As Roja enters the kitchen, Lola is already waiting for her like Jason said. “I thought you got lost in the library,” Lola says sarcastically. “I know that we’re going shopping tomorrow!” she adds, confusing Roja.
“How do you know? I just found out and Jason didn’t leave the library after that,” she asks.
Lola pulls out her phone from her pocket and explains, “Jason sent me a message. Everybody has a phone here!” Roja stares at the smartphone in Lola’s hand. She never had one before and only saw the rather old one that Ric owned.
Lola has to remind herself that she’s not talking to another rich girl who gets a new phone every month and tries to change the topic, “Come on, Anne made us food.”
“I’m not hungry,” Roja says without thinking.
“Yes, you are,” Lola replies in a slightly annoyed tone. “You’re my best friend and I care about you. You know you have to eat.” Roja nods, knowing that her friend is right.
“I’m just not used to having enough to eat all the time."
“Enjoy it! You deserve it,” Lola concludes before handing Roja a plate with food.
A bit later, when Lola and Roja have already finished eating, Lucia comes downstairs to chat with them. The conversation quickly goes to stories about Lola and Oren when they were kids. “It’s not easy to raise twins, but Jason always tried to help me,” Lucia explains, checking if Roja is okay with this topic. Lola adds that she remembers Jason reading bedtime stories to them. “Oren and Lola even shared their clothes for some time because they were always the same size,” Lucia says while laughing a bit.
“Mum! Don’t tell everybody about that!” Lola interferes.
However, Roja didn’t mind knowing that the twins wore the same clothes, there was something else on her mind. “So, you’ve always been a peaceful family?” she asks. The other two women nod, visibly getting a bit sad thinking about this. “And your youngest son?” Roja asks, speaking out what has been on her mind the whole time. Neither of the two mentioned him while talking about their family.
Lucia takes a deep breath before replying, “Mario was the perfect addition to our family. He was so cheerful and nothing ever made him sad.”
“For Jason, Mario was everything. Oren and I always had each other but Jason looked up to Dad and cared for Mario. It was difficult for him to cope with the situation, especially when Dad was gone as well,” Lola adds.
Lucia nods, “We all had to learn how to move on. Some of us did better than others.”
Roja can see how much they had to go through and how the loss of their loved ones is still painful to them. “I’m sorry,” Roja says, trying to apologise for starting the topic of the youngest child.
Lucia shakes her head and smiles a bit, “Roja, you shouldn’t be sorry. It was destiny and it’s good to talk about it. This is a part of moving on.”
“Right, another part of moving on is having fun again. Which reminds me of our shopping tour!” Lola, who’s back to being as cheerful as always, mentions. “Oren and I thought we could have a family dinner for your birthday so you need something nice to wear! It will be a small birthday party!” Lola continues.
“It’s her 18th birthday! Your 18th birthday is the day you should tell your grand-children about on your 80th birthday!” her mother explains.
“I’m okay with the small dinner. When are we leaving tomorrow morning?” Roja mumbles, trying to get the attention away from her birthday.
Lola laughs before replying, “Just wait and see, we’ll plan the perfect party.”
Lucia answers Rojas question, because she understands that she tries to change the topic, “We’re leaving in the evening, because then we’ll have the whole mall for us after closing hours. Jason already agreed to this change of plans.”
“What?! The whole mall just opens again for us?” Roja is shocked.
Lola smirks, “Did I forget to tell you that we’re rich?”
“I figured that out by myself already. I mean, just look at this house!” Roja says slightly sarcastically which makes Lola smile.
“We have more than just this one,” Lucia adds and Lola continues,
“We have three houses at the beach and 5 in different cities around the world.” Roja is amazed. She explains that she’s never been at a beach but that she has seen it in pictures. “Every beach is better than it looks in pictures,” Lola explains.
Lucia agrees with her before telling the two girls that she’ll search for her oldest son to tell him the time they’ll leave the next day. “He already asked me when the… bodyguards should be ready,” she explains, trying not to mention anything about the bodyguards being gang members.
Roja is shocked again, “Bodyguards?!”
“We’re rich, remember?” Lola says. Roja nods, it makes sense to her. Lola tries to hide that it makes her uncomfortable to keep the gang a secret from her best friend.
Before Lucia can leave, Roja excuses herself, “There are some books that want to be read.”
“Don’t get lost!” Lola warns her while chuckling.
As Roja leaves, Lucia turns to her daughter, “She’s sweet.”
“And she’s my best friend,” Lola brags.
“Does she see it the same way?” Lucia sees the new spark in Lola’s eyes, something that she’s been missing for a while.
“I hope so… The girls in the gang only talk to me because I’m Jason’s sister, so Roja is the only real friend I have right now.”
“Does she know anything about the gang?” Lola shakes her head and explains that Jason has changed his plans to telling her after she’s feeling better because he needs to find a way to keep her safe.
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