She turned to see who it was and saw a woman with brown hair tied up in a bun, standing near the open gate and facing a tall man wearing a black overcoat. His head was covered by a black hat.
The woman was wiping her hand on the apron over her dress.
She must have been whipping something up from the kitchen when she went out to answer the door.
"You shouldn't be here," the woman said. "They might see you and hurt you!"
The man looked sadly at the woman. "I...I needed to see you," he said. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
The woman sighed. "That's enough," she said. "We've been through this, Elbert."
Mai stiffened. Elbert..?
"I know," Elbert said – tears streaming down his face as he looked down at his worn boots.
The woman smiled and shook her head. She wiped his tears with her thumb. "Hush now," she said. "You've always been such a baby. I've always wondered why you were my older brother when I was always the one who had to comfort you like this."
Elbert smiled. "You...You forgive me..?"
"Haven't I already told you that I have?" the woman asked smiling sweetly at Elbert.
"How..? How could you forgive me? I did a dreadful thing," Elbert said.
The woman held his face in her two hands. "Because you are my brother," the woman said. "And I love my brother."
Elbert burst into tears. "You shouldn't love me," he said. "I can't love you the way you love me. You know that."
The woman sighed. "I know," she said. "I admit that it hurt me. But I had to admit that I'm happy with what I received after that. You gave me a wonderful son."
Elbert stared surprised at the woman. "A son..?"
The woman nodded and smiled sweetly at him. "Do you want to hold him?" she said, inviting Elbert inside the house.
Mai then heard a baby crying behind her. She turned around and found herself inside a room with a baby cradle.
Elbert and the woman were there. The woman was lifting the crying baby in her arms and handing the baby to Elbert.
"I...I might..." Mai heard Elbert say. She noticed how frightened he was.
The woman laughed. "He is your son," the woman said. "You will know how to hold him."
Elbert sighed and carefully held the baby in his hands.
The baby stopped crying. It stared at Elbert's face.
Mai saw tears slide down Elbert's cheeks.
"He is...He is so beautiful," he said smiling happily at the baby in his arms. "You look so much like your mother!"
The woman smiled. "That means he has your nose," she said.
Elbert looked confused at the woman.
"Have you forgotten that we share mother's nose?" the woman asked.
Elbert chuckled. "You're right," he said before turning to look at the baby again. He touched the baby's supple cheeks.
The baby smiled – his round brown eyes smiling with his lips.
"He is marvellous," Elbert said. "Can I kiss him?" he asked the woman.
The woman nodded. "He is your son."
Elbert smiled and kissed the baby's cheeks, earning him a giggle from the baby. He also kissed the baby's forehead, nose, and chin.
"What is his name?" Elbert asked the woman.
The woman shrugged. "We have not filed the papers for his birth certificate," she said. "We are still paying some bills in the hospital."
Elbert sighed. "How...How is he taking him?"
The woman smiled. "He was so happy when he first held him," she said. "He really felt like he is our son's father. And he is still the one waking up at night when the baby cries for milk. He loves the baby."
Elbert looked down at the baby. "Has he...Has he touched you?"
The woman shook her head. "He respects me," she said. "He wants me to feel comfortable with what we have."
Elbert held the baby's hand in his. "And...How is he taking me?"
"He wants to see you," the woman answered. "He has been longing to see you again. You know he treats you like his older brother. And he respects you as the baby's father, and as my brother."
Elbert sighed. "I am a monster," he said.
"He hated you at first, yes," the woman said. "But he does not hate you anymore. He is happy to meet our child."
Elbert kissed his cheek. "So what name are you planning to give him?"
The woman shrugged her shoulders. "I was hoping you would be able to help us with that," she said smiling at Elbert.
Elbert's eyes went wide. "Me..?"
"You are his father," the woman said. "You have as much right as I to give him a name. Besides, you have always been the creative one between us."
Elbert looked down at the baby. "I will name him," he said trying to accept the chance that she was giving him.
"Yes," the woman said. "So what name will you give him?
"Oswald," Elbert said gently tracing circles on th baby's cheek with the tip of his thumb. "It means 'God's power.' He will grow to be a good man."
"Oswald," Mai heard a man say from the other part of the room. She turned to see another man smiling kindly at Elbert and the woman. "I like it," the man said.
Elbert stared anxiously at the man.
"You are home," the woman cheerfully told the man.
The man chuckled. "I am sorry I did not knock," he said. "I figured it would be disrespectful."
"None sense," the woman said opening her arms to welcome him.
The man embraced her before looking at Elbert. "It has been a while," he said. "How are you?"
"I am good," he stiffly said.
The woman sighed. "Oswald and I will go fix dinner," she said taking the baby from Elbert. She then walked out of the room.
Elbert looked away from the man.
The man looked at the empty cradle.
"I love her," the man said.
Elbert looked at him.
"So it pained me when I heard what happened," the man said. "But you have been a great brother to me. I just could not believe that it happened until I noticed that her stomach was getting bigger."
Elbert didn't know what to say.
"I wanted to hit you," he said. "I wanted to hurt you. But she...she did not hate you. And I realized that she did not think it was you who did it. She believed, just like I did, that you could never do it. Yet we both knew that it happened."
Elbert looked away. "I did it," he said. "I am in love with her. I am a monster."
The man looked at Elbert. "You did not want to do it," he said.
"NO!" Elbert yelled. He stared at the man. "I wanted to do it. I did it!"
The man sighed and shook his head. "Whatever made you do it was not you," the man said. He then patted Elbert's shoulder. "Stay for dinner," he said smiling at him. "We missed you. And I am sure Oswald would be happy to have you here with us."
Mai smiled. It was a horrible setup...but it seemed as if everything was in the right place.
