New Life : A Second Chance

Beatrice felt like she was playing truant, to be honest.

It wasn't like she had never taken leave before, but she certainly had never done so on a whim. At the last minute.

Luckily, she didn't have anything urgent pending and Sam could cover the fort for the one day that she had decided to indulge herself. 

With that thought, Beatrice was much more cheerful and started bathing.

She took her time, too, as she wasn't in any rush to go to work. After her refreshing bath, she decided to treat herself to a nice breakfast in a cozy cafe somewhere. There was this coffee shop she had seen the other day that looked interesting.

After dressing simply in a white blouse and blue jeans, Beatrice tied her hair in a ponytail and applied minimum make-up. Glancing at herself in the mirror in the hallway, she nodded in approval and proceeded to go out.

The moment she opened the door, however, she was greeted by an impatient looking old man with a mid-30s amicable Chinese man beside him. The said Chinese guy was about to ring the doorbell, and his finger was quickly retracted.

"Ms. Chan," began the guy when the old man pushed him aside and was staring at her. 

His fierce face broke into a huge smile as he shouted, "Beatrice!"  

Beatrice was taken aback, "I'm sorry, Sir, but do I know you?"

"No, no, no," the old man said, shaking his head as he unashamedly walked into the apartment.

Beatrice's eyes shot wide open but she didn't have the heart to stop him from entering. He was an elderly, after all. She shot the younger guy a look and he looked sheepish as he apologized softly under his breath.

"I'm sorry, but he was …" he began, only to be cut out again by the old man who started sounding so excited.

"This is your home?! It's so nice! And warm!" the old man said excitedly as he looked inside from the hallway.

It was only a one-bedroom apartment, with a kitchen and living room. Beatrice lived alone and if there were any unexpected guests, the sofa in the living room would open up into a bed.

The decorations were simple, like her, and mainly made of red oak wood. Contrary to the name it did not mean that the wood was dark red. Merely slightly darker than usual. 

"Good good good," the old man couldn't help but say as he saw the interior. 

A lot can be seen about a person's personality from the way they decorated their homes. Simple and sturdy, non-pretentious. Warm and cozy. It also reflected his grandsons, who were strong like oak and dependable.

Grandpa Anton was very happy indeed.

Beatrice's head went from the young guy to the old man and before she could say anything else, the old man gleefully took Beatrice's hand, patted it as he looked at her with hearts in his eyes.

At least, that was what it appeared to her.

"Lovely girl, you're such a lovely girl," the old man said, taking her hand and pulling her into her own apartment.

"Sir, she's on her way out," Chen said gently and the old man stopped suddenly.

"Oh, right! That's right! Aren't you going to work, my girl? I waited so long and you didn't come out. And now, you're dressed so simply," the old man said, and quickly added, "Not that you're not beautiful. You're beautiful no matter what you wear."

"But you're not dressed for work …" the old man looked at her, his eyes full of questions.

"I .. I took the day off," Beatrice found herself telling him, without really knowing why.

Perhaps it was because he looked pretty harmless … and quite adorable, truth be told. He had this genuine happiness and excitement from the moment she saw him, and she was well aware that it was all directed to her.

But why?

She even felt, to her amazement, as if he was treating her like one of his own?

"He's Zack and Yuri's grandfather," Chen managed to whisper to Beatrice quickly as the old man started pulling Beatrice outside this time.

Beatrice looked at the old man and couldn't help but smile as the explanation cleared up everything.

She never had a grandfather, as both her maternal and paternal grandparents passed away when she was very young. She didn't remember much about them, other than the fact that they were old and did treat her kindly.

"Sir, you should let her wear her shoes first," Chen reminded Anton gently, "And introduce yourself."

"AH!" Anton shouted, letting go of Beatrice's hand.

"I forgot!!" he said, looking horrified, "I was so excited!"

Beatrice smiled at him, and said, "It's okay, Sir. No harm done."

"No no no no no!" Anton said agitatedly, taking her hand in his again, "You must call me Grandpa."

"But .." Beatrice began, hesitating.

"Say it. Come on, come on, say it," Anton pleaded, giving her puppy dog eyes, "Graaandpaaaa."

 "Grandpa," Beatrice finally relented and Anton broke into a huge smile.

"Yay!" he shouted happily, then coughed and blinked while trying to look serious, "I mean, good, good. Good girl. Now, wear your shoes and I'll take you for breakfast."

Beatrice's mind reeled at the speed the old man kept changing from one point to another as he talked. She found herself obediently doing what he said in a daze. She just couldn't say 'no' to that adorable face who was looking at her like an excited child waiting for a treat.

She felt like a bully if she rejected him.

"What about Zack and Yuri?" Beatrice asked as she put on her shoes.

Anton snorted, "Those two useless grandsons of mine? We don't need them! It's just you and me today. Oh, and Chen. This is Chen. Have you met Chen?"

Chen nodded and shook Beatrice's hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Beatrice said.

"Okay! Great! Now you know each other. Let's go, let's go," Anton said excitedly, reaching out to take Beatrice's hand again. 

This time, however, Beatrice shook her head and avoided his hand. Seeing the disappointment on the old man's face, Beatrice explained, "Let me lock up first, Grandpa."

Anton smiled again, and waited.

Right after she locked up, she went and took Anton's arm and held on, saying, "Let me, Grandpa. Be careful as you walk."

Anton looked at Chen smugly, his head held up high as if he was saying, 'look look! My granddaughter is taking such good care of me!'

Chen just smiled, and walked behind them.

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To Beatrice's surprise, Anton brought her to a small corner shop that wasn't a high-class restaurant but a small family-owned noodle shop.

"I used to come here a lot when I was younger," Anton said as he looked around, "Hasn't changed a bit."

His eyes then had a sadness to them, "Wasn't the same when Annie left so I never came."

"Annie?" Beatrice asked gently, wanting to know even though it looked like a sad memory.

"My wife," Anton replied softly, leading her to a table, "This used to be our table."

"Come, sit, sit," he said, patting the chair. 

He looked about, his eyes misting over, "No matter how you want things to remain the same, things will change. You can't remain in the same spot all the time."

"Even those that look the same, are different. The interior is the same but the people manning it are different," he continued, "So naturally, the food will also taste a bit different even if the menu is the same."

Beatrice listened to him but knew that he wasn't really talking about the place. He was merely using it as an analogy.

"But no matter what, if it warms you up inside, embrace it," Anton finished with a smile.

Beatrice smiled at him, playing with the glass of water on the table. She held it, and twisted it around, thinking … and decided to say what was on her mind and heart.

The old man was sincere and kind, and she wanted to reciprocate that.

"Certainly, Grandpa," Beatrice began, "Change is inevitable and one should go with the flow. Accept what may be out of the norm. Like, say, marriage."

"Marrying one person is normal. Two, not so," Beatrice continued and saw how the old man looked rather upset and agitated at that, "But one shouldn't reject it just because it is different and out of the norm."

Anton broke into a big smile at that.

"Grandpa, I am not against polyandry and I know, although Zack and Yuri are identical twins, they are different," Beatrice said softly, "But, I am still unsure whether they are 'the one', so to speak."

"I understand," Anton said, "Can you accompany this old man today? I'm ... lonely."

"Okay," Beatrice agreed.

Anton grinned and they ordered.

He peeked at Beatrice and thought, 'Soon, soon.'