and starting with the unanswered messages.
Her attention went to her phone when it started ringing and seeing the caller ID, she answered it.
“Damien?”
“Hi Leona, good morning” he greeted and Leona smiled before resting her back on the chair.
“Morning. What’s up?”
“Um..I just called to apologize about yesterday plus not keeping my promise to call you, I hope your not mad at me for it?” He asked, ma-king her frown.
“No, why would I be and besides I should be apologizing for yesterday, you did nothing”
“I did. Your friend got mad at you cos of me”
“Amelia? No, we’re over it. How’s granny?”
“She’s fine. I’m actually about leaving for bobby’s, gran and I had a little family fight” he said and Leona laughed.
“Hey, why don’t you st©p being a bad boy and quit giving the old lady trouble.. moms know everything”
“Not this one. She wants me to wear a sweater to work un-der this sun, simply because she knitted it overnight but I refused and she went all hyper about it” he said, ma-king Leona laugh out.
“From your voice I guess you won?”
“Of course, I can always wear the cloth some other time” he said “So, will I see you at Bobby’s?” He asked.
“Not today. I have an outing with Amelia” she said and heard him sigh..
“Okay, I’ll just call you back at night” he said. “Have fun okay, and don’t forget to call if you miss me, I wouldn’t mind flying down regardless of anything”
“Uh..isn’t that missing p@rt supposed to be the other way around cu-pcake guy?” She asked and heard him laugh shortly.
“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll miss you,” he said “a whole lot”
Leona felt herself blu-shing to it and she mentally sl@pped herself. “Um okay.. I’ll see you later, I’m busy now. Bye?”
“Yeah, bye” the call dropped.
Leona dropped the phone with a sigh..
“If you’re missing him, why don’t you just meet him?” She turned to see her mom coming with two packed up takeaways, she left them on the table.
“And cancel Amy’s and I outing? No. She’ll kill me” Leona answered.
“What’s his name?” Her mom asked and Leona checked her face for a knowing expression but she couldn’t find any, her mom busied herself with ti-ght£ñing the plate covers.
“Damien” she answered. “And he’s just a friend” she added just in case her mom had other thoughts.
“I heard you mention cu-pcake. Is that a pet name or-
“He’s a cu-pcake guy,” she quic-kly interrupted her mom “I mean he sells cu-pcakes on the street, really good ones”
“Oh.. if they’re that good then I want to try it”
“Trust me mom, you’ll love it after a bite. He’s good” Leona said.
“Okay. Why does he sell it on streets then, no kiosk around?”
“He says it’ll be a waste if he gets one cos he won’t spend his lifetime selling cu-pcakes but I think he doesn’t want to get one cos he has other stuffs to do with the money” Leona said.
“Really.. then I can help him sell to my customers. If he’s that good like you said then I’m sure they’ll like to buy”
“Really? You’ll do that?”
“Sure. Invite him over so I can have a taste”
“Of course.. he’ll be so happy to hear that” she smiled.
“I’ll like to see the guy that makes my daughter blus-h too” she said and Leona frowned.
“Just to be clear mom, we’re just friends!”
“And who says you can’t invite friends over?”
“I just don’t want you thinkkng otherwise or acting like we’re more than friends”
“Kay Kay. I have deliveries to do, hurry up and call him” she said, standing up and walking away.
Leona smiled and gr@bb£d her phone, calling him. He picked at the first ring.
“Hello Damien,” she called “Are you busy?” She asked, not knowing how to start.
“Um not really, I’m just sitting here at Bobby’s. Why?”
“Can you come over to my house?” She asked and didn’t hear a response “thought you promised to rush over if I call, failing me now?”
“No..um sorry. I thought you weren’t done talking, I don’t know where your house is” he said and Leona muttered an ‘oh’.
“I’ll text you the address and you better come flying as you promised” she joked.
“Right on my way” he said and she ended the call before s£nding him the house address.
After dropping the gatekeeper’s call, Leona walked to the door when she heard a knock on it and pu-ll-ed it open. .
“Hi” she beamed a smile at him, pu-lling aside for him to enter. He walked in and st©pped to look around.
“Nice house” he commented.
“Thanks. Hope it wasn’t much trouble finding here?”
“Even if it was, I couldn’t have felt it knowing that I was going to see you” he said and she looked away from him.
