Rachel sat on the couch together with her mother, sipping tea while Gabriel and Valerie were sprawled out on the floor, playing with Ava. The little girl had woken up from her nap after they had their dinner, she had been annoyed for a few minutes but now she was being all cute for her aunt and uncle. Ava was the reason why Gabriel always wanted to come over. He loved her and wanted to be around her to watch her grow up. He never voiced it, but he wanted the same for Ethan. She could tell from the subtle hints he once in a while dropped. She frowned when she felt her mother staring at her, it then hit her Amanda knew exactly what she had been thinking about. The little smile that spread across her mother’s face betrayed her.
“Gabriel, how did things work out with Ethan?” Her mother casually asked.
Gabriel sighed, holding Ava closer to him, “He took this trip as us being openly against his engagement with Lucille, which is true,” Gabriel frowned at the mentioning of Lucille, “I’m against his engagement with that woman, but neither I nor Valerie voiced that out loud. He couldn’t accept the fact that we wanted to be here so he’s pissed.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Amanda glanced down at her cup, “I always liked the boy. I wish things would have worked out in the end.”
“Me too.” Gabriel trailed his eyes to her, “There are a lot of things which should have been dealt with differently. But we can’t change them now.”
Rachel nodded but didn’t voice out her agreement. She knew Gabriel said those words without needing a response back. He just wanted to make clear how he felt about it all. She didn’t hold it against him having the need to express himself about her situation with Ethan. He was getting torn between being there for her and being there for Ethan. The man was probably mentally exhausted while her sister was furious. Till this day Valerie supported her every step of the way. She couldn’t imagine going back to the way things were. Valerie was not only her sister but also her best friend. They shared everything. Valerie got upset on her behalf when Ethan suddenly announced to the couple that he was marrying Lucille, a woman his parents approved of. Rachel couldn’t deny the fact that it hurt her when the couple shared the news with her, but she knew she had no right to get upset. She was the one who ended things and she was the one who ran away. Ethan’s love life was no longer her business.
“Honey, I believe that things will fall into place eventually,” Amanda reassured Gabriel.
Gabriel handed Ava to Valerie when his phone rang, a frown marring his face because of whoever was calling him. Fear washed over her when Gabriel shot a glance at her. He couldn’t be more obvious about who the caller was. She might have been playing around with the idea of telling Ethan about Ava, tonight wasn’t the night though. Especially letting him know over the phone was out of the question.
“Ethan, I’m not in the mood to have the same discussion all over again.”
Gabriel answering his phone like that made all of them hold their breath. The fact that Ava could sense the tension in the room told her how attuned the girl was to those around her. She didn’t feel comfortable even though her aunt was gently rubbing her back. She let her discomfort know by crying out. Rachel had seen it coming, yet she didn’t move as fast as she should have. It was like she watched it all play out in slow motion. When she reached Valerie it was already too late, she assumed Ethan had already asked the question.
“That’s the family cat.” Gabriel rolled his eyes at something Ethan said and then continued in his bored tone, “It could be the family cat like you’d know what an unhappy cat sounds like.”
She took the uncomfortable little girl in her arms and quietly tried to calm her down. Ava didn’t cry her little lungs out, but she made unhappy sounds letting them know just how she was feeling at the moment. Kissing her head Rachel continued to rock her gently while watching Gabriel intently.
“I can’t tell you that. I signed a non-disclosure.”
Rachel shot a glance at her sister who shrugged a shoulder, “I don’t even question it anymore.” Valerie whispered to her, “They’re fighting but in a subtle way I suppose.”
“Oh, you are? What about your formal dinner with Miss condescending?”
Rachel held Ava closer to her, afraid of the outburst which was going to happen on the other side of the line. Yet she didn’t hear Ethan raising his voice. Valerie and her mother both covered their mouths as they stared at Gabriel in disbelief. No one expected Gabriel to insult Ethan’s fiancée like that.
“Then do whatever you like, while you take care of that I’m going to hug the family cat.” Rachel narrowed her eyes at Gabriel, letting him know she wasn’t pleased with his behavior. His eyes told her he couldn’t care less.
“Family cat?” Rachel asked once Gabriel ended the call, “Really?”
Gabriel’s impassive face only pissed her off more, “You made me promise not to mention Ava so that was my only option.”
She let him take over, watching him cuddle with Ava while he took a seat beside his wife. Valerie leaned into him, making funny faces to the little girl who seemed over her fit.
“Oh, by the way.” Gabriel cheerfully added, “He’s taking the first flight here.”
Valerie sighed, “You shouldn’t have insulted Lucille like that.”
“He didn’t even care.” Gabriel told his wife, “He probably didn’t even realize it since he was focusing on going home to pack a bag so he could see with his own eyes that his assumptions are true.”
Rachel ran her fingers through her hair, “Ethan is coming over.” She whispered.
Gabriel met her gaze looking quite pleased with himself, “Yes, no more running, Rachel.”
He did it on purpose, Gabriel didn’t want to break his promise to her so instead he focused on letting Ethan know in his own way. The man didn’t figure it out until the moment Ava cried out. Her little girl let Ethan know the real reason as to why Gabriel and Valerie were ditching him nearly every weekend. If she didn’t know any better she’d say Ava was working together with her uncle Gabriel.
Amanda chuckled, “Little Ava just wanted to be heard by her daddy.”
Rachel glared daggers at her mother, “Right.
She jumped when her phone vibrated, almost mechanically she grabbed it and stared at the text she received. It was Ethan telling her she had some explaining to do. She wanted to text him back and be all petty about him finally wanted to talk. She knew she’d only make things worse so she didn’t respond back. There was no stopping Ethan, it was better to prepare for the tiring conversation she was going to have with him.