TEST DRIVE: A Night of Forbidden Desire

Vonda truly enjoyed the comfort of the moment, especially when a pair of hands massaged her head skillfully. It felt as if all her problems would disappear in the blink of an eye. Speaking of eyes… ugh! Vonda felt her stomach full, and the massage made her eyelids heavy. She was on the verge of falling asleep if not for Riley’s voice calling out to her.

“Vonda.”

Vonda opened her eyes and looked at the large mirror in front of them, unable to turn her head. Through the reflection, she could see Riley, who was in a similar position.

Riley smiled with her hair wrapped in aluminum foil, and Vonda returned a lazy smile while still enjoying the head massage.

“I almost fell asleep.”

Riley chuckled softly, thanking the salon attendant before she left. Riley would have to wait at least an hour for the new hair color to set.

“That’s why I called you earlier. I didn’t want to bother waking you up.” Riley let out a long breath. “You probably don’t know, huh? I have wanted this for a long time.”

“Wanted what?”

“Going to the salon with my daughter,” Riley said.

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“I’ve always envied my friends when they share stories about going out with their daughters. Going to the salon together. Even to the gym. Well, I can’t go to the salon with Max, right?”

“Hahaha.”

Vonda burst out laughing spontaneously. Riley’s words immediately turned into an image in her mind. She pictured Max raising his five fingers while someone was applying nail polish on his nails.

Riley waved her hand, dispelling the imagination and Vonda’s laughter.

“No need to laugh so hard, Von,” Riley said with a smile. “I know it’s not possible to go to the salon with Max. But because of you… I can finally make that dream come true.”

Vonda glanced at her. “I enjoy going to the salon. Don’t worry. When you get tired of deep auburn, just give me a call. We can change it to mahogany.”

This time, it was Riley who laughed. “Edmund will love me even more when he sees me looking this beautiful.”

“Definitely,” Vonda replied, equally enthusiastic. “Especially if we wear matching gowns, right? Wow!”

“Hahaha. After this, let’s look for gowns. You must be good at picking clothes.”

Vonda glanced briefly at the mirror’s reflection, right when the warm water washed over her hair, and she felt proud.

“It’s a talent I was born with.”

“By the way, speaking of gowns,” Riley continued. “When do you think we should start looking for your wedding gown?”

“Oh!”

It seemed like a bubble entered Vonda’s eye, causing her to wince in discomfort.

“Oh! I’m sorry, Miss.”

Vonda blinked her eyes repeatedly. “It’s okay, Miss.” She accepted the tissue offered and quickly wiped her eyes.

After making sure Vonda was okay, Riley resumed speaking.

“Uh… you’ll look beautiful in a wedding gown, I’m sure.”

Vonda swallowed hard. Perhaps her reaction earlier was more due to surprise at Riley’s question than the bubble.

A wedding gown?

“Ehm,” Vonda suddenly felt her tongue tied. She was unsure how to respond to Riley’s words.

Riley glanced at her again. “Honestly, I can’t wait since last night. I feel like rushing to your house.”

“To my house?” Vonda asked dumbfounded. “But you just picked me up earlier, Ma.”

“Not your house, I mean your family’s house.”

What?!

Riley continued with excitement. “I want to meet your parents and… do you have any siblings?”

Confused, but Vonda still nodded. “I have five younger siblings, Ma.”

“Wow!” Riley exclaimed. “A big family.”

Vonda grinned. “Yeah, that’s how it is. So, if you never go out with daughters, I also never go out with Mama at home.”

“Oh, I see I see.” Riley nodded, understanding. “The oldest daughter is actually the youngest one who didn’t get pampered.”

“Yeah… that’s how it is. I’m actually busier taking care of my siblings.”

Riley reached out, caressing Vonda’s hand from her seat. “Then we’re a perfect match, aren’t we? I can get what I want, and so can you.”

“Ah,” Vonda whispered, realizing the truth. “Yes.”

“The secrets of God work like this. That’s why, Vonda, I think it’s better to meet your family sooner.”

Vonda’s expression changed instantly. From being amazed by the similarities between her and Riley to being shocked by the topic of proposal that came up again.

“I think your family is fertile, aren’t they?” Riley continued.

Fertile?

Vonda blinked repeatedly.

“I had a hard time conceiving Max, oh my goodness.”

Ignoring Vonda’s puzzled look, Riley chose to share about her past, a time when she almost lost hope.

“We went to various doctors, but it seemed like a dead end. We didn’t know how else to try to conceive Max, Von.”

“Oh.”

Riley’s smile widened. “That’s why Mama named him Max. It was a truly maximum effort. Hehehe.”

Seeing Riley’s laughter, the somber atmosphere that Vonda felt earlier disappeared instantly, replaced by amusement.

“You can’t imagine it, right? Going to the doctors to check the uterus and everything, but we were all healthy. That’s why the hope remained. People would suggest various things to us. Try this style, try that style -”

“Hahaha!”

