The club
Quinn leaned her head calmly on the back passenger's seat. She and her mum had gone shopping.
"Mum.... What are we going to use all these clothes for? They are much you know..." Although Quinn was complaining, she had a smile on her face.
"Most of them are for Emelda. She lacks clothes." Nicole shrugged.
"Mum... Really?!" Quinn widened her eyes and looked at her mum dramatically.
"What mum? Why are you reacting like that?" Her mother chuckled.
"Emelda has tons of clothes. Her clothes are more than enough, mum." Quinn chuckled.
"It wouldn't hurt if we upgraded her wardrobe a little. So stop reacting in that manner." Her mother closed her eyes and placed her fists on her lap.
All of a sudden the driver swerved dangerously.
"What was that? Can't you drive carefully?" Quinn patted her beating heart to calm it down.
"Sorry madam..." The driver apologized nervously.
He didn't know what had happened earlier...
"Whatever... Drive carefully." Nicole said.
She had also been frightened of what had happened earlier on.
..............
They drove through the gate, and parked the car.
A security guard hurried over to open the car door for them. As they stepped out, Nicole turned to the driver.
"It seems he needs to be replaced." She said calmly. She couldn't have imagined what would have happened if the drive had lost control at that time.
The driver hurriedly knelt down,
"Please madam... I'm sorry... It was a mistake. It wouldn't happen again, I promise." The driver cried pitifully.
He couldn't afford to lose his job at all... Where was he going to get another job that paid well as this one?
"Mum... It's fine... Mistakes happen. Let's leave him be." Quinn tried pacifying her mother.
The drive was inwardly thanking his lucky star at that moment. He was lucky that the Miss was present.
Nicole was silent for a while. She looked at the driver, and back at her daughter. She then sighed,
"This will be the last time." She shrugged and headed inside.
Quinn nodded at him,
"It's fine." She smiled gently.
Only she could tell the feeling of being sacked. After all, she had been a maid once.
"Thank you, thank you very much..." The driver bowed.
Quinn went inside to see her mother brooding in the living room.
"Mum... Are you still thinking about what happened earlier on?" She went over to sit beside her mother.
"What if something else had happened? I don't want to imagine at all..." Nicole said as she shook her feet.
"Then don't." Quinn said calmly.
"Don't what?" Her mother looked at her for further clarification.
"Don't think about it. If you don't want to think about it, then don't..." Quinn smiled at her mother.
They both sat silently for some time...
"It seems there is no one at home." Nicole said after a while. She realized that there was no reason to continue thinking about what had happened earlier...
They were safe, weren't they? And nothing happened...
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Quinn's words interrupted her thoughts.
She turned to look at Quinn. The both of them smiled in understanding.
The game room...
The both of them raced upstairs as they giggled.
"Dad will be very surprised, seeing his wife acting like a little child." Quinn chuckled.
"He should be." Nicole said.
The both of them climbed down the stairs.
Soon, they were seated playing a game with their consoles.
"We need a glass of wine." Quinn stood up and headed towards the fridge.
She took out a bottle of wine, and carried two wine glasses alongside it.
...............................
Henry opened the door to the bedroom. There was no one. It was empty.
He was puzzled. Didn't the maid say his wife and mother-in-law were home?
Then where were they?
He headed downstairs again, and decided to wait in the living room.
He dozed off after a long wait...
==============
Two hours later, Quinn and her mother walked downstairs. They were amused when they saw Henry sleeping on the couch in the living room.
"Maybe he was looking for you." Nicole guessed with a chuckle.
"Or he was probably tired and slept off?" Quinn went over and tapped his shoulders,
"Henry... Henry." She called out softly.
Henry opened his eyes, and caught her hand. With sudden force, he pulled her and she fell on his body,
"Ouch.." She yelped.
"Where have you been?" He whispered hoarsely.
"That? Well..." Quinn stuttered.
Nicole cleared her throat and chuckled.
Quinn scrambled off his body hurriedly. She had forgotten that her mother was present in the living room with them.
Henry was unashamed at all. Instead he laughed and sat up on the couch.
"Good evening mother." He smiled.
"Good evening, Son. I wonder where the others are. My husband is probably at work, but what about Mother and Father?" She frowned.
She was referring to Raphael and Lily.
"Oh.. They mentioned something about going to the club." Henry replied.
Nicole nodded in understanding, while Quinn frowned in confusion,
"Club? What club?" She asked.
Nicole chuckled and explained what it meant to her.
At the end of her explanation, Quinn was amused.
"Is there something like that?" She chuckled.
"Of course... You see these old ones need to stretch their bones at intervals." Her grandfather said behind them.
Quinn was startled,
"Grandfather... How long have you been standing here?!" She patted her chest as if trying to calm her beating heart.
"Well... I don't really know." Chuckling he went over to sit down. His wife joined him on the sofa.
"Can I come with you someday?" Quinn asked.
She wanted to see what the club looked like....
"Inquisitive I see... Of course, you can. In fact, you all can come along if you want to." Raphael said.
"I think I will pass on that offer." Nicole shook her head.
How could she be in the gathering of old people? Where she would be carefully scrutinized?
"I expected that." Lily chuckled.
"Well..." Nicole shrugged.
"But why don't you want to go, mother? I'm sure it would be quite fun, right grandfather?" Quinn turned to her grandfather for backup.
They continued chatting in the living room for a while, amidst laughter...
