Dave came out of Michelle’s room with a small bag in his hand, he placed it on the couch and then went to the kitchen to check what she was cooking. He inhaled when he saw egg pasta mixed with veggies cooking on the stove.
She excused herself and went to the cupboard that was above the small freezer in her kitchen to pick up some spices.
“You’re doing good here,” he said to her and she smiled and then continued with what she was doing. Dave sat on one of the kitchen stools as he watched her cook and clean at the same time.
Several thoughts went through his head but he didn’t want to push further with what is there since she got what she has been hoping for years.
“You don’t have work today?” she stopped what she was doing to look at him, and he shook his head to answer her.
“Already want me gone?” he joked.
“Oh no, Dave, that’s not what I mea-”
“Ah, I was kidding, okay?” he cuts her off with a smile “I know you love me being around even though you wouldn’t admit it but, no problem, I get it” he shrugged.
Michelle grinned “Thank you for always being there for me all these years” she sighs then turn off the stove and covered the pasta so that it can steam. She leaned on the counter and crossed her arms.
“You have been there all through my mourning state, a real friend I’ll say” she commends and he chuckled “Even when there was no hope for him to ever come back” she paused then sighed again “There was the reality of him being…” she stopped herself then let out another sigh.
“You don’t need to thank me,” he said to her.
She nods then closed her eyes.
“Even when I had crazy illusions… imaginations that he came back to me” she opened her tear-filled eyes to look at him then tried blinking the tears away.
Dave stood to his feet and walked over to the counter to give her a hug. She wrapped her arms around his torso and sobbed, he rubbed her back to calm her down and it worked.
She leaned back a bit to look at him and his hands held her face while his lips had a smile “At least your crazy illusions came to pass” he said and she laughed then cleaned her face and left his embrace.
“Yeah, they did” she lean on the counter once more and crossed her arms “I didn’t know how to feel when I received the news of Cade being alive, it felt like a dream but it was my dream which came true” she chuckled.
“Do you feel anxious going to meet him after… you know, almost six years of him being away, us thinking that he was dead all this while?” he asked her and she let out another deep breath.
“Well, as I said earlier, I didn’t know how to react but…” she paused then looked at him “It’s been so long and I miss him so much… I really don’t know how I would feel seeing him again. I have no answer for that question, sorry”
Dave offered a smile then nods “I understand, I wasn’t expecting any answer to it” he sighs “But you’re happy to meet him?”
“There are so many emotions going through me now but I can say that I am excited to see him, it’s been so long but I hope we will be as we were”
“I wish you both luck on that, be quick so that I can drop you off at the airport” he took over from the cooking and dished their food on the same plate when the pasta was cooked well.
“Thank you for your support all those years… you’ve been a true friend all these years and I am grateful” she smiled appreciatively at him and he nods then continued dishing out the food.
…
“Can I see a picture of her?” Cade asked Patricia when she was helping him with brushing his hair.
He was finally meeting Michelle and she wanted him to look pleasing and presentable before her. She was aware of how they met online but was sure that his hair was disheveled as always when they met physically.
But she wanted their meeting after a long time to be perfect, that was why she arranged a nice dinner for them so that they can catch up and spend more time together.
“You know what she looks like, so just hold on to that memory and wait for her to arrive,” she told him “Stay will you” she scolded.
Cade was told that he had a relationship with a lady named Michelle before that unfortunate incident took place but he had no remembrance of her because when her name is mentioned, Myra’s face comes to his head and he was so sure it wasn’t Myra they were talking about.
His uncle never informed him about any relationship and thought it might not be that serious, not until he heard that she stayed single since that time with the hope that his death was just an illusion, a dream she would one day wake up from.
He hasn’t been able to get in contact with his uncle for a while now, so he can’t tell him about this Michelle lady he has no memory of. He tried to see if he could search for her on the internet but it wasn’t possible to get anything there since he was a private person.
“Yeah, I do but can I just get a glimpse of how she looks like now? I want to see what she looks like after a long time” he said to Patricia.
Patricia let out soft giggles and then pinched his cheeks lightly. “Already eager to meet her,” she held his hands in hers “You will meet her once she arrives. She’s coming here straight from the airport”
Cade sighs frustratingly “Not even a glimpse?”
“When she comes, you’ll see her,” she said. He had no option but to wait for her arrival.
“Don’t worry, she is anticipating to see you too… she has waited too long for this day to come” a tear slipped out of her eye which Cade wiped.
“Why are you crying?” he asked with a little furrow on his brows.
Patricia laughed then sniffled and took a step back from him.
“I missed you too and it’s so nice to finally have you home” she smiled “We were devastated when we got the news of your demise, you’ve probably heard us say this countless times but I want you to know that we all are grateful to have you in our midst again,” she nods “We are”
She turns and walked to his opened door so that she can leave him but halted in her step and turned around to look at him.
“You look handsome my love” she comments.
“Thank you, mum,” he said and she nods then turns again to leave.
A frown made its way to his face as he sat on his bed to think about all that is happening. Everything isn’t looking too clear to him but he is hoping that with time, things will be clearer and he can get to the root of why this family choose to do what they did.
Although, he still has that strong bug in his heart that this family is as innocent as the Devento’s that were brutally murdered he had no memory of them in his mind so he believed everything his uncle has been telling him even though some of them contradicts in some ways.
He was so deep in thought that it took a while for him to hear his name being called, he waited for some seconds and when he heard his name again, he stood to his feet, cheek his reflection in the mirror, and hoped for a smooth meeting with Michelle so that he can get back home.
As Cade descends the stairs and could hear two women talking, one which belonged to his mother and the other, funnily sounded familiar. He quickly got to the bottom of the stairs to see who the lady was and met a blond lady hugging his mum.
He couldn’t understand how he felt but when she turned to look at him with a warm smile on her lips, he felt a jolt in his heart and that feeling of familiarity going through him with just seeing her. He could feel his head throbbing, his legs felt shaky and his eyes were getting blurry.
“Cade” she whispered his name and that was the last thing he heard before darkness overtook him.