Helen Smith was beautiful. Scratch that. She was gorgeous. Stunning. Breathtaking even. And so much more on top of it. On a bad day.

And on a good day, my darling became a walking magnet for trouble. Especially if you add someone as volatile and aggressive as Michael Roah into the mix.

It took me quite an effort to persuade Helen to take off her makeup, and a lot more to argue about the worthlessness of dressing up too nicely. But I succeeded.

Ave, me!

In the end, the beauty in question reluctantly agreed. Between my and my girlfriend’s wardrobes, the two girls managed to procure an outfit that was deemed both ‘good enough’ and ‘safe enough’ at the same time.

My hoodie, a pair of not-quite-skin-tight pants that were a bit too short considering that Helen was taller than Olivia by a decent margin, a pair of sneakers, and a baseball cap completed the overall sporty look.

Luckily, my darling had the same shoe size as my silly girl, or it would’ve been a fiasco.

After a bit of consideration, Olivia chose to wear a matching outfit, albeit a bit different color-wise. The only question I had was why she had to wear my hoodie as well. I had enough self-preservation instinct not to ask, though.

And then they spent almost an hour arguing while using me as a dress-up doll. I had a terrible premonition about this date already.

***

Having a flower on each hand was a great feeling. But I wouldn’t recommend it to the average person. The amount of heated stares, filled with envy, jealousy, and, very rarely, admiration, I received was overwhelming.

Yeah, thanks to the past me for the wise decision regarding the dolling up amount. I wasn’t all that keen on visiting my friend, Officer Zhang, today.

As such, while I continuously ignored the various reactions of people around us, the girl on my left, Olivia, assumed the role of a guide. I suppose that while Helen finally found a few friends, she still hasn’t embraced the concept of just hanging around. Not that much of a surprise, if I was honest.

The date went almost the same way as the one from last week.

Various shops went by one after another, and soon after, I was relegated to being a baggage carrier. No real complaints there, as such was fate.

I let myself act on autopilot, falling into the depths of my mind. Since both girls were busily talking to each other, it was fine to keep my input to a minimum.

Food court. Early lunch. Amusing scene of Helen trying fast food for the first time. Both girls teamed up to steal my fries. Fun.

Milkshakes, movie theater. A dreadful feeling slowly spread through my soul as Olivia told Helen about that atrocity of a movie series. Well, I guess the need for reinforcements in that cuddle pile for the fourth one had crossed my mind before.

At some point, one of the shadows that had followed us all this time appeared and took the bags away, freeing my hand for yet more baggage.

In the men’s clothes section. My silly girl looked a bit apprehensive at first, most likely remembering the overzealous shop assistants from our last visit. But her fear was unwarranted, as those shameless ladies were quickly cowed in by young Lady Smith’s icy glare.

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Much to my surprise, my dates kept choosing clothes that were quite similar to my existing wardrobe. Except the colors, that is.

Just as I thought, my darling mostly chose the whites and violets. As for my girlfriend, she had no particular palette in mind, simply looking for bright colors that weren’t red.

There were no neon-pink atrocities, though, so, at the very least, Olivia took it somewhat seriously.

***

Fortunately, or, on second thought, not so much, the underwear section was skipped this time around.

Another wave of shadows appeared to take off all the new additions to my clothing collection, so I once again had my hands free. For a few moments, that is, until both girls assumed their positions again.

I had no way to check what time it was, but from rare glimpses of the outside, it was evident that the sun had already set. We leisurely strolled around the mall with no destination in mind.

As we did so, for some reason, Olivia grew more and more fidgety. Why? I honestly had no idea whatsoever.

After some time, the three of us found ourselves in that small bakery slash coffee shop from a week ago. The staff recognized me. Most likely because the large tip from the last time left quite the impression.

Olivia chose hot chocolate and a piece of fruit shortcake. Helen fancied black tea and a cheesecake. As for myself, I ordered a cappuccino and a few pastries that caught my eye.

We chose the table, and I put a tray on it. Luckily for me, this place only had round tables, so I had no need to pick a side. Small miracles.

Small talk continued, still with minimal input from myself. From the looks of it, the initial awkwardness between Helen and Olivia went away for the most part. Not completely—far from it, in fact—but my darling no longer looked as jealous, and my silly girl cheered up with some of her confidence returning.

To be completely honest, I enjoyed today immensely. Much more than I felt was possible.

Huh, how many times had this exact thought crossed my mind in those two weeks?

A phone call disturbed my idyllic state. I looked at the screen, checking to see who it was. ‘Helen’. What a surprise, indeed.

I picked up the call.

“Give the phone to my granddaughter.” I recognized the voice of Frank Smith.

I shrugged and did as he asked. My darling looked at me in surprise but accepted it nonetheless. A moment later, she excused herself.

In a way, this was quite thoughtful of her, as it finally gave me an opportunity to ask Olivia what was wrong.

“So, why are you acting so fidgety?” I decided against beating around the bush.

Which caught my girlfriend mid-sip of her hot chocolate.

“Erm, honey, what made you think so?” Shifty eyes, a slight tremble in the voice, to name a few.

I chose to simply look at her without saying anything.

“Fine.” Olivia raised both of her hands in surrender. “Erm, it’s something stupid.”

She paused. I kept on waiting.

“I thought you would...” Halfway through her words, her voice became inaudible.

I gave it a spin in my head. Oh. It was pretty stupid.

“Why would I do that?” I asked.

It was my silly girl’s turn to look at me, waiting for the explanation.

“There are, of course, many reasons why I wouldn’t do it.” I extended my arm, catching Olivia’s hand. “That place is too small. And it’s already full with just me and you.”

I've had this idea running around in my head since last week. I needed a bigger place; that much was obvious. But even if I did so, this apartment already had symbolic meaning attached to it.

“That place will be your home.” A word, the importance of which I didn’t understand until I lost Bella. “For as long as you hold that key.”

With fascination, I looked at how Olivia went through barely perceptible changes. Her look, her expression, her posture, and her whole demeanor changed momentarily.

And then her pretty face bloomed with one of those brilliant smiles that made my life a little bit more colorful.