Chapter Six
There Was Light In Her Eyes
Ardley finally woke up.
He was still in critical condition and the doctor said if he crashed again, there wouldn’t be a comeback. Apart from the internal bleeding and broken bones, Ardley was fighting for his life every day, so I was equally happy to hear the news and terrified.
He was sleeping, actually sleeping, I could wake him up at any time—and knowing I could do that put me at ease. My knees still bounced anxiously as I sat by him because I also knew he could crash at any time and there’s nothing doctors can do to help.
When I first got the news of the accident, I wanted to transfer Ardley into a better hospital, but his condition was so grave I couldn’t risk his life. Right now, he was awake but barely breathing on his own—he had a tube in his mouth and a handful of IVs plugged up in his wrist.
I took a deep breath and dropped my heavy hands onto his.
Celeste wasn’t getting any better either, there was still no progress, and I was scared—terrified. Every time Ardley opened his eyes, I knew he couldn’t speak yet, but I could see the question in his eyes, and because I was always so terrified each time, I did nothing but nod my head and squeeze his hands as reassurance.
I feel so shitty not being able to tell him what was going on with his wife.
I can’t imagine Ardley without Celeste—hers was probably the first name he learned how to pronounce, the first person he chose to care about, the only person he fell in love with. Celeste was his soulmate, his person, Celeste was all he knew.
They grew up together, like they always knew they were made for each other. When I think of Ardley, I can’t erase Celeste. Hell I’m positive when Ardley thought of himself his first thought was Celeste.
They were always inseparable. Yin and yang.
You can never think of one without the other.
When the day came and he could finally breathe on his own, he’d ask me and I’d have to tell him that Celeste hadn’t been doing well at all. She’d been unresponsive since the accident, the doctors had no hope. They were starting to give up. I could see it by the way they replied to me after asking them how she’s doing, it was always the same generic answer.
She’s stable.
My eyes dropped to the ground as my phone vibrated in the back of my pocket. I immediately thought of Crystal. I was supposed to be back at the office long ago. I lifted my hand up and pulled my sleeve back to check the time. I was over thirty minutes late.
I looked back at Ardley and pursed my lips into a thin line, before standing and fixing my tie and brushing my hair back. I finally pulled out my phone and noticed the text was from Juliette.
I immediately tapped the message and opened the chat.
Juliette: Can we meet today?
Callum: right now? When?
Callum: yes, we can meet today.
I waited for her to reply back and of course she didn’t.
I walked out of the room and immediately greeted Ardley’s doctor.
“Doctor Kent,” I said.
Besides our family, Kent’s family came second when it came to being the talk of the town. He came from a family of doctors, and they were all ambitious and very successful. And Kent was the man who convinced me to wait until Ardley got better before moving him to a city hospital.
“Callum.”
He chuckled. “I see you more than my wife these days.”
I shook my head with a small smile on my lips.
“Just passing by, I was on my way to the office,” I said.
He nodded and pretended to believe me like he always did.
Kent was around my age, brown russet skin, happily married with a shaved head and nicely groomed beard. He had two daughters yet work always came out on top.
“I’ll call you if anything changes,”
he said once I didn’t say anything else.
“Thank you.”
My pockets vibrated once I reached my truck, I closed the door behind me and immediately reached for my phone.
It was Juliette again.
Juliette: now’s good.
My brows furrowed. Then my phone vibrated again, and it was just a location this time. Without a second thought I started driving.
The drive was short, which limited me from thinking too much about what I was doing, or what was happening. I simply chose to ignore the fact that I never made it back to my office because Juliette asked to meet me. It felt simple and easy whereas going to my office and drowning myself in paperwork, pretending to be focused or work-driven just to avoid the fact that I’d be thinking about Ardley and his wife all afternoon until I was sick of my thoughts was like carrying the weight of the world on my back. Seeing Juliette felt freeing in a way, I could finally breathe with the thought of just talking to her and not worrying about anything else.
I parked my truck next to a beat-up red truck, also known as Juliette’s truck. The plaza was dead, as always. For as long as I could remember there were always a couple cars around, but for a place with many stores around it’s not enough, and around summer time even Blueberry Lane was doing badly. Years ago that place was the heart of the town.
I got out of the truck and unbuttoned one of the buttons on my suit because the heat tore right through me. I looked at the building then the location on my phone.
How did Juliette get in there?
The building was for sale months ago. No one was bidding on the place though, because it was clearly a lost cause. Anyone who decided to repair the place might as well drill holes into their pockets.
Newspapers covered the glass windows so I couldn’t see anything inside.
