CHAPTER 32

With the two parents seated right across from her, the counsellor watched them tersely. She was trying to create the right ambience for their meeting. Adriana smiled shakily at her husband, looking for signs her husband wasn’t already addicted to his drinks. Noah on the other hand had no idea his wife was on to him. His confident smile was an indication he had no clue what was going on with him. Now that she had read the situation right, the psychologist in her got to work. First, she needed to ascertain addiction was the only problem here. “Is there anything you’d like to share?” she asked, watching the drama that was about to unfold. Adriana had served her some snacks with coffee in a tray. It was placed right beside her. Reaching for a snack, she crossed her legs and waited for the couple to begin the session.

Adriana looked at her husband “You want to go first?” she asked with a bright smile. She had changed her outfit from a flowing gown to fitted jeans and a tank top. She had also wrapped her hair in doughs. Her lips were nude but glistened lightly with gloss. Beside her was Noah still in his jeans and polo. He looked a bit rough around the edges because he hadn’t shaved in a while. The psychologist in their counsellor noted these tiny pieces of information. It seems to her the husband was neglecting a lot of things, while Adriana still managed to get some extra time for her appearance. She jotted this down in her notepad.

Noah ran his hand down his hair and beard, searching for what to say. “No, I have nothing to say.” he said. He tugged at his beard, lost in thought.

“Given recent events, I’d say we should have plenty” replied his wife sarcastically. She held her husband’s hands, “You’ve lost so much.” she turned to their therapist, “We just lost Nate, his cousin.” she swallowed hard before saying, “My kids, well you know…. we almost lost them.”

“But we didn’t.” Noah smiled at his wife, reassuring her they would be fine. They had experienced something life-threatening but their family had survived. “We are okay.”

“No, we’re not” she shook her head, “You know we went through a lot. I still see the men and their guns at night. I still see my kids’ scared faces when faced with the guns.”

“I know.” Noah said. Lately, his wife woke up in the middle of the night, sweating profusely. And it was always the same nightmare that kept reoccurring over and over again. Last night, she had woken up with a scream. “Shush, it’s okay.” he said, pulling her to himself, “I got you. You’re okay.” But her terrified face each time always haunt him. He didn’t know what it had felt like to be trapped with the men that long, but he knew it did a number on his family. He had no nightmare of that night, but their hurtful looks were his own nightmare. Even the kids were having nightmares. At the hospital, they had both woken up screaming on their first night. They couldn’t say what it was, but the parents were pretty sure it had everything to do with their recent encounter.

“Even the kids.” Adriana said, “They are not okay yet. Will they ever be?”

“They will be” assured her husband.

“They have nightmares, almost every night”

The therapist said nothing as the couple dragged this back and forth. All she did was scribble some notes while they were busy with each other. She noted the kids were still having nightmares. She would have to work this through with them. The kids must learn to make a funny character of their terrifying assailants in their dreams. She would have to have a chat with them about that.

The couple was silent for a while. Each pondering on their own. Then Adriana spoke about the cousin her husband had lost. “And we lost Nate.” she said in a hushed tone, “You seemed withdrawn since then” Adriana pressed, hoping she could get him to talk, to open up and share what he had buried somewhere there.

When Noah said nothing to what his wife said, and just looked lost in thought, the therapist knew it was time to salvage the awkward situation. From all count, he wasn’t ready to relate to the loss just yet. It would be better to get them both on a safer topic. Something they would be comfortable to at least want to talk about. “Can we talk about you both instead.” she said giving them no choice in the matter really, “The last time, you mentioned something about trust, and we couldn’t press further because the kids were there.” she looked at them, “Why don’t you trust each other anymore?”

Adriana shifted uncomfortably. Beside her, Noah went rigid. Nobody said anything.

Ms. Bethany noticing the couple’s exchanged look while watching their body language with interest said, “I don’t need the details.” she explained, “Just get me something to have a grasp of the situation.” she took a sip of her drink, and added, “So I can help you.” Her eyes followed them with interest. Adriana turned to Noah, asking for some go ahead. The counsellor noted that down. The couple were still in sync if not totally. At least, they still respected each other’s opinions. And this type of couple, she could work with. They were already on the path to forgiveness and healing.

“We married for a whole different reason, you see” Adriana began. Her hands were tucked between her laps firmly, and she was pushing forward, almost out of the chair. She looked at the therapist, “Well I mean, I love him.” looking at her husband, she said, “And he loves me.”

Sensing the lack of assurance in her last statement, the counsellor gently pried, “But?”

