One Wild Night

As mother and daughter sat still for their pedicure session, Evelyn looked at Jade, "She seems like a nice person," Evelyn said, and without asking, Jade knew her mother was referring to Aurora.

"Yes, she is."

"And she is very beautiful and pleasant too. I can see why you are so worried about their date," Evelyn said, and Jade rolled her eyes.

"I'm beautiful and pleasant too, and I'm not bothered about their date anymore. I'm just going to relax and let things play out naturally," Jade said, and Evelyn nodded with approval.

"That's more like it. You should do that," Evelyn said, and once the ladies who were tending to their pedicure excused themselves briefly, Jade turned to her mother.

"You do realize that you had no right to scold those ladies the way you did earlier, right? You should have just left the scolding to me since you are exactly like them," Jade said, and Evelyn glared at her.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You may have conveniently forgotten how you were on their side until you realized they were talking about Tom and Lucy, but I haven't. I'm frankly disappointed that you still let yourself react to things that way," Jade said, and although that stung Evelyn, she knew that Jade was being honest so she didn't say anything in her defense as the ladies who were tending to them returned.

Evelyn sighed as she reflected on her action. She was not proud of it, and she knew that if Desmond was to hear of it, he wouldn't be pleased with her either since he always told her to get her facts right before casting any judgement.

It was a flaw. A major character flaw that she had been trying to work on for years but each time she was presented with a real-life situation to exercise what she had learned, she always gave in to her emotions rather than logic.

Jade glanced at her mother, and seeing the crestfallen expression on her face, Jade reached out and squeezed her hand, "I'm sorry I was harsh," she said, knowing how sensitive her mother could be despite her brave front.

Evelyn shook her head, "You were right. There is no reason for you to apologize," Evelyn said with a small smile.

"Still. I didn't have to say it in that manner. You are great, mom. You'd be too perfect if you didn't have some of these little character defects," Jade said, and Evelyn forced a smile.

"That's you trying to make me smile," Evelyn said, and Jade sighed.

"Yes, I want you to smile, but I also mean it. And I want you to put more effort into doing better. It is always better to dish judgement from a logical viewpoint than an emotional viewpoint," Jade advised and picked up her phone to continue her solo scrabble game from where she stopped.

She paused the game when she remembered that she had seen a message notification, from the girls' group, that Sonia had created the previous night when she turned on her data earlier, so she went online to see what it was, and to also inform Sonia about the drama that had just taken place.

[Hey, girls!!! Guess what? Double good news! Matt's date didn't work out! And he plans to join Bryan at I-Global! I think the universe is saying something. *wink* What do you girls think?]

Jade grinned as she read the text, and texted back, [The universe is definitely saying something. Candace, I think you still have a shot! Don't shy away, girl!]

"What are you grinning at? Are you texting with Harry?" Evelyn asked curiously.

"It's Sonia. Matt plans to join Bryan at I-Global," Jade informed her, and Evelyn smiled.

"At this rate, I won't be surprised if Tom employs your dad and I. Seems like everyone is working at I-Global now," Evelyn said, and Jade giggled.

"Well, I'm glad that Matt is coming over. With Candace here and all that. Did you know that he used to be involved with Candace?" Jade asked, and Evelyn nodded.

"Yeah. Bryan mentioned it while we were at his place and Matt came around. Do you think there is hope for things working out between them?" Evelyn asked hopefully.

"I believe so," Jade said as she went on to tell her mother all about how Matt had reconnected her with Candace and how they had fallen apart, and she also told her mother how Matt had shown up at Varis hours after she informed him of Candace's plan.

"It appears that he is more invested in her than she is in him. If she doesn't want him there is no reason to force things. They both deserve to love and be loved," Evelyn said, but Jade shook her head.

"Not exactly. From what I've seen, they both like each other. Candace likes him. Even if she won't say it out loud, I think the problem is that she sort of feels like she is not good enough for Matt...."

"What nonsense is that? How can a beautiful girl like her think that way?" Evelyn asked incredulously and Jade shrugged.

"That is just the way she feels," Jade said, not making any reference to the fact that Candace had been a stripper.

"Well, she shouldn't feel that way. She has every reason to be proud. She is not only beautiful, she also did such a wonderful job raising a bright kid like Jamal, and now she has Harry and their father. She needs to know that she deserves to be loved and so she should let herself be loved by Matt," Evelyn said, and Jade nodded.

"Maybe you should tell her that. Just don't say I told you anything about Matt. She prefers to skirt around that issue," Jade said, and glanced at her phone when it beeped with a text notification.

She raised a brow as she ready Candace's response to her comment, [I don't know what you are both talking about. Sonia, the universe isn't saying anything. I already said whatever was between Matt and I is water under the bridge.]

[Really? I fulfilled my end of our deal and confessed to Harry, but you are going to shy away from yours?] Jade texted back.

Candace, who was seated with Harry, Aaron, and the nurse, watching a movie on Netflix, picked up her phone when it beeped again.

She had turned off her data all morning, since Adolf dropped her and Jamal off at Harry's apartment, and had only turned it on to browse the meaning of a new word she had heard in the movie they were seeing, when she saw the message Sonia and Jade had dropped in the group chat.

She sighed when she saw the messages. She had thought they would have dropped the subject of her relationship with Matt following their conversation the previous day, why were they actively back to it again?

[I'm not shying away from anything. That Matt's date didn't work out doesn't mean he wants me. And even if he does, now is not the time for me to get into a relationship. I still have to put my life in order. And even if Matt moves down to Ludus, I might not be here since I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do now.] Candace responded.

[Why am I not surprised? As usual, you have an excuse. I knew you would always come up with a reason.] Jade texted back, and Candace frowned irritably.