I crept towards the door and knocked on the glass. I pulled out my phone and checked the location once more because none of this made sense to me. How could Juliette be here? How did she get in there? This place of all places? I couldn’t help but think about the dust inside, the dirty air and spider webs. My brows furrowed as I looked up at the building that’s been standing for years, completely untouched.
Spider webs would be the last of our worries.
Moments later a piece of newspaper was lifted and my eyes locked with Juliette’s, her big brown eyes widened when she noticed me—I guess I scared her. She tapped down the paper back on the glass then opened the door for me.
“Hi, Callum,”
she said as she held the door open for me to come in.
I smiled and shoved my hands in my pockets. “Hi, Juliette.”
I walked in and as expected the place was empty and incredibly unsanitary.
How was she breathing in here?
I coughed. Each step I took was followed with dust. Newspapers covered the ground and the few lights that kept the place lit were flashing on and off—this place was a horror set. As I looked around the place, I couldn’t help but admit the place did have lots of potential. If it was under the right care, with the right heart, this place could turn into something magical. The space was big and promising. I raised my eyebrows, already thinking about the kind of fixing this place could use. I even started to forget what I was doing here to begin with. Or how the hell Juliette had gotten here to begin with.
I turned around at the thought of Juliette and as expected she was right behind me, staring at me, like she was waiting for me to turn around all this time. Her braids were pulled into two pigtail braids and unlike usual, she wasn’t wearing a sundress. She wore a white shirt with light blue jeans overalls. One of the clips was undone and I could peek at her pregnant belly.
“What do you think?”
she asked as she looked around the place.
I took a look around as well and my eyes darted back on her. “Yeah, it’s certainly…Something.”
The word left an aftertaste in my mouth, like I believed what I said and at the same time I didn’t.
She placed a hand on her hip. “Come on Callum, I heard you’re a constructor of some sort.”
She spoke like she was unsure. “Tell me what you really think.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
I looked up, even the roof was damaged—the worst kind of damage, water damage. If anyone were serious about this place, they would have to invest some real cash, and they would have to be serious and be prepared for anything that could go south with this building.
From what I can remember it’s been vacant for a while now. Everything is probably either too old or seriously damaged.
I glanced at Juliette over my shoulder, she was looking around the place too, but it was completely different from the way I saw everything. The glint in her eyes told me she envisioned exactly what she wanted it to be, like she could see it happening already, how everything would fall into place.
“I see potential,”
I finally said.
She immediately nodded. “Yes,”
She walked forward, and I started to follow her around the empty area.
“This could be a family bathroom.”
She pointed at an empty old room as a rat scattered away, startled by Juliette’s draggy footstep. The deeper we walked into the building the rusty smell only grew stronger and more animals I could and could not recognize scattered away in whatever hole they’d been living in.
“And here,”
Juliette pointed at another room, “that could be a storage room, or something.”
I nodded, not sure where any of this was going. “Aren’t you scared of the rats? How long have you been here?”
She laughed. “It’s fine, they’re harmless.”
My brows furrowed as I glared at her. I opened my mouth to remind her that these rats were nothing like the rats that helped Cinderella, but she quickly spoke again.
“This is it, Callum, I know it.”
She glanced at me over her shoulder then turned back to look into the dark room. I bit back my tongue and held myself back from saying anything because no matter how insane this place looked, she was still too excited, and I didn’t want to ruin that for her.
We walked back to where we were from the beginning, the middle of the room.
“It’s so spacious here,”
Juliette said, “I bet we could divide the place and have a little bakery or cafe bar here.”
I nodded as I tried to envision the idea. “are you thinking of getting this place?”
Her head whipped in my direction, “I already did, it’s mine.”
She grinned as she flashed me a single key.
I raised my eyebrows. “Was this all you could afford?”
I asked curiously.
Her glare sharpened and the glint in her eyes was gone, I could tell that question pissed her off.
I shook my head to clarify myself. “I’m only asking because you’re due in three months, and this place is going to be a real piece of work. My concerns lay with the fact that you would have to spend much more money and devote more time into this place, and it would just be easier to work with a place that isn’t…”
I cast my gaze on the walls of this place, then the ground, “this one.”
She didn’t say anything. Instead she took a step forward into the empty space and looked up. “You don’t know the first thing about me Callum, so don’t bother yourself worrying over me.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but she beat me to it.
“This is it, I can see it,”
she repeated again. “This place will be a pottery shop in less than three months. I’ll make sure it happens.”
I took a step forward and stood next to her, I reached down, lifting a piece of newspaper off the floor, and took a peek at the state of the flooring. As expected it was just as bad as the ceiling. There was too much damage. This place couldn’t possibly be up and running in less than three months. Not when the new owner of the place was less than three months shy from her due date.
