Chapter 4
2147 Words
Rachel
“My babies! Welcome home,” Mom excitedly greeted us as she hugged me first. “Oh, you’re right. Your hair is long now. I’ll cut them later after dinner, okay?”
“Sure,” I agreed, and Mom went to Lucas. He kissed her temple first before they hugged.
“Has Dad touched down already?” Lucas asked.
“He has. He must be on his way now.”
As they were talking, I headed to the dining room first and saw Mom in the middle of arranging the dining table. My mother’s kind of way. I saw Lucas’ favorite garlic butter bread. Oh, my brother would eat them all without sharing. I also saw the huge calzone. Everything was perfectly arranged. “Do you still have something left in the kitchen, Mom?”
“Just the lasagna, dear. Can you get it for me, please?”
“Sure.” I went to the kitchen. I smelled the beef, and my mouth watered instantly. God, I wanted to dive in immediately. Mom knew lasagna was my favorite. She baked the best lasagna. I grabbed the kitchen gloves and carried the rectangular pan to the table.
“Can I choose the drink for tonight, Mom?” Lucas asked.
“Of course.” Lucas left for our parents’ wine collection, and by the time the door was opened. Oh, Dad was here. “That must be your dad.” Mom quickly abandoned her son and daughter and went straight to the door. “Hi, you.”
“Hi, kitty cat. I missed you.” I smiled listening to Dad’s pet name to Mom. I knew how loving my parents were toward each other. Even after twenty-eight years, their love never died. It got stronger every single day. I envied the kind of love my parents had. Every time I looked at them, it was like they fell in love over and over just by looking at each other. I always saw it when I watched them. My father’s brown eyes showed nothing but love and adoration. Even though they were not as young as they were before, they still looked at each other like that was the first time they met. I remember both of them being friends since childhood. Just like me and Cameron. Oh, f**k off!
“Is Dad back already?” Lucas asked. I saw him return with a bottle. I assumed it was a bottle of red wine classic with Italian foods.
“He is.”
“That was fast.”
“Probably he threatened the pilot to take him back ASAP to Mom.”
“He could positively do that,” Lucas chuckled. He put the bottle on the table. Listening to their footsteps coming closer, our parents showed up in the hallway. I had to admit my father, despite he was fifty-six, he still looked prime. No one would ever think he was a man touching sixty. Just look at him. His dark brown hair didn’t have a single gray hair. He had lesser wrinkles than a normal fifty-year-old man. And don’t get me started with how he looked. I’d seen what he looked like in his twenties, and he looked exactly just that! Only older-ish. It was a privilege and scary at the same time.
His same brown eyes as mine found me as he beamed happily at my presence. He released his wife and made his way to me without sparing a glance anywhere else. “Hi, Dad,” I greeted him. He held me up, kissing my face, just like how he always did since I was a little girl. “God, Dad, will you stop doing this? This is embarrassing. You just ignored your clone to check on me first. Lucas is here.”
“Oh, I know, kitty girl. But I missed you more. I see Lucas’s face almost every day,” he said. Lucas chuckled, not showing any signs that he was insulted by Dad’s words. How lucky he was their children had never felt left out. My father was just as protective as Lucas was. I remember Dad insisted on taking me to the prom because he was scared someone would hit on me and I wouldn’t be coming home. I managed to persuade him to not come. Well, after Mom helped me, of course. And Lucas was the one who picked me up. Besides, I didn’t have any dates. I wasn’t thinking to have one back then. I was, though, but I refused to listen.
“Dad, put me down. Dinner will get cold, and you will have to face your wife’s wrath if you let them waste.” Mom giggled. Dad finally put me down.
“God, I really missed you,” Dad said again.
“I missed you, too, Dad.”
We finally started dinner. I did miss this. Since I started living by myself, I cooked but not as great as my mother. Mackenzie rarely cooked because she rarely came home for dinner. And she was not a person who cooked for herself. She preferred take-outs, something that Uncle Alex had reminded me to watch for his daughter’s appetite. I mentally giggled at the thought. Uncle Alex thought those take-outs would kill his daughter one day. Uncle Alex had his business to run here but chose to stay outside New York since he dated Aunt Linda, Mackenzie’s mother. They lived in St. Francisville, Louisiana. It was where Uncle Alex was born. I’d been there, and I loved the place. Mackenzie had been planning to go back to see them. Maybe I would tag along.
“So, how’s your final project, Rach?” Mom asked, snapping my thought.
“Great. Professor Dunn agrees with my idea so I can proceed.”
“I’m glad to hear that. If you ever need help, I will help you, Rachel,” Dad stated.
“Thanks, Dad, but I want to do this myself.” Dad laughed. Mom giggled.
“Jesus, this is your mother all over again,” he chuckled.
“What about it?”
“When Cathy was at your age, she was told to have an intern somewhere for her final exam. She refused everyone’s help until she became James’ intern.”
