Chapter 5 : Help Her
Florence met Barbara again the next day, with her client asking to meet at Florence's house only, which Florence immediately agreed to without much argument or questioning.
Striding and smiling from the direction of the kitchen, Florence brought a cup of tea, which she finally served right to Barbara.
"This is for you."
Barbara smiled and nodded. Without hesitation, she took the teacup. She did not feel shy or awkward. Florence was very kind and treated all her clients without favoritism.
"Thank you." Barbara took a sip of her tea, then asked, "Um, when you called me to ask me to meet you, I had thought that there would be good news to come. I know that I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I really can't. I hope you don't break my hopes."
Florence replied immediately. "Well, I guess you didn't guess wrong, I am indeed holding good news for you. That's why I wanted to see you now. It's better to talk about it in person like this."
"I knew it!" Barbara's smile grew even wider. "I knew I could count on you, even sooner than I expected. You did it. I love you." Barbara's happiness was overflowing at this moment. In fact, Florence saw that Barbara's eyes were full of stars, emitting a twinkling light.
"I don't know if this man is suitable for you, I just want to say that I've found a candidate for you."
"Who is he? I want to see him. As for whether or not we'll get along, that's for later. The important thing is, I need to meet and talk to him first." Barbara was very excited this time. She looked at Florence while rubbing her hands together. "Tell me right now about him. I want to hear it from you. Really, I didn't expect that I would get an answer so soon."
"Just a coincidence." Florence waved a hand. "Okay, this man seems nice. I mean, in my opinion. Just like you, he's also looking for a woman to be his life partner. I hope you guys will get along and like each other. I don't know anything yet, but I hope so."
"Can you tell me about him? Do you have a picture of him? Does he look handsome?" Barbara giggled.
"Yes, he is quite handsome in my eyes, unfortunately, I don't have a picture of him."
Barbara pouted in slight disappointment.
Then, Florence quickly said again, "But you don't have to worry, I have his cell phone number. I'll give it to you, and you can call him. You guys should meet soon to get acclimated."
"I'll do that," Barbara replied in high spirits, followed by a nod of her head.
"Okay, I'll send you his number right away. I have hopes that you will like each other. That's all."
"That's my hope too. And I believe in you. I'm sure that your choice is the right one, there are many testimonials that I've looked up. I can't wait for this."
Florence was pleased with the enthusiasm Barbara showed her. She then picked up her cell phone, typing something on it.
"I've sent you his cell phone number."
"Thank you. You helped me so much, it's really worth it. I'm so grateful to have you in this world."
"You're too much, you know that?"
"No, I don't feel that way. You are indeed my lifesaver." Barbara was very sincere and honest when she said that. She said again, "When do you think I should meet him?"
"I think you should call him first. I'm sure he'll be confused when you call, but I guarantee he'll understand immediately if you call me."
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind."
"Good luck, and you guys will become lovers. That's my hope."
"That's what I want, too." Barbara took another sip of Florence's tea. "Oh, I forgot. What about the payment? I want to pay you right now."
"I'm not accepting payment before you successfully go on a date with him."
"You're always like this with your clients?"
"Yes, it's one of my rules."
Barbara wanted to say something, but she didn't, her lips closed again, replaced by a smile. "Okay, then I'll call you back after I meet with him. Maybe in a few days?"
"I'll wait for good news from you."
Barbara then rose to her feet and excused herself happily. Florence was quite relieved, she just hoped that everything was fine and that her client would be satisfied.
Florence thought of Dan, whom she hurriedly called. Dan didn't pick up, maybe he was busy, is what Florence thought. Until two hours later, when Florence was cooking dinner, her cell phone rang.
It was Dan. He was calling her. Florence didn't think twice about pressing the green button. The connection was now made, followed by Dan's voice appearing.
"Hi, it's Dan."
"I know," Florence replied as she busily stirred the meat soup that was about to be cooked to perfection.
"Sorry, I just got around to opening my phone, I didn't know you called me about two hours ago."
"Yeah, no problem. I understand."
"What's wrong, by the way?"
"Oh, I just wanted to let you know that it might be someone calling you. A woman, that's what you asked, right?"
While waiting for Dan's answer, Florence turned off the stove.
"Really? Have you found a partner for me?"
There was a surprised tone of voice from the other side.
Florence nodded even though Dan was currently nowhere near her, which he certainly couldn't see. "Yes, and maybe you'll get along with him."
"I only came to your place last night, and now you already have the answer. Wow, that was really fast, I didn't expect this."
"It's just a coincidence, but it's good for you, right?"
