“Honey?” Cade said, his hand covering Ophelia’s hand. He had been speaking for a minute now, but she had not been listening. She claimed to be okay and not affected by her mom’s sudden appearance, but he could tell that she was greatly affected by it. Her mind kept travelling around the place, and the expression on her face kept on changing with how she was feeling. He could tell when she was filled with rage and even when she felt a sudden pity for her. He was grateful that he had come with a driver for the day; if not, he would have had to drive while looking at her all the while, and it would not have been possible.
“I am fine,” she jolted from his touch and suddenly said, and she nodded.
“Of course you are,” Cade said. “I was just asking what you want for lunch.”
“Haven’t we missed lunchtime already?” she asked, trying to pull herself together.
“We have, but we haven’t had lunch, and at times like this, we should have lunch,” he said.
“Times like this? What times are these?” she asked. She knew what he was talking about, but she wished he did not say it like that. Her mother suddenly appearing in front of her and giving the entire ridiculous story was not going to make her think her mom was a victim. Her parents did not care about her; if they did, then there was no way they would have acted like babies that way.
“We just won in there; this calls for a celebration, doesn’t it?” She turned gently to him. She thought she knew what he was talking about, but he greatly surprised her. She opened her mouth to talk but was stopped by the sudden ringing of his phone. “So where should we go?” he asked, trying to ignore the loud sound ringing through the car.
“Pick up the phone; it might be urgent,” she said, gesturing to the ringing phone in his pocket.
“I am going to get this, so you need to think about the place we are going to eat to celebrate this win,” he said before taking out the phone from his jacket and then sliding his finger across it.
“Hello Grandfather?” he said, and Ophelia’s ears perked up. She began to wonder how Charles and her mother met and what the relationship was between them. Why did he decide to help her out when she was kicked out of her husband’s house? It made no sense.
“We are on our way to Litch already, so I do not think we can join you,” Ophelia whipped her head up to him. She wondered what he was doing, so she mouthed ‘WHAT?’ to him.
“I should put Ophelia on?” Cade asked, wondering what his grandfather was up to. Charles had asked that they come home to have a meal together so they could celebrate as a family.
“Hello, Charles,” Ophelia said, taking the phone to her ears. She was trying to act as if nothing was wrong, but the questions bubbling in her heart did not make the words that left her mouth sound normal.
“I hear that you are on your way to lunch, but I already prepared a great feast here; why don’t you come over so we can eat together?”
“I do not know if I want…”
“Because of Marie?” Charles asked, cutting her off.
Ophelia cleared her throat and shifted in the chair. “Not just because of her; I mean, I do not think it would be that easy for me to just show up in front of her and act as if all is well,” Ophelia replied.
“I know that, and I do understand that; you must have had a hard time, but she leaves tomorrow, and you might regret it if you do not come now,” Charles said.
Ophelia hated that she was making sense. As much as she was angry at her mom and demanded more explanations because she still did not understand how she conveniently fled the country. She should have stuck around at least because of her daughter; as much as she wanted to get angry and throw accusations all around, she decided against it and bit down the corner of her lips. She still wanted to stand in front of her mom and just be there.
“So are you coming over?” Charles asked after both of them had waited in silence for a while.
“Yes,” she said in a long breath and then added quickly. “And it is not because of that woman, but I feel that since we have been able to overcome this hurdle as a family, it is best if we celebrate together.”
“Of course, as long as you are going to be here,” Charles replied with excitement.
“See you soon,” she murmured, giving the phone back to Cade.
“You managed to convince her to come,” Cade said, putting the phone to her ears.
“Well, I am the almighty Charles Vale, aren’t I?” Charles asked, letting out a hearty laugh before the line disconnected.
“Are you sure you are going to be okay going there?” Cade asked, putting the phone into his jacket back and turning to hold her hand.
“Of course, I should be,” she said with a nod. “Now that I know if I run away from it, it makes me a coward, but if I face it head-on, I am sure that I would be able to overcome it quicker. The faster I do it, the better for me.”
“You are brave,” Cade said, increasing his grip on her hand with a smile on his face.
“Of course I am,” she replied, squaring her shoulders and leaning into him. “But I am only stronger because you hold my hands like this and encourage me at every chance that you get,” she added, putting her head to his shoulders and closing her eyes.
“I want to hold these hands forever. I hope I can,” he replied, whispering in her ears.
“I will let you do that forever.”