Sweet Enough

Maria Brooks

As I stood in the hallway and stared into the golden-rimmed mirror, I saw a young woman dressed in a chiffon blue dress and thought to myself, “Damn! Who’s that? Oh, it’s me. Why doesn’t anyone want to take me on a date? It’s just a hangout.”

I clipped my green hair back with a seashell-shaped claw clip and let the loose bangs frame my face.

There was an enormous box in the lobby, wrapped in white branded paper and tied with a pink silk ribbon.

What the heck? I didn’t order any new yarn. What else is this huge box for?

“Maria!” called my mother.

“Yes, Mother?” I asked.

I swear, I didn’t order any branded yarn. Does branded yarn even exist?

“It’s a package from one of your father’s colleagues! He has given us a gift!”

“Uh… What for?”

Since my father is the founder and CEO of a car company, there was usually no shortage of such gifts. This package was taller than me. What could possibly be inside that we didn’t already have?

“Shall I open it?” asked the maid.

“No, let Maria open it. Fetch me the scissors.”

“Sorry, Mother. I must go now…” I said, checking my diamond-encrusted watch.

Yikes. I promised Dylus I’d be early.

“Go where? If you’re going to the Queen’s Market, don’t forget the earrings!” said my mother.

“No, Mother. I’m going to a charity event,” I said.

“A charity ball? Splendid! Then why are you wearing such a plain dress? You should wear a proper ball gown. So many of yours were gathering dust until now.”

I swallowed hard.

How do I explain a normal bake sale to her? We weren’t always living comfortably. There was a time when Father could never take a break, even on holidays. We used to live with our relatives until the company was established from scratch. Did she forget all that?

While I was silent, Father said, “Let her go wherever she wants.”

He walked down the staircase swiftly and hugged me.

“She already explained she was going to a charity event.”

“Go ahead, Maria. I’m sure this box can wait till then.”

All of a sudden, it struck me.

“Mother, father! It isn’t a bomb, is it?!” I screamed.

“No, Maria. Jenson and I packed it ourselves. It merely has a new shelf for your knitting items. The old one was extremely scruffy.”

“Really? Thank you so much. Well, I’d better get a head start.”

Now I know it’s not a bomb! I don’t want to be late.

“Maria, wait. Unpack it before you go.”

“Bye, Mother! Bye, Father!”

I zipped out of the lobby and went to the parking area. After all, I was already a few minutes late.

Unlocking the car, I checked my phone and saw a message from Dylus.

Dylus: I’m here.

Maria: Alright, sorry. I’m on the way.

After twenty minutes, I finally reached. I got down and checked my phone.

Dylus: Where are you now?

Maria: Sorry. I’m here.

Dylus: Alright. Meet us at the 11th booth.

Upon reading the message, a million thoughts circulated in my brain.

Meet ‘us’?! Ah, it must be his girlfriend. I should have known. Ah, well.

I sighed, slipped my phone into my designer bag, and walked very slowly toward the 11th booth.

In a few minutes, I heard someone call my name.

“Maria! Maria?”

I wonder where that deep, melodious voice is coming from. It must be from my imagination. Who would bother calling my name in a place like this?

Still, I looked behind, and I saw Dylus with his hand outstretched, almost touching my shoulder, but not really. He was dressed in a purple hoodie with skinny jeans and blue sneakers. His neutral expression formed a slight smile.

He pulled his hand back and said, “Maria? Do you hear me now?”

“Ah, yes. Dylus.”

“Good. I thought you had become hard of hearing.”

“That’s not funny,” I said.

“I know, right?”

What is with this guy?

“Ah, forget what I just said. Come on. We only have a few stuff left,” he said.

“We?” I asked.

“Yeah, the boys and I.”

Ugh, I’m so stupid. I should have known it was his friends at the booth.

As soon as we reached the booth, I saw a young man and a girl, surrounded by empty shelves, except for one with a few heart-shaped cupcakes and a clear bag of cookies. The whole booth was decorated with paper heart garlands.

“Excuse the decorations. It was Wil’s idea,” said Dylus.

“Really? I could’ve sworn it was Liam’s!” said the girl with short hair.

“Nope. Bianca, let’s have a test. Am I Wil or Liam?” asked the boy in a tracksuit.

“That’s not fair. You’re identical,” said Bianca, in a t-shirt and shorts.

“I know,” said another boy, behind us.

I gasped, tripped on a random pebble, and nearly fell onto the booth before Dylus caught me by the arm.

“Careful, Maria!”

“Sorry…”

I almost destroyed his booth. Gosh, I wish I weren’t so clumsy.

“You could’ve hurt yourself and everyone,” said Dylus.

“Yeah.”

At least he’s thinking about our safety.

I regained my composure while the boy behind us kicked the pebble away, which swerved away into the booth and hit Bianca.

“Oww! What the heck, Liam?”

The twins chuckled.

“Huh, it looks like you can tell us apart after all,” Liam.

“Hmm. I mean, it’s pretty obvious.”

“How so?” asked Liam.

“You speak to me differently.”

“Huh?” said Wil.

“You won’t get it, Wil. It’s a romance thing. Anyway, who’s this, Dylus?” asked Liam.

