Little Did I Know [Chapter 19]

Thank you for continuing to read my story. Hope you enjoy another chapter of it.
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CHAPTER 19:
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The following morning we had breakfast, all three of us together with Delia's mother, who was a sweet addition to our gathering. We got out of our pyjama's after breakfast, then headed out for shopping. By noon, Nancy and I were already tired of going around the mall, so we suggested we stop at the food court to grab something to eat.

We sat down munching on our sandwiches when Joseph stopped by and greeted us... greeted Nancy.

"Hey Nancy!" He looked thrilled to run into her.

Nancy wiped her mouth and got up from her seat to greet Joseph.

"Hey Joey!" She shook his hand, for what seemed to be a long moment. Delia giggled, I pinched her from beneath the table, then she turned her giggle into a quiet cough.

Nancy pulled Joseph aside with their hands still intertwined, and then they were far from us to hear their conversation. Both of them were smiling though, so I guessed it was heading in the right direction.

"Is this 'The Joey'?" Delia asked taking a sip of her coke.

I looked back at Nancy and Joey still talking and smiling at each other, "That's him!" I grinned.

"That's so weird, though. Nancy was never this absorbed into anyone... not even you." Delia said absently, looking at the couple before us.

"I'm a different story," I chuckled. "Don't compare me to Joey."

Then they started walking back to where we sat, watching the two of them. Nancy took her seat and Joey whispered something in her ear, and left her blushing. She nodded and waved good-bye as he walked off.

"What was that?" Delia asked.

"What?" Nancy asked back innocently.

"All that... love?" Delia ended her statement unsure.

I laughed. "Why is it so hard for you to grasp the idea that Nancy is in love?"

"It's not that hard for me to grasp... She is just in love with someone... ordinary. I thought when Nancy is going to finally fall in love, it would be with somebody super! It's always been so hard to impress her!" Delia replied.

"Joey is super. In his own way. He is super to me, at least..." Nancy picked at her sandwich.

"What did you two talk about, anyway?" Delia asked, as curious as she was.

"Delia!" I shot her a look.

Nancy flushed red again.

We left the mall at about three in the afternoon, and I told Delia to drop me off at my house because I had
to go see Wes for my daily dosage.

At home, it was somewhat alive. My father watching another hockey game with Ray, mom was busying herself with another recipe and Mary was out of sight. I walked inside the house, yelled out a loud "Hi everyone!" then continued upstairs. Walking past Mary's room, I saw her in front of her mirror straightening her hair.

"Hey, sis!" Mary yelled as she spotted me in her peripheral vision.

"Hey, Mary!" I dropped my bag in front of her door and went inside the room. "What's up? Missed me last night?" I smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Hey! Can't you see me struggling with this thing! You almost burned my forehead!" She complained.

"Where are you going?" I took a seat on her bed and watched her fix her hair.

"With Faye, don't know where, but I'll figure it out as soon as I get to her house. Do you mind finishing the back part of my hair? I can't reach it." She held the straightening iron out for me.

"Well, how do you plan to get there? To Faye's house..." I held one piece of her hair and started straightening.

" I was thinking about asking mom, but now that you're here..." She winked at me.

"Sure no problem! I wanted an excuse to get out anyway! Can we say that I'll be dropping you two off wherever, and staying with you?" I winked at her in the mirror.

"You got it!" She winked back.

I finished straightening her hair quickly and we went downstairs together, told mom what we were up to, then headed out the door. I dropped Mary at Faye's house and told her that I'll be back to pick her up in two hours.

I made my way down the highway to the campus where Wes lived. I parked next to his car, checked for the keys in my purse and helped myself inside the apartment.

"Hello? Wes?" I closed the door behind me.

"I'm in here, my Melinda! Come in!" The voice came from the kitchen.

I walked into the kitchen where Wes stood in front of the stove stirring something. I couldn't help but smile.

"What are you doing?"

He opened his arms wide for me as I walked right into his embrace. "I missed you," he whispered against my hair.

"I missed you, too," I looked up at him. "What are you making, though?" I took my eyes off his and looked back at the pot which was over the fire.

"Mmmm... Trying to make supper." He chuckled.

"Well, let me help," I let go of him and walked to the pot of boiling water, "Soup?" I pointed at it.

