Renee Jennings kembali ke Blissborne Garden setelah sarapan dan kebetulan bertemu dengan Joy Warren, putri Tua Crawford.
Dia baru saja turun dari taksi, mengenakan pakaian yang sangat terbuka. Sepatu hak tingginya terhuyung-huyung di tanah, membuatnya jelas baru saja kembali dari minum-minum di bar.
Joy Warren melihat Renee Jennings juga. Dia menatapnya dari atas ke bawah sebelum mencibir, "Kamu norak banget."
Renee tidak mau repot dengannya dan melangkah cepat dengan kaki panjangnya.
"Hei! Renee Jennings, aku bicara sama kamu!" teriak Joy Warren dengan kesal dari belakangnya.
Yang Renee inginkan saat ini hanyalah pulang, mandi, dan tidur, jadi dia bergegas masuk ke gedung apartemen.
Tetapi ketika dia membuka pintu apartemennya, dia menemukan Dalton Jenson duduk di sofa diterangi satu lampu dinding, sedang merokok.
"Ayah, apa Ayah masih belum tidur, atau baru bangun?" tanya Renee sambil berganti sepatu.
Melihatnya masuk, Dalton Jenson mematikan rokoknya yang baru setengah habis di asbak. "Kamu sudah pulang?"
"Ada apa?" Renee duduk di sampingnya dan bertanya dengan penasaran, "Ada yang mengganggu pikiran Ayah?"
Dalton Jenson menghela napas. "Ya."
Renee mengerucutkan bibirnya dan berkata pelan, "Ayah, apa ini tentang kondisiku?"
"Kalau Ayah bilang tidak, kamu pasti tidak akan percaya." Dalton Jenson tidak bisa menahan untuk menghela napas lagi.
"Jangan terlalu dipikirkan." Renee melingkarkan lengannya di bahunya, nadanya menjadi lebih serius. "Aku sudah bilang, aku tidak akan meninggalkan keluarga ini."
"Baiklah." Dalton Jenson mengangguk, matanya sedikit berkaca-kaca. "Ayah tidak akan."
Renee berpikir sejenak, lalu bertanya, "Ayah, apa Ayah dan Ibu ingin mencari anak kandung Ayah?"
Dalton Jenson tertegun beberapa detik sebelum berkata dengan putus asa, "Setelah bertahun-tahun... Ayah khawatir kita tidak akan pernah menemukannya."
"Pasti ada jalan." Renee menepuk bahunya. "Lihat, Keluarga Morgan menemukan anak mereka, kan? Kita tidak akan tahu kalau kita tidak mencoba."
Dalton Jenson mengatupkan bibirnya dan tidak berbicara untuk beberapa saat.
Renee berdiri. "Ayah, aku mau mandi. Ayah sebaiknya kembali tidur."
"Baiklah." Dalton Jenson mengangguk. "Pergilah, sana."
**
Renee tidur sampai sedikit lewat jam tiga sore, ketika dia dibangunkan oleh telepon dari Sylvia Brooks.
"Halo, Summer." Suaranya masih serak karena kantuk.
Nada suara Sylvia penuh permintaan maaf. "Renee, apa aku membangunkanmu?"
"Tidak apa-apa." Renee berusaha bangun, bersandar di kepala tempat tidur. "Lagipula sudah waktunya bangun. Kalau tidur terlalu banyak, nanti malam tidak bisa tidur."
"Syukurlah." Sylvia menghela napas lega dan berkata sambil tertawa, "Sebenarnya aku menelepon untuk meminta bantuan. Apa kamu ada waktu luang malam ini? Kita bisa bicarakan sambil makan malam."
"Tentu, aku ada waktu," setuju Renee.
Sebelum menutup telepon, Sylvia menambahkan, "Oh, ya, ajak Michelle juga."
Mendengar bahwa Sylvia secara khusus meminta Michelle ikut ketika mengundang Renee, Michelle Fuller bertanya sambil mengemudi, "Renee, menurutmu apakah dia ingin berteman denganku?"
Renee, yang duduk di kursi penumpang, menatapnya dengan senyum geli. "Kupikir kalian berdua sudah berteman."
"Hah?" Michelle berkata dengan heran. "Apa dia bilang aku temannya?"
Renee berkata dengan pasrah, "Dasar bodoh. Kenapa dia mengundangmu kalau dia tidak menganggapmu teman?"
Michelle mengatupkan bibirnya, mencoba menahan senyum lebar, dan berkata dengan tenang pura-pura, "Baiklah, kalau begitu. Kalau dia ingin berteman denganku, aku kira aku bisa setuju."
Renee terkekeh melihat kelakuannya.
Tapi kemudian, di tengah tawanya, dia tiba-tiba merasakan kesedihan.
'Michelle bisa punya banyak teman. Dia hanya tidak punya teman karena diseret olehku, tokoh jahat dalam cerita ini.'
Renee menoleh untuk melihat pemandangan di luar jendela mobil dan bergumam, "Michelle, maafkan aku."
