Chapter 270

Chapter 270

Lyanna had been gone for several years. On her deathbed, she had held Sophia's hand and said, "When Eloise gets married, watch over her for me."

Every time Sophia thought of those words, her eyes would go red.

Eloise and Clifton had picked out the new house together — a small villa, three blocks from where Sophia and Nicholas lived.

Sophia had complained it was too far, but Nicholas, for once, spoke up for Clifton. "It's only three blocks. Five minutes by car. You can't expect Eloise and her husband to live right under our noses."

Sophia thought about it, decided he had a point, and let it go.

On the day they went to set up the new house, Sophia arrived early in the morning.

Clifton was working overtime. Nicholas had gone to pick up Serena.

Serena had finished university abroad and stayed on to work after graduation. By Sophia's count, she was due back around now.

Sophia stood alone in the living room, holding curtain samples Eloise had chosen, holding them up against the window one way and then another, feeling like the colors just didn't work.

Eloise poked her head out from the bedroom, holding a stack of wedding invitation drafts. "Mom, what do you think of this font?"

Sophia put down the curtains, walked over, and took a look. She nodded. "It's nice. Go with this one."

Eloise made a sound of agreement, but then just leaned against the doorframe without moving.

Sophia looked up and saw that Eloise was smiling, but her eyes had gone slightly red.

"What's wrong?" Sophia asked.

Eloise shook her head, walked over, and hugged Sophia from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder.

"Nothing. I just feel like time has gone by so fast. It's like yesterday, I was still that little girl waiting in the nursery for my mom to come get me, and now I'm getting married."

Sophia's hands paused for a moment, then she reached back and patted Eloise's arm. "Tell me about it. It feels like just yesterday I was bringing you home."

Eloise gave a small laugh against her shoulder, then added quietly, "Mom, thank you. Thank you for waiting for me back then."

Sophia's throat tightened. She turned around and pinched Eloise's cheeks. "It's a happy occasion. Don't you dare make me cry."

Eloise smiled and wiped the corners of her eyes, then retreated to keep sorting through her invitations.

Sophia picked up the curtain fabric again and held it up to the window. Then she heard a key turning in the front door.

She thought it was Nicholas back with Serena, and called out without turning around. "Nicholas, come tell me if this color works."

Before she could turn around, someone grabbed her from behind in a full-on bear hug.

"Mom! I'm home!"

Sophia stumbled forward a step, nearly dropping the curtain fabric. Before she could even steady herself, the person had already let go and spun around to grab Eloise.

"Eloise! You're getting married, and you're still this skinny! Is Clifton not feeding you?"

Eloise laughed as she was shaken around. "Stop it, he cooks for me every day."

Serena let go of Eloise, stepped back, and looked her up and down with her hands on her hips, then gave a satisfied nod.

"Okay, you do look like you've put on a little weight."

Sophia finally put down the curtains and turned to look at her younger daughter.

Serena was half a head shorter than Eloise, with sharper features and bright, lively eyes. The same restless smile played at the corner of her mouth as always.

Before Sophia could say anything, she noticed someone was standing behind Serena.

A young man — tall and broad, blond-haired and blue-eyed, strikingly handsome.

He was standing in the doorway, holding Serena's enormous suitcase, waiting quietly.

Serena followed Sophia's gaze and slapped her forehead. "Oh, right, I almost forgot to introduce him."

She ran back, grabbed the man by the arm, dragged him from the entryway to the middle of the living room, and pushed him toward Sophia.

"Mom, this is my boyfriend, Wilmer Finley. We've been together for two years. I brought him home so you could meet him."

Sophia stood frozen.

Eloise froze, too. The invitations slipped from her hands onto the table.

Only Nicholas walked in through the front door at his usual unhurried pace, resting a hand on Sophia's shoulder.

"She told me on the way. She was worried you'd need a moment, so she asked me to break the fall."

Sophia opened her mouth. It took a while before she found her voice. "Two years? You've been dating someone abroad for two years, and you're only telling us now?"

Serena hunched her shoulders guiltily and half-hid behind Wilmer, peeking out from one side. "I was scared you wouldn't approve..."

Wilmer, for his part, was perfectly composed. He stepped forward and gave Sophia and Nicholas a respectful, genuine bow.

"Hello. I'm Wilmer Finley. I've wanted to come meet you in person for a long time, but Serena wanted to wait until things were more settled before making it official. I'm sorry for showing up like this. I hope you'll forgive the intrusion."

Sophia looked him over, then glanced at Nicholas.

Nicholas gave a small nod. His meaning was clear: it seems like a good one.

Eloise had already recovered from the shock. She walked around the table to Serena and flicked her on the forehead. "How did you keep this secret? You didn't even tell me!"

Serena clutched her forehead. "Be gentle! I just got off a plane, and I haven't even slept off the jet lag!"

The living room erupted into chaos.

Eloise chased Serena around the room, Serena dodged back and forth behind Wilmer, and Sophia stood in the middle, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Nicholas quietly walked to the window, picked up the curtain fabric Sophia had been holding up for so long, held it up to the light for a moment, then turned around and said, calm as ever:

"This color works. Go with this one."

Sophia turned to look at him. He stood there steady as always, but no matter how he dyed his hair, it couldn't fully hide what the years had left behind.

She suddenly felt it — these past twenty years really had gone fast.

Fast as a rain shower. Fast as a passing breeze.

Eloise had grown from a tiny bundle in a blanket into a bride in a wedding dress. Serena had grown from a baby who crawled at lightning speed into a woman who came home with a boyfriend.

But fast was good. Fast meant everything had turned out well.

She walked over and stood beside Nicholas, reaching out to take his hand.

Nicholas turned to look at her, smiling. "What is it?"

Sophia smiled too. "Nothing. I just think this is really nice."

Outside the window, a breeze passed through, rustling the leaves of the ginkgo tree with a soft, whispering sound.

Autumn had come. What needed to turn yellow had turned yellow. What needed to fall had fallen. And what needed to come home had come home.

Across the living room, Eloise was chasing Serena with the curtain fabric. Serena was doubled over laughing behind Wilmer. Wilmer stood caught between the two of them, looking helpless but never losing his smile.

Sophia held Nicholas's hand and stood at the window, watching it all with a smile.

Memories drifted through her mind — every image from the years behind them, lined up one after another, from far to near, from blurry to clear, all of them settling into this one moment.

Nicholas leaned down and said quietly in her ear, "Shouldn't we think about dinner?"

Sophia nodded, turned her head, and pressed her forehead gently against his jaw.

"Time to cook." She put down the curtains and waved him over.

"Stop standing there. Come help."

Nicholas smiled. "Coming."

The End.