Chapter 88: Bianca Explains It All

“Hey mom…it’s me…Melody. I’m doing well at work. I’ve been promoted twice! I decided to go with the blue blouse after all, heh. I ummm…I’m not sure what I want…with Paxton. I love him with all my heart, but I just don’t know how he feels about me. I don’t know why I’m so afraid to ask him. Well, anyway, I gotta go. I hope you visit me soon.”

It was almost like an old ghost story. Bianca appeared three times since she died.

First, she had some unfinished business with her brother. He had gone to bed early that evening and woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of running water. That darn Allen! Always leaving the faucet on! But, to his surprise it was not the faucet or Allen at all.

“Oh! So…you die without saying goodbye and now you come back and break all my plumbing? What a way to make a guy feel loved.”

“I’m sorry, Brandon. You can’t control when or where you die. Of course I wanted to say goodbye to you!”

“So…what’s it like being dead? Have you found Giancarlo?”

“I sense a sadness in you. What’s going on, bro?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Tell me everything.”

Brandon went from zero to 60 in two seconds flat. Bianca had no idea any of it was going on. It brought back painful memories of their own parents’ situation, and she just felt terrible for her brother.

“Oh, Brandon! Why did you never say anything to me?! This is terrible!”

“I’m all right. It just hits a nerve every now and then. Did you ever suspect anything with us? Ever?”

“Ehhhhhh…”

“Bianca…what are you not telling me?”

“Ok…one time Giancarlo came to me and told me that he didn’t feel comfortable around her.”

“Did he say why?”

“He said she flirted with him a few times.”

“I knew it. I never stood a chance!”

“We think she was pregnant at the time. Maybe it was just hormones!”

“Hormones shwormones! No one can compete with Giancarlo!”

“My sweet little brother…I never wanted this for you! From what I’m hearing, honestly, I feel like she really loves you, but she just…it’s like she only knows how to express it one way, but you were expecting it in another. Like you both were speaking two different languages. So…go back to bed and decide if you want to learn another language, or…not.”

“I miss you so much, Bianca,” he cried.

“I miss you too…”

“But…hey…look at it this way…in a day or two, you can come hang with me and GNC!”

“Who?”

“It’s a funny story. I’ll have him tell you soon.”

The next morning, Bianca briefly visited Allen during breakfast.

“I miss you, Aunt Bianca. You were the best cook. If you’re around in a couple days, can you bake me a cake for my birthday?”

“I won’t make any promises, but if I’m around I would love to.”

“Thanks.”

Finally, she waited around the kitchen to catch up with her children the next morning at breakfast.

“[gasp] MOM!! You’re here,” she shrieked. “I asked you to come and you came!!”

“Hello, dear. I was hoping to catch one or both of you here this morning. Sit down. Tell me all about it.”

“Why am I afraid to ask him, Mom?”

“I don’t know, baby. You must be afraid of some sort of rejection. Do you think it’s possible that he doesn’t love you?”

“No.”

“So there! What’s the problem?”

“I guess there isn’t one. I think I’d like to marry him.”

“Don’t rush it, Mel. Please. You’re very young. You have all the time in the world for that!”

“I know, but…I just don’t like being alone!”

“You’re not alone! You have your sister and your cousins. And you’ve proven to be very capable of taking care of yourself.”

“I don’t mean ‘alone’ like that. I mean alone. I want what you and dad had…right now!”

“I know, baby, I know. It just doesn’t always work that way. Please be patient…promise?”

“Ok.”