Chapter 126
My sister’s boyfriend—scratch that—fiancé--really is magical. The more time I spend around people on his team, the more I realize that. I was super impressed that he somehow managed to coordinate the cleaning and redecorating of an empty apartment a few floors below Cadence’s while also attending his best friend’s memorial service so that by the time we got back from the luncheon, my parents’ belongings had all been resituated in what seemed like an expansive hotel room. Cadence let me keep my stuff in her apartment, though. She said I could stay in the guest room, which was awesome because I hadn’t had the chance to see her much lately.
Most of the rest of the day was a blur, though there was definitely a lot of sitting around chatting. After several hours at the luncheon, my parents, Cadence, Aaron, and I headed back to my sister’s apartment, and there was more chatting. I had taken a lot of pictures of the place on my way back and wanted to send those, along with the ones from the plane, to my friends, but I also didn’t want to be rude, so I kept my phone put away. Eventually, Aaron said he had work to do and left. My parents stayed for dinner, which ended up being take out from a restaurant downstairs because my sister didn’t have much on hand, and after a while they said they were tired and headed downstairs after my sister explained that she didn’t have to go with them to unlock the door; she could do it from there, and yes, she could lock it again once they were inside.
“How are you doin’, lil girl?” Cadence asked once the quiet of the night had descended upon us. I couldn’t help but giggle, listening to her do such a terrible impersonation of Elliott. “Isn’t it funny how he always called you the same thing?”
“Yeah,” I said, snickering. “He only said Cass if he was exasperated.”
She giggled. “I was always ‘kid.’”
It made me smile. I missed him so much. “It will get easier, won’t it?” I asked quietly.
“It will,” she nodded. “But it’ll take a long time.” She was fiddling with the ring on her finger, and I realized I was doing the same thing and stopped. Hers was an engagement ring; mine was a constant reminder of a hole in my heart.
“I guess you had no idea Aaron was going to propose?” I asked, hoping I didn’t blurt out I didn’t think it was a good idea to get engaged so quickly. She really didn’t need my opinion and wouldn’t listen anyway.
“I didn’t,” she replied, and I could tell she was going back over it all again. “But he had already asked dad for permission.”
I nodded, thinking that had to have been the case. “Where did you guys go? He didn’t propose in the parking lot, did he?”
She laughed, and I hoped she didn’t really think I had the impression of Aaron that he would do something like that. “No. Actually,” she turned around and looked out the window. The sun was just fading behind the horizon. “He took me over to that fountain, the one you were talking about earlier.”
“Really?” I asked. I couldn’t see it from where I was sitting even if I strained and it was getting dark outside.
She stood up and walked over to the window, and I followed, surprised to see it was actually illuminated. The little girl standing on the rainclouds was sprinkling raindrops down into the fountain with a big grin on her face, the watering can tipped nearly upside down. “He told me that Elliott actually commissioned that fountain for him.”
I turned and looked at her, my eyes big. “For Aaron?” I couldn’t imagine why he would want a fountain of a little girl.
“Yep,” Cadence replied brushing my hair back away from my shoulders and resting her arm around me. She cleared her throat. “Aaron doesn’t like to talk about it, but since you guys are going to be part of the same family, I think you should know he was married once. A long time ago.” I thought I had overheard that information at some point, but I wasn’t sure. It might’ve been before my brainwashing. It seemed only vaguely familiar. “And he had a daughter.”
That was brand new information.
“He had a daughter?” I repeated. Cadence nodded. “What happened to her?”
“It’s a complex story, and it’s not mine to tell. He might tell you at some point, but I will say that she died when she was a baby.” I stared at her, yet another wave of sadness washing over me. While I normally would’ve been upset that she was withholding information from me, I understood why she wouldn’t want to tell me this particular story. It really wasn’t hers to tell. She had only mentioned it because of the link to Elliott, and maybe she wanted me to have a little more insight into why she was in love with Aaron after everything he’d put her through.
“Well, the fountain is beautiful. Elliott had pretty good taste after all. Who would’ve thunk it,” I said, staring at it for a few minutes before I took a deep breath and walked back to the sofa. Cadence chuckled at my comment, then followed and sat down on the other end.
“So…” I began, feeling her out. “You told me about the Eidolon Festival. “What happened after that?”
It took her a moment, and I wasn’t sure she was going to answer me at first, but then she said, “Well, Jamie took me home and told me to pack a bag. I had no idea what was happening, but I felt like I needed to do as I was told.”
“Jamie brought you home from the festival?” I clarified. I hadn’t realized that before.
“Yeah, but when I got to my room, Aaron was there.”
I tried to look surprised, like I didn’t already know that, but of course, I did. I had overheard them talking that night. I’d been terrified that something awful was happening. “In your room?”
“Yeah. I guess he was supposed to answer some questions, but I was just as confused when I left as I was when I got there. But I packed a bag and headed outside. Eliza was there, and she drove me to Grandma’s house.” The way she said Eliza let me know she was just as angry at her ex-friend now as she had been when Aaron had gotten back together with the purple-haired bimbo.
“And when you got to Grandma’s, she explained everything to you?”
“She did. She even showed me an old photo album. It was really weird to see pictures of Grandma and Grandpa that are over a hundred years old. I’m sure she’ll show you, too, when she gives you the talk.”
