Is this destiny?

Hearing that Nori wants to ask her some serious questions, Sarah straightened her back in alertness and gestured that she is ready.

"What is your guilty pleasure?" Nori\'s eyes flashed.

"I don\'t have any." Sarah shrugged. She could not help but to have her suspicions about this woman. Sarah observed her carefully while she talked. And woman was observing Sarah as well. The only question is why.

Nori was disappointed. "You should have at least some... we are just casually chatting, right?"

"I do have pleasures, but I don\'t feel guilty about them." Sarah admitted and laughed.

Nori felt that she missed an opportunity to find out something good, but she didn\'t give up. If she asks few easy questions to loosen Sarah up, and then asks a tricky question, she might get her to talk. "Tell me about your family."

Sarah smiled. "Mother, father and two sisters plus me. I\'m the youngest one. We are very close."

"You look quite young. Are you in high school? College?"

Sarah nodded. "College. I plan to graduate this year. Computer science."

"Oh? With that field it will not be a problem to find a job." Nori commented thinking how Sarah looks very young for someone who is about to graduate college.

Nori was about to ask her next question, when Sarah interrupted her. "Can I ask you a question?"

Nori nodded. This was the first time that Sarah wanted to ask something.

"Why are you interested in me?" Seeing that Nori got stunned and her smile faded away, Sarah explained. "There are other young ladies here, but you seem to ignore them and focus only on me. Why?"

Nori took a deep breath before asking, "Before I answer that, can you answer one more question from me?"

Sarah shrugged and gestured to Nori to go ahead.

"When did you notice?" Nori squinted her eyes.

Sarah smiled. "When you asked me if I love my boyfriend."

"That early?" Nori was surprised.

Sarah nodded. "At first, I thought you work here, then that changed into: you want to matchmake me with someone. But seeing that you didn\'t bring up anyone and only asked about me and my relationship, I could only suspect..." Sarah stopped talking and looked at Nori with a complex expression.

Nori\'s eyes sparkled from excitement. "Go on... finish what you were about to say."

"Are you... Mrs. White? Aiden\'s mother?", Sarah almost stuttered.

Nori\'s lips stretched into a wide smile and she nodded. "You are smart. Very observant and smart. No wonder my boy is in love with you."

Sarah felt anxiousness fill up every cell in her body, and it showed on her face. "I\'m sorry Mrs. White if I was impolite. If I knew who you are from the start, I would definitely show you more respect, and not casually talk with you." Sarah blurted out with her eyes wide open.

She had her suspicions about the woman, but she didn\'t think that it\'s actually his mother. Sarah internally screamed as she started recollecting everything they spoke about in last three hours, hoping that she was not impolite. \'Oh, my God! This is his mother! I hope she does not mind my casual behavior…\' Sarah usually does not care what others think about her, but this is the mother of the man she loves. Now that she looks at the woman, they look alike, a little bit. That hair… the same black hair… and eyes. Shape is the same…

Nori frowned when she saw Sarah\'s panicked expression and shook her head. "See? This is why I didn\'t tell you who I am... can we just continue talking casually? There is no need for formalities. OK? Can you relax? Please?"

Sarah took few deep breaths to calm down. "I will try Mrs. White."

Nori was frustrated. "So far you called me Nori. What is with this Mrs. White nonsense now? You make me feel old..." She pouted.

"Actually, I never called you by your name." Sarah reminded her. "All this time I only responded to your questions, without the need to address you."

Nori felt that Sarah is too smart for her own good. Is it possible that Sarah can track if she said her name or not in last few hours? "Even if you didn\'t call me, you were more relaxed and casual when talking... right?"

"That statement is correct..." Sarah had to admit. "Can I ask you a question... Nori?"

Nori smiled when she heard that Sarah called her by her name. "Sure, go ahead."

"Did Aiden arrange this?" Sarah was wondering how much Aiden had to do with all this. He didn\'t tell her practically anything. Now she knows that he is very capable in keeping secrets from her. Sarah didn\'t like that very much.

Nori thought for some time before answering. "When he told me that he is bringing a girlfriend, I wanted to meet you and talk to you. He said that you don\'t like crowds, and that the birthday event is not a good environment for me to get to know you... then I booked this session for us at the same time so that we get a chance to chat a bit, and he didn\'t object. I hope that is OK."

"Yes, it is. He knows me well." Sarah had to agree with this. If they met at the party, they would not be able to talk except for maybe exchanging few pleasantries. And if Sarah knew that Nori is Aiden\'s mom from the start, she would be extremely stiff and cautious.

Sarah got a message on her phone. "Aiden is here." She stood up and turned toward Nori who was still seated. "Are you not coming?"

Nori shook her head. "You go ahead, I have my ride... I will see you at the event." Nori stood up and hugged Sarah. Sarah\'s body got stiff, not knowing what to do.

Nori moved away and looked into Sarah\'s face with a warm expression. "It was very nice meeting you, Sarah. I hope we get a chance to know each other better in the future."

Sarah smiled and nodded. "It was nice meeting you too, Nori. I will see you later." Sarah pulled her headpiece over her eyes. "How do I look?"

Nori took a step back to see Sarah better. "Breathtaking!", she said with admiration.

Sarah smiled and left.