I was a little heartbroken and concerned when I read this one anonymous review from someone how she/he is wanting some Captain Swan moments. I'm sorry to hear that from whoever that was, and along with many others who feels the same. I value your opinions highly so I added something pretty good with this, we're getting to Captain Swan. It's just that it takes a little more steps to completely get to that. I really love you all and hope for you to be patient with me. Byee. And enjoy! And sorry for some of the mistakes. I don't have time right now to fix it, but if I have the time tomorrow morning I will.
- H.
The day finally arrived for us to head to Ireland. I am honestly proud to say that I am free from work - Killian has been killing me! At work he would demonstrate how I should approach Chase and Graham in the intimate scenes, and even made me have private discussions after a couple scenes to discuss how I should be more innocent yet have the sexual side to my character. Ugh! I could have just sliced his head off if I never liked Milah in the first place.
When I arrived to the airport, Killian was already there but without Milah. I rolled my suitcase and went over to him. "Hey you. Where's Milah?"
"She's not here. She's actually relaxing in a spa from too much stress."
"What?! Are you kidding me? Oh my God, Killian her opinion is very important for this venue. What's the point of going now without her?"
"Hey, I'm still here." He looked somehow a bit nervous and kept fiddling with his fingers. "So..Um let's go. Shall we?"
"Hang on a minute. What's wrong?"
He chuckled with a slight crack in his throat. "N-nothing is wrong. What makes you think there's anything wrong?"
"Killian. Have you already forgotten? I can tell if a person is lying, and you Irish boy, are certainly lying to me this very moment. Now tell me what's wrong, or else I'll leave and reschedule another day to go to Ireland."
He took my arm and breathed a little heavily. "Okay. Okay, you're right, there is something wrong."
"I thought so. Now what is it?"
"The truth is Emma, I need your help. Badly. I mean really really bad."
"What?"
"I arranged a plane ticket to Switzerland for Milah and arranged a pleasant one day trip in a hotel my cousin owns. I convinced her to go there and also told her a little lie that meeting you to Ireland was canceled. She believed me and left about two hours ago."
"Why did you lie to her, Killian? I really don't follow."
"I'm getting to that...You see, there's something Milah and I never told you. My mum was..uh, well..She married quite a lot of gentlemen."
I arched an eyebrow and frowned. "A lot? As in how many gentlemen are we talking about?"
"Um..About like five."
I gasped. "F-Five? Oh wow..."
"Well, three of them died from poor health. The current husband she's with is very much alive and he has about six children, which adds up to twenty people in his family - all counting his grandchildren. Now my father - number one husband - is alive and apparently, my family doesn't like the man at all. I of course, respect my father, but haven't seen him since I attended high school."
"Oh."
"I know it's quite a shock to find out about this now...Right now he's married to his second wife. She's a very sweet Italian woman and also has quite a big family - she has four sons who are all married. The two of them called me just yesterday about me bringing Milah all the way to Ireland, so she would get to know the family."
"That's good. But I still don't understand, you just said that you sent Milah to Switzerland and also lied to her so she'll go without any refusal. Why did you do that? And also, why didn't you inform me about this before I could ever arrive to the airport?"
He paused for a long moment and fiddled with his fingers again. I waited patiently for him to answer. But his silence is now making me nervous. What can he possibly ask for me to do right now? And why didn't he just bring Milah along?
"Well, Emma, I know that I gave you a terribly hard time at work."
"You mean extremely. But yes, go on."
"I also know that this favor I want to ask you is too much, but I really really need you to be there with me just for one day."
"Huh. Killian just spit it out."
"My father and his wife doesn't know about Milah's..You know. Age. And I know that my father won't allow me to marry a woman who is beyond my years, I can't bear the thought to hurt Milah from my father's harsh opinion to our relationship, so I sent her away. I've actually been protecting the existence of my father's true nature for years since me and Milah got serious. I know that one day she's going to found out. But I love her, I'm not going to risk getting her heartbroken by anyone, even from my old man. The only problem now is that I must go to Ireland whether I like it or not. My father has a system - if someone ask or request for something, then never try to run from it and just do it. It's even more scarier when he's angry, so I have to go."
