Call from Johnson
Author’s pov
Juliana walked over to her phone on the chair, and as soon as she looked at the screen, she saw an unfamiliar number. However, the last two digits were recognizable to her. Her intuition immediately told her that this was Johnson’s phone number. The name Johnson echoed in her mind, making her more apprehensive and hesitant to answer the call. A few seconds later, the call ended, and she let out a sigh of relief.
“Johnson!” she thought to herself, sitting down near the phone without answering it. Before she could even blink, her phone started ringing again. This time, she picked up the call and was the first to speak.
“Hello…”
“Is this the goddess of beauty?”
With just that statement, Juliana knew exactly who was calling. There was only one person in the world who used to call her that name years ago, and it was Johnson. It brought back sweet memories that made Juliana burst into laughter.
“You still remember that statement?” she said, surprised and filled with affection.
“You are always in my heart. How could I forget you? Someone who occupied my heart for a very long time.”
“Please don’t make your wife jealous. She should be the one answering to that name now,” Juliana said, causing an awkward silence as she waited for a response.
“Didn’t your mum tell you?” Johnson asked with a low voice.
“Tell me what? What did you tell her?” she immediately replied.
“That I lost my wife a few months ago…”
“No, she didn’t. Did you inform her?”
“Yes, I did. It was tragic. She passed away from terminal cancer. We were hoping she would survive, but she didn’t make it,” he sounded sorrowful.
“I’m so sorry for what happened. I’m truly sorry. How are you coping?” Juliana asked in a soft voice.
“It’s not easy. I’m making plans to return to my parents’ city…”
“You’re coming back to this city?” Juliana asked, surprised.
“Yes. I feel like starting fresh. I’ve been terribly lonely at home. I’m coming back. That’s what my psychologist advised.”
“Okay. Please, don’t let your loss weigh you down.”
“Just talking to you has lifted my spirits. Although I’m not in the city right now, would you mind if we meet when I come back? Hearing your voice has filled me with sweet nostalgia.”
“It’s always nice to hear your voice, Johnson. There’s no problem with meeting again. Johnson, is that really you?” Juliana asked, raising her voice.
“Yes, it’s me,” Johnson replied. As the call was about to end, he suddenly remembered something.
“I’m sorry for what happened to you regarding your husband…”
“Who told you?” Juliana interrupted.
“Your mum, of course. Are you keeping it a secret from me? I’m still friends with your mum. What are you trying to hide? She even shared things with me that I would love to say to you face to face.”
“No, no, it’s not that I was hiding anything from you, but…”
“Sorry, I know it hurts. I’ll be coming next week, and I want us to meet…” He interrupted her.
“Okay, see you next week. Bye.” She said with less satisfaction.
“Bye, Juliana.” Johnson ended the call, leaving Juliana with the phone still pressed to her ear as she pondered what might happen during their meeting.
“What does he want?” Juliana muttered to herself as she placed the phone on the chair.
“No, Mum shouldn’t have told him about my husband. What can I do now? Wait a minute, why is my heart racing? No… no.”
She quickly dialed her mum’s phone number. As soon as the phone began ringing and her mum answered, Juliana immediately asked,
“Mum, what did you tell Johnson?”
Her mum didn’t reply at first, leaving Juliana waiting anxiously.
“Mum, what did you tell Johnson? Tell me.”
“I told him everything…”
“Everything? What do you mean, Mum?” Juliana raised her voice. “Must you tell everyone what happened to me?”
“I.,.. I…” she stammered and continued, “just as a close friend, I told him about your situation.”
“My situation? What situation? How did you put it to him?”
“What are you trying to hide, Juliana? You need help, and I thought it was right to let him know. He still loves you, and it was especially touching when he mentioned losing his wife. It seems like you two were meant to be…”
“Mum, stop it. Why are you jumping to conclusions? When did I tell you I was looking for a man? I already have someone.”
