I knooooow! I feel horrible! This is the first time I've missed an update and I apologize deeply for that! I had semester tests (chemistry and calculus) and my mind was somewhere else. Send me good vibes, cause I'll definitely need it. Hard classes, man! But I can assure you that this Saturday there will be an update. I wrote chapter 24 a couple of weeks ago, so I've had it ready for a little bit. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I should tell you, this is the last chapter in present time. Next chapter we're going to have a time jump! I had a lot of fun writing chapter 24 and I can't wait to share it with you guys! I'll shut up and let you enjoy!
23
Well, charades was a bloodbath. I knew Claire was competitive; but what I didn't know was that Karen was just as competitive as Claire, and don't even get me started on Zach. Thank God he was in my team.
I didn't know, but turns out mum is quite the actress. She managed to make her team guess 'Charlie and the chocolate factory' in like 20 seconds.
How the hell do you do that?!
It goes without saying that we, men, lost. The women triumphed and they made sure to remind us that every single second.
Karen and the kids had a blast the whole weekend. Isabella, Zach, Gray and I went to the arcade on Saturday and we stayed there for a good 5 hours. Karen and Claire continue catching up and talking about who knows what.
Later that day though, things weren't as happy as they should've been.
"I don't want to go." Gray tells me. "I love the room you gave me and I have so much fun when I'm with you guys. Aunt Claire, can you talk to mum? Maybe we can stay one more day? Please."
Claire motions for Gray to sit next to her on our bed. Karen and Zach went to a car exhibition Zach found online and asked Karen if he could go, he told her she could go with him if she wanted to, and she jumped at the opportunity to bond with her eldest son.
So, we are bonding with Gray; and we brought him to the pool house so he could see it.
Gray sits on the bed next to Claire and rests his head on her shoulder. "I don't think I can do much, sweetheart. You guys have to go home."
He gets teary. "But I don't want to go home."
Claire pulls back a little to look at him. "What's going on, Gray? Why don't you want to go home?"
He lifts his head from Claire's shoulder and starts crying. "They've started to fight again. Every time they see each other they yell. I thought it would get better after coming back from the island, and it did for a little bit. But now it's worse than before."
"Oh, sweetheart." She puts her arm around him and pulls him to her. "I know it seems bad, right now. But things will get better, I promise you that. There's a lot of frustration between your mum and dad, so when they talk to each other, any small thing sets them off and they can say things to each other that they don't really mean. But eventually, that will stop."
In a whisper, Gray says, "They fight about me a lot. They say Zach is old enough to choose, but I will have to spend more time with one of them, and I don't want to have to choose between either of them!"
He bursts into tears again. The pain in his voice is so tangible. This little dude is breaking my heart. Claire looks at me in a silent plea to help her. I stand up from the chair and sit on the bed, so now Gray is sitting down in between the both of us.
"Buddy, I can't even imagine what you must be feeling, but I want you to remember something. Your parents love you, and I know you feel caught in the middle and like you're being pulled in two different directions, but they're trying to do what's best for you. Right now they're just coming off a little too strongly because their feelings are hurt, but like your aunt said, it will pass. You don't have to worry about that. Okay?"
He sniffs and rubs his eye, and I swear he looks half his age when he does that. "Okay."
Not too long after that, Gray falls asleep in between the two of us. "Poor kid. I think he's too smart for his own good." I whisper.
Claire looks down at him and rubs his back gently. "Yeah, and he's so sensitive too. I'm going to have to talk to Karen. This isn't okay. It's been a little over a month since we left the island, how long has he been bottling all of these in?"
I shake my head. "I don't know. But at least he got all of it out. It's great that he trusts you this much. It's good that he has someone out of his house to talk to."
"He trusts you too. He respects you. That's good too." She tells me.
I smile at her.
Karen and Zach come back from the exhibition about 2 hours later. Karen texts Claire and asks her where she is, and Claire tells her in the pool house, but to stay in the living room because they have to talk.
I don't know how the conversation went on exactly, but what I do know, because Claire told me, is that Karen was horrified that Gray had been aware of those fights. She started crying and was being very hard on herself. After Claire calmed her down, Karen made a promise to herself to be less hot headed when talking to Scott.
The rest of the weekend went on without a glitch. We had a barbecue on Sunday and we went all out. We had every possible kind of meat, all types of bread, and all types of beer and wine, of course.