"So why are you telling me all this instead of saying a simple goodbye and get on that plane?"
"Because Emma, I need you to come with me."
"Um..Okay. Does you father want to know what are the things I'm planning for the wedding? Because I brought my wedding binder and my laptop."
"Uh, not exactly. Emma, I need you to pretend to be Milah."
"What?! Are you crazy?!"
"I know it's a lot to ask. But can't you do this for Milah's sake at least. Please."
"Killian, I am not going to pretend that I am your fiancee. Besides, they'll eventually find out that I'm just your wedding planner, not your bride."
"No they won't. I thought things through very carefully last night, and I am positive they'll never know. Please, Emma, please say yes. The plane is going to leave in about ten minutes now."
First, he asked me to be in a movie. Then he tortured me at work. Now what is this? Pretend to be you bride-to-be? Of all the actresses in the world who ended up in the middle like me, I doubt they'll ever get unlucky like me.
But I do understand that it would be hard for Milah. I mean if I was a parent, I would definitely be a little taken back that my own son is marrying an older woman. Of course, after seeing those two for awhile does explain how much they love each other, but for a parent, who hasn't seen their own child for years, will not exactly welcome such an idea with open arms. Huh. Killian, why do you this to me, dude? Why? Oh if only everything he said was told with a different story, I can easily refuse, but since he does have a good point, I pity Milah and certainly can't take this favor lightly at all.
Killian looked at me desperately. "Emma, please tell me now. We're running out of time."
"Huh. I can't believe I'm saying this...Fine."
He sighed in relief and the colors from his pale face returned. "Thank you, Emma. Thank you."
"Whatever, bud. We're going to have a lot to talk about this game of charades in the plane before we arrive to Ireland...Wait, do they speak English?"
"Yes, but it's a bit rusty. My father in the other hand, has a terrific English ascent, he was born in England you see."
"Well, it looks like I have a lot to learn about them."
~ An airline lady came to a stop with the refreshment cart by our seats. "Do you care for any refreshments?"
"I'll just have pineapple juice and can you add some rum in it, please."
Killian gave her a nod. "I'll have the same."
The airline lady nodded and poured each of us some pineapple juice and added the mini bottles of rum. She handed them to us and the two of us took it. But before she left she spoke to Killian sheepishly. "Call for me if you need anything. And may I also add that I'm a big fan of your fine work, Mr. Jones. I honestly can't wait for the movie you're currently working on to come out. And also, Miss Swan was a fine choice, she's very beautiful."
He turned his head to me and smiled. "I know she is. That's why I picked her."
Her cheeks started to redden. She was so excited that she was actually talking to him in person. The poor girl almost tripped when she pushed the cart to the next row of seats.
I took a long sip of my cup and crunched on the crushed ice. "...Okay. So far I got the family part. Your father is George K. Jones. Your mother's name is Wendy Moira Angela Darling. And your father's current wife is Cora. It's Cora right?"
"Yes. In fact, they're going to introduce themselves anyway, so it's not that important. The rest all lies to how we met."
"Oh. Okay. Any ideas to that story?"
"How about this? We bumped into each other in the middle of the street. These bunch of paper you were carrying flew everywhere and I bend down to help you pick them up. Right at that moment, our eyes met and we instantly fell in love. End of story."
I gave him a look and shook my head in disapproval. "Really? That's the best you can think of? I'm shocked at you, Killian. You've been working as a film director for years, but the best you can can come up with is that?"
"You gotta better story that can beat that?"
"Yes. Now let's see. Hmmm... How about we say that we met at a bar? I was at this bar and sat by the bar stand, finishing my usual martini. Then this drunk guy came up to me and started to flirt a little with me. I tried to ignore him but then he tried to kiss me, I fought back. I struggled from the man's great strength, but you came up from behind and started to beat the crap out of that guy until he fell down on his sorry ass. You approached me and kindly asked me if I was okay. At first, I tried to calm down from this thrilling fear inside me, but once I saw your face, I felt better instantly. But I decided to leave the bar, then you caught my arm and asked me for a drink. Flattered to be asked such a question from a gorgeous man, I couldn't refuse and said yes. After that night, we pulled it off to many more dates and eventually got engaged."