"Apa katamu?" tanya Michelle. "Aku tidak mendengarnya dengan jelas."
Renee menggelengkan kepalanya sedikit. "Tidak apa-apa."
Keduanya tiba di rumah baru Sylvia, sebuah apartemen mewah yang luas dengan pemandangan sungai yang baru saja dibelinya. Dia sudah menjual vilanya di Norvane.
"Kalian sudah datang." Sylvia, yang mengenakan celemek dengan rambutnya disanggul dengan jepit, membukakan pintu. "Renee, Michelle."
Renee dan Michelle meletakkan hadiah yang masing-masing mereka bawa di meja kopi.
Mencium aroma harum, Michelle berkata dengan senyum lebar, "Kamu memasak apa? Wanginya luar biasa."
Keduanya mengikuti aroma ke dapur dan melihat panci tanah liat mengepul di atas kompor gas.
"Summer, kamu masak sendiri?" tanya Renee, menatapnya dari belakang.
Sylvia mengangguk sambil tersenyum. "Masakanku tidak begitu hebat, jadi jangan menertawakanku kalau rasanya kurang enak."
Michelle langsung menjawab, "Wanginya begitu enak, mana mungkin rasanya tidak enak?"
"Masakan rumahan adalah kehormatan tertinggi." Renee sedikit penasaran. "Kamu masak apa?"
"Ayam bawang putih dan tiram panci tanah liat." Saat Sylvia berbicara, dia mengangkat tutupnya, dan aromanya semakin kaya.
Michelle tidak bisa menahan menelan ludah. "Wow, kelihatannya cocok banget sama nasi! Apa kamu masak nasi?"
Renee mengangkat alisnya sedikit. "Kupikir kamu tidak makan nasi?"
"Hari ini aku tidak bisa menolaknya." Michelle menarik napas dalam-dalam lagi. "Terlalu harum. Aku harus menyuruh koki aku belajar masakan ini."
"Kamu kan belum makan." Sylvia sedikit gugup. "Bagaimana kalau kamu kecewa..."
Renee tersenyum dan menepuk bahunya. "Aku percaya padamu. Ada yang bisa kami bantu?"
"Tidak perlu, kalian berdua hangout saja di ruang tamu. Aku panggil kalian kalau sudah siap." Sylvia mengusir mereka keluar dari dapur; melihat mereka memperhatikan membuatnya semakin gugup.
Sylvia memasak tiga lauk dan satu sup: ayam bawang putih dan tiram panci tanah liat, tumis daging sapi, satu sayuran, dan sepanci sup perut babi.
Renee dan Michelle baru mulai makan setelah berfoto-foto.
Di tengah makan, Renee menyinggung apa yang Sylvia bicarakan di telepon. "Bukankah kamu bilang ada yang perlu aku bantu?"
"Ya." Sylvia meletakkan sumpitnya dan menatapnya, ekspresinya berubah lebih serius. "Seorang teman baikku punya kucing, tapi dua minggu lalu, kucingnya tiba-tiba berhenti makan."
"Apa dia sakit?" tanya Michelle dengan bingung.
Sylvia menggelengkan kepalanya. "Tidak. Temanku juga mengira dia sakit, jadi dia membawanya ke dokter
Renee Jennings returned to Blissborne Garden after breakfast and happened to run into Joy Warren, Old Hag Crawford’s daughter.
She was getting out of a taxi, dressed in very revealing clothes. Her high heels wobbled on the ground, making it obvious she had just come back from drinking at a bar.
Joy Warren spotted Renee Jennings too. She looked her up and down before sneering, "You’re so tacky."
Renee couldn’t be bothered with her and strode ahead on her long legs.
"Hey! Renee Jennings, I’m talking to you!" Joy Warren shouted, annoyed, from behind her.
All Renee wanted right now was to get home, take a shower, and go to sleep, so she hurried into the apartment building.
But when she opened the door to her apartment, she found Dalton Jenson sitting on the sofa in the light of a single wall lamp, smoking.
"Dad, are you still up, or did you just wake up?" Renee asked as she changed her shoes.
Seeing her come in, Dalton Jenson stubbed out his barely half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray. "You’re back?"
"What’s wrong?" Renee sat down beside him and asked curiously, "Something on your mind?"
Dalton Jenson sighed. "Yeah."
Renee pursed her lips and said softly, "Dad, is this about my situation?"
"If I said no, you definitely wouldn’t believe me." Dalton Jenson couldn’t help but sigh again.
"Don’t overthink it." Renee put an arm around his shoulder, her tone becoming more serious. "I told you, I’m not leaving this family."
"Okay." Dalton Jenson nodded, his eyes slightly moist. "I won’t."
Renee thought for a moment, then asked, "Dad, do you and Mom want to find your biological daughter?"
Dalton Jenson was stunned for a few seconds before he said helplessly, "After all these years... I’m afraid we’ll never find her."
"There has to be a way." Renee patted his shoulder. "Look, the Morgan Family found theirs, didn’t they? We won’t know unless we try."
Dalton Jenson pressed his lips together and didn’t speak for a good while.
