Mr Grant, Please Be Gentle

Blanca was getting a little overexcited at this moment and went downstairs as though she had springs attached to the balls of her feet.

Matthew stood looking at her in silence. Her cheery smiles touched his heart. For the first time, Matthew felt his heart pound faster for a woman. Although his quiet life seemed to be broken by such a girl, he was surprised to find it was not a bad thing.

“What are you going to make, Mrs. Brown? Oh, I’d love celery and beans!” Blanca, carrying a small white bag, leaned on the door to the kitchen and talked with Mrs. Brown.

“No problem, Mrs. Grant,” answered Mrs. Brown with a smile. They kept talking and the room was filled with joyous laughter.

Because of Matthew’s obsession with quietness, Mrs. Brown was his only housekeeper, and they usually staggered their arrivals. Because of this, the house was always quiet. Somehow, the joyful moment made him feel warm and happy. A slight smile broke on his lips. Maybe Matthew himself did not realize that Blanca was slowly changing his life and melting his heart.

Matthew’s driver and Curtis didn’t come for this day was weekend. He decided to drive himself.

As soon as Blanca got into the car, she fastened her seatbelt immediately. Then she sneaked a glance at Matthew with suspicion. He then put his long-fingered hands on the steering wheel and the next, he felt her anxiety. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Well, uh… You haven’t driven in a long time, right? Could you drive a bit slower? I’m a bit scared.”

Matthew said nothing and a ghost of a smile touched his lips. The next second he stepped the accelerator hard and the car left the garage at great speed. Blanca was so frightened that she gripped her seatbelt tightly. Just then, the car slowed down. She knew Matthew did it on purpose. She looked at him with particular displeasure, but Matthew was unapologetic about what he just did. “You can get off if you’re scared,” he said.

‘Are you kidding me?!’ Blanca thought. She nursed a hint of grievance in her heart, but she swallowed it and forced a cute smile on her face. “You’re overthinking. Of course, I trust you.” After a pause, she asked tentatively, “By the way, Grandpa…”

“I’ll let you know when he gets back.”

“OK. Fine.”

It seemed that Matthew didn’t want to talk right now. So, Blanca said no more but turned her head to play with her mobile phone. Just then, a piece of news popped up – “The Gold Medal from the Oakshire Art Contest Goes To Peter From Oakshire Art School.”

Peter? That Peter? Blanca clicked on the link and zoomed in the photo. She peered it closely and found it was really him, the one who had painted for her! She smiled to herself, well pleased with her own keen eyes and judgment. As expected, he was indeed quite something.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

At this, Blanca couldn’t help laughing. Matthew looked sideways at her phone curiously and saw the photo of the news. He found the man was the one who chatted with Blanca at the door of the Japanese restaurant a few days ago.

‘What is the relationship between them? Someone she just met? Friend? Or former lover?’ thought Matthew, distracted. He found he kind of lost control recently, because of Blanca.

Before long, the car was stopped right in front of the shopping mall.