“plea-se sit. What do I get you? Fruit jui-ce, wine, coffee?”
“Coffee’s fine” he said and she nodded before walking away, he left his basket beside him. He looked around more.. it’s a pretty house but it doesn’t look like a debtors own. After the face time with Mr Terence about the loan he had offered, he had realized that he appeared to be younger than his age and he looked a lot like Leona.
Leona returned with the coffee on a saucer and she offered it to him, seconds later a woman c@m£ out from the same room.. A big bag in her hand.
“Mom, meet Damien, the guy I told you about. Damien, my mom” Leona introduced.
“Um..Hello Ma” he greeted, standing up. Leona noticed he was tensed and nervous at the same time.
“Hi. plea-se sit” she said “And you can call me Elisabeth” she said and Damien nodded sharply, ma-king Leona chuckle silently. She sat down.
“Leona alre-ady told me about you guys,” she said and Leona nudged her with her elbow “That you’re friends,” she added, giving her daughter a twitchy look “And I heard you sell cakes and that they’re really good. Do you mind if I have a taste?” She asked.
“Sure!” Damien answered immediately and then frowned before shaking his head ra-pidly “I mean no” he corrected. “Here” he stood up with his basket stretched to her.
Elisabeth didn’t miss to notice the enticing look of the cake and how fresh and neat it looked..the Baker must be really good. She gr@bb£d one and took a bite out of it.. chewing for some seconds, she took another bite before looking at Damien who had a hopeful look on his face.
“This is good,” she commended and Damien sighed in relief before smiling. “You have a gift, I must say. This is exceptional from every other cakes I’ve had”
“Actually my granny makes them, I only help to sell them”
“Why don’t you guys get a br@nd and turn this to a business? I’m positive you’ll have lots of sales” she said.
“I alre-ady suggested that to him” Leona added.
“Well,” he ru-bbe-d his temples “Elisabeth, that’s not really my priority now but I’ll take the idea once we have enough” he said and Elisabeth gave him a small pitiable look.
“Before that happens I can help you market them to my buyers, I’m sure they’ll love it. Do you deliver in bulks?” She asked and Leona saw his eyes lit up..
“Sure I can!. Thank you so much. Granny will be so glad” he said, beaming with smiles.
“Okay, then let’s start with ten dozens, can you bring them tomorrow?” She asked.
“Of course. I’ll bring them right here first thing tomorrow morning” he said.
“That’s fine” she said, finished up her cake and stood up. “I’ll leave you both to talk, I have deliveries to do” she gave Leona a look before walking out.
“Your mom’s a chef?” Damien asked once they were alone.
“Yes, an indoor chef. She insisted on not having a restaurant or café. So I created a website for her and it’s doing pretty well” Leona explained.
“She’s a ha-rd working, nice and pretty woman” Damien said “And she looks younger than I had expected” he said.
“I know right?,” she said “so should I get you food or what?”
“No. I’m good”
“Okay. If you won’t eat mine then I’ll eat yours” she stood up and gr@bb£d a cu-pcake.
.
Amelia drove in and moved straight to the parking lot, she pu-ll-ed her car into a space, parked and took the key out before gr-abbing her clutch, she opened the car door and climbe-d down. She walked to the porch and met Mrs Terence on it, re-ading a magazine but her gaze c@m£ on Amelia when she reached her.
“Amelia,” she called “it’s been such a while”
“Yes auntie. Good afternoon. How have you been?”
“Very well. You’re here for Leona right?” Amelia nodded “she’s inside”
“Okay” Amelia said and walked into the house. She didn’t look much before sighting Leona on the couch laughing out, she was about asking what was funny when she heard someone talk, she tilt her head to her side and saw *him* on another couch, talking. He noticed her first and she saw his words trailing off and his expression changed to a blank one. She grimaced her face at him..
“Oh.. Amelia?, is it noon alre-ady?” Leona asked, glancing at the wall clock and a small g@sp escaped from her mouth.. it was few minutes past twelve and that means she had spent an hour and almost half extra talking to Damien. Amelia walked to her.
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about our outing?” She primped.
“Of course not, how will I do that. I’ll just change into something better and we’ll leave” she said, standing up. “I’ll be back” she told Damien.
