Chapter 30 Honesty Before It Is Too Late!
"Darling!" Josie called as she walked into the mansion. She passed the bag she was carrying to the maid who approached her. She quietly expressed her gratitude to the maid before turning to her husband who was seated on the couch in the living room. "I can’t believe this is happening to me right now. I can’t believe this."
"And what’s the matter? Why do you look so down?" Josie settled onto the couch and Ben lowered the volume of the TV and placed the remote on the table. He was watching a sport of Ice hockey, his favorite game. He focused on her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, massaged them gently, and then moved to the side of her neck. "Is this alright? Are you feeling better now?"
"Babe, it’s not about the massage." She let out a sigh. Ben quickly withdrew his hands. Josie turned to face him directly. "This is about our son. I’m worried. We’re getting older, and so is he."
"So…" Ben tried to understand what she meant.
"Let’s help him settle down."
"Josie."
"I don’t want to hear you say he’s too busy with work and needs to earn more money. I don’t want to hear that." She took Ben’s hands and gently rubbed them. "Ben. Please do this for me."
"Ezra won’t be happy about it. You know how he is."
"But you and I can work together on this and make it happen," Josie replied.
"What if he doesn’t like the girl we pick for him, Josie? We can’t risk making the young woman’s life hard."
"Bernie, trust me. He totally has a crush on her. To put it simply, he just doesn't have the guts to tell her. What if he never gets married? The thought of my son not having kids is just unimaginable. As his parents, it's our responsibility to make this happen."
Ben rolled his eyes. Even back when Ezra was a teenager, his wife was all about this. She always wanted to know every girl he hung out with, even if they were just classmates. He thought for sure Ezra would pick Heather, but then he dropped the bomb that he and Heather were done. "Who is this girl you're talking about? Does she feel the same way about him?"
"I can assure you she does. Do you remember Miss Facer?"
"The designer for Queen's Company?" Ben asked. "I had no idea we gave designers those kinds of titles."
"We don’t. Ezra mentioned it after she joined. He was confident she would win because she has so much talent. She designed Winter’s dress."
"I know that. It was announced."
"Ben. Hear me out. We're good parents for wanting to support our son. Alright? Now, I just need to find out where she lives and send her a message. She’ll be joining us for dinner on Sunday."
"We should definitely let Ezra know, right?"
Josie shook her head. "What’s the fun in that?" She started to laugh. "I have a much better idea. How about we both send them an emergency letter? They’ll rush over here in no time." Josie sighed in relief. "I can’t wait to see the look of surprise on his face."
"I love it when you get all cheesy. It makes you so much attractive." Ben poked her in the side.
Josie chuckled. "Oh, Bernie." She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss.
When Winter saw her parents kissing, she felt nauseous. "Ew. You guys need to get a room." Josie pulled away from the kiss when she heard her and turned. "Mom, you and Dad can’t be doing that here."
"But it’s our house. We can do whatever we want." She glanced at Ben again and playfully poked his nose. Winter’s outfit caught Josie’s eye. She was wearing a short red gown with knee length boots. "And where are you headed off to?"
"Out. With friends." She had tried to sneak out without being noticed, but when she saw them kissing, she had to talk.
"Dressed like that?" Josie scrutinized her daughter. "You look like one of those strippers."
"Dad."
"You should listen to your mother," Ben chimed in.
"When did you ever start taking mom’s advice? You’re the one who’s strict."
"Sometimes it’s good to play the good cop while your mom is the bad one. She really is so bad."
Winter felt queasy. "Ew. Ew. Ew." If she stayed there any longer, she might just hurl. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest. Maybe it was time for her to take charge. After all, she had overheard their conversation. "I can help you, but there's a catch." Josie shot her a look. "If you let me hang out with my friends, I can help you get the letter to Emma."
"And why should I believe you? You don't even want your brother to get married."
"That's totally not true. I just think you're pushing him to do things he should decide for himself. But hey, I might use that as my escape plan since I need help now." Winter rolled her eyes. "Mom. I'm the only one you can count on, as you know. The others will spill the beans to Ezra, messing up your plans, but I won't because you agreed to my deal and I always keep my word. No one would be happier than me if Emma became my sister-in-law. I like her way more than Heather."
Josie glanced at Ben. "What do you think? Can you trust anything she says?"
"Come on," Winter urged.
"It's because I'm in a tight spot. Seriously. Otherwise, I would have done it myself," Josie replied.
Winter couldn't help but laugh. "You don’t even know her address. And neither does Ezra, except for me. So you really do need my help."
"Fine. You can go," Josie said, waving her off. As Winter started to leave, Josie turned her attention back to Ben and resumed what they were doing before the interruption.
"What? A play date?" Phoebe pulled Emma into her room after checking that Zoe wasn't listening. She seated Emma and closed the door behind her. "No, no. Emma, you need to call and cancel that right now!" Phoebe insisted.
After putting Zoella to bed, Emma had told Phoebe over the phone. Phoebe rushed over to the house in no time.
"But why are you so against it? As soon as I mentioned it to Zoe, she was thrilled. She met someone new. We should be happy about that, right?"
"Let me remind you that this isn't just a cozy family get-together; it's business. Emma, Ezra is—"
"What? You know what? Ezra isn't even in the picture anymore. I've decided to leave the company and start working to support myself and her. So don’t use Ezra as a threat."
Phoebe scoffed. "And when he asks about the child you mentioned, what will you tell him?"
"He won't even show up. Or ask. He doesn't care, so he won't come by to ask about any kid. I will take care of her because I adopted her, and my name is on the paperwork. She deserves that."
"But what if he does? Ezra might act tough in public, but I know men like that. They have a soft side and would rush to protect their child."
"Phoebe. I can't deal with this right now. Please. Can you just give me a break? I'm so done with this and the stress. Please, Phoebe. It's better if I don’t get too involved. What are we really after here? His money?"
"You like him, but you're ready to give that up for the kid you barely know?"
"Her name is Zoella Facer, and she is my child, and yes, I will sacrifice that for her."
"Emma." Phoebe sighed. "Please don’t do this to yourself. Stick to the plan and grab his attention to reach your dream of being rich, owning a skyscraper, and having so much money. That’s what you've always wanted, remember? What happened to the girl who wanted everything so badly? What happened to the girl who worked so hard to get here?"
"Well, she gave up all of those things to make a sweet girl happy and comfortable after falling in love with her."
"You’ve only known her for two weeks."
"And I can say that these last two weeks have been the happiest of my life. You won’t get it, Phoebe. But if you can, please just leave me alone."
"I will leave you alone if that is what you want.”
“That is what I want.”
“Okay.”
“Yeah.”
Phoebe quickly grabbed her bag from the bed and slung it over her shoulder angrily. “You know where to find me if you need help when Ezra comes back."
Emma laid her head on the pillow and heaved a sigh. No matter how much she tried to hide, this would always be with her. She couldn't keep sinking deeper and deeper. If she did, both she and Zoe would get hurt, and she didn't want to hurt that little girl.
She needed to be honest with Ezra before it was too late.
Before it was too late, she needed to tell him the truth.