Echoes of the Past

Aurora POV:

We trotted down the large hall.

This house is very big, too big for one person.

“I love the color,” I remarked. “It reminds me of the ocean.”

He laughed out loud.

“It’s the color of Yow’s eyes, and she knows it. She loves to sprawl on the carpet. Mee prefers the couch or my bed.”

I caught my breath as I walked into the formal dining room. There was a cherry wood table, already set with linen and crystal and china, and beyond it was a kitchen that would have been any cook’s dream. There was a tile floor, modern appliances, a huge combination sink, and a counter big enough to use for dressing half a steer. Over the sink was a large window overlooking the pasture and forest behind the house.

“I’ll bet you enjoy working in here,” I remarked.

“I do. I like enough space to move in. Cramped kitchens are the very devil.”

“Indeed they are, and I could write you a book on them,” I whined

“I bump into the refrigerator or the stove every time I turn around at home.”

“What would you like to drink?” he asked, opening the refrigerator. “I’ve got soft drinks, iced tea, or coffee.”

“I love coffee if it isn’t too much trouble.”

He grinned back at me. “I always have a pot warming,” he said.

He got down two china cups and saucers and poured coffee into them. “Cream and sugar on the table.”

He carried them to the places, which were already set, amid platters of fish, vegetables, fresh rolls, and even a cake.

“This looks wonderful!” I exclaimed.

“I counted on your being punctual,” he said with a glance. “You always are.”

He drew out a chair for me to sit. "Please have a sit"

I sat down and so did he.

“I like to make a good impression,” she told him.

He chuckled. “Help yourself.”

I looked around curiously as I helped myself to trout and rolls

and a potato casserole that smelled delicious. “Where are the cats?” I finally asked

“They’re shy around people they don’t know,” he said nonchalantly. “They’ll show up when I cut the cake. They beg for cake.”

“You’re kidding!”

He laughed. “I’m not. You’ll see.”

We had a very comfortable silence during the meal. I was impressed with his culinary

skills. He was an accomplished cook. It was he who finally broke the silence.

"So, what's your first on the list of things you wish to know"

I had a cup of water before clearing my throat "First, how did you learn how to cook so goddam well"

“I was in the Army—special forces,” he replied simply. “I had to learn how to cook.”

“You were in Cag Hart’s division, weren’t you?”

He nodded. “So was Matt Caldwell. A lot of local guys turned up there.”

I knew not to push my luck too far. Libby had told me that he didn’t like to talk about his unit’s participation in the earlier Iraq conflict. So, I didn't pry any further and let it be.

"What do you think about the coming election?"

"I'm not particularly concerned or actively concerned about political matters, I just want my friend to win"

I giggled

"What?" He asked bemused by my giggle

"It's the first time I've heard you refer to him as your friend in all seriousness"

He stared blankly for a while.

"Probably because I rarely consider him as my friend"

"You don't," I asked, with a raised brow. "He seems to consider you as one," I said making my disapproval apparent in my tone.

"I mean, I see him as an annoying brother rather than a friend"

I was touched, I knew they were close, but not that close. I couldn't resist the sound that came out of my mouth

"Awn Awn," I said

"What was that?" He asked, astonished but far from offended

"Nothing" I replied, I quickly brought the fine China cup to my mouth to avoid making eye contact with him.

"Were you mocking me?"

"Mock you, I dare not" I chuckled

"How did you know Calhoun Ballenger?" I asked

Again, he stared blankly into space, clearly skeptical about telling me.

It only made me more curious. God, I wanted to know things about him no one knows. Why is he so hard and brittle, why does he build a cold wall around himself and keep everyone away?

"We were raised in the same orphanage"

I never knew he grew up in an orphanage.

I was shocked completely, but tried not to show it not to make it awkward. If I couldn't handle this piece of information, I doubt he would tell me more"

"So, you grew together?" I asked.

"Yes, but we got separated soon enough as each of us was adopted by a Forster family."

