This is a special chapter coz you guys will get to discover more about Matt & Mimi's past and about Mimi's father. There's a little bit angst & drama, but it's all good.
Chapter Thirteen
After Matt left the bedroom, Mimi got up. She smoothed down her shirt & slacks, and went to the bathroom to freshen up before going downstairs. When she entered the kitchen, Matt was setting a bowl of soup on a small tray.
"You don't have to bring that upstairs," she said, as he looked around. "I'm feeling much better. Mmm, that smells good." She threw him a friendly smile. "Out of a can?"
"Out of the freezer."
"Ah, from Sora…or your mom?"
"My mother, she makes the best chicken soup…and she believes it's a cure for whatever ails you."
"You're going to have some, too?"
"No, I've arranged to have lunch with a client…I was planning to go right back to the office."
"Do you have to rush? I have a few questions to ask, they've been bothering me."
"Sure, I have a couple of minutes to spare."
He set her soup bowl & cutlery on the table, along with a plate of crackers, a napkin & dish of butter. Pulling out her chair, he waited for her to be seated before leaning back against the counter & saying, "Okay, what do you want to know?"
She picked up her coup spoon. "When I called hare a few weeks ago from New York…"
"You called? But you didn't leave a message."
"I didn't call to talk to anyone; I just called because I wanted to make sure my father was still here. And when I heard his voice on the answering machine…I assumed he still lives here. So what I was wondering was why…"
"Why his voice is still on the tape, & why didn't I have that number disconnected when I moved in?'
She nodded. "Why didn't you get your own new number or have your own message on the answering machine?"
"I did & I do. The only reason I didn't have the old line disconnected was…you didn't come home for your father's funeral so I assumed you didn't know he passed away. On the off chance that one day you might call…which you eventually did…I was hoping I'd either be around to take your call or you would leave a message & your phone number so I can call you back."
"Oh, I see."
"Would you have come home for the funeral, Mimi, if you knew…"
"Yes, of course." She sipped from her soup spoon & swallowed before going on. "But I wish now that I'd come back earlier, so I could have talked with my before he died. I'd have dearly liked the chance to…"
"Mend fences. Yeah, it's really sad when you miss that opportunity."
"Mend fences?" She stared at him incredulously. "You got to be kidding! I had no interest whatsoever in mending fences with my father. Mending fences implies that both sides were at fault. That's not the case here. If I did anything wrong, it was because I followed my heart…and my hormones," she added with a self-derisive laugh. "Whereas my father…well, I believe that parents should love their children unconditionally. If my father ever loved me…& I'm not sure he ever did…he withdrew that love because I didn't live up to his standards. The only reason I wished I could have talked with him was so I could have told him…to his face…that he was wrong."
Matt frowned at her. "He wouldn't have been the man you remembered, Mimi. And what good would it have done…"
"It might not have done him any good, but it would certainly have made me feel a whole lot better!"
He shook his head, as if he was disappointed in her. 'The Mimi I remember was compassionate…"
"That was another Mimi…a different Mimi." She pushed her soup bowl aside, her appetite gone, as smoldering old anger flared to brilliant new life. "We all have to be accountable for our actions, Matt. My father held me accountable for mine…no one ever held him accountable for his."
Matt tried to speak but she overrode him. "And no one," she added bitterly, "ever held you accountable for yours."
She heard his shocked hiss of breath. "It took two, Mimi."
"Yes, but you were nineteen, a college student…while I was seventeen, almost eighteen, & little more than a child."
"That," he said quietly, "was a low blow."
"You took Taekwondo," she retorted, "I'm sure you can handle it."
In a voice that held absolutely no intonation, he said, "I used to be, Mimi. I no longer enjoy fighting."
Her own wounded heart made her want to draw blood from his. "Because you're a coward & you lost the nerve."
He remained silent & the coldness of that silence only made her want to snap at him further. "I admired you for many things." Her upper lip curled in distaste. "But a coward wasn't one of them."
If the atmosphere between them had been tense before, now it was so tight it almost choked her. She sensed that of all the things she might have accused him of, being a coward was the worst. But he said nothing. He just kept looking at her, his expression was so sorrowful it made her want to cry.
Matt was right, it had indeed been a low blow to assume the he took advantage of her…when he never did. In the beginning, he believed her to be older than she was; he didn't know that as a gifted student, she moved through school at an accelerated pace & had been ready to graduate at seventeen. By that time, they were not only crazy about each other, but they had become lovers.
"Mimi, I know you'll never forgive me…but can't you find it in your heart to forgive your father?"
"Even if I could forgive him for his harsh treatment toward me, I could never forgive him for betraying my mother. When he sold this house…"
"Mimi, please let's not get into that again. Dammit, if I'd known we were going to get into this kind of discussion, I'd have gone right back to the office. It's not good for you…or the baby…when you get so upset!"