He clapped his hands and smiled. "Perfect. Well done, Emma. I liked how you added my character with a heroic style. Just excellent."
"Okay. So we got that handled. As for the proposal, let's just make it simple. Like you came up to me at work, and surprised me with a proposal when all the crew members left to go home. Okay?"
He shook his head. "No. No definitely not. I mean the story of how we met is perfect, but the day I proposed to you have to be just as perfect as the story of how we met. You saw how I proposed to Milah on television."
"Yeah. But this is a lie, remember?"
"Exactly. So let me do the magic to that story. So we'll say that I took you on a romantic private jet, and we had some champagne and intimate moments looking at the beautiful view outside the window. And then after that I got down on one knee that proposed to you with a ring that could make any woman's jaw drop."
"No. No absolutely not. We're going to stick with my simple story."
"And why is that?"
"Because that story is so obvious its a lie. I mean come on, Killian, I'm sure your father knows you well enough that its not possible for you to turn up like the perfect Mr. Right...Huh. Oh wait, I almost forgot! The public interview and your proposal on television?"
"What about them?"
"All that information is online and on tv. Your family probably knows everything by now."
Killian shook his head. "No they can't possibly. My father despises television and computers, he thinks its bad for the brain, which is also the reason why its hard for my father to accept my career as a director. My step in-laws all follow his strict rule whether they like it or not."
"How about the people who does have all that technology, and are close to your father and his family?"
"Then its our job to prevent them to go near them. That's the only best thing we could do."
Two hours passed ever since we arrived to Ireland. Our cab is very small and cramped, but we manage to fit our suitcases in the trunk. However, other than the uncomfortable ride, Ireland is certainly a beautiful country - we passed several villages, showing its fine Irish culture and the sight of the ocean never disappeared.
The cab driver started to drive through a long and famous looking bridge showing an enlarged view of the clear ocean. I couldn't keep my eyes away from the window, the view just cannot bore me one bit.
"Just lit'le longer. We almost there."
"Thank you, mate." Killian said.
I turned my head to Killian. "Oh my God, Killian this place is amazing. It's simply beautiful."
"It is isn't it? That's why its hard not to come here, the place my father lives in has a more property and magnificent view than my mother's."
"Where does your father live anyway? We passed by so many villages, but we haven't stopped at any of them."
"Well, my father doesn't live in a village. He lives in his wife's private property in this house. Now the house is by far the greatest building I have ever seen, its sort of presented as castle like."
"Castle like? Really?"
"Yes, my stepmother inherited that house from her father. In his will, he wrote it to pass the ownership of the house to her before his death. When my father married her, they moved into that house and lived there ever since with her four sons."
"With their children? Oh wow it must be quite cramped if you add the number of grandchildren."
"Oh you'll see. The house is quite massive than you think."
The cab driver finally pulled over and Killian paused to pay him. I got out of the car and walked around the car to the trunk. I opened the trunk and started to carry the suitcases down. After a few short seconds, Killian came out of the car and helped me with the suitcases. While he was carrying them down, I was distracted at the huge castle that's planted in this steeped cliff. Killian was right, the place is really big. The ground is practically covered in tall grass. The building itself is held together with gray and beige bricks; its shape formed with fine cylinders and large squares, and a tall wide gate is in the center of the front part of the castle.
I pulled out the handle of my suitcase and rolled it away. Killian followed me.
"This is really really big."
"I told you so."
"So how do we get in?"
"The gate will open. Just wait."
When we were near the gate, we waited for it to open. After about like a minute or two, just like he said, the gate opened. We entered into this large empty room that only had this single wooden door in the center. Killian pounded on it with a tight fist. But no one answered.
"Maybe they can't hear you. Try it again, Killian."
He pounded on the door again louder than before. And this time the door opened. A tall middle-aged man with flaming red hair answered it. When he saw us, he instantly smiled. He turned his head and announced loudly. "They're here! They're here!"
Killian padded the man's shoulder that brought his attention back to us. "Hello, Enrique."
"Es good to see you too, Killian. Come in. Come in, food almost ready."
