Chapter 32- CHICKENS

'You look sad, beautiful lady" Old man Bernie stood next to her, as Aurora continued to study the picture of Old man Bernie's wife.

'I just missed someone who was close to me that's all" she responded, her heart bleeding as she remembered her mother and even sadder that she could not openly speak about her mother.

'No need to worry about anything, everything happens for a reason" Old man Bernie told her.

'Yes you are right" she answered, flashing a weak smile at Bernie.

'Now come on, no need to be sad when your husband is with you" Old man Bernie told her as he walked her away from the picture. Leonardo's eyes held nothing but sympathy in them, something that Aurora was quite uncomfortable with.

'What is that smell?" Aurora asked, smelling a pleasant odor coming from the kitchen.

'Oh! That is my special soup, cowboy soup and you two will love it" Old Bernie cheerfully said as he walked both Leonardo and Aurora to the dining room which was another hidden gem of the house.

'Sit down, sit down" he told them. As Leonardo pulled out a chair for Aurora and which she sat in and he too pulled out his own chair and sat.

'He's nice" Aurora whispered into Leonardo's ear and it pleased him to see that she was happy.

'He is like a father to me and I will always be grateful for him" Leonardo responded, even as Aurora looked into his eyes, she could see that Leonardo was a man fighting many demons, hidden by smiles.

'Here we are!!" Old man Bernie walked in, holding a hot pot with steam coming from it. They both watched as he placed the pot onto the table and brought out three white bowls.

'What is this?" Aurora asked, her nose excited for the new aura that filled her nose. Her joy of trying a new meal could not be contained and both Bernie and Leonardo saw this.

'It's some good old cowboy soup" Bernie answered, took the soup ladle and filled their bowls. As soon as the hot soup filled her mouth, a burst of flavors flooded through, Aurora could taste the beans, lean beef meat and greens.

'I can see you love it" Old man Bernie noted with a smile on his face, pleased that Aurora loved his soup.

**
Leonardo watched Aurora turn into a young girl again, running after the chickens in the farm, leaving Old man Bernie and himself to stand on the porch. A small smile escaped from his face as he observed Aurora. A few weeks ago she had been a sad woman but out here on the farm she was free, running after chickens.

'Here you go" Old man Bernie gave Leonardo a glass of ice tea and he took it.

'Thank you pops" he took it, not once removing his attention from Aurora. Every move she made brought him joy and every time she fell, his heart would drop on his stomach. His heart rate would only slow down, when she got
up.

'Stop winching so much, you are making it too obvious that you have fallen for her" Old man Bernie tapped Leonardo on his shoulders as Leonardo turned to face the older man, looking stunned that Old man Bernie would say such a thing.

'I have not fallen for her… I mean, we only got married two weeks ago" he tried excusing himself but even as she spoke, there was no convincing old man Bernie that he was wrong.

'I married my wife a month after meeting her and we were happily married for the last thirty years before the hands of death took her from me, so I know what I see"

'You're just talking" Leonardo waved him off.

'Oh look Avena is hurt!" Leonardo quickly turned to look in Aurora's direction, dropping his glass of ice-tea in the process as he looked around for Aurora, only to find that she had not fallen and instead she had one of the chickens in her arms.

'Hahaha" he turned his attention to old man Bernie who was laughing hysterically at Leonardo who hand his hand over his heart, trying to calm himself down.

'That was not funny" He told old man Bernie who continued laughing.

'No it was not but your reaction is, boy you have feelings for this girl"

'No, I care for her. After all, she is my wife now and I would have to deal with it" he tried excusing himself but even Leonardo could not escape old man Bernie steady gaze.

'You know she's a good girl" he calmed down as he said those words, the corner of Leonardo's lips curled into a smile.

'How do you know that?"

'Because I am a have never been wrong about someone character, I know a good soul when I see one"

'Then you must be wrong" Leonardo insisted.

'I might be but with this one, I am quite sure"

'Have you read about her? The things she's done, her late night partying and the list of other stuff" Leonardo pointed out all of Aurora's faults, at least the ones that he had read about on the tabloids.

'How do you know all this? You cannot judge her based on what you've read"

'Why not?"

'Because often those stories are told by people who pick and choose which stories to keep and all these tabloids are nothing more than money making schemes"

'I don't care, you can't tell that a person is good by simply looking at them!" Leonardo raised his voice, conflicted between what he felt in his heart and what his brain was telling him. Old man Bernie stared at Leonardo in silence, thinking of ways to speak to him like a father should.

