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“It would,” Elliot nodded firmly. “But Mom takes really good care of it. The liquid she sprayed on it earlier was to prevent moisture.
“Normally, it would take a while for dampness to mess with the sound, but if you just wipe it down with a wet cloth, you ruin it almost instantly; the ordion’s practically done for.”
Tiffany honestly felt Gloria was making way too big a fuss. <b>‘</b><b>It’s </b>just an instrument, seriously. Worst case, Dad could always buy her a new one,‘ she thought.
But she kept apologizing out loud. “Sorry, Elliot. I had no idea, really. I can get a new one, if that helps?”
“Forget it. Mom already said not to make you pay,” Elliot shook his head. “Come on, let’s go.”
As he walked alongside Tiffany, Elliot just couldn’t get Alicia tuning that harp out of his mind; it was honestly mind–blowing to him.
Without really thinking, Elliot blurted out, “Tiffany, does Alicia really not y any instrument <i>at </i>all?”
Tiffany nodded. “Yeah, our parents used to try getting Alicia into it, but she’d lose interest after just a few days.
“She’s got a short attention span and always said practicing the same tune was way too boring, so she’s basically clueless about music. Did Alicia do anything wrong?”
‘I mean, even as someone who gets music, I managed to upset Gloria. If it’s Alicia, who doesn’t know a thing, wouldn’t she have messed up even worse and pissed off Gloria more?‘ Tiffany wondered.
Elliot shook his head, thinking for a bit before asking, “Even if she can’t y, has she ever learned anything about tuning instruments<b>?</b><b>” </b>
Tiffany gave a smallugh. “Nope, not at all. If she did, she’d know a thing or two, but Alicia’s totally clueless about music. <fn2775> N?w ?ovel chapt?rs are published on ?ovelFind</fn2775>
“Oh, by the way, Elliot, I ran into someone from ss earlier–she said you, Alicia, and Mrs. Clifford headed to the monitor room. Did Alicia mess something up and try to y innocent, so you had to pull up the tapes?”
Before Elliot could say anything<b>, </b>Tiffany continued, “Sorry about that. Alicia really doesn’t know the first thing about music, so I’m apologizing for her.
“If she broke anything in the music room, just tell me and I’ll pay for it using my own allowance. But you can’t let my parents know.
“Alicia’s got some drama with them going ontely. If they find out she messed up again, they’ll just get even more upset. <b>I’ll </b>take care of it, but my allowance isn’t much. Can I pay in installments?”
Tiffany tilted her head up, her face the picture of innocence,
Elliot looked at Tiffany and thought, “Tiffany’s genuinely kind. Even if she doesn’t know everything, she’s really a good–hearted girl‘
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He’d seen all that stuff online about how her parents and buddy treated Alicia so badly, but Tiffany was always nice to her. Still, Alicia kept giving her the cold shoulder.
‘She really can’t recognize kindness when she sees it,‘ he thought.
Elliot reached out and gently ruffled Tiffany’s hair, smiling. “It’s fine, really. You don’t need to pay for anything, so don’t worry.
“Mom and I can fix the instruments in the music room. You should head back to ss. Got any more sses this afternoon? If not, you can go home. I have to get back and help Mom clean up the music room.”
“Okay,” Tiffany nodded, then suddenly leaned in and nuzzled his cheek. “Thanks, Elliot.”
Her face turned red as she spun around and dashed off.
Elliot paused, a bit caught off guard, then rubbed his cheek where she’d nuzzled him. The corners of his mouth curled into a grin before he finally turned and walked back to the music room.
Alicia, Gloria, and Elliot cleaned all the instruments together.
While they worked, Gloria and Elliot couldn’t help but keep their eyes on Alicia.
Alicia moved with extra care and skill, leaving Gloria very pleased.
But Elliot’s feelings wereplicated.
By the time they finished tidying up the music room, it was already five p.m. Alicia was ready to hit the supermarket and get some groceries, nning to make herself dinner tonight.
Charles had said she could cook there, so unless anything unexpected happened, she’d be handling her meals from now on.
Part of it was so she could look after her health, and part of it was just to save money.
Back at Linen Bay Residences, Alicia quickly dropped her bag, grabbed her wallet, and set off for the supermarket. She nned to grab some meat, veggies, eggs, fruit–basically everything to pack the fridge full.
Being well–stocked made her feel safe.
The location of this neighborhood was honestly pretty great; it was just an eight–minute walk to a big supermarket.
Alicia browsed the supermarket aisles carefully, picking out exactly what she needed, and finally finished all her shopping.
The groceries turned out to be heavier than she’d expected, and her arms were starting to ache. With a sigh, she just went ahead and bought herself one of those little rolling shopping trolleys.
Alicia packed everything neatly into the trolley and started wheeling it home, suddenly feeling like she’d skipped straight into retirement life ahead of schedule.
19:14 Wed, Oct <b>1 </b>
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“Miss Lawrence?” Alicia had just reached the gate of Linen Bay Residences when she heard someone call out
to her.
Alicia turned to see Charles getting out of his car. Surprised, she asked, “Mr. Yates, what brings you here?
Charles greeted her, “Hey, you mentioned getting some potted nts for the courtyard, right? Shall we go to pick them up now?”
Alicia waved her hands quickly. “No, really, it’s fine. I can grab them by myself; it’s no trouble.”
“Come on, I can’t just let you pay for things for my house,” Charles said gently.
“Well-” Alicia fiddled nervously with her little shopping trolley, looking a bit hesitant.
“Want to just leave it in the car, or do you want to take it up first?” Charles asked.
Alicia paused to think, then said, “I’ve got some frozen stuff, don’t want it to thaw. I’d better get it in the fridge first.”
“Alright, I’ll wait out here for you,” Charles replied.
Alicia hurried inside, put away the groceries, freshened up a bit, and then rushed back downstairs.
When Alicia came out, Charles was still standing by the car, not checking his phone or fidgeting. He looked totally chill, just quietly watching the gate.
Charles only moved to open the back door once Alicia finally stepped outside.
They both got into the car, and Kevin greeted Alicia with a broad smile. “Miss Lawrence, nice running into you again.”
Alicia said, “Hello, Mr. Quinn.”
Kevin chuckled and cleared his throat. “You know, I may look like I’ve lived a few extra years, but I’m really not much older than Mr. Yates. Why don’t you just call me Kevin?”
Alicia quickly nodded. “Alright, Kevin.”
Kevin gave a heartyugh. “Now that we’re friends, the door’s always open; if you ever need something, juste find me.”
“Thanks, Kevin,” Alicia responded warmly.
Kevin was even more delighted now, thinking, ‘Miss Lawrence is just so sweet and well–behaved, and honestly, so cute, too. How could anyone not like a girl like her?‘
Kevin just couldn’t figure it out.
But right now, there was something else making Kevin scratch his head.
Kevin kept ncing at Charles in the rearview mirror, starting to freak out inside. ‘What’s his deal? Why’s
<b>19:14 </b>Wed<b>, </b><b>Oct </b><b>1 </b>
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wrong with Mr. Yates? Man, that stare? Why does it feel so freaking icy?‘
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Kevin was momentarily confused, but when his eyes drifted over to Alicia, he suddenly had a lightbulb
moment.
‘Wait, is Mr. Yates really getting jealous just because Alicia called me Kevin?‘ Kevin mused to himself, a little amused.
Now that Kevin thought about it, Alicia had only ever addressed Charles as Mr. Yates.
‘So, is Mr. Yates actually jealous?‘ Kevin couldn’t help but chuckle inside.
AD