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“What on earth for?” His voice is quiet now, lacking the mischievousness that is so inherently him.
“For being so patient with me,” I reply, honestly, a strong knot forming in my chest, loosening. “For waiting for me to catch up.”
He understands.
He always does.
Pulling back, he gazes into my face, an emotion in his eyes that I recognize, one I can only define as love. “I would have waited for you for as long as you needed.” A small tug pulled at the corner of his lips. “I have been in love with you for a very long time, Elise.”
Despite the sincere nature of the conversation, I have to add with a smile. “Is that why you scratched a perfectly new fridge this morning for me?”
His face falls as he’s trying to look for an excuse. “Ah, no, that was – it was old, I told you that—”
I laugh. “Save it. I helped you choose the model last week.”
Lucas looks slightly embarrassed if that were at all possible.
I cup his cheek, and press a kiss to his lips, whispering, “I’m not giving it back now. You scratched it just for me.”
He grins. “But what if I miss it and want to see it every day?”
“Then, you’ll have to come over and check up on it.”
He throws his arm over my shoulder. “Don’t think I won’t hold you to that.”
I feel so giddy as I laugh, walking back towards where my parents are now seated.
As we make our way back, Lucas sounds curious as he asks, “You never mentioned that your parents are famous?”
I roll my eyes. “Their money doesn’t re
ally affect me in any way or form. They always told me that I have to find my own way in life. And go to church.”
I can understand his confusion. My father came from money but just before he married my mother, his family went bankrupt. So, he had been practically penniless.
Growing up, my parents used to tell me stories of how my father would go every day, looking for a job, then when he would come back home empty handed and defeated, my mother who was a schoolteacher, would break bread with him. They would eat broth made of vegetables that were grown in the small garden they maintained in the backyard. Times had been tough as my mother had come from a religious family and my father had started on that path too.
The suffering had made him grow harsher but he still loved my mother who stood by him through thick and thin. When he set up shop for a small one-man business of valuable transportation where he would carry very delicate items that people would not even trust to the best reputed mail services, things turned around.
His first client was an old friend. And soon, word of mouth spread that Richard Smith was the man if you needed to send something valuable, documents, items, whatever. My father would get the job done, quietly and efficiently, his honesty his biggest selling feature. It became a multi-million dollar empire specializing in this.
However, he never forgot those days of suffering and he made sure I would never be dependent on a backing that could disappear in a heartbeat. I spent my childhood doing chores, cutting lawns and working as a barista to get pocket money.
I don’t regret any of it either. Those were some of the best years of my life. So, I’ve never really thought of bringing something like this up to people. About my origins.
The story comes out in bits and pieces to Lucas and I can see the respect grow in his eyes for my father.
“My father isn’t an easy man,” I tell him.
“Why do you call him ‘Father’ rather than Dad? You do the same with your mother.”
I shrug. “I don’t know. They never encouraged me to try anything different. Plus, my home was always a very formal place. I was close to them but not too close. I know they love me but I’ve never had that easy affection with them like you do with your family.”
Lucas doesn’t say anything as we reach the table only to see my father having taken off Sophie’s shoes to her delight, then tugging on her toes, a slight smile on his face.
Sophie is laughing, happily, as my mother murmurs sweet nothings to her.
It occurs to me… maybe if I had forcibly taken Sophie to see them, maybe she could have enjoyed all this before. Or maybe they needed this time to realize they had gained a grandchild and not lost anything.