When the time came to say goodbye, Gray started crying again. Not like before, but he was just sad that they had to leave so soon.
"I'm gonna miss you, Aunt Claire." He says hugging Claire.
"I'm gonna miss you too, sweetheart. Your mum has my phone number, if you need anything, even if it's just to talk, call me okay? Promise?"
"I promise. I love you."
"I love you too."
They break off the hug and Zach steps forward. "We'll see each other soon?" Zach asks Claire.
"Of course. Maybe once Owen and I are settled in in Philadelphia, we'll go visit you guys. I won't let so much time pass this time."
He nods. "Good." He hugs her too and doesn't say anything else.
"Take care, yes?" Karen tells Claire.
"I will." Karen hugs Claire. "I'll keep you updated with everything. I'll be in contact with the lawyers via Skype. They won't come to you at all."
"Okay. Thank you."
Claire made the decision to not go to the courthouse and to not be involved in general. She doesn't want to be there, so Karen promised she would take care of everything.
"See you soon, Kar."
"See you soon. I love you."
"Love you too."
Dad offered to take them to the airport, so with that, they left.
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"It's been a week, Isa. You promised." I tell her as we finish eating breakfast.
She looks confused at me. "What are you talking about?"
I give her a deadpan look. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."
She looks at Claire and then back at me. "I really don't kn – Oh! The song."
"Yeah, the song. I'm assuming you already have one?"
"Yeah, I do." She takes a sip from her orange juice and looks down at her toast.
I look at Claire and she shrugs. I've never seen Isabella become shy before.
"So, what are we waiting for? The piano is right there waiting for you."
She puts the glass down. "Now? I woke up half an hour ago. I'm still wearing my pajamas."
"Now's the best time. You promised."
She rolls her eyes and stands up. "Fine! But if I'm pitchy, it's your fault for making me sing this early in the morning."
I'm about to stand up, but Isabella stops me. "No. Stay right here. Cause if you're going to be looking straight at me, I'm going to get all self-conscious. You have a perfectly good view from here."
I raise my hands and sit back down. "Whatever you say, as long as you sing."
"What song did you choose?" Claire asks.
Isabella sits down on the piano and turns to her. "Remedy by Adele."
Claire's eyes widen. "Wow, Adele. That can't be easy."
"It isn't. Which is why singing it this early in the morning is probably a bad idea, Owen."
I shrug. "Hey, I trust you."
Isa stares at me. "I hate you."
"No, you don't."
"Shut up." She turns around and starts playing the piano. I stand up and move to sit next to Claire, so I'm a little closer to Isa.
She's playing the piano masterfully. I don't know how she does it. I've heard the song a couple of times before, the piano is the only instrument in the song. How she's going to manage to do both? I don't know, but like I said before, I trust her.
And she starts.
"I remember all of the things that I thought I wanted to be…"
Oh my God. She sounds so incredibly good. How the hell did I even miss that she could sing? How she must've wanted to sing all day long, and felt like she couldn't.
"When the pain cuts you deep…"
I'm not going to compare her with Adele, cause that woman is on a whole other level, but Isa can hit the notes; which are not easy notes to hit. And the piano, she hasn't messed up once. She has obviously been practicing, but there's this natural, I don't know, thing there. She's in her comfort zone.
"Your love, it is my truth…"
I am so entranced by Isa, I don't even feel Claire lean towards me. "She's amazing, Owen."
Without taking my eyes off if Isa I say, "Yeah, she is."
I'm genuinely moved by her performance. She's so good, and the fact that she obviously enjoys it makes it all so much more special to watch.
"…I will be your remedy."
She continues playing the piano and hums the last part of the song, and then it ends. I stand up from my chair.
"Woo!" I clap and make a big show of it. "That was so amazing, Isa! You are so amazing! I'm so proud of you. Come here!"
She stands up from the piano and I walk the few steps to her and hug her.
"Really? You liked it?" she asks a bit insecurely.
I pull back and look at her dead on the eyes. "I loved it. And I'm not just saying that. Since when are you insecure like this?"
She shrugs. "I don't know. Cause it's you?"
I frown. "What do you mean?"
"You're my big brother! Your opinion is one of the most important to me; the one I value, probably, the most! And you've never heard me sing before, so I didn't know if you would like it or not. That's why I got all weird like that."
Oh, wow. That's actually super sweet. "Isa, you never have to be afraid of me not being proud of you. And you definitely don't have to wonder if I'm going to like your singing, I loved it!"
