Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Henry
Ellie was staying at my place for the weekend, and when we got home from the country club, we went upstairs and got ready for bed.
“I have something to tell you, and I don’t want you to get mad,” she said.
“What is it?” I asked with concern as she took off my bowtie.
“Your mother came into the bathroom when I was in there and told me that I wasn’t the woman for you and to name my price and walk away.”
“She said what?!” I signed in anger.
“I asked you not to get mad. I handled it.”
“How?”
“I told her that I live a more fulfilling life being deaf than she ever will,” she spoke as she signed.
“You said that to my mother?”
“Yes. That woman needs to be knocked down a few notches. Your mother or not.”
I smiled as I kissed her lips. “I’m proud of you. But she had no right.”
“Just forget about it. I already have. I told you it doesn’t matter what they think.”
“I know, sweetheart.” I kissed her forehead. “But I think deep down it hurts you,” I signed.
“Then maybe you don’t know me as well as you think. This isn’t the first-time hearing people have rejected me, and it won’t be the last.”
“I don’t care. Nobody treats the woman I love that way and gets away with it.”
The next morning, I told Ellie I had to go into the office for a while, but I was really going to pay a visit to my parents. When I walked through the door, my mother came into the foyer.
“Henry, what are you doing here?”
“I want to speak to you about what you said to Ellie last night,” I spoke in a stern voice.
“There’s nothing to talk about.” She turned away and walked into the kitchen, where my father was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and scrolling on his phone.
“Son?” He glanced up at me.
“I want to make something very clear to both of you. Ellie isn’t going anywhere. I love that woman more than life, and I can’t grasp why you can’t accept that!”
“I’m not discussing this now,” my father spoke as he went to get up from his seat.
“SIT DOWN!” I demanded.
“How dare you talk to me that way, boy!”
“How dare the two of you treat Ellie the way you are. What is wrong with you people? And you.” I pointed to my mother. “How dare you offer her money to leave me.”
“Lillian, did you do that?” my father asked.
“Yes. Yes, I did. You would have done the same thing, Carlyle.”
“Do you not care about my happiness at all? I’m your son, for fuck’s sake. I’m your flesh and blood. I lived my life trying to please you. I want to hear you say it’s because she’s deaf.”
Both of them looked away from me.
“God only knows what Abigail is thinking about this right now.”
“Don’t you dare bring her up!” My father shouted. “You don’t understand, and you never will until you yourself have lost a child.”
“I lost her too!” I shouted. “She was my twin sister. When she died, a part of me died with her! She’s gone, and I’ve accepted that. It’s time the two of you did the same. I will protect Ellie at all costs. I plan on marrying her, and if you can’t accept that, you will lose another child. And don’t be surprised if Addison follows suit for the way you treat her. Then what will your country club friends think when all your children are gone from your life and the two of you are left all alone for the rest of your lives?”
“How dare you come into our home and threaten us,” my mother spoke through gritted teeth.
“It’s not a threat, Mother. It’s a promise.”
“Everyone calm down,” my father spoke. “Just calm down.”
“Carlyle!”
“Shut up, Lillian. I’ve heard enough out of you. Henry, just go.”
“Trust me, I am.” I stormed out of their home.
I needed to cool off before I went home because I didn’t want Ellie to see me this way. So, I stopped at the florist, picked up a bouquet of flowers, and took them to Abigail’s grave. As I was sitting there, I looked up and saw my father walking towards me with a pink rose in his hand.
“I didn’t know you’d be here,” he spoke as he bent down and placed the rose across Abigail’s grave.
“I come here all the time. Especially when I need to think,” I said.
“So do I, son. Ellie reminds me of her, you know.” He took a seat on the ground next to me. “I saw it the moment I laid eyes on her. You didn’t go to California to check out an investment deal, did you?”
“No. I went there to get Ellie back.”
“Why was she in California?”
“She wasn’t. I set it up with Frankie to make it seem like she would meet an art dealer interested in her paintings. He brought her to me.”
“So, you tricked her? I’m sure she wasn’t happy about that.”
“Not at first she wasn’t. But we talked about everything, and she forgave me.”
“I guess we were wrong about Kirsten. For her to cheat on you, get pregnant, and then plot to make it seem like it was your child—our grandchild, was just disgusting. Sometimes it amazes me what people will do for love.” He sighed.
The two of us sat silently until he told me something I wasn’t prepared to hear.
“I saw Abigail, son.”
“What do you mean?” I glanced at him.
“I’ve never spoken to anyone about this. Not even your mother. When I had my heart attack and was in surgery, I must have had a near-death experience or something because I was out of my body. I saw the doctors cut me open as I floated above the ceiling. That’s when I saw her. She was standing on the other side of the doors, looking in. I couldn’t even begin to tell you how I felt. The moment I walked out the doors of the surgical room, she took my hand and led me down the hallway. I asked her how she was, and she told me she was happy. She told me that as much as she wanted me to come with her, it wasn’t my time, and I needed to go back, but she’d always be watching over me and our family. When you were at the house and told me that we needed to let go, memories of that day came flooding back. She looked at me with her beautiful blue eyes and said, ‘Daddy, it’s time you let me go. You need to let me go.’” He wiped the tears that formed in his eyes. “And then she was gone. I initially thought it was just some kind of dream, but then I researched people who had experienced the same thing, and I knew it was real. She came to me, Henry. My little girl came to me.”
“Dad.” I reached over and placed my hand on his.
“You’re right about Ellie. It is because she’s deaf, and the thought of using sign language again brought back so many memories of her, and I carry around that pain every single day. You know I always did what she asked. So, maybe it is time to let her go.”
“Just because you’re letting go doesn’t mean you’ll ever forget her, Dad.”
“I know, son. I’ll talk to your mother. I’m not willing to lose any more of my children.”
“Thanks, Dad. I love Ellie so much, and I want you and Mom to get to know what a beautiful person she is.”
He nodded his head as he patted my back, got up, and walked away. When I returned home, I found Ellie making a sandwich in the kitchen.
“You’re back.” She smiled. “How was the office?”
“Move in with me,” I signed.
“What?” She laughed.
“Move in with me. I don’t want to do this back-and-forth thing between apartments anymore. I want you here with me, full-time,” I signed.
“Are you serious?”
“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. What do you say?”
“Yes!” She beamed with excitement. “I would love to live with you.”
I picked her up and swung her around as I kissed her lips.
“Eat your sandwich, and then we’ll go to your apartment and get packing.”
“Today?” she asked.
“Yes, today. I don’t want to wait another minute.”