Chapter 35: Ma
Everyone stopped teasing Dylan and went on doing their own things. The children watched TV or went on their iPads while Janine, Sherry and Dylan talked amongst each other. The time went by peacefully and uneventfully.
Vrrr, Vrrr, Sherry's phone suddenly vibrated. She tilted her head in confusion, she didn't really have many friends who would call her at this hour. Most of them were pretty introverted and remained home, preferring to text if they needed anything. It was only Janine really, that would spontaneously call her in the middle of the day.
Sherry glanced at the caller ID. It was an unknown number. "Hello?" Sherry frowned and asked. If it was a salesperson she would immediately hang up but if it wasn't, she would hear what they had to say.
"Wei? Shi Ming? Shi fan le ma?" The caller spoke in fluent Chinese and carried on the conversation at a rapid rate.
"M-ma?" Sherry replied back. The caller was unexpectedly her mother who had been away overseas.
[DISCLAIMER: All Chinese will be written in brackets]
"(Yeah, have you eaten yet?)" Sherry's mother, An asked again. Her voice was soft but impatient, with hints of liveliness.
"(It's not even afternoon yet, why would I be eating?)" Sherry answered. Dylan was quietly listening in to the conversation but couldn't understand anything. He once again lamented the language barrier and decided that he should learn whatever language Sherry was currently speaking. Janine on the other hand, was simply smiling and seemed to understand everything.
"(It's been awhile, Auntie. Where are you now? Bangkok? New York? Or are you in China again?)" She chimed and asked.
"(Ah, is that Janine? Long time no see. I'm currently in Venice, Italy. It is quite a beautiful but crowded city. You should visit it one day if you're fine with crowds.)" An happily answered.
"(Ma, why are you calling all of a sudden?)" Sherry impatiently asked. "(If you needed anything, you could have just said so on WeChat)"
"(Is it wrong if I call for no reason!?)" An snapped. "(I called because we're coming home tonight and want you to pick us up at the airport tomorrow.)"
"(Ah? You're coming home? Tomorrow?)" Sherry repeated stupidly. Her eyes unintentionally trailed to meet Dylan's. He stared back, wondering what got her so excited.
"(Mn, we've been gone for quite a while. I'm starting to get homesick.)" An replied. Sherry could hear some mumbling in the background, telling her mum to give the phone to him. She realised it was her dad.
"(Hello? Shi Ming? I'll spare you from your Mother's nagging. Just come pick us up tomorrow. I'll send you the details later.)" Without waiting for her to reply, Sherry's father, Ping hung up the phone.
Hearing the dial tone, Sherry helplessly closed her phone. She looked at Dylan who was already looking at her. "My parents are coming home tomorrow. If they find out that you've been living here with me, they flipped out."
"They are pretty conservative." Janine indifferently muttered.
"What should I do? I can't just kick Dylan out but my parents won't let him stay either." Sherry cried with concern.
"I can leave. I don't mind." Dylan said without hesitating. "I was already feeling bad for freeloading so this is perfect."
"What, no. You have nowhere to go." Sherry refused. She turned to Janine. "Can you let him stay over for a while? My parents wouldn't be staying for long."
Janine hesitated. "I don't mind but…" Her voice trailed off. Inside her mind, she images of her house flashed like an alarm. Clothes were thrown around, dishes stacked up in the sink, the floor dirty and cupboards dusty. It was in no state to receive guests.
"If you're worried about how dirty it is, then don't worry. Dylan is good at cleaning up. In fact, he could qualify as an expert." Sherry saw through her concerns instantly.
"What, really?" Janine had no shame in having other people clean for her. "Ah, but I'm rooming with Charlotte, I'll have to ask her first."
"Hmm? Since when?" Sherry asked. She didn't know about this.
"It's been a month. I guess I just forgot to tell you." Janine answered.
"You're living with someone else but you're still living like that…Hah, what will I do with you, Janine." Sherry sighed. From a young age until now, Janine couldn't get rid of her habits of leaving things lying around. She was also bad at tidying up, resulting in her house looking like a pigsty. Of course, Janine could simply call someone to clean for her but she didn't like strangers touching her things so she never did. She also argues that she knew where everything was when she clearly didn't.
"Urgh, anyways, if Charlotte says yes then Dylan can stay over. In exchange, he'll be our slave during his stay. Deal?"
"Deal." The two shook hands without even consulting Dylan on his opinion.
With that settled, Sherry turned to look at the children. They were all minding their own business, not knowing what was going on.
"Guys, my parents are coming home tomorrow." She told them.
"Really? Yay, Mrs Chen braids my hair really well." Fiona cheered.
"Did they bring back souvenirs?" Frank asked.
"Mr Chen said he'll tell me stories when he comes back." George said.
"He promised me that he'll teach me how to do business." Yasmin commented.
"I wonder if there's food. Last time, Mrs Chen gave me some snacks from France. They were so good." Diana drooled.
"Yeah, they were." Dawn chimed.
Sherry sighed. Having visited their house quite often ever since they were young, the kids completely integrated into her family. Even her own cousins were not that close with her family. Well, it was because they lived in China but still.
"Anyways, you're not allowed to tell them that Dylan stayed over alright? If you do…" Sherry said no more. She merely smiled, just like Dylan. It seemed that when you are around someone a lot, your behaviour also adjusts to become more like them.
"O-okay." The children answered. "We'll just say that he's a friend of yours who plays with us."
"Good." Sherry smiled normally. Beside her, Janine just shook her head, lamenting the loss of her cute unscary friend. Sherry was too scary now, it was hard to tease her without worrying about the consequences.
"Okay, go pack your things so you can leave tomorrow. Make sure to be thorough." Sherry pushed Dylan's back and urged.
"Alright. I'll be right back." Dylan left with a wry smile.
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