Chapter 13 Family Matters
Chapter 13: Family Matters
Jack
I couldn”t be happier with my life. I felt whole again, things were beginning to fall into pleasant places, and every day seemed brighter than the previous one.
Emma was my backbone—the very light I needed in my dark life. I had considered and weighed my decision, and I had resolved to take our relationship to the next level. I was going to propose. I was still thinking of the best way to go about it when the unexpected happened.
We were in the basement on a weekend, and Emma had insisted on completing a particular painting before we went for the usual weekend shopping. So, I stayed around, helping her with the things she needed when we heard the roaring of a car engine.
“Babe, are you expecting Zain or Flora?” I paused to ask.
“No, we agreed to hang out tomorrow. Why?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the canvas in front of her.
“There”s a car in the front yard. Emm… I should check it out,” I continued when she said nothing. I understood that she was fully absorbed in the job at hand.
“Okay,” she answered absently.
There were two women approaching the front door: a younger lady about Emma”s age and an elderly one. Following behind them was an aged man too.
“Excuse us, please, we”re looking for someone: a lady with the name Emma. Do you know her?” The younger lady approached me. She was dressed in skinny jeans and a denim jacket, her tank top dropped low over her chest, showing cleavage. Her brown hair dropped behind her back in a ponytail.
The older lady wore a simple floral dress with mid-heels and followed closely behind the younger one. Her lips were lined in a shade of red lipstick. There was something familiar about her.
“Is there something wrong? Who wants to see her?” I asked.
“Is she here?” the older woman chipped in.
“Err…”
“Mom! Dad! Sandy??” Emma called from behind me, ending my stutter.
I swirled around to catch the look of shock on her face. Did she just call them “Mom” and “Dad”? This was her family? How did they get here?
“Emma!” The older woman pushed to the front, reaching for Emma.
“My baby girl, I”ve missed you so much.” She hugged her.
“Mom, how did you get here?” Emma asked, still looking fazed.
“Sandy brought us. We made inquiries and asked around.”
“Emma.”
“Sandy.”
I watched quietly as the lady with the denim jacket moved closer to Emma.
“I”m sorry. They asked me to bring them over; I couldn”t say no,” she said.
“At least you should have given me a heads-up. You can”t just barge in…” she stammered to a stop.
I moved closer to Emma, holding her hand protectively. “Babe, are you okay?” I whispered.
“Umm… Jack, this is my mom and my dad and that”s Sandy, my friend. I had no idea they were coming.”
“Oh, welcome Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Err… Please come in.” I ushered them in.
“Who”s he?” The man spoke for the first time.
“Dad, this is Jack.”
Both parents exchanged looks and then returned their gazes to me. There was an awkward silence as I felt their eyes studying me over and over.
“We lodged at the guest house on the outskirts of town,” the older man responded.
“Why? I mean, we have enough room over here, Mr. Smith. You can stay here,” I offered.
“No!” He turned down my offer outright. “Emma, you should get ready; you”re leaving with us tomorrow back to Florida,” he announced.
“What? That”s a joke, right? You can”t just appear and take me home. I now have a life here, Dad, and I love my life here,” Emma answered in a tone that was a bit harsh before brushing past me into the house.
“Can we talk about this in a more civilized way, please?” I pleaded to her parents.
“There”s nothing to talk about—” her dad was in the middle of saying. The older woman reached for his arm and brushed it gently.
“Maybe we can talk.”
“Great. Please, come in.” I ushered again.
“I came here to get my child back, and I will do whatever I have to do to make sure she agrees to come back,” Mrs. Smith whispered to her husband.
Emma
I couldn”t believe that Sandy would do a thing like bringing my parents all the way from Florida to Serenity Springs without informing me. How could she?
I paced the bedroom in a furious mood, thinking of how best to handle the situation on ground. I had not told Jack about their frequent calling and nagging about me coming back. In fact, I had lied to him about how they felt about this.
The bedroom door opened and he stepped in, leaning over the wall. “You said they didn”t have any issues with you being here,” he said calmly.
“Babe, I might have lied a little, but look, it”s totally fine. I can handle this.” I held his hands.
“It sure doesn”t look like you can. Did you see the look on your father”s face? The man is beyond angry.”