“We got married without me realizing there was another reason attached.” said Adriana in one breath, “You know, most couples just fall in love, and get married. At least that’s what it should be. And I thought that was what happened with us” she gestured with her hands, “But then I found out I was just a pun.” she said, looking down sadly. She sniffed, then looked up at the counsellor “I just stumbled on this fact recently.”

“And are you sure your feelings.” turning to Noah, Ms. Bethany continued, “That your feelings for each other stands?” It was her way of making Noah confirm his love for his wife, seeing as she was in doubt.

Noah nodded, “I love my wife.” he reached for Adriana, muttered ‘I’m sorry’ before saying to the woman opposite them, “She loves me too. But we cannot seem to be able to move past this wall the discovery has forced on us.”

“When was this discovery?”

“Some couple months ago. Four months?” Noah said, still holding Adriana.

The counsellor smiled at the irony. Most couples worked their issues fast, and get their shit together. But some issues just have to stand the test of time. “And I see you’re back together.” she pointed out. “It must mean you both found a way to live with it”

Adriana nodded, “Yes, I think so”

“Without resolving the trust issue.” Pressed the counsellor. The couple looked at her, seeing she had a point. And she knew they were thinking it through. Sitting up straighter, she said, “You see things like this need to be faced and dealt with. You cannot just sweep it under the rug.” she smiled at them to take away the harshness of the words. “What made you decide to go ahead staying together?”

“Recent events forced us to know we want to be together” Adriana replied, holding her husband firmly. Anyone looking at the couple now could see their love for each other shining. Their counsellor could see also their willingness in working out their issue.

“Forced you!” she stressed on that, calling the couple’s attention to it.

“I couldn’t lose another family. I’ve lost so much”

Defensive! Noted the counsellor. Noah was justifying sweeping the issues under the rug like he wasn’t ready to take about his late cousin. She let that slide, turning to the wife, she asked “These recent events, can we talk about them?”

“We told you that when you had your first session with the kids.” Noah spoke up, “An attack on my family. My wife, and the kids were held hostage.” looking agitated, he added, “At gunpoint.”

“I wanted to hear it again.” she replied simply. She had wanted them both to grasp the full impact of what they had been through. The couple let loose their hands. “How did it feel?” she asked Adriana, “Watching your kids being bound up.”

She shook obviously relieving the incident sadly, “I could literally taste my fear.” Adriana said. A tear fell, and she brushed it off before another threatened to fall. She hadn’t said anything to even her husband about that night. “The kids were scared, and I knew for their sakes, I needed to be brave.” she started to sob. Beside her, Noah sat so still she wondered if he had forgotten to breathe. She looked at him just to be sure. He was about to touch her but stopped when she turned.

Noah listened attentively to his wife. He had wanted to ask about that night but couldn’t. He was scared of what he might do. So as his wife recount the story, he sat still, listening, taking it all in; her fears, her bravery. When she started sobbing, he wanted to pull her to him, remind her that he was here for her, and the kids. But he withdrew his hand at the last minute. He had failed them all. If he had been in the room with them, he could have dragged it out with the men. At gunpoint? Maybe not. ‘I’m sorry. It’s my fault’.

“I was forced to calm them down” she shivered slightly, “When Elizabeth and Ethan started to argue about some lame thing, the men shout them down and barked at me to make them quiet or they’ll blow their…” she couldn’t say the words.

The therapist wanted to speak now. She watched as the wife struggled with her feelings. Recounting the sordid event made her sad, and scared. But it was something she had to talk about. She wanted to say something soothing to encourage her, but at that moment Adriana looked up with a determined look, and the counsellor applauded her bravery.

“So, I pleaded with the gunmen to let me pet the kids.” she smiled at the counsellor, “They agreed, without suspecting I just needed a way to send across a signal to Noah”

Nodding that she was taking in all the points, Ms. Bethany encouraged, “A signal?”

“Yes, I knew Noah was somewhere in the house. I just needed him in the adjourning room and I could warn him that we had company.” Adriana explained, refusing to look at her husband. “So, I listened hard while calming the kids. When he entered the room, I picked the sound.” she sniffed now, but it was evident she was smiling, “And I got the message across” and not able to hold it in anymore, she hugged her husband tightly and began to cry.

Noah held his wife, stiffly at first. He didn’t know what it had been like in there for both his wife and kids. Hearing it now made him feel so ashamed for refusing to discuss it with her. Suddenly not caring anymore, he hugged her just as tightly, breathing in her scent. “I’m so sorry you went through all that”

The counsellor waited for the couple to pull themselves together before resuming her duty. She sipped slowly and took a bite of the pie. When the couple pulled apart, she sighed. They held on to each other; a good sign. “What you did there was brave, you know that?” she asked Adriana Adriana nodded, she smiled at the woman.