“The one you almost knocked him cold, right?” Lucas added. I giggled. Mom followed. Yeah, I heard the story. Dad and Uncle James weren’t like this before. They were like a cat and a mouse. Uncle James claimed he liked Mom until he realized it wasn’t love after all. He misunderstood his feelings. He misunderstood everyone else. Until he found Aunt Eva. Seriously, our parents’ love stories were so magical I wanted one. Possibly as enchanted as theirs.
“You will understand when you find the one, Lucas. Mark my words,” Dad said while pointing his fork toward his son.
“I hope so. I don’t really need a woman.”
“Just like what your father said before,” Mom teased. Everyone at the table boomed laugh. If their children were going to create the past, I had to sign in. As long I could have a man like my father, minus his overprotectiveness, I was completely all in. “How’s Mackenzie, dear?”
“She’s doing great, too. She will be the subject for my project, actually.”
“Oh, that’s great!”
“Yeah, but Dunn suggested me find one more. For comparison. It doesn’t have to be a celebrity as long they were a public figure.”
“Look no further I’m sure Kenzie could help you,” Lucas said.
“I hope she will.”
“It isn’t going to be that hard, is it?” Dad commented. He took another chunk of lasagna from the pan. “This is absolutely delicious, kitty cat.” Wrong move, though. I knew. This whole table knew. They were doing it on purpose.
They were avoiding Cameron’s name.
My family knew what happened to me five years ago. I ran home, bumped into Mom, and cried. I childishly told everything to her, Lucas saw my short hair, and Dad visited Cameron. I never asked what he did. I didn’t want to know. They still welcomed Cameron into our home for a family meet-up. Only we never talked. Cameron never stuck around long. I was sure he chose women over a family dinner.
After dinner was over, the guys went to the family room with beers. I helped my mother arrange everything in the dishwasher. “Well then, do you want me to cut them tonight?” Mom asked.
“Yes, please. I’m working tomorrow.”
“Alright, then.” We headed to the second floor, straight to my bedroom. I smiled as I strolled in. Nothing changed here. Mom grabbed my pink vanity stool. “Sit down, Miss Williams.” I chuckled as I did as I was told. Mom started to touch my hair. “Do you want me to cut them like before?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then.” She grabbed her scissor. Only when my mother held them I didn’t get a panic attack. Because I knew my mother would never hurt me. Not that everyone would. I was only okay with my mother. As she started to cut them, “I don’t want to ask this downstairs, but are you still avoiding Cameron?” she asked. Avoiding? Hah! I never avoided him. We never met, and I prayed it would stay that way. Did that count as avoiding?
“I never saw him again. Cameron never called me.”
“Do you want him to call you?”
“No,” I quickly said. Why he had to call me? Cameron never felt guilty for what he did five years ago. He thought it was normal for him to do that. A punishment because I was with a boy. I never wanted him. We were just talking and Cameron misunderstood us. He didn’t ask nicely and in a civilized way and quickly assumed we were seeing each other. Cameron had a bad temper since we were a child. I didn’t know about him now. How would he take care of his staff if he was like that? No wonder Uncle James hadn’t given the title to him now. He knew his son’s tantrum.
“Rachel, I’m not on Cameron’s side, but you need to forgive him one day. You can’t live while keep on hating Cameron. I’m sure he feels bad for how he treated you before. He was a shy boy.” Cameron? Shy? Those two words could never be put together. I could already imagine his evil laugh every time he remembered he cut off my crown, pulling me down from my throne while he rose as a king.
“Was it hard for you to forgive Dad before?” I asked.
“Oh, it was. It took me four years to clear our issues. We were still a child back then. Ricardo wasn’t being honest. I assumed things straight away without listening to him. And we had to live a miserable life until we reunited to clear out everything. It was a process, Rachel. We were not meant to be together when we were younger. So, we matured first to face the inevitable. You will understand someday. For now, take your time and listen to your heart. And remember, your heart knows best.”
I smiled. “Thank you, Mom.” Maybe she was right. Maybe. But I couldn’t find the will to forgive Cameron now. I guessed only time could help me. Besides, I had another thing I wanted to focus on. My final project. I didn’t want Cameron to distract me.
“There. Done,” Mom said. I blinked and looked at my mother’s magic on my hair. My hair was just below my shoulders now. Just like the last time Mom cut them.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome. Now, get some rest.” Mom tidied everything. “What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?”
“Pancake.”
“Got it. I will see you in the morning.”
“Night, Mom.”
“Night, Rachel.” Mom left. I sighed and looked around my room. I wasn’t sleepy yet. Maybe I should start with my project. Write down something. Until someone knocked on the door, Mom reappeared. Her face wasn’t as cheerful as two minutes ago. Right now, she looked worried.
“Mom? What’s wrong?”
“You have a guest.”
“A guest?” Who? And at this hour?
Mom didn’t say anything and left. I followed her downstairs. “Mom, who is—” I stopped in the middle. I could feel my eyes widen. My heart ran back to my room.
“Rachel…”
- Writer
