Imperfect Desires

Darren didn't know what he was expecting when he entered the apartment but what he saw was definitely not in his plausible scenarios. He thought if something was wrong then Xiu would be blankly staring into space in the dark room and if everything was fine, then she'd be bouncing around as usual. 

But...

Today, the Xiu before him neither looked upset nor happy. She just seemed too calm as she worked around in the kitchen. Even when he stood there just looking at her, she didn't notice his presence. She was extremely focused. The trepidation in his heart didn't ease up instead it made him feel slightly queasy.

Her eyes lifted up and she smiled at his sight. "You're back."

"Hmmm..." Darren hummed in reply as he couldn't look away from that smile of hers. It felt different for some reason. Her eyes were clear as she looked back at him maintaining her smile.

Walking over to him, she hugged him as she kissed his cheek and said, "Busy day?"

"How do you know?" 

"You're late," she replied in matter-of-factly. 

"Oh." That was all he could utter in reply. 

But as always Xiu didn't inquire about his business as she always maintained her distance from his professional life. Instead, she urged him, "Go on and freshen up. Dinner is ready. I'm gonna serve it now."

Darren was hesitant as he turned to look at her but she urged him again with her hand. Pursing his lips together, Darren put a hand over his heart and decided to follow what she said. He couldn't just bring himself to ask her question right after coming back. Especially when she looked normal. Then why was he feeling so peculiar?

By the time Darren changed his clothes and came back, Xiu was done serving the dinner. She sat down at her usual place, right beside him as she served him the soup and continued to eat in silence.

Only now Darren realized why he was feeling so strange. She was indeed acting normal but wasn't it too normal for someone as hyperactive as her? And what's up with this silence? 

Noticing that he wasn't eating, she frowned, "You don't like the food?"

"Huh? Oh," he shook his head. "No, no. I love it."

"Then eat it," she was still frowning as she went on, "Already Ah-Xin left without eating."

"Uncle Zi was with you for the whole day?" he asked the question he knew the answer of already. Sure enough, she nodded in reply. "What did you guys do?"

"We went to the hospital then we went to the City Plaza."

"City Plaza?" repeated Darren with a quirk of his brow.

"Yup. I had to buy something then we had our lunch there as well."

"And then?"

"Then nothing. He just dropped me off here."

"So, you spent the whole day shopping?"

Xiu thought about it before nodding, "Yes, you can say that."

"That doesn't sound like something you'd do," he pointed out.

Xiu's lips quirked up slightly as she looked at him, "Dear husband, I can also do something out of the norm. After all, as you say, I'm a very random person."

Darren's head bobbed up and down slowly as he said, "I do say that... Is that why you're acting so random right now?"

Xiu's brows knotted up in displeasure. "Random? I thought I was being very normal right now."

"Then please be random, because I'm not feeling comfortable."

Xiu chuckled softly at his words, "So, how do you want me to act?"

Darren took a deep breath before saying, "How about you first tell me the details about your visit to the doctor? Is everything okay? What did the doctor say exactly?"

"Doctor said a lot of things but I didn't listen to 90% of the things," replied Xiu very honestly.

"What about the remaining 10%?" he wondered as his heart clenched in his chest.

"The remaining 10%... Mmm..." she looked at his bowl of rice before saying, "First, you finish your meal. Then I'll tell you the story of that 10% that actually made some sense to me."

"But I want to know right now."

"Something tells me if I said anything right now, you'd too full to eat anything else. So, food first."

Before Darren could retort again, she squinted her eyes at him.

"Eat in silence. It's disrespectful to talk while eating."

Darren rubbed his forehead and sighed out. He could only eat in silence because he knew better than to argue with her stubbornness. 

"I'm done. Now, let's talk."

Xiu looked at him again and clasped her hands together saying, "How about washing the dishes?"

"Sweets, you're trying to annoy me now," his voice came out quite strained.

Xiu feigned a gasp as she said, "So, there are times when my husband gets annoyed with me. How unexpected!" 

"No, I mean..." His voice cracked but she smiled at him and patted his hand.

"I really like it though." He stared wide-eyed at her as she went on, "You should get angry with me and you should also argue with me. Didn't I tell you it makes love grow?"

Darren held her hands in his own and looked into her eyes. He was using the tactic that worked on her. Didn't she say his eyes made her resolves crumble? Then he was gonna use these eyes on her now.

"Sweets, you know that I'm here for you, right?" Xiu nodded her head without hesitation. "Then please tell me what the doctor said? Whatever it is, we can deal with it together."

"Hell ya! You better be on board because I won't be dealing with it all alone."

"Huh?" he was dumbfounded by her sudden outburst.

Xiu took a deep breath and stood up. She went towards the living area and picked up a diary from the coffee table. Turning around, she shoved it into his hands and sat down on the couch.

Darren was still lost.

Rolling her eyes, she pointed at the diary saying, "Open that. Read it. Your answers are in there."

Darren's heartbeat sped up as he slowly opened the diary and the first thing that caught his eye left him breathless.