“Oh my goodness! Why didn’t you tell me? You should have informed us.”
“Well, it hasn’t been long since I accepted him. But seriously, why did you reveal my personal life to Johnson? We broke up in a way that he wasn’t happy and I wanted things to be that way. Although he called me a few minutes ago, and… ugh!”
“What happened?”
“He wants to see me. Why did you tell him that I am no longer with my husband, Mum?”
“I didn’t lie. I told him that your partner hasn’t been intimate with you for a while. Is that so wrong?”
“Mummmm…” Juliana shouted and ended the call. She turned around in her living room, shaking her head from side to side before finally sitting down.
“Why did my mum have to tell him something like that?” she said to herself. Her phone rang again, and when she saw that it was her mum calling, she let it ring and crossed her arms.
“My mum just set me up.”
**********
Daisy and Sadie were leaving Sadie ’s room when they encountered Justin coming down the stairs. As soon as Daisy saw her dad, her expression changed. Instead of going to her room as she had planned, she turned to Sadie and said,
“I should go now to see my mom.”
Both Justin and Sadie noticed the negative emotions on Daisy’s face when she laid eyes on her dad. As she was about to head towards the front door, Justin called out to her.
“Daisy! Daisy!!” He hurried over to her and asked, “Daisy, what’s wrong?” He held her right hand.
She looked at her dad with anger and pulled her hand away before swiftly walking to her car and driving off.
“Is everything okay?” Sadie asked slowly as Justin closed the door.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into her. Her mom must have said something about me,” Justin replied.
“How do you know that?” Sadie inquired. When Justin didn’t say anything, she added, “Has she told you about her upcoming event?”
“What event?” Justin asked quickly.
“She didn’t tell you? Why not?” Sadie asked, pausing as she looked at Justin and Justin approached her with such anxiety.
“She said her mom made her one of the directors, and there’s going to be a celebration. She told me a few minutes ago. Why didn’t she tell you?” Surprise was evident in both their eyes. Justin rushed to his room, grabbed his car keys, and returned.
“I’m going after Daisy. Something isn’t right. Will you come with me?” he asked.
“No. I think you should talk to Daisy alone. I sense something is missing,” Sadie responded.
“Thanks!” Sadie said. Justin left the house, got into his car, and drove away.
Halfway to Juliana’s house, he started to contemplate, “Should I go into Juliana’s house, or should I call Daisy to call out with a phone call so we can talk somewhere?”
He couldn’t find an answer, so he waited for a while and nodded his head. Without a definite answer to his question, he took out his phone and dialed Daisy’s number. After a few seconds, the phone began ringing.
Justin waited and waited, but Daisy didn’t answer his call. He dialed again, but the same thing happened—Daisy didn’t pick up. So he decided to go straight to Juliana’s house.
When he arrived, the first thing he did was rush out of his car and head straight to the door without looking around to see if Daisy’s car was there.
The moment he knocked on the door for the second time, it opened, and it was Juliana who greeted with a surprising face.
“What are you doing here? Did you come to see me or something?” Juliana asked.
“No, I came to see Daisy.”
“Thank God, because if it was me, I would have slammed the door in your face. Just so you know, Daisy isn’t here.” She turned her face away angrily. Justin, who seemed dissatisfied, said,
“What did you tell Daisy? She was my daughter until you left my house.”
Juliana remained silent, and to worsen the situation, she took out a bubblegum and started chewing it in front of Justin with furrowed brows and rolling her eyes. Then the sound of Daisy’s car made both of them turn their heads, and Justin felt disappointed in himself.
“I’m sorry, I thought she was inside,” he quickly apologized, not allowing Juliana to respond, before walking towards Daisy’s car.
“Daisy, what have I done to you? Why did you decide to keep me in the dark about your upcoming celebration?” Justin asked. Daisy couldn’t say a word and just stood there, looking at her dad. Justin moved closer, held her hand, and before she could say anything, she burst into tears.
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