Cal walked across the dry grass crunching the leaves beneath his brown leather shoes
Hi everyone and thank you for the great response from last chapter. I'm excited about this chapter because I have had parts of it written for a while now and I hope you enjoy the chapter. I'm only going to write one more chapter and an epilogue I think. But, it might be two chapters and epilogue depending on how many of my plot ideas I want to use. I'm also definitely going to post the first chapter of Maxim's story in a couple of days because now I think I finally have an outline for that story. Again thank you to all my readers and reviewers, your comments are always welcome. This story advances a few years later after chapter 24 and if your confused I'm hoping to use flashbacks in the next chapter to clarify gaps in the plot. Please read and review!
The Quidditch Chronicles XXV
On the eve of his wedding, Maxim asked if I would ever marry again and give up the bachelor life. Although he wasn't married yet, he said that he could tell that promising to love and be loved by Delilah for the rest of his life was bringing him more peace and happiness than he could describe. I said first, that he was extraordinarily lucky. Then I told him that I had already had the love of my life and that I was afraid everyone else would always be second best. That was seven years after Sophie's death and while there had been too many women that had found their way into my life and into the tabloids I didn't attend Maxim's wedding with a date. Something about weddings seemed to intimate and precious to be shared with some girl more interested in my inheritance than me. I wanted to love again, sort of, I just was afraid I couldn't…
Cal walked across the dry grass crunching the leaves beneath his brown leather shoes. He took a deep breath more consciously aware than ever of his surroundings. He stopped walking when he came across the marble headstone gleaming in the brilliant late summer September sun. A little over ten years had passed.
"Hey Sophie," he began the simple statement coming out shakier than he intended.
"So I know you were never much of a flowers and chocolate type, but I was walking past that little flower shop by Rumeur's Tea House and I saw these blue forget-me-nots. And it was such a prophetic name, because this morning I realized that I don't remember the sound of your laugh, and every time I try, it sounds tinny and hollow. And I've forgotten your smell and the feeling of your hand on my chest. I know it felt good and I know it seems not exactly right with the women I've been with since, but I'm scared Sophie. I'm scared that I'm forgetting you. That everyday I'm losing you, I'm losing us and I've tried so hard to fill that fear with women, every type of woman all across the world. But, all it seems to do is make me more lonely, more likely to miss you. I'm only 30, but all I see is an endless life of loneliness in front of me. I love you. You're my first love, the first one I ever made love to, the only girl I ever needed. Sophie, I know you probably hate the way I'm living these days, and I can't promise you that I will change. I miss you everyday and part of my heart may always be with you no matter who I meet. You told me if I found someone special I should do it, I should love her and not feel like I'm betraying or abandoning you. I just wanted to tell you that I'm ready Sophie, and I want to fall in love again"
Caliber carefully placed the pretty blue flowers next to the headstone. He crouched low down to the headstone, and cleared away some stray grass. Cal kissed his fingertips and then touched them to the headstone that read Sophie Harlow Beloved Wife and Daughter. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before standing up and walking away, feeling more content then he had in a very, very long time.
SIX MONTHS LATER
Cal fingered the sleeve of the finely tailored striped shirts hanging on the mahogany racks of McCain and Marlborough's fourth floor- Men's Casual. Luella Biltmore, his best friend had planned to meet him for one of their tri-annual shopping trips for Cal. But, as usual she was late and he was hopeless in the expansive department store filled with luxury goods like cashmere sweaters, Italian leather shoes, fine-gauge cotton tees and even crocodile Hermes condom cases.
"Cal! Cal!" someone's voice was calling out behind him. He turned to see a beautiful woman holding the hand of a young boy. Her eyes were scanning the store rapidly, searchingly. Clearly it wasn't Caliber Potter she was looking for. It was then Cal noticed a pair of little brown saddle shoes peeking out beneath a rack of rather grandly displayed polo shirts. Cal walked over to the rack and pulled apart the shirts to reveal a small dark-haired boy who merely stared back at Cal, his face blank of any emotion.
"Are you Cal?" Caliber asked squatting down so that he was the boy's height.
"Yes", he said still staring at Cal impassively.
"I'm Cal too. I think your mother is looking for you. It seems you've given her quite a scare"
"Yes, it seems that way" said the boy in a rather eloquent and precocious way for a seven-year old.
"Maybe you should go back to her"
The boy waved his hand in a dismissive nature and Cal resisted the urge to laugh.
"Is your Cal short for Calgary too?"
"Not it's Caliber"
"Well I'm Calgary. You're the quidditch player, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am, so what do you say, shall we go back to your mum?"
"Perhaps" the boy said, and they walked over to his mother who was turned around and scolding the other boy with her.
"Darwin, honestly I asked you to look after him for no more than a couple of minutes. Oh, where could that boy have walked off to?"
