I admire his calm and determined way of doing things, and I was infatuated with his mysterious appearance on ordinary days...
Jared was an outstanding student praised by professors, a business genius who shocked the industry, and a pride in the eyes of everyone.
The more I realized how much he embodied this particular trait, the more I felt compelled to work diligently and avoid causing him any inconvenience. Regardless of whether he would return home or not, I would prepare dinner for him as soon as I got off work. If he disliked the decorations in our home, I would promptly replace them the following day. Even when I was suffering from a high fever, I would still assist him in delivering documents.
Yet, he took these small gestures for granted, as if they were my natural obligation.
With this assurance, he had the confidence and boldness to attend to the person who reminded him more of his first love.
"Maybe I will never be the protagonist in this game, just a substitute." I thought.
I realized my position and deleted all of Jared's contact information.
That day, I handed the specially made urn to the staff at the funeral home.
The staff was surprised by the pattern on the urn, the cloud pattern my grandma loved most during her lifetime, and she designed them herself. I left them there, hoping that they could accompany my grandma forever.
When I was waiting, an unhappy voice came, "Jared, will you take care of Flora's funeral arrangements?"
I looked in the direction of the voice and, indeed, saw the figures of Jared and Wendy.
Wendy stood on one leg, leaning slightly against Jared beside her.
At this moment, Jared also noticed me, "Vera, what are you doing here?"
Meeting at the funeral home was really unexpected. No one would believe it. Jared must think that I somehow found out about his schedule and came here to protest.
I did not want to be involved with them, so I turned my head away.
"Vera, please don't misunderstand. There's absolutely nothing going on between Jared and me," Wendy insisted, refusing to let the misunderstanding subside. "Last night, it was thundering and pouring rain, and I was terrified. My leg was also hurting. Jared came to keep me company. Today, he insisted that I go to the hospital for a check-up before he could feel at ease."