Chapter 5
1848 Words
The night had been one of the most extraordinary that I had ever experienced, yet it was not my first drunken evening nor my first night of love. I spun in the shower, my hand going to my lips regularly, constantly thinking about this man whose name I didn’t even know. I should have been ashamed, and I admit that running away like that was unreasonable under the circumstances. It was a rather childish gesture. But I had to think, and my brain cried out for paracetamol. In the shower and after taking the miraculous remedy, my mind became clearer; but I had to postpone my thoughts because there was a knock on my door. My heart raced, thinking it might be my lover from last night. I stormed out of the cubical and grabbed my bathrobe. I then spun at the speed of light towards the door, which I opened with a big smile taped on my lips.
“Hello, my daughter!”
“Oh. Mom!” I said, my eyes widening in surprise.
“Hide your joy, please!”
“No, uh, excuse me.”
“Were you expecting someone else?” she asked after a hug.
I was trapped. My gaze went around the room before stopping in the kitchen area. Then, realizing that the day before had prevented a reunion worthy of the name, I again threw myself into her arms. She hugged me tightly. She then put her hands on my cheeks and stared at me for a moment, her eyes moist. Her joy at seeing me again was as tangible as mine.
“A coffee?” I offered, knowing she was addicted to it.
“With pleasure.”
She sat down on the couch, and her eyes scanned the suit’s modern layout mixed with charming, homely elements and eclectic-style canvas paintings. She smiled and approved my choices in terms of decoration. While pouring water into the coffee pot, I thought about what I would say because one thing was certain: if my mother had noticed my confusion, she wouldn’t let it go.
More knocks on the door made me jump. With a puzzled look from my mother, I went to open the door, fearing this time to discover the handsome stranger.
“Johnny!” I exclaimed with a huge smile of relief.
“Well! That’s a way to welcome me!” he said, turning to my mother. “And you, above all, don’t get up, Burberry!”
She laughed and held out an arm. Johnny walked over to her, took her hand in his, and placed an affectionate kiss on her cheek. He sat down next to her, carefully watching her. I grabbed another cup of coffee and set it all on a tray. They threw themselves on it, visibly exhausted by the previous day’s festivities.
“So? These two months in the Highlands seem to have done you good.” I said, delighted to see my mother’s beaming face.
“Indeed, and I owe it to you.”
“Sorry?”
“I would never have returned without your agreement, and, in all honesty, I had doubts about my ability to move on. I’m not saying I’m over it because that will never happen. But I’m better.”
Johnny put his hand over hers and looked into her eyes. My mother sent him a smile while he squinted, happy to find his old friend. The tenderness of this moment nearly brought tears to my eyes.
“So,” he said, withdrawing his hand and settling into the back of the sofa, “it lasted two months, this story?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“And can we know what happened between you all this time?”
My mother widened her smile, fully understanding Johnny’s intentions, and mimicked his position on the sofa, one arm resting above the seat.
“Not in front of my daughter,” she said, giggling.
“Okay, Izzy,” Johnny called out to me, “can you leave, please? You would be a sweetie.”
I watched him, startled. He was serious!
“No way, damn it!”
Johnny sighed and turned back to my mother.
“Did you say the words to each other?” he asked, his eyes burning with curiosity.
My mother nodded, shy and embarrassed.
“It took a while for me to give in to my feelings for him. He knows that the memory of Eric will never leave me and that the hollow in my heart will never resolve. But I took your advice and found a form of happiness with Carmichael. And he’s still madly in love. I can’t explain it to myself.”
She blushed for a moment. Her hands twisted nervously.
“This man has you under his skin,” Johnny told her, “there’s no doubt about it.”
“Seeing you with that expression on your face is my greatest gift, Mom,” I said, moved by her embarrassment and the complexity of her feelings. “It was time for you to move on.”
She gave me a shocked look, and silence crossed the room as I smiled at her, sincerely happy that she had passed a stage in her life as an immortal. But that was without counting on Johnny.
“Carmichael must have had a hard-on after forty years of waiting for you, huh?”
My mother kicked him in the ribs. I took one of my sandals and threw it at his face.