"Mum" said Calgary tugging the back of his mother's knee length skirt. She turned quickly and in surprise and relief she dropped her handbag before kneeling to hug her son tightly.
"Oh goodness! Where on earth?!", she said her tone relieved and then scolding. She huffed and placed her hands on her slim hips, "where were you?"
"I was sitting under a shirt rack", Calgary said nonchalantly, "but Mum, this is-"
"Why? What were you doing?" she demanded.
"Nothing, I was just sitting, it was peaceful", the boy said as if people did such things all the time. "Anyway, Mum, this is Cal too. He's Caliber though. You know the quidditch player"
The woman turned to face Caliber with a look of restrained shock, clearly noticing Caliber for the first time.
"Hello," Caliber said handing her dropped handbag to her.
"Thank you", said the woman before extending her free hand, "I'm Bethina St. Jordaine-Dupont"
"Caliber Potter. American?" he said noticing her accent.
"Among other things", she said with a little laugh.
As Bethina laughed Cal was able to get a good look at her for the first time. Cal could only describe her as striking. Bethina was remarkably sophisticated looking with her dark hair pulled back into a glossy chignon that managed to look both chic and effortless. She had dark glistening eyes, high cheekbones and an aristocratic little chin. Everything about her was polished and glamorous from her perfectly manicured nails, to the tailored black sheath she was wearing, to the delicate diamond tennis bracelet hanging on her thin wrist. Her features seemed carved of stone and were perfectly symmetrical. She was extraordinarily pretty and refined.
"You don't happen to be related to the Dupont butterbeer family"
"My late husband was William Dupont" Bethina said smiling shyly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried"
"No it's fine. After all, it's been five years. Did you know him?"
"Not really, he was three years ahead of me in Hogwarts. Though my parents know the Dupont family quite well"
"Of course, the famously small world of high society" said Bethina with a small smirk. The smirk surprised Cal as based on appearances alone; he would have suspected Bethina of being a bit of an elitist.
"Where did you go to school?"
"Darwin, Cal, stay close", she said aside to her two young sons. "I went to Salem Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm actually from New York though"
"You're from New York. Then you're of the St. Jordaine banking family"
"Guilty again" said Bethina
"Trust me, I know what you mean" said Cal who truly understood what it meant to always be recognized by simply your last name.
From where he stood he could see Luella exiting the bank of elevators. She had finally arrived 45 minutes late. But now he didn't feel much like shopping. In fact, he was most interested in continuing his conversation with Ms. St. Jordaine-Dupont.
She was a fascinating woman, with her perfectly put-together appearance which seemed so much more refreshing than the trashy, wild look of many of the girls he met in the nightclubs. But then that earlier smirk lent an edge to her sophistication. She was already full of mysteries Cal couldn't wait to solve.
"Mummy I'm hungry" said Calgary pulling on his mother's wrist, to get her attention.
"When are you not? And how did your shirt get un-tucked here, mister" said Bethina kneeling down to Calgary's height and fixing his clothing. When she was finished, she kissed him on the forehead and told him to be patient for just a minute more.
For some reason, the motherliness of Bethina's simple gestures tugged at Cal's heartstrings.
As Bethina tended to her children, Cal was able to make eye contact with Luella. She began to walk over to him and Bethina who was still kneeling. Cal put his hand up to indicate she should stop and then made a gesture indicating that Luella should go back to the elevator bank. Luella shrugged in confusion but then when Cal pointed to Bethina Luella got the message, smiled and waved then walked away.
"You know, I haven't eaten myself. Would you like to go to lunch at the café?" Cal asked. He had to admit he was a bit nervous about her response, though he tried to ask as casually as he could. Still, his confidence was shaken by her obvious strength of character.
"Mummy, ice cream, you promised!" protested Calgary to the suggestion. He was starting to seem more like a seven year old now.
"Yes, you're right. I did promise" said Bethina standing back up, "I'm sorry Caliber, I'm afraid today we're skipping lunch and going straight for the ice cream"
"Can Caliber come with us?" asked Calgary.
"It's perfectly fine with me. But why don't you call him Mr. Potter?" responded Bethina
"Oh, no, Caliber is fine. Actually most people call me Cal, but Mr. Potter is definitely my father"
"Well, Cal, are you in the mood for a chocolate sundae?" asked Bethina.
"Always" said Cal with a smile.
"I'll race you to the lift" Bethina's older son Darwin said to Calgary.
"No you won't" called Bethina after them, but her voice faded as the two boys sprinted towards the elevators.
Caliber, Bethina, Darwin and Calgary sat at the gilded bar of the old-fashioned ice cream parlor on the seventh floor of McCain & Marlborough's.
The ice cream parlor was decorated in the Victorian fashion with lace trimmings on the windows that overlooked the Thames and gold fixtures on the mahogany counters and tables.
