Chapter 122

I knew that I had messed up, again. I really should stop putting myself in situations like this. But at that time it seemed perfect. I stopped pacing my office and tried to find the courage to tell Hana and face the consequences. Jason walked into my office like it was his own. He saw me standing in the middle of it and stopped. We looked at each other without saying anything.

“Yes?” I asked.

“You’re going to the bakery when you are done here?” Jason asked, trying to look like he didn’t care.

“Maybe,” I told him. Which was a lie. Since the day I had begged Hana to forgive me and she had let me back in her life, I had dropped her off at the bakery in the mornings and picked her up every afternoon. I was just yanking his leg. I knew he wanted an excuse to join me so he could see Mary. The coward hadn’t asked her out yet, despite being like a puppy as soon as she was around. It was very entertaining.

“Right. So maybe I should go? I mean, we don’t want Hana to walk home. Is she still as tired?” he asked.

“No. She is full of energy at the moment. I think I preferred when she was tired. Now I constantly worry that she is overdoing it,” I told him. He grinned.

“Fatherhood suits you,” he said.

“I agree. Who knew?”

“Everyone except for you. But you came around and now you have your head screwed on right.” He stopped and looked at me. “Oh no. Fuck. What have you done?” he asked.

“What? I haven’t done anything.” I told him.

“Then why do you have the kicked puppy look? You only have that look when you think Hana will be upset.”

“Well, I might have done this thing,” I reluctantly said.

“For fuck’s sake man! You have been happy for months, Hana is glowing, the baby is doing well. Why on God’s green earth would you mess with that?” he shouted. Clair opened the door.

“He’s right, you know. I can’t have you moping around like you did before Hana so generously took you back. I will quit. Maybe Hana needs an assistant?” she said. I glared at her. “Look! It’s starting again. I’m ordering some nice blankets. You can give them to her when you apologise. She likes blankets,” she said and left.

“Seriously. How bad is it?” Jason asked.

“I don’t know. Hopefully not that bad?” I said.

“I was thinking of going along to the bakery, but now I don’t know.”

“I think it would be good if you did,” I said, getting an idea.

“You can't use me as a human shield. Unless Hana is throwing cupcakes, then I volunteer.”

“Cupcakes aren't her weapon of choice,” I told him. He paled a little.

“She still has the tazer?”

“Fuck yes she has the tazer. I’m not letting her walk around unarmed. And I’m not letting her near a gun or a knife. I love that woman to death, but she is a little clumsy when she gets stressed.” Jason chuckled.

“Fine. What do you expect me to do?” he asked.

“Help Mary close the bakery so I can take Hana on a surprise.”

“I can do that,” he agreed.

“I bet you can. And while you’re at it, grow a pair and ask her out to dinner. Trust me. You’re not getting younger and you want as much time as you can get,” I said.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

“You and Mary. You get googly eyes whenever you look at her and I have never seen you so protective and caring towards anyone. Just ask her. Hana tells me Mary has a thing for you as well.”

“Really?” he asked, sounding like he never had imagined something like it.

“Really. So let’s go. We both have things to do.” We arrived at the bakery in separate cars.

“You’re early,” Hana told me as I kissed her.

“I am. And I brought help,” I said.

“I see that. Hello, Jason. What do we need help with?”

“I’m taking you on a little trip. Jason will help Mary close the bakery,” I explained.

“Is that okay?” Hana asked Mary.

“Sure, I don’t mind,” Mary said.

“Then I’m all for it,” Hana said.

“I will get your coat.” Fall was slowly turning to winter and I had made sure Hana had a long and warm coat. It looked a little comical and too big right now. But she needed room to grow. I helped her into it and took out the vanilla milkshake I had put in the fridge when we came. “For the road,” I told her.

“You do love me,” she said and took a big gulp.

“I really do. Please remember that I do love you,” I told her as we walked to the car. She looked at me with a questioning look. I made sure she got into the car and then we set off.

“Are we going out of the city?” she asked as we got to the outskirts.

“We are, at least almost. We are going to Greenwood.” Greenwood was a little like a suburb of the city. But instead of a labyrinth of uninspiring houses along the roads, it was more like farmland. The houses out there had larger amounts of land and many places had horses and small livestock. But it was still close to the city. A twenty minute drive on a good day, thirty minutes in rush hour.

“Fancy,” she said and continued to sip on her milkshake. She was freaking adorable with her milkshakes. I always brought one for her to have on the way home. One day I had been in a hurry and decided to skip it. The disappointment on her face had made me promise myself never to do it again. She acted like I bought her a diamond necklace everyday. I was a lucky man. And I might have done something to screw it all up. The big iron gate blocked the driveway in front of us. On each side of it a high hedge marked the propertyline. “Is it one of your safe houses?” Hana asked.

“No. Not quite,” I said, as the gate opened. I drove down the long driveway that had fruit trees on each side.