“You’re stupid, Johnny!” laughs my mother.
“Come on, tell me!”
“Nope!”
“Go on…”
“There’s Izzy.”
“Yes, well. I’m no longer twelve years old, Mum. I suspect you haven’t strung pearls for two months.”
She looked at me with a strange glint in her eyes.
“He was patient.”
“And…?” said Johnny, eager to know more.
“And let’s just say that Carmichael still has plenty of talent to please me.”
“Slut!” exclaimed Johnny.
“Well, okay,” I shouted, getting up, “this is embarrassing!”
My mother got up and took my hand.
“I owe you an apology,” she said.
“Apology?”
“Yes. As soon as I arrived, I left you and fled with Carmichael without saying goodbye.”
“I don’t blame you, Mom. I’m even relieved that these two months have had a beneficial effect on you. That’s all I care about.”
“Yes, but you, how are you?”
“I’m fine,” I reassured her, tightening my grip on her hand. “This life change upset me at first, but there’s worse than a castle to start a new chapter in your life.”
“That’s true,” she said, amused, “but how have these two months been for you?”
“The residents of the castle received me well. As for the others, they have rather avoided me or don’t know who I am yet, and it’s better that way.”
“They’re afraid of me.”
“I say. There are a lot of legends circulating about you.”
“These are not all legends.”
“I know that, too.”
I told her the story of my first weeks in Mortain, and she listened to me without ever interrupting. Even Johnny remained silent, probably thinking that this moment belonged to us alone. When I finished, she asked the question I dreaded so much.
“And where were you last night?” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“I was there when you arrived and after... Let’s say I slipped away.”
“Really?”
I pursed my lips. Her green eyes pierced me
“Liar,” she whispered to me.
“I’m not!” I defended myself, probably a little too eagerly.
“Wait, Eve!” Johnny said, suddenly intrigued. “Are you insinuating that this little slut did more than dance like a boot that evening?!”
“Shut up, Johnny!” replied my mother without turning around.
She stared at me for a moment, her large eyes detailing every feature of my face, as I made a superhuman effort to remain impassive in front of her inspection. Then she went back to settle near Johnny.
“Okay, fine,” she said. “Yet it wouldn’t surprise me if, under the circumstances, you were able to find someone to brighten your night.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I watched them both and remained silent, telling myself that, this way, nothing would show my confusion. Except my mother had a knack for guessing my emotions, and it didn’t take long for her to confirm her suspicions were justified, given my deeper breathing.
“Well, since you’re not ready to tell,” she said. “I’ll meet you in an hour in the common room. I must introduce you to the Burton Race siblings and other castes who can’t wait to meet you.”
“I can do without that.”
“No, you can’t. I warned you that the choice to come back here would change our lives. You now have responsibilities.”
“If we can manage to limit them as much as possible, I would be…”
“You’ll not escape, Belle!”
“Don’t call me that!” I protested, having always hated this nickname. “Some are already starting to imitate you!”
“So what? You’re beautiful, my daughter, and that’s a fact.”
“You’re not objective, mom,” I sighed.
“Look. I need you, Izzy,” she said, “or I’m never going to survive all this stress. I had forgotten how much I disliked it.”
She got up, I imitated her, and she hugged me before kissing my cheek. Johnny stood up and grabbed my mother’s hand.
“I missed you!” She said to me before heading for the door.
“You too, mom.”
“Oh, and by the way!” she exclaimed while turning with a graceful gesture. “Do you know what Carmichael said to me when we first met?”
“Uh, no.”
“He told me that I’d never again be able to have a romantic relationship with a human after discovering love with a caste. And he was right.”
“What?!” I said, my eyes wide like marbles.
“And we can say that you didn’t hesitate to confirm his theory, Eve?!” Johnny said to her, laughing.
“You’re stupid!”
And at these words, she slipped away in a burst of laughter that her best friend imitated. For my part, speechless after such a statement, I thought that her first meeting with Carmichael must have taken on a unique character if this subject had been the root of their first discussion. So, I felt a little less guilty about my behaviour the day before and went to get dressed, still perky under the effects of my fabulous night.
- Writer