It was then that I realized Dylus was still holding my arm. However, he let go, put his hands into his pockets, and mumbled something.

“This is Maria, my…”

“Childhood friend,” I said.

“... former classmate. Maria, I don’t think undergrad counts as childhood.”

“Oh? It’s better than just being a classmate.”

“Well, it’s not like we ever spoke at that time,” he said.

“Shut up, Dylus,” said Liam.

The two of them stared at each other with no expression on either of their faces.

What have I walked into?

“Excuse me,” said Liam.

I overheard him as he whispered to Dylus, “Don’t hurt her.”

His eyes immediately fell on me as he whispered back, “Understood.”

Liam went to the back of the booth, wrapped his arm around Bianca, and grinned.

“Umm, well, Maria. Do you want something from the booth? It’s on me. Though I’m afraid we don’t have a lot of stock left.”

“The cupcake looks nice,” I said, smiling.

“Sure thing. Here, Wil,” said Dylus, handing him a note.

As soon as he put it in the box and handed it to me, my hands began to shake a little.

Why are we so awkward?

“Thank you, Dylus.”

“No problem! Relax. Let’s have a look at all the booths,” he said.

“Okay!”

We went around the art gallery while I clutched onto the package.

“Did you really bake these, Dylus?” I asked.

“Yes. I had help.”

“Wow. Cool. Whose idea was it to make the sweets heart-shaped? Wil as well?” I asked.

All of a sudden, Dylus stopped walking and looked away from me.

“It was an accident.”

“What? Okay…”

Not gonna lie, this guy is kinda weird.

He looked into my eyes and said, “You don’t believe me, do you?”

“Believe that you made the hearts on accident? I kinda get it. I once accidentally single crocheted all around instead of slip stitching… Ah. You don’t understand me, right?”

“No, but I’d like to try.”

“Good!”

“Good?”

“Good that you’re trying to understand. Too bad you won’t,” I said, giggling.

“Why not?”

“I am an enigma,” I said, brushing my hand through my hair.

“Really?” he asked, sarcastically.

“Yes, really.”

“I’ll crack the code soon enough.”

There’s no code to crack. My head is mostly empty.

“Really? Why?” I asked.

“Because it’s a challenge.”

“If cracking my code is a challenge, then I really am an enigma. Right?”

“You’ve got a point," he said.

We stopped walking when he broke into a cough. I nodded while a booth caught my eye.

“What’s that? A hand-drawn cartoon souvenir?! I’ve always wanted to try those!” I exclaimed.

“Hmm, seems cool. Let’s go for it.”

I slipped in a note, and the two of us sat in front of a woman with a pixie cut and glasses.

“Hello, I’m your artist for today. Please do your first pose for the doodle.”

“Pose? What kind of pose?” asked Dylus, blinking.

“Whatever you’re comfortable with,” said the artist.

Dylus and I stared at each other.

“Perfect! Now, hold that pose for about a minute or less,” said the artist.

I need to stare at Dylus for a whole minute?!

The first couple of seconds were dead silent. All I could hear was the scratching of the pencil, and all I noticed was Dylus’s green eyes, his slightly reddened face, and his distinguished frown. It was as if I had seen it before.

Ah, yes. I actually saw this before. It had happened more than enough. Dylus used to chatter on for hours at the reading circle before getting told to give others a chance. During that time, he had the exact same frown, soft, glistening look in his eyes, and slight dark circles.

I wonder what happened to the old Dylus. Still, I can’t help but feel he’s exactly the same as he was before.

“Okay, pose change, please!” said the artist.

“Ah. Yes,” I said.

I held out a peace sign, and he did the same.

“Very good,” said the artist.

Even though we stared at the artist, we’d exchange glances now and then.

“Okay! Sorry for the wait. I take longer than average because I prefer detailed doodles. Here you go,” said the artist.

She passed it through the photo booth.

The art wasn’t perfect, but it perfectly captured how we looked together. My doodle self was blushing for some reason, and so was his, with thick red marker strokes. The hands were drawn well, to my surprise.

“Thank you!” I said.

“Yeah, well done,” he said.

I smiled and got up before he mumbled softly, “It’s beautiful.”

My heartbeat was at a normal pace while I smiled softly.

“How do I cut it up to give to you? Do your friends have any scissors?” I asked.

“To give to me? Keep it.”

“Ah, but I want to give you half.”

“You paid for the whole thing.”

“It was cheap!”

“Not really? Most of these photobooth artists charge a lot less.”

“Oh.”

It was super duper cheap to me. I guess we have a bit of a class difference.

“You know, I’ll just take a digital photo of it. That’s probably way more practical.”

“Yes!”

I held out the drawing in one hand while he snapped a photo. We walked around until his phone rang.

He cut it off and said, “Sorry, I gotta go. We’re closing up shop already. I need to help my buddies.”

“Sure. I think I’ll go home now.”

“Alright. How are you getting home?”

“I have a car.”

“Oh. Awesome. See ya.”

“Yeah. Bye… Dylus.”

In the blink of an eye, he had already faded into the distance.

Sitting in my car, I took a bite of the sweet sponge with whipped cream frosting.

It’s sweet enough to make my heart sickenly sweet. It's too bad he won't care for my heart, just like everybody else.