We went inside and followed Enrique down this long hallway. The smell of food perfumed the air - my stomach growled loudly as my nostrils inhaled the fine delicious smell. Enrique excitedly took us into the kitchen. Inside were five women all cooking and laughing. But out of the five busy women, one stood out from the rest - the own standing behind the stove with silver hair held up in a heavy bun. Enrique went over to her and tapped her shoulder for her to turn around. She placed the ladle down on the side and turned around. "Wat? Wat is it now?...Oh Killian! Killian you came!"
She rushed over to Killian with open arms. Killian dropped everything he was carrying and wrapped his arms around the old woman. She rubbed his back and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm happy you came."
"It's good to see you, máthair."
She turned her head to me and smiled. "Is that her?"
Killian released her from her embrace and turned her to face me. "Máthair, this is Milah, my fiancee."
"Ay. She so pretty and thin. Hello, Milah. Welcome to our family."
"Thank you, Mrs. Jones. I'm very happy to be here."
She shook her head and chuckled. "Please, please, gurl. Do not call me Mrs. Jones, that name belongs to the bitch in the other side of Ireland, just call me Cora."
Wow. Okay? Killian did not tell me about the hatred his mother had with stepmother.
I gave her a weak smile and nodded. "Alright, Cora."
Cora clapped her hands and called for the other women's attention. "Gurls! Gurls! Our guests arrived!"
The four women lined up in a certain order and Cora introduced them to me by the gesture of a hand. "This is the first one, Lorena. The second one is Dorety. The third one is Nina. And our last one who is obviously expecting baby is Bertie. Now gurls remember, she no understand Irish like Killian. Speak English to her so she understands."
The four women attacked me right then with questions and compliments. The main focus they had was my blonde hair. I guess its not common for Irish people to have blonde hair, I don't know, but according to their reaction, it seems quite rare. It was hard to answer any of their questions or at least say something because they all spoke at the same exact time. Killian tried to help me, but Cora busied him with food tasting.
While the women rambled on, I literally wanted to melt and disappear. The great difficulty of this poor communication is not only because of the fact they're speaking at the same time, but mainly because their English is really really bad and hard to understand. However, out of the four women, Bertie seems to be the only one who knew how to control herself. I seriously love her now for saving my ass out of this confusing group.
"Stop. Our guest looks tired and should rest. Not talk to us right now. Come on, Milah, I will show you to your room where you and Killian will stay. Okay?"
The women were annoyed but they finally stopped talking. Lorena and Nina remained in the kitchen while Bertie and Dorety led me upstairs. They took me in the one room that was all the way in the far corner. Bertie open the door for everyone to come inside. When we stepped inside, I almost collapsed of how beautiful everything looked. The bedroom is literally three times bigger than my apartment, the cold marble floor is covered in fine mats, the walls are clothed with over three different kinds of tapestries, and a fireplace on the corner that's few feet away from the handcrafted wardrobe, and the lastly the bed was the best part. Two windows were between it, the bed was practically showered like king; its covered in fine heavy looking bed sheets, over six pillows decorated in the center and the very tall bed rails hung a white transparent curtain that drapes around every side of the bed.
"What do you think of this room, Milah?" Bertie asked.
"It's simply beautiful."
"I'm glad you like it."
"Where is Killian's father? I haven't seen him."
Bertie placed both her hands on her large pregnant belly and rubbed it smoothly. "He's in his study room. 'ould you like to meet him?"
"Oh no. No I was so nervous to meet you guys. And I'm even more nervous now that's I'm here. I'll just wait until dinner time."
"Dinner time is very soon now. Just you wait."
"Why won't you tell us about New York, Milah? I'm dyin' to know 'bout that place." Dorety asked.
"Well, um New York is big. Cold. And busy..."
Dorety looked disappointed by that short answer. "Thatz it. Really? Nothin' else? How about stores? Clothes? Cars? And even - "
Bertie took her by the arm and dragged her to the door. "We should leave, she needs rest. Just unpack, Milah, supper will be ready soon. Goodbye." She opened the door and pushed Dorety otu and shut the door behind her.
~ I spent a good twenty minutes unpacking and arranging my clothes in the wardrobe, saving half the room for Killian's things. As for my outfit...Well, at first I really had no idea. I wasn't sure if I should get all prettied up or well something just simple and appropriate. But after much frustration, I concluded with the decision to wear a more comfortable outfit - a pair of blue jeans, a white sleeved shirt, my brown leather booth with the high neck and my simple golden hooped earrings.
