| Fan Fiction |
by kglove
“Kim, who is it?” Kim heard Jane calling from the dining table.
“Oh, I didn’t know you have company.” Gerald apologized profusely.
“I'm having dinner with Jane.” Kim hesitated before opening the door so Gerald can pass. “Uh, come in.”
Gerald smiled. He handed her the flowers.
Kim let Gerald in. As he entered the all-too-familiar room, he looked around and was a bit surprised that everything is still how he left it.
“Kim, who is… it… Oh.” Jane’s eyes looked back and forth between Kim, who was holding the bouquet, and Gerald.
“Jane, you know Gerald Anderson, right?” Kim tried to break the silence.
“Of course. How are you doing, Sir Gerald?” Jane smiled at him.
Gerald shook Jane’s hand “Please, we are not at work so its just Gerald. And oh, even if we are, don’t call me Sir. Makes me feel old.”
“Okay Gerald. Would you like to have dinner with us?” Jane presented.
Gerald hesitated. “Um… I dunno. I don’t want to impose…”
Jane cut him “No imposition, right Kim?”
Kim was horrified at Jane’s declaration. Jane was staring at her, grinning. Gerald was amused at the stare fest happening before him. “Kim, if it makes you uncomfortable, I should probably just leave. I wasn’t planning on anything but I remembered you when I saw those pink roses at the flower shop. I was in the neighborhood anyway, so I decided to drop by.”
“Uh, yeah, I haven’t thanked you yet. You shouldn’t have bothered, Gerald.”
Gerald shook his head. “No, its okay. I know those are your favorites.” Jane was so engrossed at the exchange happening between her two bosses. She didn’t notice that Gerald and Kim continued their conversation. Her thoughts were interrupted when Kim spoke out loud.
“Jane, I’ll just walk Gerald out.”
Jane shifted her gaze at Gerald who was smiling at him. “You’re not staying for dinner?”
“Maybe next time, Jane. I am moving to my own place tomorrow and I haven’t finished packing yet.”
“Oh, okay. Have fun packing.” Jane said.
“Good luck with that.” Gerald frowned. “Well, see you on Monday.”
Kim turned around before she closed the door. “I’ll be right back.” To which Jane just nodded.
While waiting for the elevator, Kim and Gerald were standing side by side, silence hung over them once again.
“Gerald thanks again for the flowers.” Kim finally said.
“No problem.” He said. “Sorry to just march in like that. I should have called first.”
Kim looked away from Gerald. Her heart was beating like crazy. They were standing close enough to each other she could hear his ragged breathing. Seconds went by and finally the elevator opened. Gerald took a step forward and faced Kim.
“I'm okay here. You don’t want to keep your intern waiting. It’s not a good example.” He quipped to which Kim can’t help but laugh. “Bye.” He bent down and kissed Kim on her cheeks. Kim was taken aback at his gesture but smiled nonetheless.
“Bye Gerald.”
Gerald stepped inside the elevator and waved one last time before the doors closed, leaving Kim in a state of bemusement.
***
As soon as she entered her apartment after standing outside for several minutes to compose her self, Kim was hounded with questions.
“What was that all about?” Jane demanded.
“Nothing. Just a colleague coming over to visit.” Kim replied innocently.
“Are you kidding me? That was something! Kim, the colleague brought you flowers and you call that nothing?! You’re out of your mind!”
Kim raised her eyebrows at Jane. “It doesn’t mean anything, alright?”
Jane couldn’t take Kim’s denying anymore. “Oh come on! There’s definitely some weird tension going around you two. I’ve seen the way you look at each other.” Jane took a seat across the table from Kim. “So what is it?”
Kim kept quiet for several minutes hoping Jane would back off. But to her dismay, Jane was looking at her intently and Kim knows she’s waiting for her answer. “Okay. But you have to promise me that you’re not going to tell anybody especially people we work with.” She took a deep breath. “Gerald and I, we… we… he was my boyfriend.”
“I knew it!” Jane said enthusiastically. “Don’t worry Kim, you can trust me. I'm not gonna go around the office telling everybody, okay?” Jane assured Kim. “So… you and Gerald huh.”
“Not anymore, obviously.”
Jane sensed disappointment in Kim’s voice. “Why, what happened?”
Kim remained silent for a couple of minutes and Jane got the impression that she doesn’t want to answer. “I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude.”
Uncertain whether she should tell Jane everything or not, Kim stood up and began clearing the table and put the plates in the dishwasher before she looked at Jane. “We broke up about a month ago.”
“Kim, if you don’t what to talk about it…”
“Truth be told, I don’t exactly know what happened between us. One day, we were so in love with each other. The next thing I know, we’re breaking up. It seems everything happened in a flash.”
Jane kept quiet, thinking of the right words to say. Kim continued. “Sometimes, I blame myself for not trying hard enough to keep the relationship.”
“Don’t think like that, Kim. I may not know the whole story but I'm sure you did everything to make your relationship work.” Jane walked over to where Kim was standing. “Hey, don’t be too hard on yourself. Relationship is one of the hardest things to take care of. You have to work doubly hard to keep it from falling apart. But sometimes, things just don’t work out according to what we have planned. We just have to move on with our lives.”
“I'm trying. But Gerald and I were together for five years. It takes a lot of time to get over that.”
“Geez, I didn’t expect it to be that long. Gerald just doesn’t look like the guy who…” Jane paused and fidgeted with her hands. “I mean, he’s good looking. No, erase that. He’s gorgeous and hot. Guys like him, you know…”
Kim can’t help but laugh at Jane’s remark. “That was my first impression of him as well. But once you get to know the real Gerald, he’s more than just a handsome face. Or else I wouldn’t be with him for so long.”
“How did you guys meet anyways?” Jane inquired.
“We went to the same university. I was on my second year while he was a junior. He became my classmate when he left behind a couple of subjects and was enrolled in the same class as I was.”
(Flashback to 5 years ago)
“Hi, is this seat taken?”
Kim looked up from the journal she was reading and came across a pair of brown eyes staring at her. “No.” Kim smiled at young man.
“Thanks. By the way, I'm Gerald. Gerald Randolph Anderson, Jr.”
“Kimberly Chiu.” She offered her right hand which he took but kissed it instead.
“Nice meeting you, Kimberly.” Gerald beamed at her.
“Just call me Kim.”
“Okay, Kim.” Gerald said. She looked at him before shifting her attention to their professor who just came in.