"It's not easy to stay calm when I think about what he did. This house was my mother's. It was in her family for four generations. He had no right to sell it! He had no right to sell my memories! Everywhere I look, I'm reminded of Mom, of the things we did together, & the happy times we shared. How could he have…" she broke off & he saw she was close to tears. But she clenched her jaw & said stubbornly, "Nothing you can say will ever make me feel any differently about him."
There was something he could say that might make a difference…something he'd been told in confidence. But he was willing to break that confidence if it would help Mimi to forgive her father. And he would have talk to Davis later, explain what he had done & why. Davis would understand.
"Mimi, there's something you don't know about your father."
"Nothing you can say will change how I…"
"Hear me out." He pulled back his chair a little & set his hands on his thighs. "Mimi, you did try to contact your father, didn't you…five or six years ago?"
"How…how on earth did you know that?"
"You called him several times; you even left a number where you could be reached. Is that right?"
Numbly she nodded.
"But your father didn't pick up the pone…& he never called you back."
"If you're going to say that he couldn't because of his stroke…"
"I'm not going to say that. His speech was badly impaired, but he was able to communicate, through sounds & gestures, with one person…his attendant, the male nurse who looked after him. So…"
"So he could have had his nurse talk to me. But he didn't & he chose not to," she said scornfully.
"He chose not because he believed that if you found out he was incapacitated, you would have come home to look after him. He knew the kind of person you were, Mimi & he didn't want to be a burden to you. Not contacting you was probably the most unselfish thing your father ever did."
Her face had become pale. "How can you possibly know this?"
"Davis Motomiya, your father's nurse, has been a friend of mine for the past few years. He looked after your father at Laurel House from the time he had his stroke, so after your father died, I asked Davis if you were coming home for the funeral. He said nobody knew where you were…& that's when he told me about those old calls. He kept a note of the number & he tried to track you down, but the woman it had belonged to…Melissa Brent…passed away & after that, the trail went cold. Who was she, Mimi?"
"An old friend of my mother's who lived in Chicago."
"That's were you went after you ran away?"
"Yes, I contacted Melissa. She took me in, looked after me, & eventually put me through college. She never married & never had a family of her own, so when my mom passed away, she adopted me. When she died a few years later, I was devastated, & I felt…lost. And for the first time I thought about going home, but when my father didn't return my calls, I figured nothing had changed so I shut him out of my mind. I moved to New York, made a fresh start, and I built myself a successful career & had a good life there."
"That is what your father wanted for you, to have a good life."
"If what Davis Motomiya told you is true, then yes, that is what he wanted for me. But that still doesn't excuse him for betraying my mother. She owned Laurel House when she married him, Matt…but she put his name on the deed, too. Then years later, when she knew their marriage was leading to a divorce, she made him promise that when I turn twenty-one, he'd put my name on the deed along with his own. It's clear he didn't do that, or he couldn't have sold the house without my agreement."
She sighed. "Let's drop it shall we? We're never going to agree on who should really have possession of this house!"
He was more than happy to drop it; the last thing he wanted was to upset her by arguing. "Sure," he got up, "I should be on my way now anyway. Is there anything I can pick up for you in town?"
She rose from her chair. "How about a can of gas for my car?"
The mocking humor in her tone made him smile. "Good try…but no, you're going to take it easy till your next visit to the doctor & that means no driving. Anything you need…other than gas!...just give me a call & I'll pick it up for you."
He felt like a husband. He wished he were her husband. He'd give anything to pick up the phone at work & hear her say, "Darling, could you bring home a pint of milk?"
She walked him to the door, & as she hovered there, with the sunlight sparkling in her silky hair, he was sorely tempted to kiss her goodbye…which he would have done if he was her husband.
But he wasn't. So he didn't.
AN: Thank goodness I'm done with this one. Whew! I really had a hard time writing this chapter coz there's so much angst & drama, but it's VERY important to the story so I had to put it. I hope I cleared some of issues about M&M's past. If you have any questions, just let me know.
Don't forget to review! Lol
A Fire Inside – no, really, I didn't know that…till now, thanks! You see, I don't pay much attention to other pairings except Mimato, Taiora, & Takari. I revolve my world around them so much; I'm clueless about the others…hehe! And I've never thought of Koushiro & Mimi being together…it never crossed my mind. Thanks for the info! PnkSaKuRaSyAoRaNS2 – I'm so flattered to hear that. You're awesome, too! Every time I update a chapter, I always look forward to reading your review. I'm afraid that once I go to college, I wouldn't have much time to write & update stories, so I'm doing it now as much as possible. Janay – thanks! Keep R&R! Koumi – okay, I'll be honest with you, I'm more into Mimato (as you well know)…but I'm open to any pairings! Maybe someday I can write a Koumi story. Actually, I'm planning to write about different couples, but as of now, I'm sticking to Mimato. Would you want me to make a Koumi one? It would be a nice challenge. Lol :)