“Why did you ask me to come here?”
She wasted no time to answer. “I wanted to go over some floor plans with you, and of course we can…also talk about the baby.”
I stood up and our gaze finally leveled, well, she was looking up at me now.
“You know about my company?” I asked.
She tilted her head to the side then smiled. “Not a single soul in this town doesn’t, Callum.”
I nodded. “Fine, we can go over floor plans but not in here. I’m not even sure if it’s safe to breathe in here.”
“We can go to Blueberry Lane. It’s just a few steps away.”
She didn’t give me much of an option, she was already walking towards the door.
“Seriously, why’d you choose this spot? It’s the most deserted part of town, none of the stores in the plaza are thriving.”
She turned around quickly, too quickly. Without a warning her swollen belly brushed my abdomen because we were so close. I wasn’t sure she noticed, she was only looking at me and there was that familiar flame in her eyes—whenever she was getting ready to defend herself or anything, her eyes lit.
“What makes you so sure of that?”
My lips parted. I was at a loss for words.
And Juliette has freckles.
They could go by unnoticed by anyone if they don’t pay close attention.
When I realized I hadn’t said anything yet, I managed to lift my shoulder and shrug.
“Shops and stores are a reflection. It’s the closest thing to a look inside of someone’s heart, and people tend to notice when places are empty, lifeless, when there’s no heart. You probably don’t feel anything when you walk into Blueberry Lane because that place is lifeless. And it’s supposed to be a place for kids,”
she continued, “this building just needs a little love, Callum. And time. And I promise you it’ll bring this plaza back alive.”
Her chest heaved after her little speech and I did nothing but agree. I mean, I wished she talked more, but I couldn’t be too greedy.
“I don’t care if you believe me or not,”
she said, then turned around and pulled the door open. I was left stunned with the door slammed shut in my face.
I quickly opened the door again and stepped out. “I didn’t even say anything.”
I raised two hands.
Juliette didn’t care so much as to look back at me, she waddled to her car and started her car.
I did the same and parked my car next to hers once we reached Blueberry Lane. I got out of the car and jogged to the door, holding it open before she could open it herself.
Juliette walked through the door with an iPad in her hand and I watched her wave at Bailey before she took a seat. Instead of immediately taking a seat next to Juliette I walked towards Bailey.
“Hey, would you mind getting us two of those sandwiches she loves, and a glass of lemonade, and an iced coffee, no sugar?”
He nodded and typed on his screen a couple times then he read me the total. As I pulled out my card to tap it next to the card reader I could feel Juliette’s glare like a laser beam.
I slowly glanced over my shoulder while the printer started printing my receipt and I caught sight of Juliette. Before our eyes could lock I quickly turned around.
“Just give me ten minutes,”
Bailey said as he handed me my receipt.
I nodded then turned around and walked towards Juliette.
“Did you just order something?”
she asked as I sat down.
I nodded.
She shook her head then turned on her iPad. I watched her swipe the screen multiple times, still not finding anything.
“What’s the gender of the baby?”
I asked curiously.
“A boy.”
I blinked in response. I didn’t know if I should celebrate or miss the idea of not having a niece. Frankly, speaking; I didn’t know what to do with that information—I wasn’t even sure of why I asked, I just did because it felt like I should know.
I’ve never even thought of having kids of my own let alone knowing if I preferred girls over boys.
I looked at Juliette. “Are you happy it’s a boy?”
She didn’t spare me a single glance, still scrolling on her iPad.
“It’s not my kid.”
I remained silent.
Then her gaze met mine again. “I can’t think that way, not if I have to give the baby away the second it’s born.”
“Things are different now,”
I said. “You won’t have to give the baby away, not if you don’t want to, we can take care of him.”
“Do you hear yourself?”
Her brows furrowed, “you’re talking like they’re dead.”
My jaw clenched. “They’re not.”
“Exactly! I can’t allow myself to get attached to this baby because of a possibility. Just like you’re his temporary guardian, I can’t be his temporary mother, I can’t love him temporarily because when the time comes to hand him away I’ll want to keep him.”
There was a glint in her eyes.
“That’s not fair,”
she said in a low tone. Almost like she wanted to whisper that part to herself.
Bailey came to our side with two sandwiches and the tension between us only intensified. Neither of us said a word. I stared at Juliette and she was back to staring at her iPad as she swiped the screen with a religious fervor.
“Thank you,”
I said to Bailey when he brought our drinks. With a curt nod from him, Juliette and I were alone again.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“It’s okay. I know you mean well, but I would just prefer it if you didn’t try to push the idea of keeping the baby as my own while we wait for them.”
I nodded, “I can respect that.”