Suddenly the door opened, it's Killian. He came in with the suitcase on his hand. He went over to the bed and parked the suitcase by the bed.
"Finally. What took you so long?"
"Cora busied me with food tasting, I couldn't refuse. You ready?"
"I'm ready alright."
"Good. But before you go, you need to wear this first." He reached something out from his pocket and took my left hand.
"What are you doing?"
He slipped a ring in my finger. But the ring did not look anything like the yellow canary engagement ring Milah always wore. This one is a silver band with diamonds all around.
"This is the wedding band. I was able to get Milah out of the U.S., but I certainly was not able to get her precious engagement ring off. She loves that ring more than her career."
"Gotcha. All I have to do is keep it on and hope none of the children might take it away from me."
"Okay we got that straight. Let's go." He didn't release my hand and closed his fingers tightly on it.
I frowned at him, signalling him about the hand holding. "Hey, we're a couple, remember. Hand holding is normal to couples."
"Hand holding, fine. But kissing, now let's get that straight real quick. I just have one warning, that's it. Please please no tongues."
He gave me a playful smile and leaned closer to me. "You sure about that. My father will be more convinced if we forget about that one particular warning of yours."
I lightly slapped him on the shoulder. "Killian!"
He chuckled. "Hey, I was just joking. Okay?"
"You better be."
If I paid more attention to all the Irish weddings I planned out in the past, then I could have gotten more use to Irish family gatherings. When Killian and I arrived to the dining room, his stepbrothers cheered and urged us to take a seat. Cora and the four women came to the dining table to drop off heavy dishes of delicious food - I was taken back that Bertie was helping too. The stepbrothers ate and talked really loud - when I mean loud I mean like the guys drinking beer and watching a football game in a bar together loud. As for the children, they silenced themselves by stuffing their little mouths with food.
Mr. Jones on the other hand remained completely quiet. Other than the fact he's the only one who speaks perfect English - sort of "Americanish" not so fancy with big vocab words - but the man looks just like all the white wigged guys I learned in U.S. History class. He looks nothing like an Irish man or Killian. He also sort of seems like a terrifying man, his expression is just so plain and glum, but there just the way he looks is so obvious there is a strict side in him. When the women placed the last dishes on the table, they finally joined us.
Cora went to the far end of the table and sat next to her husband. A smile washed away his horrific plain expression. He took his wife's face and pulled her for a kiss. Cora smiled and sat back down, holding on to his hand. She lifted her head higher and caught me watching her. I froze right then. But she smiled even wider and asked me. "How do you like the food, Milah? Good?"
I nodded. "Yes. is delicious. You're absolutely a fantastic cook."
"Well, thank you. Everything served here are all from my mother's family recipe. Oh she was a good cook. Taught me well since I was gurl. When she died, I promised myself I'll teach my daughter the same. But since I have only sons, I taught their wives. Hmm. I'll teach you too after you marry Killian."
I stuffed my mouth with two slices of lamb and gave her an excuse to just respond with a nod.
Cora pointed to the basket of soda bread. "Lorena, give Milah some more soda bread. Milah, eat some more soda bread, they're good for the system."
Lorena pushed the bread basket to me and I took a slice. I don't really like the soda bread, but even though its different from a simple french bread, it at least have some benefits other than just fat.
Suddenly, Lorena took my hand almost screamed. She examined closely at my hand. I was a little confused at first before realizing she was looking at the wedding band Killian gave me earlier. "So many diamonds." I really wanted her to let go of my hand, but she couldn't keep her eyes off the ring.
"It's my wedding band."
She lifted her hand and frowned. "Wedding band? Where es your engagement ring?"
"Oh...Well..um Killian sent it back at Jewelry shop to add another diamond." I lied.
Killian leaned into my ear and whispered something before pulling back to look at Lorena. "Nice save."