“No..I think I should head back to Bobby’s, it’s noon alre-ady!” Damien said, standing up.
“Can’t you just wait until I’m back, I’ll just have a change of clothes and give you a ride to Bobby’s” Leona said and he was about interjecting but Leona was alre-ady running up the stairs, leaving him with her.
Speaking of the devil, he gave her a glance and noticed her gaze fixed on him in an irritating way.. she caught his stare.
“Um..H-hi” he f0rç£d the words out and at a point he almost thought she wouldn’t respond cos she was quiet, just observing him irritatingly.
“You must’ve noticed that I don’t like you” she answered straightly.
“Um.. yes and I-
“That’s because I don’t want you around Leona, you’re not the kind of person to be mingled with. You know your clas-ses are way different, don’t you?”
“But I’m just her friend. You don’t like her around male friends?” Damien asked.
“Point of correction, I don’t like her around people-” she gestured with her palm to him “like you. I’m certain you’re not blind to notice see that you’re nothing compared to her” she said nonchalantly.
He sighed “You’re right but I-I won’t hurt her and the fact that I’m poor now doesn’t mean I’ll always be poor. I’m vibr@nt, there’s still time to make money-
“Oh plea-se!” Amelia laughed mockingly. “If at your age, you’re still looking at the future then you’re a dummy.. your future is now and if you’re still this poor at this age then you should know it’s a lifetime thing. Wealth isn’t your thing” she laughed.
“At least I’m not a beggar on the street and I don’t look down on people lesser than me cos I have than them, you don’t know what tomorrow holds. You can hate me, it’s fair but I won’t let you insult me.. I have dignity and contention, that’s two thing you can never have and for the record; I’ll choose my life a thousand times to a selfish and cra-ppy one like yours” Damien fired in a calm tone before standing up. Her once irritating expression now gave was to a shocked one, she was speechless.
“How dare you talk to me in that manner you pathetic pipsqueak!” Amelia cussed.
Damien scoffed “Trust me Amy, life’s nothing without value. plea-se tell Leona I left” he said and walked away.
“Crazy bastard!” She seethe. It’s a good thing he left anyway, she can’t even stand his sight and to think that she had once thought him to be Liam.. she scoffed. He’s so pathetic! And his kinds, poor and lousy are her worst.
“Leona!” She called “Are you wearing the world?”
“Just a sec!” She yelled back and seconds later, she was running down the stairs. Dressed in a crazed jean and pink t©p, her legs had a pair of black sneakers. She reached the living room and first looked around.
“Where’s Damien?” She asked her friend.
She shrugged “he left” she gave a curt reply and Leona stared at her knowingly.
“What did you say to him, Amelia?” She asked.
“The truth” she answered her friend who sighed. “St©p giving me that look. Let’s go, I’m driving” Amelia said, walking out and Leona followed.
.
Amelia parked at the gate of the Terence’s, it was pitch dark since the evening had seeped in..
“I admit they’re other funs ap@rt from clubbing and shopping” Amelia said with a sigh.
“Good thing you realized that” Leona gr@bb£d her purse and a shopping bag. “I should go in. I have work tomorrow” she said, opening the door.
“Want me to come drop you off at work and we then we hang out after it” Amelia asked and Leona gave her a questioning look..
“You’ll do that?”
“I’ll do anything to get out of that house, Jackson abs£nce’s wors£ning everything” Amelia said with a sigh.
“Okay then. Be here before seven” she said.
“Yes s£norita” Amelia smiled “bye girl” she said and Amelia waved back. She waited until Amelia drove off before opening the gate and moving in.
Pas-sing throu-gh the entrance door Leona tossed greetings to her parent, while her dad was busy with his l@pt©p on the couch, her mom was setting the table for dinner. Leona left for her room, keeping the plate of ice cream she had purchased in the fridge, she changed her clothes into simple ones and head out of her room to help her mom with dinner.
Leona gr@bb£d the big plate of Potatoe salad and steak and walked to the dinning table with it. She was arranging the cu-ps and utensils when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” She said dropping the spoons and walking to the door. She reached it and pu-ll-ed it open and paused the next moment, her brows c0cked at the unwanted guest.
“Hey baby” he smiled, his eyes roaming her. She crossed her arm at him.
“What’re you doing here, Greg?”
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T.B.C