“I know, he is like that sometimes.”
“He wants to take you away; how do we talk about that? Emma, I”m not ready to lose you.”
“I”m not losing you either.” I hugged him.
“They”re in the living room. We should go talk to them.”
We strolled into the sitting room. Dad was seated on the single-armed chair opposite the long couch that Mom and Sandy occupied. Jack held my hand, leading me towards the chair in front of the hearth.
“Emma, we need you to come back home and to the clinic,” my dad started.
“I can”t, Dad.”
“What do you mean?” my mom asked.
“Jack and I have something going on here.”
“Yes, sir, your daughter is a talented artist. She creates adorable images and they”re going viral,” Jack supported.
“You went back to painting? Emma, after sending you to the best medical schools in the world, you dropped so low to come back here and do painting?”
“Dad, it is what makes me happy. I feel content here, please.”
“We would love some privacy with our daughter,” my mom requested.
“Will you be fine?” Jack leaned in to ask.
“Yeah.” I nodded. He picked up my hands and pecked them before dropping them on my thighs and heading out.
“If Jack is excusing us, then Sandy should do the same,” I told them after Jack left.
“Sandy, please give us a few minutes,” my mom ordered.
I glared at her as she made her way from beside my mom to the front door that Jack had just went through. My mom hurried over to where I sat.
“Emma,” she called softly.
“Mom,” I answered in a firm tone. I knew she was about to use her motherly charms, but I had made up my mind to be unaffected by her voice.
“I don”t think you have thought this through. Look at the old building this man lives in; everything here appears aged, like they were handed to him by his ancestors. He looks aged himself. Emma, nothing about your union with this man feels right,” she said.
“You might be right about everything looking aged, but about our relationship, Mom. Nothing has ever felt this right to me. Come to think of it, Mom, did you get married to dad because of the things he had?”
“Emma, I knew your dad. Everything we own today we built together. It”s different for you.”
“No. It”s exactly the same for me. It is you who doesn”t know this man. I would really appreciate it if you”d take your time to know him before rejecting him. Serenity Springs is a lovely place; this can serve as a few days” vacation for you two,” I suggested.
“What do you think? I love the idea of a vacation, Smith.” My mom turned to my dad.
I knew she”d consider that. If there was one thing my mom loved so much, it was the idea of traveling around the globe. And she had accomplished a great deal of it in her twenties. There were so many pictures in the family album of the different countries she’d visited.
“Can you hear yourself? What happens to the clinic?” my dad asked her.
“For goodness’s sake, Smith! Can we have a conversation for once that doesn”t have to include the clinic? You know, you make me wonder at times if you really care about anything aside from the clinic. We are here to make sure our daughter is in safe hands and all you can think of is the clinic?” my mom exploded.
I would never have thought that she’d had that much anger in her about the clinic. And all along, I had thought I was the only one feeling ignored because of the clinic. I turned to my dad and his gaze dropped to the floor.
“Look, all I”m saying is, taking a few days’ break won”t hurt. Sandy has worked efficiently in the clinic for years, plus there”s the other competent staff to handle work around there.” She convinced him further.
“But this wasn”t our plan,” my dad answered.
“We can make it our plan now. Honey, I”ve missed spending quality time with you. It”s always been work, work, work,” she pouted.
“Come here.” He invited her over to his seat, patting the space on his thighs for her to sit.
I stared at the aged couple in admiration. It was funny how the heated conversation had quickly melted into a lovey-dovey moment. I caught the wink on my mom”s face as she turned to me.
“Thank you,” I mouthed silently. I knew I could always count on her to work out the stubbornness in my dad.
“So, we are taking this week for ourselves. No clinic calls or talk, agreed?” my mom turned to my dad.
“I will definitely have to call at least once a day to know how things are going.”
“Okay. Just one call to the clinic every day and that”s all.” She pushed on his buttons.
“Fine. Happy now?”
“Okay, maybe I have to excuse you two now. It seems the subject has shifted from me.” I stood up, brushed the rumple out of my shorts, and headed out.
“Do you think we can stay here? I think we need to stay as a family. It looks like Emma has her mind made…”
I stepped out, closing the door on their voices.