"Yes, you're right."
Silent for a moment, Florence sat down on the kitchen chair, then started to say again, "So what? You haven't answered my question—did someone call you or not? I mean a woman."
"Oh yes, I forgot you asked about that, but unfortunately, no, I haven't received any calls other than from you."
"In that case, she hasn't contacted you yet, you just wait. I just wanted to give you some news about this."
"Okay, I understand."
"Yeah, I hope everything works out. I hope you'll get along well with her."
"That's what I want. Thank you, Florence. I'll call you when I've met her."
"Yes, well, is there anything you'd like to ask before this conversation is over?"
"I don't think so."
"Okay, don't forget to call me if you have any questions about this. I'll answer them."
"I'll keep that in mind," Dan replied again.
Florence and Dan finally disconnected their phone lines. Florence went back to focusing on the kitchen. Then, in the evening, before going to bed, she gets a call from her new client. Florence needed paper and a pen to record various pieces of information from her client.
The conversation on the phone with her new client was only ten minutes long. He was a man. His voice was cold and not very friendly, but Florence could adjust. Until finally, she got some information that she had to remember. Tomorrow, she had to go to the restaurant that her client wanted. And she should go to bed now because she's already sleepy.
In the morning, Jess calls Florence to ask for help. She didn't mind. She agreed to her sister's request. There was still time, she had a meeting with a client later in the afternoon.
Florence and Jess's house was only twenty minutes away by car. Fortunately, Florence has two cars. The other one was being borrowed by Jess yesterday because, when she wanted to go home, no taxi came.
When they got there, Jess was waiting on the porch of her house, all dressed up. They hugged for a moment.
"So, are you leaving now?" Florence asked.
"Yes, you're right. I'll be home by noon."
"Where exactly are you going?"
"Some business with an old friend. And it looks like I'm going to borrow your car again, is that okay?"
"Yes, of course." Florence nodded.
"Okay, I'll leave now. Later, my friend will be coming here to pick up my broken vacuum cleaner. Don't forget Rocky, you have to feed my dog."
"Wait a minute." Florence intervened as soon as Jess was about to turn around. "What's your hurry? I still have something to ask you first."
"I'm already a bit late, and yeah, I'm in a hurry."
"When is your friend coming here?"
"Maybe in half an hour, or so, I'm not sure. Rocky's food is in the bottom kitchen cupboard, okay? That's it, Flo. There's nothing else. You're doing me a favor, right?"
"Yes, I'm already here. I'll help you, of course, but one thing you must remember is: don't stay too long. I'll be leaving too, I've made an appointment with my client later in the afternoon."
"I'll keep that in mind. Bye, Flo, I love you. You're the best."
Jess hurriedly left for the car after giving Florence a peck on the cheek. Florence kept quiet as she waited for her sister to disappear from her sight. Only then did she enter the house.
Then, Florence saw Jess's dog named Rocky. The dog followed Florence as she walked slowly towards the kitchen. Florence immediately grabbed the dog food in the bottom kitchen cupboard, just like Jess said. That's right, there was food for Rocky.
Florence stroked the dog's soft fur before she poured the food for Rocky. That was when the doorbell rang. Florence rushed to open the door.
In front of her stood a thin man wearing a hat.
"Can I help you?"
He looked surprised for a moment because the person who appeared in front of him was not someone he thought of, but he was able to control himself and answered calmly. "Jess is at home? Who are you? I've never seen you here."
"I'm her sister. What do you want?"
"She's left?"
"Yes, she's left."
"When?"
"Not long ago."
"Oh."
"What do you want?"
"I came to get the broken vacuum cleaner."
Florence sighed softly. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Come on in, Jess told you about it."
The man followed Florence from behind.
"Are you good at fixing broken things?" Florence asked, just to make small talk.
"Yes, that's what I do. Where's the machine? Let me first check where the damage is."
Florence stopped walking immediately. Oh sh*t, she forgot to ask Jess where the machine was. Inevitably, Florence had to look for it.
"You sit on the sofa first, I'll look for it," Florence said, then quickly moved on without waiting for a response from her interlocutor.
Florence searched for the broken vacuum cleaner for quite some time, until she finally came back when she found the d*mn thing in the warehouse. When Jess comes home, don't forget to remind Florence to scold her. Jess is weird, that old vacuum cleaner should have been set up before she left so Florence wouldn't have to go through all this trouble. If Jess wasn't her sister, Florence wouldn't want to do something like this.
Florence returned from the warehouse carrying the broken vacuum cleaner. She didn't realize that just moments after this, she would face a problem.