"We lost each other, but found one another again"

"What happened in the Forster family, how did you find Mr. Calhoun again? How did you wound up here."

Please, don't give me half a piece of information, I thought to myself. I was dying from curiosity.

"Like I told you in the coffee shop, I never knew my parents. I became conscious of my environment inside the four walls of an orphanage. No one had any information about my parents, it was like I just spawned out of nowhere."

I looked back at the painting, then who is that woman he called his mother

"Life was hard, but less lonely when you have someone to stick with. I stuck with Cal, we both shared the same pain and helped each other find comfort. It was back to square one when Cal was adopted. I was alone again and no one to share my pain.

"People didn't adopt me, they all said I seem like a quiet and difficult child"

"Sooner rather than later, I was also adopted into a foster home, by a young mistress, an aristocrat, who hasn't been lucky to have a child of her own. I was suddenly living in a big mansion, I had servants and a maid do stuff for me. I wasn't sucked into the new life as I realized it was too good to be true and any instant now, I would be back to my humble beginnings. It seems not to be the case, as I was showered with love and affection. I was getting to know what motherly love was like, and what it felt like to care about someone within a short period. She helped me discover my artistry prowess, she taught me all the basis of drawing and how to capture a beautiful moment. Life was fair again, I was starting to let my guard down when everything took a wild turn. At that point, I knew God was making a mockery of me. He was taunting me."

"What happened?" I asked softly.

"The woman's husband just spawned out of nowhere, I did know he existed because I've been told he occasionally went on business trips and often used months. I knew he hated my guts the moment he set his eyes on me, which was an unfamiliar feeling for me. I was used to not receiving love or affection from anyone, but not being hated. He hated me, it was clear, but what was more disturbing was his loathe for his wife. He beat her, I heard the traumatizing sound of her scream every night and saw the fresh marks on her body every morning. As a kid, I never understood why people marry someone and still beat them. I mean there was love when you married each other, what happened to the love, did it never exist in the first place."

"It worsened every night, till one night she just suddenly stopped screaming. I woke up the next morning to the announcement of her death, he killed her, I was dead sure, and so were the maid and servants. But no one said anything, It was said she slipped and fell, " He added wistfully

I shook my head. I realized I was starting to tear up.

"Of course, I wasn't going to let him get away with it. When the cops came, I told them what happened every night and the possibility of her having found her death in his hand, no one believed me. No one believed me, it was said my imagination was running wild.

"I was shipped back to the Orphanage when I wouldn't stop screaming he did it and even the cops were becoming suspicious at that point. So there I was, back in the four walls of the orphanage, which had become worse than I had remembered."

"I was at my lowest, devoid of love and hope, I started contemplating running away or choosing the easier part, Suicide.

"Oh my god" I gasped in horror, I couldn't fathom how much pain a kid would be feeling to contemplate suicide.

"After a week, I was getting closer to making my decision, running away just felt like more pain, so I opted for the other. A mystery man appeared at the orphanage and it was said he was looking for me, I was called in to meet the man privately. Face to face with the man who claimed to be Mrs. Angelo's lawyer. First, he told me her husband did not kill her, he assured me he would have made life miserable for his husband had he done. She was very ill and saw her death coming. Secondly and the shocking part, He said she had left every one of her property to me, from the smallest hairpin to the biggest house. It was surreal, almost unbelievable for a kid."

"I was prompted to ask the question, why leave it all for me? How could she leave it all for me? I was a kid but I knew you couldn't give someone else property away."

"He told me, Mrs. Angelo was a young orphaned aristocrat, and worst of it all she was a sickly one. She married the man her uncle picked out for her to marry at a young age. It was said he would take care of her, but it was only a ruse to take all her property. She was convinced to transfer all the property in her husband's name, but she refused strongly. It shook the foundation of the marriage strongly, it became clear, that he never loved her, he simply wanted wealth. Turns out he did have another family and his monthly trip was to spend time with his family, he only came home for a while just to pressure her into getting married and play the waiting game when she stood on her decision, after all, it was a matter of time before die."