[Why don't you girls focus on your relationship and let me be? Enough of the Matt talk, else I'm going to exit the group!] Candace typed, and hesitated for a couple of seconds.

She didn't want to sound rude or anything, but she really wasn't used to having everyone in her business in this way and she wished they would all just forget about her and Matt and let her be. If she didn't draw the line now, they would keep thinking it was cool to bring up the subject and she didn't want that, Candace reasoned as she tapped the send button, and almost immediately, Jade responded.

[Alright. If that's what you want I'll drop it.]

"Is everything alright?" Aaron asked when he noticed the frown on Candace's face and she forced a smile as she looked at him.

"Yes. Just chatting with Jade," Candace said, and that got Harry's attention too.

"Speaking of Jade, why isn't she here? Is she not coming over today?" Aaron asked Harry, and Candace looked at him.

"Why are you asking me when Candace is the one chatting with her?" Harry asked with a scowl since he had also been expecting her.

He had thought she would come over following how she had been persistently and stubbornly pursuing him since she arrived, but seeing how she had not called back since their last conversation, he guessed she was still mad at him for saying their relationship would be forgotten if she showed up during his date with Aurora.

"Well, she is your girlfriend, isn't she?" Aaron asked Harry, and he sighed.

"I guess she is busy," Harry murmured.

"Are you sure about that? Or did you do something to annoy her?" Aaron asked suspiciously and Harry glared at his father.

"She is busy," Harry insisted as he rose from his seat and headed for his bedroom.

"Seeing how you are grumpy, I smell a lovers' tiff," Aaron said, making both Candace and the nurse, who had been silent to giggle, while Harry paused to glower at his father.

"For someone who isn't in any relationship, you sure do know so much," Harry muttered as he walked away.

"Of course. I was in one long enough to have you. Check on Jamal while you are at whatever you're going in there to do. Tell him grandpa is missing his company. And don't bang the door like an annoying teenager," Aaron called after Harry, but he didn't stop.

Candace returned her attention to her phone when it beeped with a notification from the group. It was Jade.

[By the way, Sonia. You won't believe what happened today. We ran into Anita and her elder sister at the spa. You would have been so proud of Lucy had you been there to see her handle Anita.]

[Are you not coming over to Harry's today?] Candace asked, not bothering to ask Jade about who Anita was, since she knew whether she asked or not, she was going to find out soon enough.

[I'm not.]

Candace raised a brow, [Why not? Did you fight with Harry?]

[Did he say we fought? I don't have to come to his house often. He isn't my official boyfriend yet.] Jade pointed out.

Although she missed him and wished she could talk to him or see him, she wasn't going to. She was going to take some time to evaluate her feelings and get on the right track with her emotions.

[He didn't. But I think he misses you.] Candace confided, and Jade felt her lips twitch.

[Too bad for him. He won't be seeing me until after the anniversary.] Jade texted back, hoping that Candace would deliver her message to Harry.

Away from there, Sonia, who was in the car with Bryan, heading out to meet Jeff and Mia, looked down at her phone when it kept beeping with message notifications as she contemplated whether or not to check her messages.

Bryan was speaking to her, and she didn't want to give her attention to her phone and risk another emotional outburst from him.

As if he could read her mind, Bryan who was driving, turned to look at her in amusement, "If you are ignoring your texts for my sake, I suggest you don't."

"Huh?" Sonia asked, and Bryan smiled.

"You will most likely not hear anything else I say until you check your messages, so go on and do it," Bryan advised, and Sonia flashed him a smile of gratitude as she unlocked her phone and checked Jade's and Candace's messages.

She wanted to respond to Candace's message, but became caught up in Jade's last message about Lucy and Anita so she responded to that instead, [We? Lucy went to the spa with you?] Sonia asked with a frown.

"What's wrong?" Bryan asked when he noticed her frown.

"I think Jade and Lucy went out together," Sonia complained.

"I don't think so. Dad said Jade and mom went out together. He didn't mention Lucy leaving with them," Bryan said, just as Sonia's phone beeped again.

Jade sent a rolling eye emoticon, followed by a long explanation of what had transpired between them and Anita at the spa.

"Can you believe that Jade and Evelyn just happened to be at the same spa with Tom and Lucy and overheard the ladies plotting to harm Lucy?" Sonia asked in disbelief and Bryan turned to spare her a glance.

"Really? That's some crazy stuff! Why would they want to hurt her?" He asked, and Sonia read our Jade's message to him.

"I'm glad nothing bad happened," Bryan said with a sigh, wondering why it was taking Tom so long to take care of Anita.

"I wonder why Candace doesn't want to get involved with Matt. I mean I can get why she was staying away in the past due to the nature of her job and Matt's career, but I expected her to jump on this opportunity now," Sonia said with a frown as she read through the earlier chats.

"Did she say something?" Bryan asked, and Sonia read out what Candace had said.

"You should let her be. I believe they will both find a way to make it work if they really want to," Bryan advised as he Pulled up the car in front of Tom's apartment.

"You mean like we did?" Sonia asked with a grin, and Bryan smiled.

"Not quite. But something like that. As long as Matt remains my best friend, and Candace is a part of the family through both Jade and Lucy, they will always cross paths. And when that happens...."

"Sparks will fly," Sonia said with a wide smile.

"I was going to say when that happens, they will decide if they can stand just being acquaintances or friends, or if they want something more," Bryan said, and Sonia giggled.

"Doesn't matter what you were going to say. Those two have great chemistry, believe me. I know it," Sonia said confidently, and before Bryan could say anything, Mia burst out through the front door to welcome them.