“This is cute. Are they apple trees?” she asked.

“Yes, and plum, cherry and pear,” I said.

“Oh. Imagine the pies you could make living here.” I chuckled.

“Jason would never leave,” I said. She giggled and placed the empty take away cup in the cupholder. The house stood almost in the middle of the property. It was surrounded by green lawns and flowerbeds. Right now it wasn’t an impressive sight as the lawns were looking sad in the cold and the flowers had withered. But the house looked nice. It was a two story house with a stone base and wood on the second floor.

“Wow. You would never know this was here,” Hana said.

“I know. It’s tucked away,” I agreed. I stopped the car and went to open the door on her side.

“Who lives here?” she asked.

“No one.”

“Okay. So what are we doing here?”

“I wanted to show it to you,” I said.

“Okay.” She accepted my answer and let me take her inside. I took her coat and showed her upstairs. There were four bedrooms, three had their own bathroom. There was also an open area just as you came upstairs.

“It’s cosy, but still spacious,” she said.

“It is. It’s bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside,” I said. She agreed and we went downstairs to look at two more rooms that could be used as bedrooms or offices. They had a jack-and-jill bathroom. There was a big dining hall that had a view of the side of the house. Then came the thing that had made me get myself into trouble; the kitchen and living room were open floor with a kitchen island separating them. The kitchen was big and looked like a farm kitchen. It was made to be used, even I could see that. The living room had a wall of windows looking out over the backyard and on the far wall from the kitchen a giant fireplace took up half the wall.

“Oh my. Oh, this is… This is amazing,” Hana told me as she walked around the kitchen, running her hand over the marble counters.

“You like it?” I asked.

“I do. It’s an amazing house, and the kitchen is a dream. Is it for sale?” she asked.

“No.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Well, I liked seeing it non the less,” she said.

“I might have done something I shouldn’t,” I told her. She turned away from looking at the view from the kitchen window.

“What did you do?” she asked.

“I might have seen this place when it went up for sale and decided it was perfect for a family to live in, especially our family. And I might have bought it without asking you if you liked it or if you wanted to move in with me,” I told her and held my breath.

“You own this house?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“And you want me to move here, with you?”

“Very much so. It would be a big and empty house if I had to live here alone,” I said. The next thing I knew was Hana throwing herself around my neck and peppering my face with kisses.

“I would love to. It’s perfect, just like you,” she told me. I drew her in for a long kiss.

“I should have asked you,” I told her after the kiss ended.

“You just did. I don’t mind a surprise every now and then. It keeps life exciting. You had me worried for a while,” she said and caressed my cheek. I turned my head so I could kiss her palm.

“The first time I saw this kitchen I saw you baking all those pies in here while I helped our child to do their homework at the kitchen table. They could run around the garden and climb the trees. I will put in the best security system known to man. Our family will be safe here. We might even transform the gigantic pantry into a panic room. And there are enough rooms to have a couple of guest rooms. We can have both Jason with Mary and Wictor with Anthony over all at once,” I told her.

“I like that. And we can build a patio out back with a big BBQ and outdoor seating. The downstairs rooms could be turned into an office each for us,” she said. “This will be the place where we will raise our family,” she added and sniffled at the end.

“Don’t cry.” I hugged her tighter and kissed her temple. She giggled.

“I can’t help it. I already love this place so much. It broke my heart a little when you told me it wasn’t for sale. It’s so amazing that you have got us a home. Now we don’t need to figure out if I should move to your place or you to mine. Now we both move here.” I smiled as I slowly rocked her in my arms. I loved how much she loved this place, because I did as well.

“I have one more thing to show you. I have an idea of what I want to hang over the fireplace, but I need your opinion,” I told her.

“Oh. One of your drawings?” she asked.

“Yes.” I said as I took her hand and led her over to where a frame leaned against the wall next to the fireplace, with the back facing outwards. “I started on it the first day you took the stand in the trial and I think it’s the best one I have ever created.”

“Don’t keep me waiting, I want to see!” She had stopped crying and looked excited. I smiled as I picked up the drawing in the frame and turned it around and leaned it on the mantel top. I took a step back and looked at Hana. She was staring at it.

“It’s… I don’t have words for it,” she said.

“Do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it!” she exclaimed and kissed me. I smiled and looked at the drawing. It was a larger and improved version of the first portrait I had made of her. I had done a pencil drawing of her. She was wearing the same expression as she had done in court that first day. Collected, strong and peaceful. I had once again used pastels to create a soft aura, but I had used the colours in a way that almost made the pastells look like warrior markings. Hana looked fierce but soft at the same time. Just like in real life. “I can’t get over that this is how you see me,” she told me.

“It’s who you are.”

“What is that on the frame?” she asked. She had spotted what I had put on there and I had never been as nervous as when I walked up to the frame and pulled it off. I turned around and, because I’m old school and because she deserved it, I got down on my knee.