"That's cruel"

" life is cruel Aurora"

"Why not divorce him, she could have easily divorced him"

"Divorcing him would put her at a risk of him profiting from her nonetheless, she wanted him to have none of it."

"So instead she got an idea, to adopt a child from the orphanage and transfer her wealth to him in case of her sudden death "

"So, there I was a million dollars richer with no friends and family. It was still lonely nonetheless, I had no idea what to do or go about it. My first instinct was to go in search of Calhoun, but Mr. Eyre was having none of it.

"Mr. Eyre sought to protect me from Mr. Angelo's outrage. So, he sent me to the Countryside till I was of age while he protected my newly found wealth from my adopted Father. It was there I schooled like an average child and studied law till I was of age to take care of my property"

"So, why did you join the army, you had so much money," I asked confused.

"I found and lost something important, too important to be lost. But I lost it and it was my fault. Something died in me the day I lost it." He said with a sour tone.

I wanted him to continue but I figured he wouldn't say anything more. I could see his expression, he was starting to feel like he had said so much. I had been allowed to know much, perhaps too much. But there was still so much I wanted to know, but I knew not to push my luck.

"How did you wound up in Jacobsville and How did you find Calhoun"

"When Mr. Eyre found him, when I wanted to join the army he refuted strongly. It wasn't up to him to decide whatever I decided to do with my life. He started looking for the only person that can make me interested in life again, and after years of searching he found him in Jacobsville."

"I quickly left the army and came to join him here, part of me woke up again I guess and I became interested in life again."

That is one sad story, I thought. He has been through too much, too much. I just wanted to stand up and wrap my arms around him.

"Who's taking care of everything while you are here? Surely you can not do anything from here."

"Mr. Eyre, he is in charge of everything. He has grown really old now but he is still agile enough to monitor everything done. Most of the money generated is channeled into orphanages around the country, as many as we can help. I suggested it to him and he was glad and proud to be of help"

I have never felt so wrong about someone, how could I have mistaken him for a devil once?

"let's cut the cake," He said.

He got up to slice the cake and two Siamese voices grew louder.

“See?” he asked, when the cats appeared on either side of him, their faces lifted as they meowed, sounding for all the world like little children.

“They have unique voices, don’t they?” I asked, fascinated.

I tried to touch them.

"They have claws and they aren’t shy about using them,” he added with a warning glance. “Go slowly, and everything will be all right.”

“Do you give them cake?” she asked.

He laughed. “Tiny little bites,” he said, confessing. “I don’t want to make them fat…”

I flushed red.

He ground his teeth and looked at me soulfully.

“I didn’t mean it that way, Aurora,” he said gently.

“I don’t think you’re fat. You look exactly as a woman should look, in every way.”

“You said…” I began.

“I took a bad day out on you,” he replied, “and I’m sorrier than you know. It was a vicious thing to do. I made you quit, and I never meant to.”

For an apology, it was wholesale and flattering. I looked at him without blinking.

“Really?”

He relaxed when he saw the combined pleasure and fascination on my face. He made me tingle just by looking at him. I just want him to drag me out of the chair and kiss the breath from my body. The thought shocked me too.

He stood with the knife poised over the cake, just staring at me.

The flush grew. I felt my heart racing like mad in my chest. My lips parted as I tried to breathe normally.

“A lot of it was the way you dressed,” he said tautly when he managed to drag his eyes back to the cake.

“I like the new You, but not in any way to belittle how you looked before. And I love your new wardrobe, It fits properly. You seem to have studied and gotten your way around fashion" he said just staring at me.

I didn’t take offense. I was looking at him as if I wanted, very badly, to kiss him. As he slid a piece of cake onto a saucer and put it in front of me, I looked up into his pale eyes with pure lust.

I hoped he could see in my eyes what I wanted and would do it without being asked.

I couldn't make the first move, I was scared of being rejected and embarrassed. Absently, his lean hand went to the back of my chair and he bent toward me confidently as he had finally figured out what I wanted.