Twenty Eight

You could tell just by taking a single glance at the room that the house was not just a building, but a home. Apart from the loud voices that chattered away from a nearby room, the warm vibe that even the corridor gave was welcoming. Framed pictures of their family, wise words, amazing paintings, childish paintings too adorned their walls in no particular order.

Their living room in particular held a huge collection of these frames. And they made the simply designed room look loved. They filled the room with memories. And as my eyes skimmed through them as we walked, I felt a small smile form on my lips.

“Does waffles sound good for breakfast?” Janet’s voice made me tear my eyes off the walls. As I met her wide smile, I returned it and replied her question in affirmative.

“This is a lovely home.”

“It is, right? I am really glad for this place. Come, come.” She reached for my hand and led us to the next room which revealed the faces of the voices from earlier. The dining room was quite huge. Oh maybe it looked so because of the number of people in the room. There had to be like ten people seated round the huge wooden table that was filled with their meals and as they raised their head in my direction, I knew I had to brace myself for more drama.

With admiring eyes from the adults- who were two males, two females- and curious eyes from the young ones, Janet made to introduce me. “So guys, remember the moment Eliot called and said he is with a woman called Grace, well…” She grabbed onto my arm and briefly leaned her head against my shoulder. “Meet Grace.”

“So, Eliot didn’t make her up after all.” With eyes as soft more like gentle as his voice, a man who bore slight resemblance to Janet stood up, wiped his hand off a napkin and approached us. “I am glad to meet you in person Grace. Eliot sounds so fond of you and I can tell why by just looking at your fine face.”

“Ehm.” A female voice replied from behind. “Don’t forget your wife is here.”

He turned back to meet the teasing face of the blonde woman. “Babe, I can never overdo the flirting, you know that.” The second man in the room got up and came to where we stood; face all grim in a way that reminded me of Dominic. “Anyway Grace,” A thin smile formed on his tanned face. “I am Stephen. But most people call me Penny. Don’t ask why.”

I chuckled at the face he made at the last statement and said, “Nice to meet you Stephen.” My line of sight went to the taller figure that had been silently standing beside Stephen. “And I am guessing you are Q.”

“Quentin.” He stretched his hand for a handshake and I took his large hand, he continued, “It is very nice to meet you. I am sorry I won’t be around to welcome you properly. I was just heading out.” The manner with which he spoke was also similar to that of Dominic- firm and steady. But funny enough, apart from the fine face, there was no much resemblance facially. He gave a curt nod, grabbed something and walked out.

“Don’t mind his hastiness. He is just always so particular about his work. He makes sure to go every morning.” Janet explained as I watched him leave.

“He is the eldest right?”

“Yep. Explains a lot doesn’t it?” I nodded, my eyes going back into the room to survey it once again. “So, there is Clara, Stephen’s wife. And next to her is Q’s wife, Jasmine.” The two of them threw me a welcoming smile before returning to their meals. “And the naughty angels are their children. I am quite tired of introducing, so you will learn their names later.”

I waved to the kids who were peering at me from behind their meal stuffed in their faces. As I proceeded to ask Janet another question, my stomach growled, reminding me of its state.

“Come on, sit.” I proceeded to take Quentin’s place.

“I’ll have to take my leave now.” Stephen grabbed his bag, gave his wife a quick kiss and walked out. As the clanking sound of a plate filled my ears, my attention went back to the table where Janet had just set a plate of waffles in front of me. Covered in what looked like caramel drippings, I was so eager to dig into it. So, I grabbed a fork and went on to satisfy my hunger.

“Here have some orange juice.” I smiled in appreciation at Jasmine whose curled afro hair I was sort of jealous of.

“So,” Janet sat next to me, amusement all over her face. It was as though she was going to maintain that excited look all day. “Have you met Ruby?”

“Well,” My response was interrupted by Dominic who barged in, a bit angrier than before.

“Looks like that conversation added more fuel to things,” Janet murmured beside me before saying, “Eliot, will you have some waffles?”

Ignoring her and every other person in the room, he went on to grab my free hand. “Let’s go.”

“Hey! I am still eating.”

“Let’s go Grace.” I frowned at him as my mind debated whether to ditch the delicious meal and go with him, hopefully to talk him out of his anger.

Pouting at him, I said, “But I am hungry and I need to eat.”

“Here I will pack the rest for you so you can be on your way.” Janet butted in, getting up at the same time.

“Meet me outside.” As no response came from me, our eyes met briefly before he walked himself out.

“I packed some for Eliot too. Make sure he eats please, he tends to be dramatic when it comes to his anger sometimes.”

“Thank you Janet.” I collected the boxes from her hand and bade everyone in the room a good day before walking out of the room. Once outside, I entered the car in which Janet had driven us. As I settled, my eyes landed on Dominic and they stared intently at the side of his clenched face and I sat there like that, silently watching him.

After a while, a sigh escaped his lips and his face turned fully to stare directly at mine. “Why are you watching me in such a creepy manner?”

“No reason.” I threw him a short nod of the head. “Why are you so angry?”

His jaw clenched again as though my question made him remember something. “Nothing,” he gruffly replied, kicking the car to life almost immediately. Soon, we were back on the road.