"That was really impressive, Isabella. Playing the piano like that and singing cannot be easy, and yet you sounded so, so good." Claire says.
"Thanks." Isa smiles at Claire.
"So, what else do you have?" I ask Isa.
"What?"
"What other song can you sing right now?"
"Come on! I just sang a very difficult song! You want more?"
I nod. "Yeah."
"How about we sing one together?"
I look behind Isabella to see where the voice came from. I see a guy, probably Isabella's age come into the living room. He's tall, has really blond hair and his carrying a guitar case.
Oh.
I know who he is. Alexander.
Isa gasps. "Alex!" She launches herself at him. He puts the guitar case down just in time and picks her up with ease. "What are you doing here?! I thought you were coming back next week!"
His hug tightens and then he gives her a kiss on the cheek and puts her down. "I was, but dad had an emergency meeting here, so I thought I would just come back home. It is amazing to play the guitar and sing in front of the ocean, but it wasn't the same without you."
Isabella smiles. "Ugh, you're so cute." She hugs him one more time. "You have no idea how much I missed you."
"I missed you too, and…" he leans down and opens a pocket in his guitar case and pulls out one of those Hawaiian dancing motion dolls.
Isa laughs. "Oh my God, you remembered! This is so going in my car! Thank you!" She leans forward and kisses him.
It's so weird seeing my baby sister kissing someone. To me she's still that baby who couldn't say my name properly. 'Ooh-en', she would call me. I feel Claire hit me in the arm.
I look down at her and give her a questioning look.
She points to her face and then mouths 'relax'. That's when I realize all the muscles in my face are tight.
It's not like Isabella had a make out session with the guy, but to me it feels like it.
"Oh, hey…", Isa says.
She takes his hand and pulls him forward. "Alex, this is my brother Owen. Owen, be nice."
I look at her and then at him. He stretches out his hand. "Hey, I'm Alexander Müller, it's very nice to meet you. From all I've heard from Isa, I feel like I should be scared of you."
I take his hand and shake it probably a little more roughly than I normally would. "Yeah, you should. But it's nice to meet you too."
Isabella looks at me and shakes her head. "And I told you about her, this is Claire. Owen's girlfriend."
Alexander walks the few steps to Claire and shakes her hand. "Nice to meet you. How are you feeling? Isa told me my mum's advice helped you a bit."
Claire nods. "Oh my God. So much! Please thank her, it really made my life a lot easier to handle. I'm sorry, did you say your last name was Müller?"
"Yeah, I'm German. We moved here when I was about 3 years old. When I was 5, my parents divorced and my dad moved to Hawaii and my mum stayed here. That's were I just came back from, I was visiting him."
Claire smiles. "I think… Is his name Alger? Alger Müller?"
"Yeah, that's him! How do you know him?" he asks.
"Back before the park opened we had to choose a hotel chain to open a hotel in the park. We had narrowed it down to two hotels; JW Marriott and Hilton. I was put in charge of talking numbers with each executive, so I went to Hawaii to talk to your father. He was the nicest guy and was super direct, which I loved. At the end, Masrani Global decided to go with Hilton. That was actually the only time they didn't agree with me. I wanted JW Marriott, but they said Hilton had better marketing strategies, which in my opinion, they didn't. Well, I guess it was for the best they didn't choose Marriott, all things considered."
"Wow. That's a nice coincidence. Small world, huh?"
"Yes. Who would've thought?" Claire tells him.
Crap. Now Claire likes him too. And I wanted to have some fun torturing him. Now everyone in the house is going to look at me with a disapproving eye if I'm too hard on him.
"Have you had breakfast already?" Isa asks Alexander.
He nods. "Yeah, I had breakfast with mum. She dropped me off."
"Okay, come on." She takes his hands and pulls him towards the stairs.
He leans down and picks up his guitar case. "Okay. Nice to meet you, guys."
"Nice to meet you, Alexander." Claire says.
"Yeah, nice to meet you." I say a little more harshly.
Isa climbs the stairs with him and I turn to Claire.
"That was ridiculous, Owen. You got crazy overprotective. He's obviously a very nice kid."
I raise an eyebrow. "He could be the freaking male version of Mother Teresa and I would still be hard on him. She's my baby sister. It's a natural response."
She shakes her head. "Help me up, please."
I help her up and we walk back to the pool house.
"Is his father really a nice person? Or did you just say that?" I ask her as we sit on the couch to watch some TV.
