Chapter 51 Daddy
Two days later...
Ezra turned off the gas when he heard his phone ringing in the distance. It was placed on the dining room table. He removed his apron and walked over to the dining table to see who had called him early Saturday morning. “Mother?” That was clearly visible on his phone's screen. He picked up his phone and placed it in his ear. "Good morning, mother."
"Good morning, son." She sounded depressed, but Ezra knew it was just another of her tricks. She either wanted him to return home with a woman he loved so they could plan a wedding, or she wanted to complain about something he was unaware of at the moment.
"It is very early, mother. This is my day of rest."
“It is 8 in the morning, boy. How are you doing today?”
"Exactly the same as yesterday." He had talked to Emma before he left work about what time he should get to the house for the outing. Emma had told him about persuading Zoe to start in first grade and after her performance, she could stay in third grade. It was not a smooth ride but they got through to her.
A young boy had yelled. “What is a baby doing here?” and the principal had said, "She is your new classmate." Everyone was taken aback.
“You sound sad. Is everything all right?" He expected his mother to say no, and she did.
“No. I tripped and fell. Can you please come home?"
“Mother. This trick will not work. It might have worked the last time, but not this time." He went into the kitchen and poured the beacon from the frying pan onto his plate of scrambled eggs. Ezra shifted his hand and placed the phone in his other ear. He stretched out to get a mug from his cupboard and make his morning tea. If it was not tea, it was coffee. He went with tea this time.
"I am dead serious. My legs are currently hanging. This time, all I want to do is see my son. It has been a long time since you have returned home."
"You could have just said that instead of saying you broke your legs."
"She had both of her legs broken!" Winter yelled into the phone. "She was in my business again this morning when she tripped. Just come home and look at her. She refuses to use her medication if you don’t come home."
“Mother.”
"Please come home. I will be fine by then." She got off the phone.
Ezra scoffed as he dropped the phone on the table. He laughed, thinking about any mother who would do this just to see her son. His mother had done this numerous times to persuade him to return home. Even when he was in college, she would pretend to be sick so he could pay her a visit. Every time he did, he discovered that she was fine and simply missed him.
He ate his breakfast with a smile and then took a bath before driving over to the mansion.
When Ezra's car arrived at the mansion, the gate was opened using eye recognition. He immediately got out of his car after parking it in front of the mansion and went inside. Before knocking on his mother's door, he took a deep breath. This time, his mother was not lying. Her legs were hung. “Holy.” His lips were agape.
“My baby. I told you I was not lying. The doctors advised that this was the best way."
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I had no idea it was this bad. He wrapped you up like a sausage roll.” He kissed her on the cheek. "Are you going to take your pills now?"
“Of course I will.” Josie smiled like a child who had been bribed by her parents.
“Brother. Now that you are here, I am going to leave." Winter approached the door, but she was stopped.
“No. You will be staying here." Ezra grabbed her jacket and pulled her back. He examined her. “Hm. You are all dressed up.”
“Why am I staying here?”
"You are to blame for this." He made a motion towards his mother.
“Me? How is that my fault?”
“You said it yourself that she was in your business. There will be no going out until she is well."
“No! Oh my God! I have to go out.” She shifted her gaze to Josie. “Mum. Say something! My friends are expecting me."
Josie shrugged. She just observed her two kids arguing. They were mature. They would solve the problem. This was not the first time they had fought, and they always came to an agreement.
"Mother will not be able to help you this time. You are staying, and I am leaving."
“You are leaving? Mum, he just got here and he is leaving.”
"But you have only just arrived," Josie pointed out.
"I have some business to attend to." He was referring to his outing. He needed to get ready in order to arrive on time.
"How come he gets to go but I don't?" Winter asked. Josie could not say anything or stop him. He was an adult, and he came just as she had requested. She was just disappointed that he could not stay for long.
“You have visited. You should go to work." She made a shooing motion with her hand.
“I hate you all!” Wingter groaned angrily and walked over to the couch to sit. Her arms were pressed against her chest, and she was pouting.
“Love you, ma.” He kissed his mother on the cheek and looked at Winter. "You should be able to care for your mother. Did you notice me stressing her out like you do?"
“I hate you the most.” She hurled the pillow at him, which he caught.
He placed it on the bed and saluted her by raising his hands to his brows. "Have fun missing your date with your friends." He walked out of the room, laughing.
Meanwhile, Emma looked in the mirror for the hundredth time. “No. This does not feel right." She dropped the earrings she had chosen and picked up another, inspecting her outfit. “No. This also does not feel right."
Zoe stared at her while Emma fought herself over what to choose. “I like the one from before. It makes you beautiful.”
“No. That one is not going to work for me. It made my face look puffy. Your daddy won’t like it.” She groaned. “I might as well not wear anything. He could appear at any time, and I am not even prepared."
Zoe pouted. “He is coming for me, not you and I am all dressed up.”
“Hey. Mama loves to look beautiful. It is not a crime for me to want to look beautiful."
“But you are already beautiful.”
“Well, Thank you, love but mama is an adult. That is why she takes her time and is indecisive."
“Okay. All I know is that Daddy won’t mind whatever you wore. He looks like a nice man.”
Emma laughed as she finally focused her attention on Zoe. “It is wear. Not wore. You are intelligent, but your English is sometimes incorrect. But guess what? You are right. Daddy won’t care at all.” She chose the one she had previously described as making her face appear puffy. Zoe chose this, so I will as well. She looked in the mirror and put them on before returning her gaze to Zoe. “What do you think?”
“You are beautiful, Emma.”
“You are beautiful too, baby. Now I just need to find some shoes."
Zoe groaned, knowing they would be working on it for the next hour. The doorbell rang while Emma was checking the shoe that fit her dress.
“He is here!” Zoe joyfully jumped out of bed.
“Don’t run. What if it is a total stranger?" Zoe had not appeared sad in the last two days. In fact, she had been looking forward to the outing and had put Ezra's dislike of her behind her. “If he doesn’t like me, it is his loss, but I will have fun or not. I will be myself.” She had stated and Emma nodded throughout the conversation.
"That is great, baby." She had responded.
“He is the one. I know it in my bones." Zoe bolted from the room, and Emma pursued her until they reached the door.
“Baby.” Emma was struggling to catch her breath.
“Open up.” Zoe exclaimed joyfully. She was so happy that Emma couldn’t say a word anymore.
She sighed and flung open the door. When she looked into those ocean blue eyes, her heart began to race like crazy. He looked dashing despite the fact that he was dressed in a t-shirt and a face cap rather than his usual suit.
"Hello," he said with a smile. Her legs weakened and became spaghetti.
“Hi.” She returned his smile, wishing he would say something more than "hello."
“Daddy!” Zoe shoved Emma out of the way, almost knocking her down, but luckily, she was caught in Ezra's arm.