Elspeth knew she shouldn't be eavesdropping, but she couldn't help it as she served their biggest guest, Sevyn Gerardo a cup of hot tea; the least they could offer as unfortunately, foodstuffs already finished a day before.
Her mother sat opposite this man in their small living room, talking to him. A big businessman like Sevyn Gerardo, owner of a fast growing, and second most popular company in the whole of Las Vegas, sat on their very old armed-chair that appeared older than his own late grandfather.
It was a blue chair that had long since lost its quality. It had been washed so many times that it resembled an unattractive white with permanent stains here and there. The threads were now pulling out and there were patches sewn over previously torn places.
Unlike his big, spacious, luxurious and to-die-for mansion with highly expensive furnitures, pretty maids here and there, skilled chefs and every other things that screamed luxury, anyone would have been clearly terrified to see such a man like him to be fond of visiting a supposedly childhood and best friend in a little house barely furnished.
Even the roofs leaked. The materials seen were of low quality. A house of people barely coping, barely seeing food to eat and Sevyn Gerardo was greatly displeased of their situation.
"Why do you never accept any money from me?" He questioned the woman sitting opposite him on a one seater chair while he sat on one himself. There were only one seater chairs and only two of them in the entire home.
The woman he was conversing with was a very pretty woman, Ms. Louella Schellenberger. His very dear and closest female friend since grade school. Now they were both married with grown children.
It wasn't a surprise that hers had inherited her beauty in multiple folds, especially the eldest one, Elspeth, who had just left after serving him his cup of tea placed on the wooden coffee table in front of him. Yet, she lingered around, ever always curious about their conversation, but making sure they didn't know this. All they knew is that she was always there when they needed her.
Everything about her was unique as if she had purposely inherited the best features from her parentsand among her siblings. She had green eyes from her father, long hair that was brown and wavy from her mother and perfect shape from the angels that must have gifted it to her from heaven. She was the Cinderella of the house.
They were three children; Elspeth, Tracy and Emmanuel. Elspeth was twenty two, Tracy was twenty and Emmanuel was fifteen.
Tracy and Emmanuel on the other hand, would return back to their shared room as soon as they were done greeting their guests. Even if it were Sevyn Gerardo. They were not like their eldest sister who was madly in love with his son.
Although there was no way Tracy would have ever denied that she didn't also dream about marrying him or experiencing ever after with him. The only difference was that at least, unlike her elder sister, she could control her feelings and pretend they weren't there.
Stone Gerardo was his name. The only son and child of Sevyn Gerardo. As much as he had hypnotic features as said by mostly everyone everywhere he went, even gossiped by women his age and older, he was still the most stubborn thing Sevyn Gerardo had in his life.
"I used to." Louella answered in objection to Sevyn Gerardo's previous question during their conversation.
"Until you stopped." Sevyn's tea was left untouched. The conversation was too serious for any room for appetite. Much less, a cup of tea that would have been made better if it were in his home.
In opposition to his classic Italian suit, Louella wore but a long, simple yellow gown. A gown that he was tired of seeing her wear already. By now, she would have been like him, changing wardrobe at least twice in two months.
"You stopped accepting money from me when I had it the most." He concluded, sadly.
Louella wished she could take off his despondent look but it seemed impossible to do. She had all reasonable reasons for her actions. "Because I'm not your wife, Sevyn." She explained.
"I understand that I once used to accept help from you and allow you to treat me like a responsibility, but not until I realized it shouldn't be so if I have a husband to be doing so for me and you have a wife and a son, too, to focus on. You of all people should understand that."
Sevyn of all people knew that Louella's husband was a good-for-nothing man! Who was not only earning too little as salary but an irresponsible father, also, that cheated regularly on his wife. Louella deserved better than the life she was living. Her children deserved better likewise!
Possibly, Elspeth had the same thoughts as Sevyn. Only that she herself had failed severally to convince her mother to accept money from this man.
"Alright, then." Sevyn sighed. He didn't want to argue much. He had tried enough. How long would he take trying to persuade his best friend to receive a huge amount of money capable of getting her to start her own business?
With further thoughts, employing her under him was not on his list.
"I think it's about time I finally fulfilled the promise I made to you twenty five years, ago." He stated. "Let us prepare my son to marry one of your daughters."
At once, Loeulla sat up with her eyelids opening a little wider than normal. She expressed a state of surprise at his words. She remembered the promise. It was one he had made after his current wife had bore his son and then he had also just gotten married to her, but she hadn't taken him too seriously, much less think that he would still have remembered such a thing.
Wasn't his son to decide whom ever to get married to?
"Isn't your son known to be a rebellious child? How will he marry my daughter then?"
At the mention of that, Sevyn huffed. "He is my son. He has no choice but to obey me." He said with much confidence. "It’s your daughters that you should be asking. Are they willing to marry my son?"
By the time Sevyn and Louella turned to look at Elspeth, her eyes were already on them and her cheeks were a crimson red, already. That is when they discovered that she had overheard their last statements.
Elspeth was in a green dress. While her mother's yellow dress was sleeveless and flailed, her green dress was half sleeved to her elbows and long enough to reach her ankles. It had a collar and buttons at the top front, all but decent. In addition, she had a usual scarf around her face for no reason anybody knew. This time, it was green like her dress.
People thought it was just her style.
While her mother and guest had been having their private discussion, she’d been dusting the invisible cobwebs hanging from the ceilings, wiping down the un-dusty dining tables and doing what else would keep her within the living room, not until she had paused at the hearing of marriage talk.
Sevyn smiled, taking a good look at Elspeth from top to bottom. “I would like Stone to have Elspeth as his wife.” He said. “She’s just perfect.”