Wes nodded.

I made the soup, fried the chicken, mixed the vegetable salad which he had already chopped, then set the table for two.

"That's the way life should be," he pulled out my chair and sat me down at one end of the dinning table. "You and I, having the same meal under the same roof."

I sat down and looked up him, smiling half-heartedly. He patted me on the shoulder as a silent "It's okay."

He took a seat across from me and scooped a spoon of the hot mushroom soup into his mouth. "This actually turned out good." He nodded interested.

"Thanks," I tried the soup myself.

"I went to my parents' this morning," he said too quickly.

I looked at him and he was looking down at his bowl, like he'd been holding this for long enough, wanting to talk about it to someone already, and now was his chance. He looked so down it made me uncomfortable! He looked like a little boy who is grieving his accidentally broken toy, like a little boy who puts his head down when he knows he'd done something wrong, like a guilty boy who wishes to go back in time to fix things because his apology wasn't accepted! I put my spoon down and felt a cold wave run down my spine.

His parents, I gulped.

I got up from my seat after I pulled myself back together, and knelt next to Wes's chair. I held one of his hands between mine and looked up at him. "Talk to me," I whispered.

Wes closed his eyes, with a mysterious chuckle. I couldn't read his expression with his eyes closed like that.

"Wes?" I tried again, squeezing his hand.

He opened his eyes, and there I saw it. Shame, embarrassment. I felt my hand loosen its grip on his. I didn't know why I felt what I felt, but I could tell it was something unpleasant that was coming next. I shook my head in confusion, unable to find the right words to ask for any more explanation.

"What happened?" I finally choked out.

Wes reached down and brushed my hair with his long fingers. He stroked my cheek back and forth with the back of his hand then his fingers stopped at my lower lip. His eyes burned into mine, liquid and buttery. Deep and warm. Stern but tender.

He sighed, "It doesn't even matter," he smiled.

And to my surprise, it reached his eyes. It wasn't painful, he wasn't trying to hide anything, nor make me feel better. He meant whatever he just said.

"But I wanna know," I hesitated. I held his hand at my lips and pecked a light kiss on the tips of his fingers.

He pulled me out of my kneel and sat me on his lap, "Trust me, none of it is of any importance." He shrugged. "I handled it worse before I saw you, but now, when I looked into your eyes, when I heard your voice, when I felt your warm skin, I realized how I over estimated it. I considered my options, and turns out I didn't lose a thing. In contrast, I won the battle." He kissed my forehead.

"Battle?" I cocked my head to one side.

"My father told me that... I wasn't welcome in the family anymore..." He still had trouble speaking it. He took a deep breath then went on, "He said that if I wanted to be acknowledged as his only son, I had to... forget about... you," his forehead creased.

I didn't want to speak just yet, so I let him finish what he had to say.

"Melinda, I don't know what the deal is, and I could really care less. But here I am, choosing you over my background, my past, my present... and maybe even my future. I don't want any of it, Mel." He held my face between his hands as if he was trying to convince me with something I didn't already know.

"My father denied me from his will." He summed it all up. "I am banned from inheriting anything after him. He said he'd rather give it to charity. I'm his only kid, Mel, and you know much that means. He is supposed to be preparing me for carrying the family's history. If he said he's forbidding me from his will, it means that I cannot have anything he owns, ever. And that I am never eligible to run for a representative of the Adams. I never wanted to go into politics anyway. For one reason, so I do not face your father, and for another, because it has never been my goal!

"In fact, I tried for so long to convince my father to quit, because it was the obstacle which kept me away from you. Whenever I thought it would become easier, the whole society arose against my dream!"

I blinked, my face still cupped in his hands. I couldn't believe what I'd just heard! I had caused him this much with his family, and I thought my life was miserable! I thought my life was not worth living, because my parents couldn't be reasonable on a couple of aspects. Well, at least they still wanted me... At least they haven't thrown me out, denied me, pretended I didn't exist! I remained silent, looking into Wes's eyes.

"I love you, by the way," his face lit with my favorite crooked smile.

I crashed my lips to his and that was the best response I could think of. As an apology for what he had to face, as a sweet word instead of all the knives he had to deal with, as an acceptance and a wide welcome instead of the rejection he'd tripped against earlier this morning.

