Clear up loose ends
(Dean)
So this morning, I received a text from my mom inviting me to dinner at her house, mentioning that Rihanna, Aunt Elena's daughter had returned from London and will be joining us.
That caught my attention, mainly because it's been long I saw Rihanna, we barely even text, though she reached out at the time of my divorce and I understand we're grown now, with huge responsibilities to shoulder.
She's busy with her modeling career and I'm pretty much occupied with Brenco.
But Rihanna and I used to get along very well before she traveled, she was like the sibling I never had.
I guess we have a lot of catching up to do.
And mom sure knows it'd be hard to decline this one. WeIl, it's been like this for a while now, I avoid meetups and dinners with mom and Aunt Elena, because it stresses me the fuck out, they seemed to always make it about me, probing me about my marital status and giving me unsolicited reasons why Ashley's perfect for me.
I know they mean well, but it's exhausting, and meddling into my personal life isn't cool.
So everytime mom calls, I find myself scrambling for a new excuse to dodge her invites.
This is forcing my hand right now.
Reluctantly, I agreed to attend but just for Rihanna's sake even though she never mentioned she'd be coming back.
And I also set a condition that I will be coming only if Ashley isn't.
Earlier, I'd handed those pictures to Arthur, telling him how important it is to carry out this investigation quietly and discreetly.
He left a while ago, promising he'll contact me once he finds something. I'm hoping he'd reach out as quickly as he can.
The uncertainty is eating away at me, I'm fed up being in limbo.
I have to uncover the truth, and I have to real fast.
As soon as John, mom's butler opened the door, announcing my arrival, mom's voice wafted into my ears. "Dean," she calls out, waving me over, her voice is steady and her face lightens up at the sight of me.
I look around and true to mom's words, Ashley isn't here but then I squint.
It's just mom at the dinner table and the maids who left after setting the plates down but just as I'm about to mull over that, Aunt Elena and Rihanna appears.
"Dean!" Rihanna in her ever bubbly flair moves over to me in an excited stride, practically bouncing in her step, she draws me into a big hug. "I've missed you so much," she says, flashing me a warm smile as we both take our seats.
Mom and Aunt Elena watches on with a subtle smile on their faces.
I arch a brow, choosing to be a little playful. "You did?" I retort. "I find that hard to believe, seeing I'm the last person to learn about your arrival,"
She looks at me with guilt. "I'm sorry I haven't called in a while, just got busy, you know how it gets. Plus I wanted to surprise you, didn't know Aunt Judy will slip up,"
Mom chuckles, her voice coming through in her defense. "I couldn't help it, it just came out, spur of the moment, you know,"
"Well, surprise!" I wave my hand, everyone at the table laughs at this, including myself.
As soon as our laugh quiets down, I look at Rihanna, reaching out to her hand. "Sure you know that was a joke, and moreover, you don't need to worry about not contacting, we're both guilty and I've been pretty busy too," I say, holding her gaze, she has a grin. "It's good to have you back sis, at least for now," I have Aunt Elena in mind when I say the latter.
"It's so good to see you too Dean, all of you," her grin widens. "It's hard staying away from family for too long but I'm hoping to stay longer in New York this time,"
Aunt Elena rolls her eyes, it's clear she's taken aback by Rihanna's statement. "You will?" she asks, wide-eyed.
"Sure mom. Best believe I'll make the most of it," she gives her a cheeky grin.
Aunt Elena looks relieved, excited to say the least. I mean, she's hasn't been in support of Rih pursuing her modeling career, fearing that it'll keep her away.
But just like me, Rihanna was no pushover, she was resolute, she stood her ground and went for it, here she is doing so well for herself. I'm proud of her.
Mom's face lights up with a warm smile. "I'm so glad to hear this, I know you love what you do, but family's just as important, your mom and I have been worried sick about you,"
Rihanna nods, offering them a warm smile, she turns to me. "Dean, we have a lot of catching up to do," she reminds me.
"Yeah, we should catch up sometime soon, for sure," I reply with a smile but mom's next words puts me on the edge.
"Did Dean mention that his ex-wife is in town?" she blurted out, avoiding eye contact.
Of, course mom had to bring that up, so classic of her to ruin moment.
Rihanna looks at me briefly before turning her gaze back to mom, actually no one understands mom and Aunt Elena's stunts better than we both do.
"Really?" Rihanna says, her tone light. "I'm sure he will give me all the details, right Dean?" She gives me a knowing look, clearly trying to play it cool, to avoid adding anything more to the conversation.
I steel myself, paste a smile on my face and say. "Right," I let the words out, I don't want to get pissed at mom, this night is for Rih.
"Let's dive in before the food gets cold," Rih speaks again, obviously trying to change gears.
"Dean?" Mom wipes her mouth clean, turning her attention to me once more. "Has anything been bothering you lately? You can talk to me about it," I blink, those words sounds a little bit off, guarded even.
Aunt Elena nods, looking at me.
I watch their expectant faces. And I pretty much suspect that there's more to this than concern.
"No, why?" I give her a quizzical look, I keep my voice firm, not wanting her to suspect anything just yet.
She waves it off. "What do you mean why? I'm just worried you might be stressed, work—- life generally," her words tumble out in a stutter, that's unusual.
I nod at mom's response, managing a smile. "I'm good, work's good," I say dismissively, choosing not to say anything more.
And well, about Bella and our twins, I'm keeping to myself for now, till I clear up some loose ends.