Misanthrope

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Chapter 2: Lemons can be Sweet

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Perhaps you are wondering if ever I got to met at least a person in my life who doesn’t seem so sadistic and dangerously driven by their ambitions like my parents. You see, during my ‘Bright, Stella Days’ as I called it, Stella Vickens and I would go clean the garage of someone who needs our service, but among our clients, one stood out in particular. She was very warm, affectionate and lighthearted from the very first time we met her.

Her name was Sophia Heather.

The thing I remembered about her name was that the first time I said it; it easily came rolling down sweetly on my tongue, so mellow and feminine.

Stella and I had a thing for names so we figured we would like this soft-spoken client of ours. After our work, she would always invite us to join in with her inside, preparing us a lovely afternoon snack brimming with sweet chocolate chip cookies and refreshing iced lemonade. Sometimes, it would be cute lemon cupcakes with pretty icings on them. You see, she had a thing for lemons, also one of her lovable quirks Stella and I grew to admire. Perhaps it was also because lemons are my favorite.

Sophia was a single, twenty-one year old woman who had her cozy house filled with magnificent artworks; shelves full of inspirational books, classical cds and even had her first angel cross-stitch framed by her ex. Often, Stella and I would tease her to tell us a bit about her past love life, you know, girl talks.

Sophia would let out a tingling, silver-bells kind of laugh, the merry and guileless laugh that would definitely make a man fall for her. Then a playful wink would follow and a statement, “Get a man who would frame your works in the future.”

Then we would go begging and pleading her till the first pink-purplish streaks of sunset shows up on the horizon, officially calling it a day.

Before we step out of her doorway, it became her sweet habit to give us some sort of a treat that she had made (oh yeah, another thing I loved about her – she can bake), basically with lemons, and kissed us on our cheeks as she bade her farewell, usually accompanied by a charming phrase, “Take care! Remember that life is like a lemon – the sourest experiences will teach you the sweetest lessons!”

I liked that line. That was her philosophy. And eventually, it became mine. I was determined that despite my broken family background, I would eventually rise above from all of it to become a person like Sophia, a person who has a compassionate nature despite the cruelties that she had encountered.

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One unfortunate flaw in Stella was that she got sick often because of her weak metabolism. So there came a week when I would be the only one to attend to the client’s needs. It was one of those days, you know, when you are just alone with a person and suddenly you begin to open up, to show your vulnerable side.

I mean, of course, Sophia was the best. She was a spontaneous quirk but I didn’t realized how great she can be as an in-depth conversationalist. Not that I want her by myself, no. I’m not possessive. Whatever Sophia and I would talk about, I would let her know, without leaving any necessary details behind.

I was done with my work when she first approached me, greeting me with her famous lemon-flavored cupcakes. The thought of it makes me crave for more up until this day.

“Please tell Stella that I miss her so much. Give her this,” she said, handing me a box filled with lemon-flavored candies. There was a note stuck on it, probably some get well soon letter. Stella’s favorite.

I smiled in return. “She will love this, Sophia. Thanks.”

She gestured for me to sit in one of her comfiest sofas. “Hey, you look pretty beaten. Care for a choco chip? Ice cream?” she asked, noticing my weariness and paleness in face. It had to be since I did clean five ridiculously large garages today all by myself, including hers. But cleaning Sophia’s garage came a caring gesture for me, not some work that I had to accomplish.

I smiled at her offer. “Ice cream would be nice.”

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“Hey, Sarah.”

“Hmm?” I looked at her between spoonfuls of my cookies n cream ice cream. It was heavenly delicious, topped with m&ms and fun sprinkles. Again, it was her brilliant idea.

“Since Stella won’t be here for the next couple of days, I might as well lend you a hand cleaning my garage. And for the record, you don’t really have to clean it regularly,” she said.

“But if I don’t clean it regularly, Bart will get mad,” I replied, mentioning Bart who happens to be the generous, jolly uncle of Stella and our boss.

I followed this statement with a short laugh. “Hey, it’s not that he will get mad, it’s just that, you know, our responsibility. We won’t get paid.”

She shook her head off laughing. “Wow. You really are taking your job seriously. But I’ll be happy to lend you a hand, you know? Just for a couple of days.”

“Of course.” I grab another spoonful of the cookies n cream. “Sounds fun.”

Then we both finished the day with her recounting her experience at work – Sophia is a renowned poet at the literary world, by the way. Guess it’s fitting for her, with her gentle and warm personality and all. I sometimes wished she could be my mother, though.

“Take care! Tell Stella I missed her so much! Life is like a lemon – the sourest experiences will teach you the sweetest lessons in life!” She waved her graceful arm at me, her rosy cheeks glowing healthily.

I nodded at her, tightening my grip on the small box that she gave me to hand for Stella. “Don’t worry, I will! Take care too!”

She smiled even though I kept on walking backwards, just to see her face before the last streak of sunset died down and stars appear. “Tootles!” I exclaimed.

“Tootles!” Then her figure would grow smaller and smaller and only the sweet-and-sour tang of lemon would be left in the air, lingering by my side. As if she never left at all. And I realized – sometimes lemons can be sweet. In the most extraordinary way.

o.0.o.

Wow...sorry if it took me a lot of days before I updated this. I was lacking ideas on how to continue . . . anyway, freshly baked vanilla cookies topped with artificially-colored sugar will be gladly given to those kind enough to give their reviews! Doesn't it sound so delicious?

Rose Valentine