'But I took you in. I knew that you were a good kid from simply looking at you. So does that mean I was wrong about you all those years ago?" Old man Bernie asked him and Leonardo went silent.

'I have been telling you for the past few years, I am not a good man and you know that. I have done unspeakable things"

'No, you have made one mistake and all these years you have been paying for that one mistake all your life" Old man Bernie's words rung in Leonardo's ears as a flash of that haunting memory flashed before his eyes.

'I will never forgive myself for what I did all those years ago"

'Maybe that is why you are holding this girl to her past… because you have not forgiven yourself for your own past" Old man Bernie's last words stayed with Leonardo as he watched the older an step into his house.

'Leonardo look! She laid an egg!" he turned, only to see Aurora holding an egg in her hand.

'Great job Avena, I'm proud of you" he yelled back at her and her smile grew. Something about her smile had brought a newfound light to his life. 'I think you should come in, we have to head home" he called out to her and Aurora's saddened face broke his heart.

He watched as Aurora walked towards him and onto the porch, gently holding the egg in her hand.

'Do we have to leave?" she asked him, her eyes saddened as she asked him this.

'Yes we do, come on in" He unlocked the door for her in and Aurora entered.

**

The drive home was silent with the only sound radiating through the car was the sound of an engine roaring. Even with his eyes on the road, Leonardo could see Aurora cradling the egg in the hat that Old man Bernie had given to her.

He remembered not so long ago how her face had lit up when Bernie had told her that she could keep the egg and the squealed that had escaped from her was one that shocked both Bernie and Leonardo.

'I can see that you like chickens" he broke the silence between them.

'Yes, well I have never had a pet before" Aurora confessed.

'I read on the tabloid that you had a poodle" Leonardo reminded her. Only then, it hit her that indeed Avena had once had a dog.

'Oh that! He was not my dog. He belonged to my mother" Aurora quickly thought of a lie to cover up.

'Great and now you have a pet egg" Leonardo teased her and Aurora smiled at her. He stopped his car in front of a local pharmacy and killed his engine.

'Why did we stop here?" Aurora asked him but Leonardo stepped out of the car, leaving Aurora in the car alone to wonder what had happened. Nearly five minutes in the pharmacy, Leonardo stepped out of the store with a bag in his hand. He unlocked his car door and entered into the car.

'Here we go" he handed her the bag but Aurora stared at it, not knowing what it was that Leonardo wanted her to do with it.

'What is this?"

'Well I brought myself a few medical supplies and I want you to help me apply it" he told her seemingly unbothered by what he had said whilst Aurora stared at him, stunned that he would ask that of her.

'No, you said that after we went for a drive you would go to the hospital" Aurora reminded him.

'No I did not say that, I clearly remember saying that after the drive I would get my injuries checked out" He smiled at her and realization struck Aurora that Leonardo had tricked her.

'No! You need to go to the hospital and get your head checked out, it's swelling" she scolded him but Leonardo stared at her, unbothered by what she had said.

'Okay, if you won't treat me then we will go home and I will most likely get an infection" He flashed a smile at her and started his engine.

'Wait!" she told him.

Gotcha! Leonardo thought to himself as he inwardly smiled. Killed his engine and turned his head, looking right into Aurora's eyes.

He carefully watched as Aurora grabbed the bag from him, pulled out its contents and looked at it.
Come on Aurora, come on Aurora you can do it. Aurora reassured herself, taking in deep breath and exhaling. She carefully took out the needed supplies and began working.

Even without prior medical knowledge, Leonardo was well aware that Aurora was correct in what she was doing. She was done; she plastered his head and then let out a breath.

'There, we are done" she told him, holding in every nerve. Leonardo looked at the review mirror at the little batman themed plaster and smiled.

'Wow, you did a great job. Thank you doctor"

'I am still mad at you," she told him, picking up her egg from the dashboard and held it close to her chest.

'How are you so good at this?"

'Good at what?" she asked, confused as to what he was asking of her.

'Fixing me up like this" he pointed his index finger at his forehead, where he had sustained the self –inflicted injury.

'Well you are welcome, just don't hurt yourself again. Now can we please go home?" she asked him.

'Yeah sure but only—"

'Only what?" she rolled her eyes, wondering what was going through Leonardo's head.

'What now?"

'Why did you bandage me up so patiently, you know, like you were some of professional at this?" Aurora froze, not knowing how to answer him. 'You can tell me, I promise I won't judge"

Do not tell him, he will just laugh at you. Her mind taunted her and just like that, doubt crept into her mind.