Then Elroy sauntered over to Carlos' table. This was the first time he and Debbie had seen each other face to face. Slippery as an eel, he remained composed when he stood in front of Debbie, as if he were simply looking at a stranger. He even raised his glass and toasted her and Carlos cheerfully.
Debbie, on the other hand, could barely maintain her composure. After congratulating Curtis and Colleen, she lowered her head and stared at the glass of juice in her hand to hide her feelings her face was about to betray. She remained silent, listening to them talk.
Carlos held her hand tightly.
Elroy noticed it and understood that Carlos was doing it not so much to reassure her, but to warn the older man not to think about harming Debbie.
On the way home from the hotel, Debbie had mixed feelings.
She was happy for Curtis and Colleen, but she was still sad about her own life story.
Carlos took her in his arms and kissed her forehead. "Just sleep. When you wake up, maybe you can tackle all this fresh," he said.
She was tired, she couldn't deny that. She decided not to fight sleep. She nodded her assent and closed her eyes in his arms.
Tabitha flew out to Y City for Curtis' wedding. She stayed at East City Villa for two days and flew back to New York with news of Debbie's pregnancy.
When she told James, he decisively told her to tell no one else. Told her? No, he warned her.
James had to take hypertension meds three days in a row thanks to the anger caused by Debbie's pregnancy. The odd thing was, he said and did nothing about it.
Soon after the wedding, Megan paid the Zheng family a million for the injury. It was painful to her finances, but nothing compared to what Kasie had been through.
When Kasie discovered it was Megan who had run her over, she refused to settle.
But considering Megan was just a little girl and she was related to Carlos and Wesley, Mason decided at the last not to be so cruel. She was only sentenced to 15 days detention.
Carlos had decided to send her to A Country when she got out of lockup, and she was banned from coming back to Y City unless it was vitally important.
After the wedding, Curtis and Colleen enjoyed their honeymoon. They traveled to Guilin to take in the amazing views, and stayed at a sumptuous bed and breakfast there—the Zen Tea House Seven Star Park. The couple were treated to plenty of natural light streaming through the windows at dawn, and lovely lavender sunsets. The decor was very tea-house art style. But part of what drew them to the area was where else they could go. They marveled at the rainbow colors of Reed Flute Cave, and the majesty of the Jingjiang Princes' Palace. Walking through the Ming-era walled city was an intense experience, capped by the vistas from a limestone peak. After that, they flew off to A Country. Colleen even quit her job in Y City to stay around Curtis.
So basically they settled in A Country.
Debbie hadn't seen Jared and Kristina for a long time. They decided to have dinner together. When Kasie learned of this, she protested that her friends decided to go to dinner without her. In the end, they had to bring her with them, though her injuries hadn't healed yet.
Debbie was concerned about how things were going between Jared and Sasha. At the table, she kept asking Jared about it. It felt like forever since she'd last seen him, and wondered if Sasha were even still in the picture.
Jared patted his chest happily and promised, "Don't worry, Tomboy. She's the woman of my dreams."
Happiness was written all over his face. One had only to look at him to know without a doubt that he was in love.
Not accustomed to hearing those sweet words coming from him, the other three were all surprised by his declaration. Among the banter between the four friends were suggestions that maybe they should take his temperature.
Kasie retorted, "I remember someone saying the other day...what was it? Ahem... 'My friends are my family. No girl can hold a candle to that!' Hmm... I wonder who that was..." She repeated what Jared had said, imitating the way he spoke with her hand at her throat.
"Ha ha..." Debbie and Kristina laughed.
Jared scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "It's all Sasha's fault. She's so clingy. I'm a kept man."
"Knock it off. Then who is it that calls her every day? Who keeps calling her 'My queen, my sweetheart'? You are such a liar!" Again, Kasie laid his lies bare for all to see.
Jared was unhappy. He rolled his eyes at Kasie and poured a glass of beer for her. "Jeez. You're nice. If you can't talk nicely, then drink."
"No problem! I'll drink you under the table." Kasie picked up the glass of beer and clinked glasses with him. Both of them drained their glasses quickly.
Debbie cleared her throat and looked at Jared, his face reddened from the beer. "I hear you. You need a good job to give that one everything she wants."
"Of course. I have to be on my toes to beat out my brother. I'm the one who should be running the company, not Damon."
"As long as you're happy." Debbie was glad to hear that he had some ambition.
"Hey Tomboy— no, since you're leading such a happy life now, we should stop calling you Tomboy. Dear Mrs. Huo, can I be your son's godmother?" Kasie asked, locking her hands around Debbie's neck.
Debbie burst into laughter. "Of course not. So far, you haven't even given my son a red envelope yet. I can't let my son have such a cheap godmother."
Kasie grabbed her bag quickly and handed it to Debbie. "Here you are. It's yours. Anything you want, I'll do it for him." Debbie was still stunned when Kasie added, "Or her."
Thinking of the baby in Debbie's belly, everyone felt warm and happy.
"Ha ha, your money will be mine from now on." Debbie took Kasie's bag and hugged it tightly to her.
"Then I'll just mooch meals off you."
They both laughed.
Kristina gulped down a glass of beer, watching her friends having fun. She had been laughing with them, but now she looked at them, as if there were something she wanted to share.
Kasie was the first to notice her expression. "Something wrong, Kristina?"
The other two were drawn into it by her question. "What is it?" Debbie queried.
Kristina poured herself another glass of beer and told them in a low voice, "Dixon and I... we broke up."
Everyone was stunned. Dixon had just left. Kasie asked, "Why? Did he do something? Tell us. If he did, I'll fly to the U.S. when I'm better, and kick his ass."
Kristina shook her head dejectedly. "No, he was good to me. But it just didn't feel right. We just drifted apart. No biggie."
After dinner, Emmett drove Carlos to the place where Debbie was waiting. Kasie climbed into the passenger seat.
Since her place was closest to the restaurant, they dropped her off first.
But Emmett had to drive Debbie and Carlos home, and so having to drop her off first was sad for him. Kasie didn't let him go until he promised he would take her out for a meal the next day.
When he was back in the car, Debbie lay in Carlos' arms, teasing their driver. "When are you going to marry Kasie, anyway?"
Emmett laid it all out for her, "When this semester is over. If it ended today, I'd propose to her tomorrow."
Debbie was happy to hear that. "Good. Treat her right. Or I'll ask your boss to exile you to D Country. I hear gay marriage is legal there, and I'm sure you'll find the right guy."
"You have nothing to worry about, Mrs. Huo. I love Kasie with all my heart and soul."
"Ha ha..." Debbie laughed complacently.
Carlos played with her hair and said, "I can be his chaperone."
Emmett protested loudly, "You two are bullying me. Not cool."