My Handsome Uncle, Please Be Mine!

Part 64.

“Nad, something’s not right!” Clara exclaimed.

“What do you mean?” Nadia asked.

In the afternoon, she purposely skipped her last class to meet Clara.

“Dr. Gaston and Uncle Joe seem to agree to hide something from me!” Clara said, lowering her head as she sipped her cold juice.

“What are they hiding?” Nadia inquired.

“Uncle Joe has amnesia, but I’m sure it’s impossible! There must be something he’s hiding!” Clara explained.

“What if he really has amnesia?” Nadia suggested another possibility, considering the gunshot wound on Joe’s temple.

“Maybe, I just need to know what really happened!” Clara lowered her head, knowing that no one in Joe’s residence would tell her the truth.

“When will you go home?” Nadia asked.

“I’ll stay for two nights, then head to London!” Clara replied.

“Alright, I suggest that during your two days and two nights in Jakarta, you should stay at Uncle Joe’s house. Maybe the parents, servants, driver, and gardener will keep silent! But, did you forget? Clara??” Nadia rolled her eyes. She turned out to be very clever at devising scenarios and became a love advisor for Clara.

“What should I do then?” Clara asked. The sparkle in Nadia’s eyes made Clara excited, confident that her friend had a brilliant idea.

“Make Uncle Joe remember everything, Clara, your memories at that house. If Uncle Joe can pretend, you should be able to act too!” the girl with brown eyes sitting beside her suggested.

“Okay, Nad, I understand, but how can I stay at that house? I’m not sure Uncle Joe or any other family members will allow it!” Clara started to worry, not wanting to lose Joe more precisely.

“Just say you miss Kimmy, if others don’t allow you to stay at the house, I believe Kimmy really hopes you’re there!” Nadia said. She smiled and then gently tapped Clara’s arm, giving her encouragement.

“Thank you, Nad, I’ll go to Uncle Joe’s house right now!” Clara said, pulling the corners of her lips, returning her friend’s smile.

“Good luck!”

Clara nodded and then got up from her seat. She immediately ordered a taxi to take her to Joe’s house.

==❤==

The sun was shining very brightly this afternoon. Joe was sitting on the balcony of his room, checking some work agreements and other documents on his tablet.

He reached out to grab a cold strawberry juice. He sipped it slowly.

“Strawberries!” he murmured softly, and his memory returned to last night. Where Clara’s strawberry lips, he just let them be.

Joe’s eyes looked out towards the gate where a taxi stopped there. A moment later, a girl got out. There was no mistaking it, that girl was Clara.

“What are you here for again, Clara!” Joe muttered, rubbing his forehead, feeling dizzy. As usual, he always refused to give up and wouldn’t back down.

Joe immediately grabbed his phone and called Celine.

The call connected.

“Hello!” Celine greeted from the other end. Surprised that Joe, who had never called for so long, suddenly contacted her.

“I need your help!” Joe said to the point.

“What can I do for you, sir?” Celine asked.

“Come to my house tonight, pretend to be my partner!” he requested.

“What?” Celine asked in disbelief.

“Pretend to be my girlfriend, I need your help to make someone give up their feelings for me!” Joe explained.

“Okay, sir!” Celine replied, who actually had given up on her feelings for Joe.

The phone call ended with a click. Joe decided to leave his room to meet Clara.

Joe’s hands were folded in front of his chest. Standing at the top of the stairs waiting for two people walking up the stairs. Those two people were Cici and Clara.

“What is Kimmy doing?” Clara asked. This morning she hadn’t had a chance to meet the little girl.

“Non Kimmy is in her room,” Cici replied. “I heard this morning Non Clara came and left right away? Is that true?” After knowing that Clara was Freedy Lim’s granddaughter, Cici called Clara ‘Non’.

“Yes, I just met Dr. Gaston and my friend!” Clara replied.

Clara had reached the top of the stairs where Joe was waiting for her. Cici was allowed to pass by, but not Clara.

“Who allowed you to enter my house?” Joe asked. He stood right in front of Clara and didn’t allow her to enter the living room on the second floor. “Just so you know, my house is not a playground where you can come and go as you please!” he added. Joe’s eyes stared at Clara carefully. Deep and long.

“Give way for me, Uncle!” Clara requested. Their gazes met. Looking at each other.

“No, I don’t want you here!” Joe excused. His mouth and brain really didn’t agree anymore.

“I want to meet Kimmy, it seems Uncle Joe is too confident!” Clara retorted. She moved aside and easily passed Joe. Then she followed Cici, who was walking towards Kimmy’s room.

