After paying the bill, Joshua followed Ivy outside and the couple got inside the car. Once again, there was an awkward silence in the car. And Joshua did not know what to do while Ivy sat silently just like before at the back.
"Ivy, what do you want to do now?" Joshua tried to break the awkwardness between them only to get a blank stare in return.
"I don't know. You tell me."
"What? Ivy, I am trying to make it up to you. If you don't tell me what you want to do, how will I know about it?"
"Exactly," Ivy retorted back. "It is you who is making up to me and not the other way round. Do something, impress me, and get your forgiveness. Put some sincerity in it." With that, she averted her gaze and Joshua knew that he would not be getting any answer from her anymore. He had to come up with a plan himself.
Sighing lightly, he started the car and drove towards the destination he had in mind. Occasionally, he would take a look at her through the mirror only to find her eyes fixed on the scenery outside. She had not taken a look at him after their small chat before Joshua started driving.
Not knowing how to pacify the girl, he brought her to the biggest shopping mall in the city. It was a mall that jointly belonged to his and Carter's family. Ivy gave him one incredulous seeing where they were. 'Did he seriously think that I would give into him just because he brought me shopping? Haa, dream on. I am sure he does not know that I hate shopping.'
Joshua saw the bored look on Ivy's face and for a second, he wondered if he had done a mistake by bringing her here. 'What if she is not an avid fan of shopping?' Just the thought itself made him lose his mind. 'Which woman in the world would not like shopping? I must be hallucinating. She will love it.'
"Ivy, let's go." He said gently, his eyes filled with fondness. However, the girl just gave him one look and she walked away from him without uttering one word. "Looks like it will be tough appeasing her. Please Ivy forgive me before the day ends." Now, he too followed her and the couple went inside.
Ivy looked around the mall and took a look at all the shops, visiting none of them much to Joshua's dismay. If she had gone inside, at least he could have bought her something. But the girl just saw what the shop sold before she walked away from it.
The man could only follow her, shaking his head and cursing his luck. Ivy walked around, darting a glance at the shops that caught her fancy. However, her eyes did not linger on them for even a few seconds. She found nothing interesting here and she was feeling tired slowly. And a yawn escaped her mouth unknowingly.
Joshua noticed her weary face and he felt bad for her. He had hurt her the previous night and he had an inkling that due to his words, Ivy must not have slept properly. Moreover, she had left the house even before the sun rose completely. So, it was no wonder that she was this exhausted.
Giving up on his mission, he decided to take her home for her to get a good rest. He could pacify her some other time. She needed sleep more than anything. However, before he could speak a word, he noticed her eyes fixed on a spot and he turned to see what it was.
Ivy was staring at the poster of a recently released horror movie and her eyes were shining in excitement. Seeing her sudden enthusiasm, Joshua suddenly had an idea. "Ivy, let's go and watch a movie." He suggested and held her hand in his, gently pulling her with him and not allowing her to protest.
The duo went to the floor where the theaters were located and Joshua bought the tickets immediately. If needed, he could have entered inside without any tickets. But he did not want that. He was here on a date with his girlfriend, not as the owner of the mall. So, he followed the steps instead of taking shortcuts. He even bought some snacks for them to munch on and when everything was set, they entered the cinema hall.
He had bought the couple seats and they were right at the back where people could not disturb him. And from one seat to another there was a considerable distance, so he had nothing to worry about. Joshua and Ivy took their seats and immediately after ten minutes, the movie started playing.
It was the same movie the poster to which Ivy was looking at a few minutes back. Ivy was pleasantly surprised to see that Joshua had noticed her wish to see this movie and a part of her felt happy and satisfied. "How?" She muttered, her eyes blinking at him in wonder.
"Did you think that I would not notice it? I notice everything about my sweetheart." He boasted confidently only for Ivy to throw cold water on his head.
"Yeah right. Says the man who brought his girlfriend on shopping when the girl is not even a fan of it." She scoffed and looked away.
"What? Don't you like shopping?"
"Nope," Ivy answered putting popcorn in her mouth.
"Oh," That was all Joshua said and the duo started watching the movie with awkwardness making its presence once again.
Every few minutes, the man would take a look at the girl beside him only to see that she was completely engrossed in the movie rather than him. He had expected to make use of this opportunity to get close to her. But to his dismay, Ivy had not even flinched on seeing the ghost on the screen. She was completely normal and behaved differently than the girls he had known before.
"Damn it." Joshua could only curse his bad luck and decided to give up for the time being and watch the movie, not knowing anything about how Ivy was feeling right now.
Ivy was getting bored as the movie progressed. She had expected it to be at least watchable. But who knew that the movie was this bad? She could not stop herself from yawning every few seconds and finally when her eyelids could not tolerate the heaviness any longer, she gave up and drifted off to sleep.
Joshua too was not that interested in watching the movie. Although his eyes were on the screen, he was in fact, in deep thoughts. He was making plans to conciliate Ivy rather than watching the movie.
'What should I do to get her back?' He wondered. 'Shall I take her on along drive? Nah, seeing the way we are right now, I am sure that no words will be exchanged between us. How about the amusement park?' As soon as the thought came, it vanished right away. 'I am sure Ivy will find it childish. What can I do that will her my sincerity?'
Joshua thought when suddenly an idea struck him. 'How about I cook for her today? I think that will impress her, won't it?' He was giving it a serious consideration when he felt Ivy's hot breath on his neck. His neck snapped to her to see that the girl was in deep sleep with her head on his shoulder and her arms loosely wound around his waist.