“Scarlett, are you aware that other people can get hurt too? You’re not the only person who bleeds or cries, you know.”
I stayed silent in shock as I processed what she said. It was the first time anyone had ever said anything like that to me.
“I-” I tried to explain but scoffed at myself. I nodded and said, “You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how much I hurt other people.”
Since I couldn’t explain myself, I just hailed a taxi and went back to Murphy Corporation.
I felt like screaming. All this while, I had always been more of a cold person, and I didn’t know what to do now that someone had brought it up.
My bad mood continued even after I was back at the office. I looked through some of the documents that Armond wanted to be signed and felt even worse.
Linda saw that I was still in the office and knocked to come in. She frowned as she asked, “Are you okay?”
I noticed that everyone had left and replied mildly, “I’m fine. Might be PMS or something.”
She said a bit pitifully, “Oh, that’s too bad. The Magpie Festival is in two days. What a downer!”
The Magpie Festival?
I had almost forgotten about the Magpie Festival and sighed. “I’m too old to even celebrate the Magpie Festival anymore. There’s no meaning to it now.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “What do you mean you’re ‘too old’? Do you think people just start to wither and dry up after a certain age? That’s so boring of you.”
I chuckled and suddenly remembered Nora’s request to ask Linda out for dinner that night.
I was about to ask when I suddenly remembered what happened. After today’s incident, I didn’t know if Nora would still want to have dinner.
“Linda, do you have any good friends? Maybe someone you really love?”
Linda nodded. Her heels seemed to be hurting her, so she sat down next to me. “Of course I do. I have a close friend who I’ve known for about fifteen years. As for someone I really love, I have my kid and my parents.”
I hesitated before asking, “What about your husband?”
She paused in slight surprise before replying, “We got a divorce.”
I was taken aback for a second and apologized hastily. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know-”
“It’s okay. It’s normal after all. At my age, everyone’s bound to come across an obstacle or two. Scarlett, you don’t have to follow any particular recipe for life. Just do what you like,” she said mildly as if she was simply asking about the weather. I nodded with a smile.
She smiled back. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Since we had already started talking about this, I didn’t feel the need to hide anything. With a nod, I said, “I don’t really know how to treat those people who care about me. It seems like I’m always unknowingly pushing them away.”
She looked at me with her hands folded under her chin. “Your friends and loved one, perhaps?”
I nodded again. “Yeah. It’s not like we learn how to love other people in school. I think I might have missed a lesson or two.”
She looked at me in surprise. “You have a child, don’t you? Don’t you love her? I don’t know how other people would explain it, but to me, love simply means wishing the best for the other person from the very bottom of your heart. Just think about how you treat your daughter. You know what’s best for her, so you always try to provide her with the best.”
“What about friends?”
“It’s the same idea but in moderation. After all, if you go overboard, you might achieve the opposite result.”
I felt like giving up. “That’s so complicated. I still don’t think I understand how to solve my problems.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What happened? Just tell me. I’m older than you after all, so hopefully, I can be of some help.”
“What should I do if I argued with a friend?”
She looked surprised. “Have you never argued with a friend before?”
I shook my head. “Not exactly.” Before this, when Macy and I argued, I usually stayed silent and didn’t retaliate. She always came back to find me after she got over it anyway.
This time, my attitude toward both Nora and Ashton seemed to make this a much harder situation than before.
After some thought, I decided to just come out and ask, “Are you busy tonight? Let’s have dinner.”
She smiled in surprise. “What a coincidence. My parents offered to watch my kid for me today, and I was planning on having a nice night off. I’m glad to have a partner now.”
After tidying up our things, we headed out of the office.
Linda and I walked around the mall for a while and had a light meal. Since she rarely got the chance to have a night out, we decided to go to a bar.
“You know, I haven’t stepped foot in a bar since giving birth. I was starting to feel much older than I actually am! Looks like everyone really does need a night out once in a while to keep spry and energized,” Linda quipped. She was in a pretty good mood and ordered another round of drinks, sipping from her glass as she chatted with me.
She drank rather quickly and suddenly approached me with slightly narrowed eyes. “Being young sure is nice. Just sitting down here already got you some stares.”
