“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.” -Pablo Neruda
•X A V I E R•
Standing in front of the mirror, I wore my jacket, brushing my fingers through my hair, I looked at my reflection. I could hardly recognize who I was anymore. My eyes held no emotions, no shine and no life as my jaw started to hurt while giving a fake smile to everyone in these last five years.
Guess, this was my life now. Sighing, I breathed out and walked out of the room, when something or more like someone bumped into my legs. I knelt in front of the running Alex as I ruffled his hair and asked, "Where are you running to buddy?"
"Good morning, dad." He greeted me, giving me a hug. He had grown a little stiff in these last five years, I know why. He asked a lot about Rose, and when I was out of lies, I started stalling him.
But guess what, this little man was all grown up now and would be turning ten in a week.
Carolina came running with a glass of milk in her hand, stopping in front of us, she kept a hand on her hip, she breathed in, "There you are little man, come here." She said breathlessly as Alex squealed and ran away.
She groaned and was about to chase him when she turned around and said, "Be ready, Xavier. We'll be leaving in an hour." I nodded and she ran behind Alex, chuckling, as I made my way towards Marcus' room.
We were in Hawaii to set the final date for Marcus and Carolina's wedding. It took me years to get him engaged and now married to the love of his life. Evelyn's death shook Marcus, he was so depressed that we had to admit him in the hospital.
When I thought we would lose Marcus too, I decided to reveal Alexander to him as my son, of course. Marcus' mental health was very critical and revealing the biggest secret of his life might have broken him completely. So, I decided to introduce Alexander as Evelyn's and I’s son.
She would have been his mother if she were alive, and would have totally agreed with my plan.
In the beginning, Marcus was shocked, he didn't even speak for an hour. But later, he looked at Alexander's features that he had inherited from Evelyn and accepted the truth.
Carolina did an amazing job in taking care of Alexander, in these last five years, she gave him the love of a mother. They both took care of him as their own, and it relieved me that Alexander didn't feel unloved.
Reaching Marcus' room, I opened the room and called out, "Marc?"
"In here." He answered and I walked towards his closet.
"Are you ready?" I asked while leaning on the door.
Buttoning up the shirt, "Yeah, where will Alex stay when we are out?" He asked, concerned about Alexander.
"Don't worry, I enrolled him in a school here in Hawaii. We'll be here for a month or so and it'll be good to keep him busy in the school or you---"
"Yeah, yeah. I know. He's the replica of his mother, she was too stubborn to let us do our work." Marcus smiled, reminiscing about the situation.
I smiled, and said, "She would have been so happy, knowing that you're marrying the love of your life."
Leaning back on the wall, "Definitely, and she would have planned my wedding too."
Laughing out loud, I exclaimed "You bet!"
Tears gathered in Marcus' eyes as he groaned and wiped out his tears, "Ugh!"
I stepped towards him and placed my hand on his shoulder, "For Evelyn." I encouraged him, and patted his shoulder.
Nodding, "For Evelyn." Marcus said, smiling a bit.
After a momentary silence, I said, "Get ready, we'll be leaving in an hour." To which Marcus nodded.
After an hour; Chris, Carolina, Marcus, Alexander and I left for the meeting but before that we stopped in the middle to drop Alexander off at his new school.
Apparently, someone named Aiden Wellesley, running a very successful wedding planning company, was Carolina's first priority. He was a well-known name in the wedding events, so I asked my secretary to fix a meeting with him.
He was generous enough to fix his dates for us. The car stopped and we all got down from it. We walked in where there was a young lady greeting us with a wide smile.
"This way, please." The young lady said and led us to a big brown oak door. She stopped in front of it, which had AIDEN WELLESLEY engraved in golden cursive writing.
The young lady led us inside the cabin and turned towards us, "Please be seated, Mr. Wellesley will be here shortly."
"Thank you." Said Carolina and the young lady left.
The room was very bright. I was under the impression that all the meeting rooms of the big companies were plain white or a combination of grey and white but this man proved me wrong. His walls were painted in a red and white combination, some paintings were hung in the wall.
A few moments later, a man in casual clothing entered the room and came forward, "I apologize everyone." He apologized to which Chris said, "It's fine Mr. Wellesley, you might have some work."
Taking the head seat, "Yes, well, anyways, I welcome you all." Said Mr. Wellesley.
"Thank you for agreeing to this meeting, Mr. Wellesley." Said Carolina.
Smiling, he said, "Oh it's nothing Miss Walker, and please do call me Aiden."
There was this question swirling in mind as I asked, "You do have a great meeting room, Mr. Wellesley." I commented while looking around myself.
His eyes lit up, "Ah-yeah. All thanks to my partner. Whatever you see in this room or the building, everything is done by her." He explained.
"She has a nice taste." This time it was Marcus who complemented.
"Well, did you make that list of your guests which I asked?" Asked Aiden.
"Ah, yes," said Carolina as she pulled out the list and handed it over to him.
While he was assessing the list, we heard the door being opened. Aiden looked up from the list and his features brightened instantly. We didn't bother to look behind as it was none of our business.
"Took your time, huh?" Commented Aiden as he looked at us apologetically. Everything was fine till then but what I heard next turned my world upside down.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. Let's get started." Answered the voice that I craved to hear from the past five years. The voice that thought I would never hear again, the voice that still made my heart beat faster.
All of our heads turned towards the voice.
There she was! My Evelyn, healthy and as beautiful as ever, looked a bit chubby with her short strawberry blonde curls, wearing her Rose pendant that she always wore.
Wait! I looked intently and saw her pendant rightly around her neck. How was that possible? We buried the pendant too. I shook off my thoughts to consider them later and focused on her.
I couldn't take my eyes off her, not when her honey browns met mine. It was like time stopped itself, looking at our reactions she absent-mindedly waved hello which resulted in the slipping of the file that she carried, her actions almost made me smile. The moment did not last long as Marcus was on his feet and reached on time to help in readjusting the big file.
"Evelyn!" He cried in joy and hugged her. But in the next instance when I saw confusion in her eyes, my smile flattered. It was like she didn't know us. Her eyes filled with confusion instead of recognition.
"Ah- I'm sorry, but who's Evelyn?" She asked.
Marcus broke the hug and looked at her with a frown. I was on my feet and spoke before he could, "His sister, you look much like we lost her years ago." I spoke.
She stared at me for a moment, but was the first one to break eye contact as she smiled at Marcus.
"I'm sorry for your loss Mr. …" her voice trailed off for Marcus to fill her in.
Right now, we knew he was unable to speak, and as a supportive partner, Carolina stepped forward and introduced, "Williams. Marcus Williams."
She smiled at Carolina, then looked at Marc, as she wiped his tears making us all smile. "Although I'm not Evelyn, I can be your sister… Marcus."
Marcus returned the smile and cupped her cheeks, and kissed the crown of her head. It was taking every ounce of my being to resist myself from holding her in my arms, but not right now. First, I've to know about that tragic accident that happened five years ago.
She walked past me and kept the file on the desk as Aiden gave her a smile, pulling out a chair for her. His actions sparked jealousy in my heart but to know the truth I had to keep my emotions in check.
By now we were all seated, when Aiden introduced her, "Well, that was quite emotional. But, this very fine young lady is my partner." He smiled looking at her.
She returned the smile and looked at us, finally introducing her name:
"Rose Clinton."
And deep down I knew, she is my Rose.