When Sheffield finished singing, Evelyn couldn't wait to ask, "How are you able to sing that so nicely?"
"Practice! I wanted to get it just right—for you." In order to make Debbie and Evelyn happy, he had spent many hours learning all of Debbie's songs by heart.
"Do you know all my mom's songs?" She looked at him expectantly.
Sheffield crossed his legs and played with her hand in the water. "Yeah. What do you want to hear?"
"My mom sang a song for my godmother Kasie. Do you know that one?"
"Piece of cake!" The man cleared his throat and began to sing, "That winter, the snow fell relentlessly. The night was blanketed in white. You saw me crying like a baby coming back from a hike…"
No matter which song Evelyn requested, Sheffield was able to sing it.
No wonder Debbie was so supportive of Evelyn being Sheffield's girlfriend. He cared about her. Because of his love for her, he had even learned all Debbie's songs—more than 100 altogether spread across several albums, EPs, and promotional singles. Evelyn was impressed. "How can you remember all the lyrics?"
Sheffield replied in a casual tone, "I had to memorize my grandfather's notes on traditional Chinese medicine. If I can do that, then a 3-minute song is nothing. It's also easier when you care about what you're doing."
The admiration in Evelyn's heart was obvious. She realized Sheffield and Matthew had the same ability: eidetic memory. They could remember what they read like it was a photograph in their minds they could refer to.
An hour later, Evelyn and Sheffield returned to their room.
Sheffield ordered room service. Nothing too fancy, just light dishes. Six different courses, four of them vegetables.
When they were almost done with dinner, his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and said to Evelyn, "It's Joshua. I have to take this."
Evelyn nodded.
"Hey, Joshua!" He stood up from his seat, took out a cigarette and wiggled it. It was his way of telling her he was going out for a smoke.
Evelyn nodded again.
After walking out of the room, he lit the cigarette. "Go ahead, I'm listening!"
"How's it going? Why didn't you call me? Or text me, or something!" Since he was one of Sheffield's best friends, Joshua heard about his friend's proposal through the grapevine.
Leaning against a pillar in the corridor and smoking, Sheffield replied dejectedly, "She didn't say yes."
"What?! What was she thinking?"
"I don't know. It's okay. I'll make a bigger deal of it next time."
Joshua felt bad for his friend. "Sorry to hear that. Hang in there, dude."
Sheffield smiled. "I'm fine. If I let one rejection stop me, then could I really say I love her? I'll win, eventually."
Joshua admired his persistence. "Bruh, you're so in love with her."
"You know it!"
"Well, this is the first time it finally hit me that you're serious about her."
Sheffield pulled his bathrobe closer to him from the cold. "Hey, I gotta go. I have a hot date that can't wait. We'll talk later. That cool?"
"Blowing me off for her, huh? That's okay. I'll probably do the same after I propose to Terilynn. We'll be so busy I won't have time to talk. You'll see!"
"You probably need your future father-in-law's approval. Let's wait till he gives the green light."
Sheffield hit the nail on the head. Joshua saw how Carlos made things difficult for Sheffield. He knew that his father-in-law was a big problem.
Eventually, after a little banter, they hung up. When Sheffield returned to the bedroom, Evelyn had finished eating and was playing on her phone.
He walked to the closet and took out another set of clothes. "Here. Model these for me, would you?"
Evelyn took a closer look. It was a set of women's clothing in his hand. It was ceremonial, a match for what Sheffield had worn earlier. "Do… I have to?" She had never worn a costume like this before. She wasn't sure she wanted to.
"I picked this for you. Let me help you put it on. I'll take you to see the snow later," he coaxed, raising his eyebrows. "Come on, put it on. Pleeease!"
'Take me to see the snow? At night?'
He took off Evelyn's bathrobe and helped her with the ancient style wardrobe.
Different from his clothing, the outer layer of her clothing was white and the inner layer was red.
Actually, Evelyn didn't like wearing red, especially a skirt. But when she saw how excited Sheffield was, she decided to wear it anyway.
After getting Evelyn dressed, he turned to look her up and down.
"I changed my mind."
"What?"
He said bluntly, "Screw the snow. I want to make mad love to you." She would never know how beautiful she was, just as he never knew how handsome he was. Those outfits were perfect for them.
The red dress made her skin look rosy. Her bright eyes were so attractive.
Her long hair fell about her shoulders, which made her more seductive and beautiful.
At this moment, Sheffield truly knew what true beauty was, why he had fallen so hard for her.
Being gazed at by him like that, Evelyn blushed and protested in a low voice, "You tricked me into wearing an ancient costume, but you won't wear yours too. I'm mad at you."
He had already made plans so they could spend the night here. It was going to be perfect. They'd walk in the snow for a bit, then come back and warm each other up.
Thinking of this, he put on his red costume again and held her hand as they walked to the door.
When they were about to reach the door, she yanked his hand.
He turned around and looked at her, confused.
Evelyn pointed to her outfit and asked hesitantly, "What if we scare people? This isn't exactly normal attire."
Sheffield chuckled. "Why would we scare anyone? We're not in all-white like ghosts. Besides, we are not going off the property. Who would we scare?"
She was relieved to hear that and followed him out.
After they walked on the bridge, Sheffield covered her eyes and said in a mock-urgent voice, "Don't look!"
"What? Why?"
"You'll find out. Just wait!"
Evelyn didn't protest. A few seconds later, a loud bang sounded from above. Sheffield finally moved his hands away from her eyes.
Evelyn opened her eyes and saw a trail of sparks rushing into the sky ahead of her. Golden and red fireworks bloomed in the air, falling like tassels. Half the sky was lit up.
At this moment, her eyes, her heart and her whole world were full of beautiful fireworks.
However, to Sheffield's eyes, heart and world, there was nothing but the lovely Evelyn.
"Sheffield, look! Fireworks!" She grabbed his hand and pointed to the sky with joy.
But when she saw the affectionate look in his eyes, she suddenly realized that he had done this. She asked in surprise, "This was all you?"
Well, if he didn't arrange it, how could they have seen it the moment they walked out of the room?
Sheffield kissed her hand. "Like it?"
Evelyn nodded and answered seriously, "Those are the most beautiful fireworks I've ever seen!" She would remember this day forever. No matter what happened in the future, she would never forget the happiness that Sheffield had brought to her today. It was like a dream.
