Candle In The Wind

Chapter Fifty One

Daddy Dearest

“It’s Thanksgiving, we always get together for Thanksgiving, honey,”

my mom said as she tilted her head to the side. She was lecturing me about the importance of spending Thanksgiving together with a family—and I was distracted. Really distracted.

My brows furrowed. “Why are you knitting? Since when do you know how to knit?”

“It’ll be different, yes, it’ll be our first Thanksgiving without Celeste. She’d been joining us since she was dating Ardley in high school,”

she said, completely ignoring my very important questions.

I watched her work with the red yarn and the knitting needles. “Again. What’s with the knitting?”

“Cal!”

I groaned as I pushed my hair back. “Mom, obviously I can’t just spring this on Juliette.”

“You wouldn’t have to if you told her weeks ago like I kept mentioning,”

she deadpanned.

I sighed, being reminded of when she asked me to ask Juliette to come down here and spend Thanksgiving with us in this exact living room.

“Alright.”

My mom smiled. “I’m knitting a sweater for Clay!”

My brows shot up with amusement. “You sure you won’t pretend to knit a sweater and just buy him one?”

She glared at me. “Yeah, I’ve already ordered a sweater from Burberry, it’s on the way as we speak,”

she said sarcastically.

I laughed, “now that sounds more like you, Mom.”

She rolled her eyes.

I shifted in my seat, thinking of my last conversation with Ardley. He was serious about leaving, so serious he didn’t mention it to anyone but me, because he knew they’d stop him or at least somehow talk him out of it. I didn’t support him leaving but as his brother, if that’s what he thought he truly needed to do to get through this nightmare that he’s in, the least I could do was to try to understand his decisions.

I always used to tell Ardley that I’d kill to have just a fraction of the love he had with Celeste and since Juliette, I’d felt like I’d learned to understand the kind of love he had. Ardley and Celeste were epic. I understood why he might never want to let go, because I wouldn’t want to move on either.

Juliette was my epic love.

“Is everything okay, honey?”

I blinked as I took a deep breath, “yeah,”

I nodded as I looked at my mom, “I’m okay.” I looked down and watched the needle move. Admittedly, she seemed to be a good knitter.

“Mom?”

I called out as she looped the yarn and started a new row.

“Yes, honey?”

“Do you think Ardley will be okay?”

She stopped her movements.

“He fired the maid your mother hired for him, he refuses to talk, he’s still not back to work but who cares because he’s got millions in the bank.”

I glared at my father who walked in the room and brought all the negativity in the world with him.

“Thanks for your opinion, Dad, so happy to know we can always count on your sensitivity.”

“I’m not lying.”

He chuckled as he sat down.

I glared at him. “You’re not exactly right in the head either.”

“Callum!”

My mother raised her voice.

“Don’t bother, darling.”

He smiled at her, “he’s still trying.”

My brows furrowed. “What am I trying for, Dad?”

I sat up, “tell me what it is exactly that I’m trying for—”

“To have what it takes,”

he replied in a condescending tone, “your brother’s got it, how does that feel?”

“Rob!”

my mother groaned, trying to diffuse the tension between us.

“He made a name for himself, got married and now has a son,”

he laughed shallowly, “you’re even fawning over the mother of his child. How pathetic is that?” He glared at me. “And you sit here shamelessly preaching to me about sensitivity when you’re chasing after his future wife.”

“His wife just died, Dad, what the fuck are you talking about?”

I snapped.

“Cal, language!”

My dad scoffed, “no, what does he expect? Some compassion?”

“You’re fucking insane,”

I mumbled under my breath as I stood up and walked away from them, “he’s a fucking psycho, Mom!” I yelled as I slammed the door closed behind me.

I slammed the car door as I tried to calm down. It started to feel like my father became even more stupid each time we had an argument. I pulled out my phone and called Juliette without thinking twice. She picked up after the third ring.

“Hey, you okay? I’m playing hangman with Jacks.”

A ghost of a smile played on my lips. “Yeah, I’m alright, how are you?”

I sucked in a breath. “How’s Clay’s first day of work with mommy?”

“You sure you okay, Cal?”

she asked again in a moment of silence.

I took a deep breath. “Yeah, I was just busy all day, I’m tired. But how’s Clay?”

I could hear Jacks’ voice from her end, they were laughing at something. “Jacks really likes him, more than he likes me I think.”

I playfully scoffed, “that can’t be true.”

I finally turned on the car as my body began to cool down from an all-consuming rage.

“Oh, it’s true.”

She laughed, “I know you’d love to see this.”

I started driving. “No, I’d be on your side, sweetheart, I wouldn’t let Jacks terrorize you in a million years.”

She laughed even harder. “Glad you can also make fun of me.”

I smiled. “Never.”

“Well, I’m glad you called because Ben-Ben made too many sandwiches, and we’re about to close up soon. You could come down here and help me eat the rest,”

she continued, “and before you can say anything, I can’t save them for tomorrow because the menu changes every day and the sandwiches come back in two weeks.”

I nodded as I made a turn. “No, I was just going to ask if Ben-Ben really did make too many, or did you ask him to make too many so you could have the rest.”

She gasped, and I could tell how scandalously loud she went about it, “Callum Oakes—I would never!”

“Oh, you so would, Juliette Grace Rhodes,” I teased

“Whatever, are you coming?”

I bit back a smile. “I will, all over your face.”

“Callum!”

I laughed. And before I could get another word in, she hung up.