“And you know what?” smiled Ms. Bethany, “Waiting to send a signal to your husband, trying to make him know you were in a predicament; that’s trust.”

*****

Jason held his phone up. He continued to stare at the name that appeared on his phone. It had been a while that his mother-in-law called him. Now that he thought about it, she hadn’t called since Ellen was cremated. He wondered what was going on. “Hey, mom.” he said into the phone. He had taken a shine to his mother-in-law since the first day they met. The woman was a free spirit like her daughter. It was from her Ellen got her beautifully kind mind.

The day she had taken him to go meet her was one he’d never forget. Ellen had been all hyped up. She had dressed in a lovely sequined gown with a slit way up above her knees. It gave an opening into her sexy legs. She insisted she wore a tuxedo to compliment her look. But she went mute on him afterwards. When he looked at why she was silent even though she was done with her makeup, he had found her staring blindly at the mirror. “What’s with the face?” he had asked her Smiling at him, she had replied, “You know, I didn’t meet any of your parents.” Ellen teased. “Nobody to keep me on my toes. I only met James and his father, who are nice by the way”

“Well, they’re the only family I have.” Jason had said, “And is this your way of saying your parents would keep me on my toes?”

“Oh, relax. My mom is sweet. And my dad is well…” she shrugged.

“Okay, should I be worried?”

“While my mom is sweet, and fun to be with. My father is reserved, and sometimes we always have a clash of interest” Ellen said, staring at Jason as he went through his tons of suits, indecisive of the one to wear for the occasion.

“So tell me about these clashes of interest” he turned to her, holding up two tuxedoes. “I’d love to know as much as I can about my future father-in-law.” He raised one, then the other wordlessly asking which of them he should go for.

She went to him and picked the dark blue tuxedo with plaid ties. “This will look good on you.” she smiled at him, “Goes with the colour of your eyes”

Thanking her with a passionate kiss, he said, “Blue tuxedo it is then.” he began to undress, “Are you going to tell me about your dad?” he asked “We will be late, Jase.” she said “I’ll fill you in when we’re on the way.” she promised, watching him as he undressed, “Don’t we have a minute for a quick shower?” the expression on her face had nothing to do with water. It was more centred on his body.

“But you’re all dressed” he laughed, allowing them to indulge themselves just a little before stepping out.

A few minutes later, they were in the car, headed for Ellen’s place. And she rattled on and on about her father and his legacy. “So, he singlehandedly built his multimillion-dollar company?” he asked her “Yes, which is why I’m sure he’ll take a shine to you.” Ellen said, smoothening his tie. The car had pulled over, and she leaned to kiss him before stepping out. holding his hand, they walked into the Suarez’ home.

The building was a delight. It was beautifully adorned; unlike anything, he had seen in a home. The designer took the architecture of the house to the extreme. There had been at least two statues at the entrance. Inside, there were two more, making the home look more like a museum. At the entrance was another one, welcoming them with a warm smile. The head was adorned with shiny stones, not a real diamond. In the middle, however, stood a real diamond. It shone brightly but was shielded by the other stones. It was a ploy to divert attention from the real gem. Only someone with a keen eye would see it.

Jason smiled as he admired the antiques in the home. There was quite a lovely collection of them. “Dad got that from Paris.” Ellen had said, stepping beside him. She had been so used to the walls of her home that she always walked right past them without paying any attention. Only when her guest stayed behind, admiring the walls, and their hangings did she always stop to take it all in again. “Wow.” he said, “He has good taste”

“That’s because he’s married to a curator.” Ellen nodded as Jason’s eyes were wild with excitement. “Yes, that’s how she met my father.” she said and launched into a tale of how her mother had been a curator for a well-known museum in San Antonia. “She shuffled between there and Philadelphia. She was travelled to Paris sometimes too.” she explained as they moved over to admire another artifact. This was a little goblin miniature, beside it, a goblet was placed. The goblet like everything else about the house shone brightly from within. A hole was strategically drilled in there. the hole allows for the ray of light to shine on a coin inside the goblet. In turn, the coin shines brightly. The goblin was turned in a way that made it look into the goblet. Jason tried to move the goblin to be sure it wasn’t attached to the goblet. It was. It was a funny description of goblins and their love for shimmering things; gold and coins.

“Wow, “Jason said, admiring the wisdom in the design of the miniature. He was a bit distracted and didn’t listen to half of the tale Ellen had been saying. “She got this too?”

Ellen pouted, “You’re not listening”

“But I am.” Jason said, and gave her a quick recap of what she had said, “She met your dad as a curator. Works in San Antonio and Philadelphia.” he said “Then you didn’t hear the part about Paris”

“No” he admitted. Turning away from the wall hangings, he said “I’m all ears now.”