This time, Vonda burst into laughter. Thankfully, her hair was already rinsed. Otherwise, water might have splashed everywhere.

“And you’re laughing at what I’m saying,” Riley said amusingly. “You’re something else.”

“Well, you do it too. Why did you talk about any style?”

Riley smiled sheepishly. “What else can we do? At that time, I was just fixated on having a child as soon as possible. But trying different style didn’t make us conceive Max any faster. Instead, it was Edmund who never wanted to stop.”

“Hahaha! Mom!” Vonda shouted.

Behind them, the salon staff serving them could not help but smile at their conversation.

“Just,” Riley whispered. “Listening to your story, it seems like if you and Max get married, you won’t take long to have children.”

The remnants of laughter still lingered on Vonda’s lips. “Hahaha!”

“It seems like your uterus is fertile.”

“Hahaha! Mom, you’re something else.”

Riley lightly tapped Vonda’s hand. “I’m serious, Vonda. Come here, I will tell you something.”

Wiping away the tears that formed at the corner of her eyes, Vonda looked at Riley. “Tell me.”

“Ehm.” Riley cleared her throat. “Actually, I didn’t want to say this. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but people say that future daughters-in-law usually get scared when the future mother-in-law talks about things like this. But I think, being honest is better, right?”

“Eh? What is it?”

This time, Riley really tried to look at Vonda, though it was a bit difficult since she had to maintain the position of the aluminum foil in her hair.

“I really hope that you and Max can get married soon.”

Vonda was stunned. “Really?”

“If you get married and can have children soon, it would make I really happy. Having children is in God’s hands. But there’s no harm in hoping, right? Who knows, maybe God will take pity on me. Come on, Von. It’s already difficult to have children, and is it also difficult to have grandchildren? God wouldn’t be that cruel to me, right?”

Vonda was left speechless by Riley’s words. She felt confused and almost numb, but it was also funny in a way.

“Your children will surely be cute. Look at you, so beautiful. They will definitely be cuter than Kitty’s kittens.”

Huh?

“Because I am tired of taking care of kittens, Von. This time, I really want to take care of human children. Your babies.”

Imagining herself getting married to Max, her belly swollen with their baby, and giving birth… left Vonda completely speechless.

“Max, he’s thirsty. He wants milk first.”

“Ehm, I don’t want. I also want milk, Von.”

Vonda closed her eyes. It seemed like the massage earlier didn’t relax her, but rather the opposite. Her head felt dizzy and spinning.

Me and Max married? We might ruin the next generation of the nation.

*

In the beginning, Max thought that Vonda and Riley’s meeting had resolved the problem. Well, it did, actually. The issue had been resolved.

Olivia had informed Max that their family was looking for the right time to formally cancel the arranged marriage. Max could not imagine how happy Olivia must have been during that phone call. However,

Max rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Why does a new problem have to arise now?

“Max.”

Max blinked. He was snapped out of his reverie as Riley’s voice landed in his ears. Through the phone call, Max realized the new problem that had emerged.

“Good intentions should not be delayed for too long, Max. Come back home.”

Good intentions? What is Mom talking about?

It felt like Max wanted to scream hysterically right then and there. If his brain had not reminded him that he had to be at the office soon, he would have surely messed up his hair, loosened his tie, and made a mess of his clothes.

“Besides, I feel really compatible with Vonda,” Riley continued.

“Oh my…”

The exclamation escaped Max’s lips; horror evident in his tone. It was like a terrifying expression imprinted on his face.

“It’s amazing,” Max said incredulously. “You’ve only met her twice, and you already feel compatible?”

“Like what I said,” Riley said with disbelief in her voice. “You’re really smart in choosing a wife. It wasn’t wrong at all for you to stubbornly cancel the arranged marriage yesterday. Although Olivia is also a good girl, but with Vonda, I feel a real connection.”

There’s a local earthquake happening in my unit, Max thought.

Max chose to sit at the edge of the bed. It was safer than suddenly passing out on the floor, right? It was better to faint on the bed.

“And yesterday, that proves she and I are compatible. Remember when I was confused about what hair color to dye? Vonda-”

“Mom, you dyed your hair?!” Max was hysterical. “Seriously dyed your hair?”

“Of course, Max. Now she looks ten years younger. Vonda’s taste is impeccable. Your dad was amazed to see me.”

“I’m sure that’s because Dad could barely recognize his own wife.”

“Well, Dad said I looked even more beautiful.”

Boom!

Oh, my goodness! This is not good for my health. How did Mom become like this with Vonda? Vonda and I were just pretending. Oh God. I can’t really marry her, can I?

Gosh!

The thought of Max marrying Vonda, spending days together with her, maybe having one child, even more… suddenly made Max gasp for breath.

“Von, she’s crying now. She wants to play horsey ride.”

“Ehm, I don’t want. I also want to play horsey ride with you, Max.”

Max closed his eyes. In that moment, he felt like his blood pressure dropped drastically. The world spun in his head.

Me and her married? This could add to the generation of craziness in Oceana.

*