"He is. Alger was very friendly. At first, I thought he was being very nice because of the huge business deal that would happen if Masrani Global chose Marriott, but then I realized he just was. You can tell when people are just playing nice, but now, seeing Alexander, I know he wasn't pretending."
Okay. I guess I don't have to be that hard on him. He does seem like a nice guy, and Isa obviously likes him. They've been together almost a year, if he would've been a douche bag, I think Isa would've realized by now.
"Okay." I say.
"This is a whole new side of you I'm seeing. I know you're protective, but this is a whole new level of protectiveness." She tells me.
I look at her. "I can't help it. I don't think that will ever change, though."
"I don't think anyone wants you to change, Owen. But, you know, tone it down a bit."
I smile. "I can't promise anything."
"I know you can't."
Claire's cellphone rings. She picks it up and answers. "Hey, Karen."
I sit up straight. This must be about the case.
"Okay. It's Thursday, right?" She nods. "Yeah, okay. Love you too. Bye."
She hangs up and puts the phone down. "It's happening on Thursday. His defense is going to say their part, then the DA is going to say his part on my behalf and a sentence will be made."
I nod. "Good. That's good. As soon as all of this is over we will be truly able to start our lives together, Claire. It's good that it's happening fast."
"I know. It's just that – I'm nervous he could get out of this. I won't be able to fully live my life knowing that he's still out there."
I take her hand. "He won't get out of this. I promise you that. He won't. It's a solid case, Claire. He has basically 0% chances of getting out of this."
"Logically I know that, but I can't help but think that maybe he'll get away."
"He won't." I say a little more forcibly. "He won't."
She nods and I give her a kiss on the temple.
Days go by, and I get to know Alexander a little better. He comes to have lunch almost every day for the next week. Isa and him are glued to the hip. I guess I would be the same way if I went away for 2 weeks and didn't see Claire.
One day, as I'm walking to the pool house I see Alexander sitting on one of the pool chairs playing the guitar. I consider just walking straight to the pool house and ignore him, but then I think better of it and walk up to him.
Take advantage of the alone time, right?
I walk up to him silently and drop down on the chair next to him. He jumps a little and I smile proudly to myself.
"Where's Isabella?" I ask him just to make sure she doesn't see me with him.
"She uh, she went to talk to your mum for a little bit. She should be coming down anytime soon." He says looking over his shoulder, as if hoping Isabella would show up right now.
Oh, I'm going to enjoy this.
"So, tell me Alex, what is it that you were studying?" I ask him.
He looks at me for a second, eyes a little wide. "Art History."
"Art History." I repeat. "This is probably none of my business, but I'm curious, what are you planning to do with an art history degree? I can't think of many things to do with one."
He shakes his head. "No, it's okay. You can do many things with a history degree. You can be a teacher, a researcher, a writer, advocates, you can go into business."
I raise an eyebrow. "Oh. Pardon my ignorance."
"No, no. It's okay. A lot of people think it's a useless career, but it really isn't." He's fast at reassuring me.
"Hm." I lean forward so I'm closer to him. "Here's the thing Alex, you look like a nice dude. Claire has assured me that your father is a very respectable man. Your mum seems like a very nice person, especially after helping Claire out. But I don't know you. I've met plenty of people that are so nice at first, and then…" I snap my fingers for emphasis. "… they change just like that. The last time that happened, I punch someone on the face and then one of my velociraptors ate him."
His eyes are really wide now. Ha! Yeah, I'm really enjoying this.
"So I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't hurt my sister. Cause if you hurt her, then I will hurt you. Please, don't doubt that. Okay?"
I can see his grip tightening on the guitar. He is freaking the fuck out! This is priceless!
"I assure you, I love Isabella. I really do. I would never hurt her, not intentionally. I get that you don't know me, but you will eventually. You'll realize that I'm not that stupid as to not see how amazing she is. She just… makes sense. I don't know how to explain it. I know you must think that we're just kids, but I don't see myself with anyone else. Actually, if I ever hurt her, please do punch me."
Oh. I was just expecting him to shake in fear, I wasn't expecting a whole confession of his feelings. Now I look like the asshole older brother.
"Good. Just as long as you treat her with respect. That's all I ask." I tell him calmer.
"Always. Don't even doubt that." He tells me.
"Okay, Alexander. Nice to meet you then." I stretch out my hand and he takes it. I shake it properly this time.
