The Substitute Bride

"Oh well, I'm fine," Sheryl answered as she came back to her senses. She grabbed and hugged her loving daughter tightly in her arms. With a worried look on her face, she stared at her and thought to herself, 'Should I take Shirley with me?

But I am unsure if I can spend some time taking care of her and keeping her company. What should I do?'

Defeated by hunger, Shirley finally opened her mouth,"Sher, do we have food? I'm starving."

Tony often dropped by to carry ingredients and cook dinner for her. Today, however, he didn't come. So she had to count on her mother.

The single mother, after hearing out her daughter, looked around and glanced at the wall clock. It was already about eleven o'clock. Realizing she didn't go to the market to grab some ingredients, she hurried to the living room in an attempt to check the refrigerator and see what she could use. The last time Anthony came, he filled the fridge with snacks and other food. But as she opened the fridge, apart from fruits and yogurt, there were only two tomatoes inside.

Surely, you can't make something out of nothing. Sheryl let out a deep sigh at the sight of the empty fridge. She grabbed an apple, washed it and handed it to the little girl. "Have an apple first. I'll go to the market to grab some ingredients and make you something good," she said.

Upon seeing her mother so unprepared, Shirley shook her head in disappointment. She sighed and thought, 'I finally understood why Tony said mom couldn't even take care of her own life.'

She continued to whine, 'I wonder why Tony didn't come to visit me these days. It seems like he had a fight with Sher. Maybe I should do something to let them to make peace with each other. Just when will Sher stop causing trouble?'

Feeling her stomach grumbling, Shirley then took a huge bite at the apple her mother gave her.

Feeling sorry at the sight of her hungry daughter, Sheryl turned on the TV and let Shirley watch her favorite cartoon show. As she was getting ready to head out to the market, she heard the doorbell ringing. Excited at the thought that it could be Anthony, she strode to the door cheerfully. After opening the door, she found Sue standing instead. A look of disappointment was seen on her face. She then greeted Sue with less vigor,"Hey Sue! What brought you here?"

Seeing the disappointment all over Sheryl's face, Sue asked,"Were you expecting somebody else? Don't you want to see me?" She further added,"Well, I just came to bring my sworn daughter some food to eat. I should better take my leave now that I've dropped it off. It seems like I'm not welcome here at all."

"No! You got me wrong!" Shirley exclaimed. "Come in please and

Anthony, huh?"

Sue found Anthony a really good fit for her best friend and had high opinions of him. She often told her that no other man would be as excellent as Anthony and more fitting to be her boyfriend. In her eyes, he was perfect in almost all aspects. Not only was he a hunk, but was well-off as well. More importantly, he had done a good job in taking care of both Shirley and Sheryl. Such a good man like him was so hard to find.

"Did he call you?" Sheryl worriedly asked. She then thought to herself, 'I never should've said those mean words to him. He always treated me and Shirley well. Moreover, he treats Shirley like his own. I am more than indebted to him than anyone else.

I totally regret it, but my pride keeps stopping me from saying sorry to him.'

"Yes, he actually did," Sue replied as her brows furrowed. She added,"I was sleeping at home and was planning to get up late. I finally had my long-awaited day-off, you see. My phone rang and upon seeing Anthony's call, I excitedly answered his call. I thought he was going to ask me out on a date, but he called me instead to help him deliver you and Shirley lunch. It was so annoying."

After saying these, Sue stopped for a moment and stuffed a piece of honeydew into her mouth. She continued,"Sher, I don't understand. Did he do anything wrong? Just why did you get mad at him?"

Sue then thought to herself, 'To be honest, Sheryl is an excellent woman, but Anthony is way more outstanding. His background, capabilities and status are of a different level than Sheryl's.

After all, she is a single mother. The society thinks differently of her. But Anthony has not only accepted her, but treated her daughter like her own. He really is a good man.

But it seems like Sheryl doesn't cherish him the same way.'