Determined to get to the root of his anger, I continued, “I don’t know Dominic, being this angry with your father, there is definitely something.” He gave me a side glance. “All I know is, if I have a father and I get really angry at him, I will try to work things out with him. But really, what could my father do that would make me so angry at him?” I said thoughtfully, hoping to get any form of response from the steaming man, but what I got instead was the sharp shutting of the car door which made me realize we were back at the cabin.

As I watched him make his way into the log cabin, I muttered to myself, “Drama queen.” I grabbed our breakfast and walked towards the entrance. Entering, I was welcomed by a calming scent which seemed to cover the entire length of the room I had walked into. Dropping the small boxes onto the wooden table in the middle of the room, I went on to look for Dominic.

Leaving the cramped version of a living room, I walked past a kitchenette which looked well furnished. A few more steps and I found myself right in front of the bedroom which had to be the reason the cabin looked so huge. My eyes on the sturdy figure at the edge of the bed that was staring out through the glass window, I walked slowly towards him.

As I gently climbed onto the bed which was quite soft, his head shifted a bit to the side. His silence was my cue, so I went on to wrap my hands around him, my head against his. As my line of sight fell past the window, my heart fluttered. There was another flower field just beside the room and it was just so… “This is a beautiful view.”

“Mmm,” came the short response as his hands went on to caress my arms.

“Is that the touchable flowers field?” He nodded. “Your family is nice… and huge.”

“And very dramatic.”

I chuckled. “Yes, very dramatic. Though Quentin is a lot like you.”

“Everyone says that.” Another sigh escaped his lips. “It is because he refused.” Confused, I made a questioning sound. “The reason I am so angry at my father.”

“Oh. Refused what?”

“He refused this huge business deal that would benefit his business so well that…”

“I will have to stop you right there Dominic.” I retrieved my hand and sat down beside him. Grabbing his hand and tangling mine with his, I faced him squarely. “You are angry at your father because he refused a business deal?”

“It is a very beneficial one. For the past three years I have been begging him to take the offer before it closes.”

“So, you have been angry at your dad for almost three years now because of a business deal?”

“Why are you repeating what I am saying in form of a question?”

“Because you are unbelievable! Listen to me,” My tiny hands squeezed his. “I might not have a father, but one thing I have learnt in life from other people is that you never let your professional life define your relationship with your parents.

Okay fine, he refused the deal. But three years! Three years is too much to be angry at one’s father because of a business deal. And why on earth is it a must he agrees to it? It is his business, he can choose to do whatever he likes with it.” His jaw clenched.

“He just… I just feel like I should do something for him. Something good.” He sighed. “I know me abruptly leaving for Business college affected him in a way and I want to make up for that.”

“You are not exactly doing as planned. How about this?” I licked my lips as I framed the next statement in my mind. “Instead of trying to force your father to signing a deal, try to apologize first for leaving him. After that, try as much as possible to visit him regularly.

As long as you are not dead, you can always make up for lost times. Dominic, all you need to do is work on the personal relationship between you and your father. And be patient about it.” I threw him a cautioning look.

For some seconds, we both sat in silence, my head replaying what I had just said, hoping I didn’t just say rubbish. “You have no idea how much I love you Grace Sands.” My hold on his hand slacked as his sudden words sank into my mind. “You are just so wise in your own weird way. Thank you.” He gripped my hand, raised it to his hand and planted what seemed like a minute kiss on it.

Watching him silently as he played with my hand, I asked, “Did you just say…?”

“I love you? Yes.” He threw me a soft smile. Mouth feeling a bit dry, I gathered moisture onto my lips and gulped right after as my mind found it hard to push out a response. “You don’t have to reply me. I know you do too. So, there is really no need for the words to fly about. I just had to say it.” His hand found my chin and brought my eyes- which were trained onto our tangled hands- to his. “You are just so beautiful and so damn amazing.”

As his lips covered mine, I felt the tingle that comes alive anytime he touches me, in my chest. As he carefully explored my lips, he set my heart on flames. It burnt in a way that was strange to even me but it didn’t burn in a hurtful way. It burnt in a way that made me feel light, happy. Such that as his kiss deepened, my eyes begun to tear up because of my new found happiness.

Slowly, he pulled back. As our eyes met again, they communicated silently, his hands slowly wiping off the line of tears that had fallen. “Dominic,” I softly called, my hands reaching for his which were still cupping my cheeks. “,we have to eat.”

And as though on cue, my stomach made a low sound which made Dominic chuckle loudly. “I was sort of hoping I would get to eat something not exactly food, but okay, let’s go eat.” As he got up, my hand pulled him down forcefully and in a flash, his lips fell onto mine. Suddenly overcame by hunger for him, I laid down, dragging him with me.

As my lips attached to his again, he said, “Whoa, whoa. Whatever happened to eating?”

My fingers playing with the arm of his t-shirt, I impatiently said, “It can wait Dominic.”

He smirked. “I love how you think.” And as his hand went on to fully explore my figure, I just had to relish the moment because contrary to the thoughts somewhere at the back of my mind, it all felt real. Very real.