Renee stood up. "Dad, I’m going to take a shower. You should go back and get some more sleep."
"Okay." Dalton Jenson nodded. "Go on, go ahead."
**
Renee slept until a little after three in the afternoon, when she was woken up by a call from Sylvia Brooks.
"Hello, Summer." Her voice was thick with sleep.
Sylvia’s tone was apologetic. "Renee, did I wake you?"
"It’s fine." Renee struggled to sit up, leaning against the headboard. "It’s about time I got up anyway. If I sleep too much, I won’t be able to sleep tonight."
"That’s good." Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief and said with a laugh, "I was actually calling to ask for a favor. Are you free tonight? We can talk about it over dinner."
"Sure, I’m free," Renee agreed.
Before hanging up, Sylvia added, "Oh, by the way, bring Michelle with you."
Hearing that Sylvia had specifically asked for her to come along when inviting Renee, Michelle Fuller asked while driving, "Renee, do you think she wants to be friends with me?"
Renee, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at her with an amused smile. "I thought you two were already friends."
"Huh?" Michelle said, surprised. "Did she say I was her friend?"
Renee said helplessly, "You silly goose. Why would she invite you if she didn’t think of you as a friend?"
Michelle pressed her lips together, trying to suppress a wide grin, and said with feigned calmness, "Alright, then. If she wants to be my friend, I guess I can agree to it."
Renee chuckled at her antics.
But then, in the midst of her laughter, she suddenly felt a pang of sadness.
’Michelle could have had so many friends. She only ended up without any because she was dragged down by me, the story’s villainess.’
Renee turned her head to look at the scenery outside the car window and murmured, "Michelle, I’m sorry."
"What did you say?" Michelle asked. "I didn’t quite hear you."
Renee shook her head slightly. "It’s nothing."
The two arrived at Sylvia’s new home, a spacious, high-end apartment with a river view that she had recently purchased. She had already sold her villa in Norvane.
"You’re here." Sylvia, wearing an apron with her hair pulled back in a claw clip, answered the door. "Renee, Michelle."
Renee and Michelle placed the gifts they had each brought on the coffee table.
Smelling the fragrant aroma, Michelle said with a wide smile, "What are you cooking? It smells amazing."
The two followed the scent into the kitchen and saw a clay pot steaming on the gas stove.
"Summer, did you cook this yourself?" Renee asked, looking back at her.
Sylvia nodded with a smile. "My cooking isn’t that great, so please don’t make fun of me if it’s not good."
Michelle immediately replied, "It smells so good, how could it possibly be bad?"
"A home-cooked meal is the highest honor." Renee was a little curious. "What did you make?"
"Garlic chicken and oyster clay pot." As Sylvia spoke, she lifted the lid, and the aroma grew even richer.
Michelle couldn’t help but swallow. "Wow, that looks like it would go great with rice! Did you make any rice?"
Renee raised an eyebrow slightly. "I thought you didn’t eat rice?"
"I can’t resist today." Michelle took another deep sniff of the aroma. "It’s too fragrant. I’ll have to get my chef to learn this dish."
"You haven’t even eaten yet." Sylvia was a little nervous. "What if you’re disappointed..."
Renee smiled and patted her shoulder. "I have faith in you. Is there anything we can help with?"
"No need, you two go hang out in the living room. I’ll call you when it’s ready." Sylvia shooed them out of the kitchen; having them watch made her even more nervous.
Sylvia had cooked three dishes and a soup: the garlic chicken and oyster clay pot, a beef stir-fry, a vegetable dish, and a pot of pork stomach soup.
Renee and Michelle only started eating after taking pictures.
Midway through the meal, Renee brought up what Sylvia had mentioned on the phone. "Didn’t you say you had something you needed my help with?"
"Yes." Sylvia put down her chopsticks and looked at her, her expression turning more serious. "A good friend of mine has a cat, but two weeks ago, it suddenly stopped eating."
"Is it sick?" Michelle asked, puzzled.
Sylvia shook her head. "No. My friend thought it was sick too, so she took it to the vet for a checkup, but the doctor said it’s physically fine. It might be a psychological issue."
"And then she found a pet psychologist, but that didn’t work either?" Michelle guessed.
Sylvia nodded and said slowly, "My friend loves her cat very much and has been terribly worried about this, which is why I wanted to ask you for help, Renee."
"You could have asked Renee about this ages ago," Michelle said while eating an oyster. "Why waste all that money? This is a piece of cake for Renee."
Renee, who was chewing a piece of meat, nodded in agreement.
Sylvia explained with a smile, "I only found out about it later."
Renee swallowed the meat in her mouth and asked, "Summer, where is your friend’s cat?"
Sylvia used the serving chopsticks to place an oyster on her plate. "I’ll have her bring it over after we finish eating. She lives just downstairs."
"Wow!" Michelle exclaimed. "You two live that close?"
Sylvia: "It’s convenient for looking out for each other."
Michelle turned to look at Renee and asked expectantly, "Renee, in that case, should we..."
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