Darwin and Calgary were currently entertaining themselves by making a sculpture out of whipped cream on an extra plate. Caliber had suggested the idea after telling the story of a whipped cream quidditch pitch he had made when he was ten with his brothers after their mum treated them to ice cream on one of her shopping trips.
Bethina had sort of mock-admonished Caliber for suggesting her two rowdy sons play with their food, but as it was keeping them occupied and for the most part quiet, she could hardly complain.
Even with hired help, Cal could imagine that it was quite difficult to raise two young sons on her own.
He already knew that he liked her very much after a bit of conversation with her. She was intelligent and witty and Cal could tell she had a sort of quiet strength about her.
"You haven't always lived in London have you? I mean I'm sure I would have seen you around. And I had heard that William had moved to the States. Is that where you met?" Cal asked, hoping she wasn't offended by his curiosity.
Bethina was usually a pretty guarded woman, never allowing for interviews or inquiries about her famous family, but something about Cal seemed so honest and she found herself trusting him with remarkable ease.
"Well, no actually we met while I was doing graduate studies in London. Franklin, Will's father, made Will president of the American branch of the Dupont Beverage Corporation and just a couple of years after we had Calgary we moved to San Francisco. After Will died, it was just me and the boys as I was never close to my family. I'm an only child and my parents split when I was twelve so when I was offered a job here six months ago I didn't hesitate to move to London as I've grown quite close to the Duponts over the years. We actually live with Franklin and Will's older brother Graham at Dupont House in Belliston Square"
Cal knew of the large London mansion that had housed the moneyed Dupont family for generations. In fact he remembered attending parties there as a kid with his parents when they happened to be in town at their own Grosvenor Square townhouse.
"What do you do then?
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that" Bethina said coyly.
"Why? Private investigator, call girl, assassin?" Cal said teasingly.
Bethina rolled her eyes, "Unspeakable"
"Aw, I knew you were mysterious" Caliber said only half-joking.
Bethina helped herself to another bite of ice cream heaped with chocolate sauce. Cal watched her every movement as she brought the spoon to her perfect lips and then released the spoon again clean, except for a tiny hint of chocolate that was left just above the right corner of her mouth.
She had noticed the chocolate too, and as she brought her right ring finger to gently swipe the chocolate away, Cal noticed that a rather large diamond ring gleamed there.
So she had moved her engagement ring to her right hand, just like Cal had switched his wedding band two years after Sophie died.
She was quite possibly the only person who could understand what Cal had been through with Sophie.
Bethina glanced down at her watch, a rather masculine looking piece made of white gold and a bright mother of pearl face. The watch on her thin wrists and feminine hands might seem out of place, but looked solid and reliable and from the slight scratches on the band, well worn. Cal understood what it meant to have something, however insignificant and material to ground you. He wanted to know if maybe the watch had belonged to Will as well.
But Bethina was standing up and reaching for her purse. Cal realized she meant to pay for the ice cream, but Cal beat her too it and quickly took out a handful of galleons and placed them on the mahogany countertop.
Bethina saw and frowned slightly, "You don't have to pay. In fact, I would rather-"
"Please, I know I don't have to. I want to" Cal said gently.
Her expression didn't waver and Cal thought she made even something as unpleasant as a frown seem elegant and pretty.
"I insist" Cal said more firmly this time and his tone made her dark eyes, like liquid onyx, pull up to meet his own.
She smiled shyly, clearly not used to being taken care of, and nodded. Bethina then turned her attention to her boys who were reluctant to leave the cheery ice cream parlor.
After a few minutes during which she impressively managed to force coats and scarves around Darwin and Calgary as well as wipe the extraordinary amounts of chocolate and vanilla off her sons' faces, the Dupont family was ready to leave.
"Bye, thank you for the ice cream" Darwin said tugging at his tightly wrapped scarf.
"Bye Cal, thank you," said Calgary in agreement. The boys were all politeness because of their mother and grandfather.
"Goodbye" said Bethina extending her hand and smiling brightly.
Caliber took her hand, but didn't release it immediately, "Wait, when can I see you again…I mean, if you want to" Cal said quickly, hoping he hadn't presumed anything.
"Well, I-" Bethina struggled for something to say. She did want to see him again, but she wasn't sure exactly in what capacity.
"How about a quidditch game? We're playing QC Wimbledon on Saturday, and it promises to be a good game. I can get you seats in the top box", Caliber vaguely wondered if he sounded like he was begging.
Darwin and Calgary, listening in immediately began pleading with their mum to say yes.
"Alright, yes. That sounds wonderful", Bethina said after a moment.
"Good, great, okay I'll owl you with the details" Cal said flashing Bethina one of his famous melt-your-heart smiles. He was pleased to see the faintest blush creep into her cheeks as she, Darwin and Calgary left the parlor.