"Nice to meet you too, Owen." He smiles.
I stand up just as Isabella is coming through the doors. She stops dead on her tracks and I wink at her and continue my way to the pool house. I don't hear much, but I could make out Isabella asking Alexander if I had manhandled him.
I walk into the pool house feeling better about him. At least I know his feelings for Isa are true and he's not just looking for a good time. Although, now thinking about it, they have been together for a year. I think I might've exaggerated a little. But I'll kill myself before confessing that.
The next day, is the day of the trial. Claire and I are very anxious. We eat because we know we have to, but the food we eat tastes like dry paper in our mouths.
"It started an hour ago. How long do you think this will last?" Claire asks me.
"I don't know. But Karen told us she would call immediately. Do you want me to turn on the TV? See if the news channels are broadcasting anything?"
She nods, pacing back and forth in the small living room. She looks like a caged animal.
I turn the TV and stop at the first news channel I find. There it is, all the news vans parked outside the courthouse, all waiting to hear what will become of David Castell. They still know nothing. They are doing a summary of what happened while passing images from the park and the accident. I change channels at that. We don't need to see those images ever again.
Claire's phone rings and she picks it up immediately and puts it on speakerphone.
"Karen. Is it over?" she asks.
"Yes, it's over. He was declared guilty, Claire."
She closes her eyes and a tear runs down her cheek. I move closer to her and hug her. "What was the sentence?" I ask Karen.
"4 years in prison, a $5000 fine, a suspended license for a year after he's released and a 2 year requirement for IID."
It doesn't seem like enough. He almost took the life of the woman I love. 4 years is nothing in my eyes. But right now, the only thing that matters is that he was found guilty and that now, Claire and I can move on.
"Thanks, Karen. We'll talk later, okay?" I tell her.
"Yes, of course. Claire?" Karen asks.
"Yes?"
"It's all over. Okay?"
She smiles through her tears. "Okay."
"I love you. Talk to you guys later."
"I love you too. Bye."
"Bye."
She hangs up and Claire throws her phone on the couch.
"Did I promise or what?" I tell her.
She laughs, more tears run down her cheeks. "You did promise."
"There's nothing holding us back now, Claire. Today we can truly start our future together."
"Yeah, we can. And I can't wait. I love you."
"I love you too, so much."
That evening the whole family was ecstatic. They were all so relieved justice had been made. That's where we broke the news that we were going to live together. We hadn't told them, just Karen. They were so happy for us. Mum and dad were especially happy that we were going to be close, just a short plane ride away.
Another week passed by and the day for Isabella's presentation at the Youth Centre arrived.
"Holy fuckballs, I'm so nervous!" Isa says to us on the parking lot of the Youth Centre.
"Isabella! Language." Mum says.
"Sorry, mum. But I'm really nervous. Look! There are so many people here tonight!" she says jumping up and down, shaking her arms a bit.
"It's okay to be nervous, cucciola. You'll be amazing!" Mum hugs her.
"Channel all that energy into your performance, Isa. Just don't let the nerves screw you over." Dad says.
"I'll try. Where the hell is Alexander? He's taking forever!"
"I'm right here! I'm right here, Isa!" Alexander hugs her. "Chillax, dude. You are going to be so good and I'll join you after and we'll blow everyone's brains out! You'll see."
I look at my watch, it's almost 7pm. "Guys, we should head in. And you two should run backstage, the show is about to start."
"Oh my God! I'm so going to throw up in front of 600 people!"
"Come on, Isa. Let's go!" Alexander takes her hand and pulls her towards the backstage door.
"Let's go find our sits then." We all nod and walk inside.
"How did Isabella get the performance?" Claire asks mum.
"She volunteers here on the summers and whenever she has a moment off. She teaches the younger kids music lessons. The program director was very grateful for Isabella's help, so he offered her to sing a couple of songs at the final presentation. That way the kids can also see the results of working hard."
"That's amazing. By her reaction I take it she's never performed in front of an audience like this?"
Mum shakes her head. "No, never. But I know that girl, the moment she has to step onto that stage, all that nervousness is going to fade away. I have no doubt in my mind she's going to do great."
"She always gets nervous before she has to sing, even if it's in front of 3 people. She always manages to blow everyone away, though. This time it won't be different." Dad says.