Jack
Anxiety crept over me, stealing the peace that I had felt the past few days. Several thoughts popped into my mind at what the result would be of the family conversation. I leaned over the car, staring into the bright sky.
“Hey,” the younger lady who had come with the couple, dressed in a denim jacket, greeted. I hadn”t heard her coming.
“Hey,” I called back, slowly rising from the car.
“Are there, like, other thieves around here or is it just you?” she asked, taking me aback.
“Excuse me?”
“I mean, are you the only thief around here or can I find others?” she repeated.
I stared blankly at her, unable to comprehend her question.
“It still baffles me how you were able to steal her heart in such a short while,” she continued, smiling.
“Oh, it might interest you to know that the opposite was the case. She stole my heart.” I grinned in response as I finally understood her joke.
“I’m Sandy.” She stretched her hand out for a shake.
“It”s nice meeting you, Sandy. Emma has talked a lot about you.”
“Hmm, I guess they were not really nice things, considering the fact that I haven”t really been a good friend and she”s not happy with me.” The earlier smile on her face dimmed.
“Come on, I suppose you both have been friends for ages; you can always sort out your differences. Though Emma has a mind of her own, I wouldn”t mind to chip in a few good words for you,” I guaranteed her.
“Thank you, Jack. You’re not a bad person after all,” she said.
“All thanks to Emma. Oh, here she comes. Hi, babe.” I moved forward to hug her.
“Hi,” she responded, walking into my arms.
I searched her countenance for any sign of bad news, but she looked okay. There was no gloom about her mood.
“How did the talk go?” I inquired.
“Well, I think I was able to convince them to stay with the help of my mom. But I don”t know, is that okay with you?”
“Hey, I”m okay with whatever makes you happy. And if we”re going to be getting married soon, then maybe this is just the perfect time to bond with my in-laws,” I held her chin, tilting her face upwards so I could look directly into her eyes.
“Getting married?” Her lashes blinked. I realized I had slipped.
“I”m just saying…”
“Thanks, Jack. You are the best.”
“Nah, I think you”re the best.” I kissed her lips. Her hands came around my neck, nudging me closer for a deeper feel of what was supposed to be a simple kiss.
We might have gotten lost in it for a minute or so until Sandy cleared her throat, calling us back to our environment.
“Umm, Emma, please, can I speak to you for a moment?” she begged.
Emma turned to me, her eyes searching for my suggestion. I shrugged in response.
“Sandy, what is it? I remember calling you several times the past few weeks to talk to you, but you had suddenly become too busy to give a damn about me, so what exactly do you need a moment for?” I brushed her arm soothingly, aiming to calm the anger in her voice.
“I”m sorry, Emma. I know I haven”t been the best friend you expect of me in a while and I”m truly sorry. Maybe I was kinda jealous that you found someone else and you just left me there in Florida and in that clinic with all your duties. I didn”t know how best to handle my emotions and I messed up,” she pleaded.
“And about your parents, believe me when I say I only got a call this morning from your mom, asking me to pack up and come show them where you are staying. There was no time to give you the heads-up you needed. I”m sorry for that too,” she apologized.
“You hurt me, you know that, right?” Emma finally answered. “I needed you, and you turned a cold shoulder. That wasn”t fair, Sandy.”
“Yeah, it wasn”t fair. I’ll do anything to make it up to you.”
“I think you just made a very big mistake. But then, a promise is a promise. You”ll doing anything to make it up to me, huh?” Emma said with a smirk.
“Okay, I think you got me in a trap. So, what”s my punishment?” Sandy asked.
“We going shopping and you are footing the bill,” Emma told her.
“Fine. I guess I could use the opportunity for a little sightseeing before going back.”
“I missed you.”
“I missed you, too, girlfriend.”
The two ladies approached each other and hugged it out. It was lovely watching the reunion.
“We have decided to spend a few days here, and if Jack can convince us within that timeframe that he is the right man for you, we will return to Florida and not object to your decision.” Mrs. Smith appeared from the doorway.
“Meanwhile, Sandy, you will have to return first thing tomorrow morning to look after the clinic and keep us updated. Please, my dear,” her dad added.
“That”s okay with me,” Sandy agreed.