Pressuring her was never my intention—I just thought she’d be tied to this child one way or another so she might as well just be in his life for the time being, but I could understand where she came from. I wouldn’t want to get too attached to something I knew I’d have to give up later in the future either. I’d forgotten how to be—or act—normal. Juliette was supposed to be my distraction, my one-way ticket out of the hell I was living in my head and there I was bothering her with ridiculous questions and suggestions. It seemed like all roads led to Ardley and Celeste. My family problems were her life problems.
From what Daniel told me so far, she was a mystery but sitting here looking at her from across the table she didn’t seem like it, which made me wonder how many people were able to see past who she was pretending to be.
The hope in her eyes was sincere, but even I could tell it seemed like it took her a long time to get to where she was at.
I tilted my head to the side as I looked at her concentrating on her iPad.
It amazed me honestly, how I could just…breathe around her. I didn’t have to do anything else, maybe apart from listening to every word she said but even that felt fresh and comforting. I felt how heavy her presence was which is probably why it’s been so easy to just rest around her. It felt like if I explained myself to her she’d understand, and even if I didn’t, she would still somehow understand. I couldn’t explain the feeling or how any of it made sense because I’ve only seen her four times now so it wouldn’t make sense to try to explain I’ve been feeling better each time I seeher—a complete stranger to me. Weeks ago we were worlds apart and now I fear she’s the first and last person to ever make me feel at ease so easily.
The awkwardness between us disappeared the second Juliette handed me her iPad to take a look at the floor plans she drew up as she ate.
I tried my hardest to focus on the designs, forcing myself to see the idea she came up with. After swiping back and forth between two sketches I placed the iPad down and picked up my coffee.
“These are horrible,”
I said honestly as I took a sip.
She stopped chewing and froze as she glared at me. If she wanted my help with the floor plans I was going to be one hundred-ten percent honest with her. She was going to need that if she wanted to create a place that represented her heart.
“Were they drawn by you or a two year old? I couldn’t possibly tell the difference.”
“Sketching was never my greatest skill,”
she admitted sheepishly.
“I can tell,”
I teased as I smiled.
She sent me a long look and I quickly wiped the smile off my face.
“Just tell me what you wanted to do,”
I said as I picked up the iPad again. This time I was the one sketching.
“There’s two rooms—”
I shook my head, “forget about those rooms, what do you want?”
She wiped her hand with a napkin and that light in her eyes was back.
“Well, the front is so big I could probably split it into two to have a pastry area. If people are going to shop, or make pots and mugs, they would need some coffee booster drinks, or some sweet treat for the kids too, and even boba tea, I’d like that.”
I erased her sketch and started a new one as she talked to me.
“And I want to have a class, at least once or twice a week, anyone can sign up, one on one or a group class to learn how to throw and stuff, so I would need a room for that, and a family bathroom of course. I also want an office to keep my things and papers, but since I want to bake food and make coffees I’ll also need a kitchen that can also serve as a storage room.”
I nodded as I kept drawing. “We could create another room in the middle of the shop and connect it to the front where you’ll sell all the food and drinks. That way that’s in one place and there’s already two rooms, we can use one for your class and the other could be the family bathroom. And as for your office we’d have to expand the building and create a room in the back,”
I said as I finished up the sketch.
I took a deep breath and stopped, glancing at Juliette who watched me with an impressed look. I turned the iPad around and showed her my rough sketch. She gasped and clasped her hands over lips.
She looked at me then looked down at the rough sketch. It wasn’t perfect but it was certainly better than whatever she showed me earlier.
She slowly pulled her hands off her lips, Callum,”
she said in a serious tone.
“Yes?”
I replied.
“This is it!”
She smiled.
My eyes widened slightly as I took in the expression on her face.
That was the thing, I didn’t know where to look exactly.
Her eyes? Her lips?
Her whole face lit up.
It’s nothing I’d ever seen before.
I didn’t know people could smile like that. I didn’t know people could smile and make you feel it too. Every ounce of that smile was infectious, and it made me feel good.
“Callum, this is it!”
she repeated again.
I smiled as I shook my head. “It’s nothing, I could do better, just give me a few hours and I’ll sketch you something better once I get home.”
She shook her head and grabbed the iPad as she stared at the sketch in awe. “No, this is perfect.”
She nodded.
“You’ll need a new roof, new floorings, and the walls need to be redone too, painting and all that stuff, but with a tight schedule it can be done in a month.”
She looked at me again, that same hopeful look that made me want to make every impossible thing possible.
“Really?”
She smiled.
I swallowed and nodded.
Then I proceeded to open my mouth to say something unexpected and completely inappropriate.
“I can take care of it for you.”