“Good, because this is important to the goblin and goblet question you asked.” Ellen said, “She did get it from Paris. And that’s where they met. She was filling in for a friend who worked at their museum branch in Paris for weekends. Like she told me, the friend just gave birth and my mom wanted to help out. She was single, wanted to catch fun.” they started to walk towards the dining room. “He proposed to her with that.” she said stopping to laugh at Jason’s expression. “Yes, he did because he knew how much his wife loves artefacts and miniatures.”

“And she wasn’t offended at the irony of the gift?” Jason had asked, lowering his voice so the staff wandering around, probably setting the table wouldn’t pick up on their conversation. “A goblin is always after gold, shiny things. Over the years, people have come to represent goblin as a dissatisfied gold digger”

“We all have our interpretations of things” Ellen had said, “You have to look beyond the usual. Isn’t that what popular artists say about their works. Look at The Monalisa for example. When people saw it at first, they didn’t understand the weird look until Leonardo explained that her face was weird because of the partial smile and partial sorrow it carried. A smile that was elusive if you tried too hard to catch it.”

“Not that it is a face that is half a man’s and half a woman’s?’ he asked trying not to laugh as he teased her.

Ellen laughed, shaking her head as he stood pretending not to have any idea why she found anything he said funny. “Let’s forget Monalisa okay.” she looked at him, pouting, “You wanted to know why he gave her this?”

“Yes ma’am” he had said and curtsied. “Go on”

“There’s a light from the goblet.” she said, walking them back to the miniature. She pointed at the shimmering light the goblin was looking into, “The goblin is looking into the light within, not the coin.”

“Okay?” he said, still not getting the whole point.

“My father said he was the goblin, and the goblet was his saviour. The light shining out which he.” pointing at the goblin, “Was peeking out is my mother. She brings the light to his unsatisfied world”

“Impressive.” Jason said, looking at the miniatures again. “Of course, that’s another way to look at it.” he stopped a while, “Did she get the meaning instantly or did he have to explain like you just did for her to get the message?” he asked, imagining a scene where the message had been misread. That would be catastrophic.

“What do you think?” Ellen asked He pondered over it. If Mrs. Suarez is a curator, she probably knows more about the tales surrounding goblin than anyone. Would she have gotten the message? But as a damned good curator, she would be familiar with artists and hidden meanings to their designs. He smiled, “I think she got the message loud and clear.” he told Ellen.

She reached for his cheek, staring at him with all the love she had for him, “I didn’t get that right myself.” she confessed to him, “Yes, she did get the message. But it was even more interesting for my mom when my father referred to himself as the goblin. You know, to clear the air” she had started laughing, and he laughed too. In his mind, he thought of getting her something like this; something with an interesting twist they could share with their kids. Did he ever?

They left the sitting room which had been an exquisite sight and moved towards the dining where he would be meeting the parents. The dining room on the other hand was simply designed in white. But nothing could beat the model even in its simplicity. It was divine.

“Sweet” his eyes took in every detail. “I’d love to make a special request” Jason had said, smiling at Ellen “What?”

“That your mom designs our home”

“You wish.” Ellen laughed, “I’m doing all that myself. I’ll only seek her advice when I need to”

“Never mind her, request granted.” said Mrs. Suarez coming towards them. She was a well-built woman; tall and well-proportioned in all the right places. Her face glowed as did her sequined gown, which was spectacular. She wore her smile so gracefully, Jason was charmed.

“Thank you.” he curtsied as the older woman walked up to them. Her husband was beside her; his face so unwelcoming Jason literally took a step back. “Mr. Suarez” he bowed. The man gave a curt nod and went to take his seat at the head of the table.

“Good evening dad, mom.” Ellen greeted warmly, walking Jason to his seat. They sat down opposite each other, but Jason was sitting next to Mrs. Suarez, and she was full of compliments. Her enthusiasm lit up the room. Dinner with Ellen’s family had been wonderful. Jason came to know her mother as quite the charmer. She warmly hugged him on arrival, and walked him to his seat, all the while complimenting him. He found himself admiring her more and more by the minute. Her father on the other hand watched on with disinterest. He said nothing, but his disapproval of his guest could be sensed miles apart.

But Ellen knew how to get her father in the mood. The moment she said Jason was the sole heir of the Valdez company and went on about how at a young age he had been left in charge of the family business, her father’s interest was pricked. He started by asking how he lost his parents, and they kicked it off after that. Although it was pretty obvious the man wasn’t much of a talker.