Lorena finally released my hand and awed when Killian pulled me for a kiss on the cheek. But then her smile disappeared when she turned to her husband, she smacked him hard on the back of the head that made her husband drop his silverware on his plate. He looked at her confused, but his mouth was full of food that gave him the disadvantage to speak. "Why couldn't you be more romantic and sweet like Killian? The ring you gave me before we married had one diamond. Only one, I tell you! Oh it's thee size of pebble on street. You're rich but your taste is just thrash. Thrash...Huh. Tá tú aon madra salach maith (You no good filthy dog.)."
I smiled by hearing her say that. But I still pitied her poor husband so I saved him by speaking up for him. "Ar a laghad mhol sé a thabhairt duit le fáinne Diamond, is fáinne le Diamond níos fearr ná aon fáinne ar chor ar bith. Agus nach bhfuil moladh Killian as a bheith den sórt sin iontach rómánsúil ach go fóill. An lá a mhol sé dom, an fear riamh .. Ciallaíonn mé riamh d'fhéadfadh a fháil ach síos i amháin glúine mar fear. Mar sin, tá sé seo ach comhairle beag a thabhairt duit, Lorena. Tá do fear céile go hiomlán dea - agus tá súil againn go fada buan - Coimeádaí."
("At least he proposed to you with a diamond ring, a ring with a diamond is better than no ring at all. And don't praise Killian for being such an amazing romantic just yet. The day he proposed to me, the man never..I mean just could never get down in one knee like a man. So this is just a little advice to you, Lorena. Your husband is absolutely a good - and hopefully long-lasting - keeper.")
Everyone just paused and fell silent. Lorena gasped and laughed. She took my hand again and simple said. "Labhraíonn Tá tú Gaeilge? Cén fáth nach raibh tú ag insint dúinn roimhe seo? Embarassed Tá tú beagnach gach duine againn ag iarraidh a chur in iúl duit lenár Béarla Uafásach."
("You speak Irish? Why didn't you tell us before? You practically embarassed all of us by trying to communicate to you with our horrible English.")
"Bhuel, thug nobdy deis dom chun labhairt. Agus bhí mé ró léigear ag do fáilteach te."
("Well, nobdy gave me a chance to talk. And I was too overwhelmed by your warm welcoming.")
Lorena turned to her husband again and smacked him once more on the back of the head. "An raibh a chuala tú é sin? Na cailíní a labhraíonn Gaeilge. Huh. Killian roghnaíodh go leor cailín as a Bride. Gan trácht ar an-mhaith. Heeheheheheh ..."
("Did you heard that? The girls speaks Irish. Huh. Killian picked quite a girl for his bride. Not to mention a very good one. Heeheheheheh...")
Mr. Jones did not look at all impressed. He lifted one his hands that silenced Lorena's harsh laughter. Honestly, I feel like he's the lion and we're all the lambs under control by him. "It appears there are a great deal of details we do not know about your personal life, although many of us want to know more about you, perhaps we could hold until tea time. My wife provided a fine rich meal on this table, it is too distracting to discuss any matter. Do you think your stomach can hold at that particular time, dear?"
"Bainfidh mé triail as, a dhuine uasail. Ach tá an uan líonadh amhlaidh agus saill, whoever roghnaigh slaugther déanta le rogha maith. Go hionraic, ní féidir liom stop a ithe feola tairisceana, ach is dóigh liom i ndeireadh an lae beidh mé a fháil ar iasacht ar roinnt de na éadaí Bertie ar, mar gheall ar ceart anois, tá mé ag tosú le mothú cheana féin mo bholg balún suas cosúil leis an méid de asal beag cliste Killian."
("I'll try, sir. But this lamb is so filling and fat, whoever chose to slaugther it made a good choice. Honestly, I can't stop eating this tender meat, but I think in the end of the day I'll have to borrow some of Bertie's clothes, because right now, I'm starting to already feel my stomach balloon up like the size of Killian's smart little ass.")
Everyone started to laugh and some of the little children pointed at Killian, laughing hysterically like their parents,but Mr. Jones was not amused at all I hope he takes that part about Killian's ass thing lightly, after all, he once did see it before in the past, he's grown up now, but if that image is remembered in your brain, all you have to do is enlarge it.
Of course, Killian was left confused and looked at me desperately to translate. I shook my head and refused to do so.