I kissed him, replying to every word he had said. Replying much better than I could do with words, not missing a single detail, not forgetting to thank him, and doing all of it just the right way. I kissed him like I'd never kissed him before, then wrapped up the long kiss with a breathless "Love you, too!"

I beeped twice in front of Faye's house at about six thirty. Nancy peeked her head out of the front door and waved at me. I rolled down my window and stuck my head out, "Hey!"

"Come down for a while!" Nancy shouted back.

"I can't we must be heading home by now. Just call Mary," I replied.

Nancy ignored my request and tiptoed outside barefoot, "Come in, you loser! Mary told me you went to see him!" She winked at me.

I laughed, "I'll tell you tomorrow! Seriously though, gotta run!" I winked back.

She ran down the front lawn of her house and came to kiss me. "See ya tomorrow!" She walked backwards blowing kisses in the air.

Mary was now putting her seat belt on next to me, waving to Faye who was sitting on the porch step waving back.

I drove off and headed out of Cetadail Drive.

"How fun was it?" Mary dug in her purse trying to seem uninterested in the subject.

"Very," I smiled wryly, then sighed.

At home, it was pretty much the same way we left it: quiet. And that was the way it remained for the rest of winter break. I didn't talk to my parents more than necessary, I merely answered their questions, I did everything which was asked from me, made time for school work, hung out with friends, and fit Wes in my schedule.

Christmas was different this year, too. Despite the fact that everyone tried to be themselves, it still didn't feel right. The boundaries were still present.

Anyhow, I got a gold locket from my mother and father. It was heart-shaped, and inside it, my first name was carved on one side and my last name was carved on the other half of the heart. It was cute and precious, yet I found it symbolic: "Don't you ever forget who you are: a Haden."

But it also reminded me of Wes... A lot!

I thought about Wes's relationship with his family and how he felt now at this time of the year. How lonely he must have been! The need to feel the sense of belonging! I wore my locket and held it close to my heart whenever I remembered his situation.

I didn't forget to share the joy with him though, especially on this day. I'd bought him a Rolex along with a scented rose, sprayed with my favorite perfume.

I had to sneak out that eve to ship his present, and because I'd sneaked out at night while everyone was asleep, I couldn't take my car. I'd called him and he picked me up at the end of the road. We'd spent the late hours of Christmas Eve together, driving around in his car, until he decided it was better to get me back home.

When he stopped his car at the end of the neighborhood, he'd insisted to walk me to my house in the dark. Underneath my bedroom window, I had held out his present and stood on my toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, Wes!"

He'd pulled me in and walked me against the large glass window of my living room. I didn't know if the curtains were down... I only knew that Wes was kissing me, softly moving his lips around mine and locking his fingers into my spilled hair.

"Don't you wanna open it?" I'd breathed when his lips left mine for the briefest seconds, moving down my jaw line.

"Mmmm... in a while," he'd whispered. He then tried to unzip the front of my jacket, but I stopped him with a moan. And he responded immediately to my silent request, then looked into my eyes under the dim rays of the street lights.

"It's just cold," I reasoned with him.

"All of this didn't warm you up yet?" He chuckled then kissed me again.

Then he held back smiling, proud of himself. I bit my lip.

"My turn now," he'd reached into his back pocket and held out a tiny, black, squared box. He opened the little box and inside of it I could see a piece of jewelry sparkling under the faint light. He turned the box towards me and waited.

It was a simple ring with a group of overlapping white rocks in the middle of it. The rocks formed an exquisite shape which I couldn't identify, but I stood there bewildered, my mouth hung open. Wes took the ring out and held my right hand then slipped the piece of jewelry into my finger.

"Merry Christmas, my Melinda," he'd kissed my hand.

When my parents asked where I'd gotten that expensive ring from, I told them it was from Nancy as my Christmas present. Then, later I had to let Nancy in on the lie and explained to her what to say in case my parents decided to ask again. It wasn't hard to believe that Nancy would buy me such a present, so I got away with it.

After we were done with Christmas and it's chaos, Delia began planning for Nancy's birthday: New Year's Eve. Most of the planning was done in secret, to surprise Nancy. But we couldn't hide it all from her, because it wasn't just us celebrating that day. It was everyone we ran into, everyone in the city, everyone in the world!
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