Chapter 103: Starting Early

They hadn’t gone very far when Chris suddenly asked, “Helen, what’s your favorite color?” She turned toward him in surprise. “My favorite color? Why are you asking?” Chris shrugged. “I realized I don’t know some pretty basic things about you.” Helen considered that before answering, “Dark green. I’ve always liked it.”

Chris nodded before asking, “What about movies? You wanted to watch something romantic earlier, but is that your favorite genre?” Helen thought about it. “Not really. I enjoy romantic movies, but I also like mysteries. Especially the ones where you can’t figure out what’s happening until the end.” Chris seemed interested and continued asking about her favorite food, places she liked visiting, and the things she usually did when she had some free time.

Helen answered his questions, gradually realizing what he was doing. She looked toward him before asking, “Chris, are you asking all this because you’re already planning our date?” He didn’t answer immediately, which was enough confirmation for her. Helen couldn’t help smiling. “You know, at this rate, I suppose my date is going to be perfect.”

Chris looked toward her. “I’ll try. I want you to enjoy it.” Something about the way he said that made Helen feel warm inside. He wasn’t trying to impress her with his wealth or everything he could arrange. He simply wanted to know what would make her happy.

“Chris, there’s something you should remember,” she said. He turned toward her, and she continued, “You don’t have to make everything perfect. If there’s something you want to do, then suggest it. If I like the idea, we’ll do it together. And if something doesn’t work out, we can always try something else.”

Chris considered her words before answering, “I know. But if I’m taking you somewhere, I want it to be special.” Helen looked at him for a moment before saying, “Today was special to me, Chris. And we didn’t do anything particularly extraordinary, did we?”

He seemed surprised by that. Helen continued, “We watched part of a movie, walked around a park, ate ice cream, and spent some time talking. That’s all. But I enjoyed every bit of it.” She paused before adding, “Sometimes the person you’re spending time with matters more than whatever you’ve planned.”

Chris didn’t answer immediately. He looked toward her for a few seconds before saying, “Then I’ll remember that.” Helen nodded, satisfied with his answer. She knew he was capable of arranging almost anything if he wanted to, but she hoped he understood that she didn’t need any of those things to enjoy being with him.

They continued walking, and after a while, Helen noticed that Chris had become unusually thoughtful. She wondered whether she’d made him reconsider whatever he’d started planning. Before she could ask, however, he looked toward her and said, “Then next time, maybe we can just go somewhere you like. No big arrangements.”

Helen smiled. “I’d like that.” She looked ahead for a moment before adding, “And maybe next time, we can actually finish the movie we choose.” Chris gave her an amused look. “Only if you promise to tell me when you’re bored.” Helen nodded. “Deal.”

By the time they reached the shopping complex, Chris seemed to remember something else. “Helen, should we get some takeaway for everyone at home?” She looked toward him before shaking her head. “Chris, do you remember how much food you made this morning? There’s still plenty left.” He nodded. “I know, but I thought they might want something different.”

Helen considered that before answering, “Then we can make something different tomorrow. There’s no reason to waste what we already have.” Chris looked at her for a moment before agreeing. “All right. No takeaway.” She was glad he hadn’t insisted. After spending the afternoon outside, she was actually looking forward to returning home, sitting down with everyone, and having a normal evening together.

They soon reached her Audi, and Helen unlocked the doors before getting into the driver’s seat. Chris settled beside her while she started the engine. Before pulling out of the parking area, she glanced toward him and found him looking back at the park they’d just left.

“Did you enjoy today that much?” she asked. Chris turned toward her before nodding. “Yeah. More than I expected.” Helen felt pleased by his answer and looked toward the road again. “Then perhaps we should do something like this again sometime.”

“I’d like that,” Chris answered. Helen started driving, and for the next few minutes, neither of them spoke. She occasionally glanced toward Chris, who seemed comfortable sitting beside her. Looking at him, she found herself thinking about everything that had happened during their afternoon together.

She still couldn’t say exactly when her feelings for him had changed. Perhaps it had happened gradually, through all the little moments she’d never considered important at the time. Or perhaps she’d simply been too occupied with everything else to notice.

Whatever the reason, today had made one thing clear to her. For the first time in years, she was genuinely looking forward to the possibility of going on a date again. She knew it wouldn’t be simple, and she wasn’t foolish enough to believe everything would work out exactly as she wanted.

But she was glad she’d allowed herself to enjoy today. With that thought, Helen continued driving toward home.

Sara POV — Earlier That Day

After Chris left for his meeting, Gwen took us upstairs to her room. She told us we could watch movies or play games while we waited for him to return. That sounded fine to me, but something about her behavior was bothering me.

She’d been acting a little strange since Chris received that message. At first, I’d assumed something had happened at his company, but even after he’d left, Gwen didn’t seem particularly relaxed. She kept checking her phone, and whenever Emily or I asked her something, she’d sometimes take a moment to answer.

I finally decided to ask. “Gwen, is everything okay? Did something happen to Chris?” She looked toward me in surprise before shaking her head. “No, nothing happened. He just had an important meeting.” I nodded, but that didn’t explain why she was acting like this. Chris had meetings all the time. I couldn’t imagine Gwen getting so distracted every time he went to his office.

I glanced toward Emily, who was sitting beside me, and gave her a small gesture. Emily looked confused at first, but when I raised my eyebrows, she seemed to understand what I wanted. Instead of immediately questioning Gwen, however, she picked up the remote and asked, “So, what movies do you have?”

Gwen seemed relieved by the change of subject. She opened the movie library on her television and started scrolling through the available titles. There were so many that I wasn’t sure where to begin. Emily looked through the list for a while before asking about a science-fiction movie she’d apparently wanted to watch for some time. Gwen found it almost immediately and added it to our list.

We spent another few minutes looking through the collection. I was about to suggest a comedy when Emily casually asked, “By the way, Gwen, what happened after Chris dropped us off yesterday?”

….

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