At tea time, Cora again served a splendid feast once again. We all settled down in the living room and filled ourselves up even more with some fine cakes and tea and warm milk for the children. The cakes were served as two different kinds: bunt cake and Irish coffee cake. The children were only allowed to eat the bunt cake because there is whiskey added into the other cake that gives it an Irish style flavor. I tried rum cake many times in weddings, but this cake certainly taste way different from rum cake. The cake itself is very strong and has the slight taste of whiskey in the after taste, but the creamy frosting and crushed walnuts on tops of it blends well smoothly.
I was the first one to finish my first slice. And even though I wasn't exactly a big of it, I took another slice to be polite. Cora smiled at me and poured herself another cup of tea. "Is it good, Milah?"
I nodded. "Very yummy, Cora. Is this also from your mother's recipes."
"Oh no. No. Almost all Irish know what Irish coffee cake taste like. But my mother has secret to her recipe that makes our cake different. I'm glad you like it."
Mr. Jones took a careful sip of his tea and looked straight at me, his expression completely emotionless and still without a single movement of a muscle. "Now that it is tea time, and everyone is comfortable, tell us a little about yourself in English. I'm aware that your Irish is fluent and also have no trouble to communicate with my wife and children. However, it is good practice to them."
"Well, I live in Staten Island and work as a screen writer/producer. I'm sure all of you know that I worked for Killian for about seven years. As a child, I was raised in Hawaii and almost became a dancer if my mother was never a novelist. She inspired me to get into writing. Of course, becoming a novelist is a challenging career to accept, there was always these 'ifs' that could ruin my future. So I got into film writing, after many years of difficulty to fine a good job I ended up meeting Killian, and we worked together ever since."
Mr. Jones nodded and placed his tea cup down on the coffee table. "So you started dating him after many years of working together?"
"No. Not exactly. We actually met at a bar. Oh, should I tell them that story, babe?"
Killian waved a hand across his face, and shook his head. "No. They wouldn't want to hear that story."
"Oh yes they would. Come on, its a fantastic story. To this very day, its still something I can never forget."
He placed his plate down on his lap and slipped his arm around my waist. I curved my arm around his and snuggled closer to him, playing along with the act. "Alright. Tell them the story, honey."
"Oh good. Would you like to hear it, Mr. Jones?"
"As long as the story does not contain any maddening intimacy involving you and my son, then yes I would like to hear it."
"Alright. So this all took place in this one evening, I just came back from maddening job hunt - I failed again to find a proper job - so instead of going home I went straight to a nearby bar. I ordered my usual Friday night martini, and I sat at this empty stool by the bar stand, drinking my martini quietly. But a few minutes later, this drunk guy who was three seats away from me, came up to where I was sitting and started flirting with me. I attacked him with this uninterested behavior, trying to give him the message that I had no desire of attraction toward him. But he wouldn't stop, and then he tried to kiss me. I fought back but struggled to break free from his strong grasp, and before anyone could help me, Killian happen to be just at the corner, he came up behind the man and saved me. He grabbed the drunk guy and punched his teeth out until he collapsed on the floor. These other dudes carried the drunk man away. Killian kindly asked me if I was okay, and I was just so shocked at that moment, all I could think of was going home. But before I was about to leave, he caught my arm and asked me for a quick drink before I go. I was about to decline before I saw his face...Oh his gorgeous sexy face. Excuse my description of calling him sexy, Mr. Jones, but believe me it is hard to deny that one particular word to describe your son's physical characteristics - I know many other women agrees of me. Anyway, I said yes, still paralyzed for a good five seconds, and after that night we saw each other again and we pulled it off from there. Which bring us to this very day, our ninety eighth day of our engagement."
Enrique brushed Killian's hair and chuckled harshly. "Oh please. When you hide that brave side of yours, Killian? I know you master with camera, but since when were you master with women. My God, brother, you sure you want to marry?"
Nina punched her husband's shoulder and cursed under her breath. Enrique rubbed his shoulder and silenced after his angry wife threatened him with a closed tight fist.
I glanced straight at Mr. Jones to see his reaction. But again, his face is unreadable and unidentifiable - I wonder how Cora goes through life of marrying a man who only shows his feelings in the inside, deep deep deep inside. "What do you think of that, Mr. Jones? Quite a shock, huh?"