“It’s a pity you lost your parents at such a tender age.” Mrs. Suarez had said, “But you turned out right”

“Thanks, ma.” he said “You can call me mom.” she had replied with a warm smile, “If you want to.”

And that day, Jason’s admiration didn’t just stay with only his future mother-in-law, his future wife could see how he looked at her differently. And which father-in-law wouldn’t want a son-in-law who literally worships his girls? And so, Jason had won over their hearts effortlessly.

Left to his late wife though, she believed he had charmed her family with his poise, and reserve demeanour. “You stole the day.” Ellen insisted.

“You did all that for me.” he told her, “Thank you”

Remembering that day fondly, Jason smiled as he said into the phone, “How have you been mom?”

“You haven’t been around lately.” said the woman.

Gone was the cheer in her voice. Jason noticed the way she dragged her words. It was so unlike her. “Are you okay, ma?” he asked.

“I have been a bit upset. But I’m fine, I think” she said.

Not knowing what to say to that, “Upset?” He asked.

“Yes, considering”

“It’s been a while”

“Yes, it has.” she paused. “I’m sorry to do this now, it’s a raw spot for us all. But we have to do it”

Jason didn’t know what she was talking about, so he waited for her to say it out. “Okay”

“Ellen’s memorial is in a few days. We’d like to do something simple, private. If that’s okay. Can we know what you have planned later?”

Jason sighed. “Yes. Yes. I’ll let you know.” They chatted a while, and the call ended. Jason immediately got to work. He called James into his office. Soon as he entered the office, he asked him to get busy with the memorial of his wife. “I want everyone on the list getting the invite even if it’s a quiet one, they’d want to be officially notified.”

“Okay boss.” James said, pausing a bit, he asked, “And Miss Evan?”

“Yes, I should speak with her directly.” he told James. But she wasn’t picking his calls, and he was running out of ways to get through to her. He could have appeared in LA and get her to talk, but he wasn’t going to force it. If she didn’t want to speak with him, then it’s her choice. He was going to wait until she was ready. He just didn’t know how much she intended to stay angry at him, and if he could stand the silent treatment for so long.

James left the room as his boss started to pace the office. He couldn’t quite understand why he was being stubborn about this. He had been acting weird since he got back and Evangeline had left for her home. Still, the private jet was there and they could be in LA in a jiffy. Perhaps the man needed a push. He turned back and walked into the large office. “Can’t I just get it to her?”

“What?” Jason asked “The invite.” he stared at his boss, watching his reaction, “Can I just take it to Miss Evan?.” He wouldn’t want to. He was hoping his boss would take that as a clue to get the card there himself. But he was unprepared for what he heard next.

“That would be wonderful” he smiled, “I didn’t think of it that way”

James left the room slightly annoyed. He was going to have to come up with a better plan. He didn’t understand why Evangeline was also not speaking with Jason. The two had been good together. For the first time, he had seen Jason happier than he had ever been all the period they’ve been together. The only time he had been that happy was when he had met Ellen. And since Ellen, he had been very sad. Lately, though, he was easier to relate with. Evangeline had brought a shine into his world. Sighing, he started walking towards the elevator all the while thinking of what to do about the couple.

Still in his office, Jason left his seat and went to peer out the window. He always loved looking out in the busy street because it had a way of calming him down. But today, there was nothing peaceful in the busy streets and the uncoordinated driving. The blaring horns and swearing on the street mirrored his chaotic mind. All he saw of the street he once enjoyed looking at was chaos. He turned away. Walking back to his seat, he picked his phone, knowing she wasn’t going to pick, but dialling her line anyway. It rang, but as usual, Evangeline refused to pick.

He knew it was his fault, knew he had made a terrible mistake letting her go, but she had to understand. It was something he had to get off his chest. He sighed. He needed to know how she was doing, and their son too. Wasn’t she ever going to talk to him? He thought of calling the doctor, to be sure she was doing well. He could only have his men follow her around until they were sure the war was over. So he knew she was going for check-ups most weekends and she travelled right back; avoiding him no doubt. But the men couldn’t go in with her to know if she was fit, and all. Only doctor Tom would know.

Calling the doctor instead, he asked how she was doing and if the baby was okay.

“They’re both okay” the doctor confirmed “And she’s eating well?” he asked, knowing it was lame, but he needed to be sure.

“She’s all right”

“Thank you, doctor.” he said.

He let his mind be occupied with the memorial now. There must be a way to resolve this with Evangeline. He would eventually have to go see her if she wouldn’t pick his call. Even if she wanted to end what they had going, he must check on their baby. At least she wasn’t going to deny him his chance at being a father. It had cost a lot to get here.