Seeing Clara standing at the door, Kimmy smiled and ran to her. The little girl reached out her hand for a hug.

Clara knelt down, then hugged her tightly. Kissing her forehead and cheeks repeatedly.

“I miss you, Kak Clara!” Kimmy chirped. Hugging Clara tightly.

“I miss you too!” she replied.

Throughout the afternoon, Clara accompanied Kimmy in playing. It started with playing dolls, then Monopoly, and Snakes and Ladders.

Mbak Cici, who had been out since earlier, suddenly came in carrying a tray of Kimmy’s lunch.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

“Let’s eat first, Non!” she said.

“Yes,” Kimmy complied.

Cici fed Kimmy, and Clara approached to ask something.

“Mbak Cici?” Clara called.

“Yes, Non!”

“I have something to ask!” Clara asked for permission.

“Just ask, I’ll answer!” she said.

“This is about Uncle Joe!” Clara said, looking down sadly, remembering Joe’s attitude earlier, treating her as a nuisance.

“Mr. Joe?” Cici was a bit surprised.

Clara nodded. “How is Uncle Joe, after waking up from the coma?” Clara asked.

“Mr. Joe has never gone to work at all. He stays at home and sometimes has to go to the hospital. Like today, Mrs. Linn and Mr. Bond always replace him at the company!” Cici explained. Every time Kimmy finished swallowing her food, Cici immediately fed her.

“What about his condition?” Clara bit her lower lip, afraid to hear Cici’s answer.

“I’m not sure, Mr. Joe is a closed person, and… Miss Clara, you know yourself, my position here is just a servant!” Cici said.

“Emm… Has a woman ever come here?” Clara guessed the reason Joe pretended not to remember her.

“As far as I know, no! Not at all!” Cici replied.

Clara nodded. She walked a little away from Kimmy and Cici. Then, she took out her phone and immediately called Mrs. Linn.

The call connected.

“Hello!” greeted the voice on the other end. Mrs. Linn hadn’t received a call for a week, but this time she received a phone call from Clara.

“Hello, ma’am, may I stay for two days?” Clara asked. She just realized she hadn’t asked for permission from the lady of the house.

“Of course, stay as long as you want, our house is always open to you!” Mrs. Linn said.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Clara replied.

“Oh yes, tonight my husband and I will come home late because we have a dinner invitation, would you and Kimmy have dinner first?!” explained the middle-aged woman.

“Okay, ma’am!”

“Alright.”

“Yes.”

The phone call ended. Clara looked at the clock on her phone screen. It was no longer afternoon; it was almost four in the afternoon. No wonder she felt very hungry. Playing with Kimmy made her lose track of time.

“Kimmy, Kak Clara wants to eat first, okay!” she said.

Kimmy, who was still busy eating and playing, just nodded. Cici smiled, allowing Clara to leave and eat.

Clara put her phone back in her bag and then left Kimmy’s room to go to the kitchen to prepare food.

Initially, Joe thought it would be difficult to get Clara out of Kimmy’s room, but this time he saw the girl walking down the stairs and stepping into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Clara chose to make fried instant noodles. Simple, instant, easy, and delicious. She cracked a sunny-side-up egg on top of the fried noodles to complete her dish this time.

Joe’s footsteps stopped in the living room, right next to the dining room. And… just as Clara sat in one of the chairs in Joe’s dining room, Joe pretended to receive a phone call.

“Alright, so tonight you’ll come here, we’ll have dinner together because my parents will dine out!” Joe said.

“Ready, I’m waiting for you!” Joe said louder than before.

Joe’s phone conversation really made Clara curious. Although Clara’s back was facing him, her senses were focused on hearing every word that came out of Joe’s mouth.

Spoonful after spoonful, Clara finally finished her favorite meal that she missed. During her stay with her grandfather, there was a special chef who would cook for them. Of course, there were no favorite instant noodles of hers.

Clara stood up from her seat, looking at Joe. She really wanted to run and hug the man. However, Clara refrained from doing so.

Instead of immediately returning to Kimmy’s room, Clara decided to talk to Joe.

“Uncle really forgot about me?” Clara asked.

Joe chose to ignore her. Clara, she was already too far for him to reach. Joe’s confidence diminished. If Gaston, who was single and not a widower, chose to withdraw. Essentially, Joe felt unworthy of Clara.

“Are you talking to me?” Joe asked.

“Alright, tonight I will try to make Uncle remember everything!” Clara said, holding back her emotions. Then she went into Kimmy’s room.

To be Continued.