"Exceedingly shocking. My, I never knew you were quite a feisty romantic son. New York certainly has changed you. From the few girlfriends you had in the past, I don't believe you ever met any of them with quite an adventurous situation."
"Well, I'm happy to hear that from you, Mr. Jones. Now I feel quite lucky."
"Please Milah, do not call me Mr. Jones. No one has called me that over ten years. Please just simply call me father. My wife has no problem of being called by her first name, however, to me addressing by the correct formality of what you are titled as is very important to me, also may I add, a respectable act to all mature adults."
"Father. I can use to that."
"Proceed with another story. Perhaps a story when my son proposed to you."
"A-Alright."
Killian squeezed my shoulder slightly, signalling me to make this story right just as we discussed in the plane. Right now in the very moment though, I have the choice to tell everyone my simple story or Killian's great fantasy like fairy tale. However, there is this one last option that drives me to pick that one out of the first two, taking this opportunity to fight back at Killian after the tormenting days at work. Oh it is on.
"Oh father, your son is certainly a romantic. But wait until you listen to this story, this is more adorable than imagining this Killian Jones as a dashing mature man. One night I was eating dinner and watching some television, but I was interrupted by a phone call. It was my best friend, Jasmine. She told me she's in the middle of traffic and need me desperately to go to her office to pick up an important file. I told I can go. So I grabbed my coat and keys and went downstairs to call for a cab. When I got to the building, I immediately noticed something strangely off. There was no one in sight, except for three security guards. I was aware that all the employees retire to their homes after another two hours, but yet no one was there. Assuming any possibilities of their whereabouts, I went on the elevator and went to the seventh floor where Jasmine's office was. When I got there, there was this really long long path of rose petals. I followed the trail and it came to a stop in front of my friend's office. I went inside and on the floor was this pink heart shaped box. I picked it up and opened it, this whole bunch of cut out confetti popped out - I later realized that Killian was cute enough to cut the confetti himself other than just buying them. And inside was this folded letter, I unfolded it and awed at a cute baby cupid it had on the end of the card. It was written for me to go to this hotel room in room 306."
Killian frowned of how this story was going, so he joined the conversation before I could say anything else. "And - And when she got to the hotel room, there was more rose petals on the floor and some champagne and a silver bowl filled with chocolate covered strawberries."
"He was wearing this Greek goddess cupid outfit, he had the bow and the wings and everything."
Killian pounded his hand on my back hard, smiling awkwardly and now was determined to save the "truth" of the story. "I was not. I think Milah is a little drunk on the cake. So relax I wore a back tuxedo to look nice for that one important moment of my life. And then I took out the ring and said the magic words and she said yes. End of story."
I shook my head. "Oh no its not. There's more to the story. When I walked in Killian was just crying like a little baby. I mean like so hysterically he actually had to excuse himself to the bathroom."
Killian's in-laws held back, trying not to laugh but failed horribly. Their children on the other hand, did not do the same and embarrassed Killian completely. Cora however was just confused where this story was getting to, and father was not amused or pleased to hear this story. But I continued with every bit of amusement I had left inside me. "Anyway after his poor eyes finished balling with tears, he shakily bend down on one knee. And with a trembling lips, his nose fill with snot and his cheeks wrinkled with his salty tears, finally asked me to be his wife with the ring on his weak trembling hand. Then right at that moment, I was crying. My tears, unfortunately, made his tears to return. So we embraced one another crying our asses off that night and spent the entire evening in that hotel room with nothing but tissues and messy kisses. Now that is how my darling Killian proposed to me. Romantic isn't it?"
Killian's in-laws could not hold back no longer and just released themselves to tear dropping laughter. This time father could not silence them. But he simply said with that plain look on his face to me. "Quite an amusing story, indeed. Are you sure this actually happened?"
"I'm not so sure. I cried so much on that day that I even forgot the time he slipped the ring on my finger the next morning."
The story doesn't end here. However, I must end here. I hope you guys like this I promise this story will definitely be continued very soon ( if I ever make the time). Byee.
P.S. I know its kind of weird imagining Cora speaking with an ascent, I didn't plan to make her that way, but for some reason it works. Any hoo. byee.