We step into the theater and find our sits. We asked for front row sits since Claire can't really maneuver that much. I help her sit down and then we all follow suit. The show starts at 7pm sharp. The director comes on stage and he's welcomed with a nice round of applause. He talks a little about the kids and what they have achieved during the whole summer and then he starts the show.
The first presentation is from a group of about 20 kids, from ages 10 to 18. They dance a very cool dance routine to a mix of hip-hop songs. Then comes a girl, who can't be more than 13 years old and plays Lacrimosa by Mozart on the piano. Claire particularly enjoyed that one.
About 4 performances later, the director comes out again and stands in the middle of the stage.
"This next performer is a very special young woman. She has donated hours and hours of her time to teach the youngest kids music. She's the kids' favorite teacher, and tonight she will delight us with a couple of songs. Please welcome to the stage, the wonderful Isabella Grady-Vernelli."
Isa walks on stage and hugs the director. We are all clapping and cheering for her. She looks at us and smiles. She sits on the piano, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She starts playing the piano. And then she starts singing.
The whole theater is silent, only the piano and Isabella can be heard. She sounds even better now that when she sang the song for Claire and I a week ago. She reaches the part of the song where there's a mini piano solo, and man you can tell the passion for music right there. As I watch her play the piano, I can see her getting completely lost in the music. Mum and dad were right; all that nervousness did fade away.
"I will be, I will be… your remedy."
She plays the last note of the song and lets the note linger. There's a second of silence and then the whole theater explodes. There's cheering and deafening clapping. We're all on our feet clapping and wooing. She takes the mic from the mic stand. She stands up and takes a bow.
"Thank you. Thank you so much." People keep clapping. Her smile widens. "I'm going to sing one more song, but I have someone very special to me singing it with me. Please welcome to the stage Alexander Müller."
People clap for Alexander, and I find myself clapping for him quite proudly. Shit. That dude won me over. It was inevitable, I guess. Isa is a pretty good judge of character, if she liked him that much, I was going to eventually like him too.
Alex walks on stage with 2 guitars. He hugs Isabella and whispers something in her ear, and her smiles widens even more. He hands her her guitar and 2 kids come running on stage and place two mic stands in front of them and run out off stage again.
"Hello. We're going to sing for you guys 'Give Me Love' by Ed Sheeran, hope you like it." Alex says. He looks at Isa and she nods.
They both start playing the guitar. Isa plays the chords and Alex the single notes. The guitars sound pretty good. Isa starts singing.
"Give me love like him, cause lately I've been waking up alone."
Isa sings the whole first verse by herself and Alex joins her on the chorus.
"Give a little time to me, or burn this out. We'll play hide and seek…"
He's a really good singer. He has a raspy voice. They chose a good song for the both of them to sing. They continue singing, both completely entranced by the music and by each other. There is love there. I can see it. Mum and dad met when they were 20 years old, and look at them now. I hope Isa and I can have a fraction of the happiness mum and dad have. Actually, no. That's wrong. We already have that happiness. I take Claire's hand and intertwine my fingers with hers.
Isa finishes the song and the crowd goes wild.
"Help me up. They deserve a standing ovation from every single person in this theater, broken ribs are no excuse." Claire says to me.
I smile at her and help her up. We clap and start chanting their names. The whole theater joins in. The director comes out with 2 little kids and 2 huge bouquets of flowers. Isa kneels down and hugs both kids and receives the flowers humbly. Alex gives them high fives and also takes the flowers.
The director thanks Isabella and Alex and congratulates all of the kids on their presentations and their hard work, and the show is over. We all go back stage and we start screaming when we see Isa and Alex.
"You guys were so good! Why haven't you won Grammys? Seriously?! Congratulations to the both of you!" I say hugging Isa and Alex.
I see Isa shine with happiness when I hug Alex. This is me showing her I'm cool with him, as long as she is.
Two months pass by, and Claire and I find ourselves going to the hospital to see Dr Fukunaga so Claire can have her check up. She's gained a lot of mobility back. The bruising around her ribs is completely gone, so are the bruises on her face and the burn has grown less itchy.
"I have a pretty good feeling about today." Claire tells me.
"You do? In what way?"
"My ribs. I barely feel anything. You don't have to help me do anything anymore. I think they're pretty much healed up. Which means…"
"What? Which means what?" Please baby Jesus, I've waited long enough!
She flashes me a wicked smile. "Which means that maybe my cast is coming off too."
I deflate. A lot. She laughs. Of course, she laughs. She knows what she does to me and she plays it well.
We wait for about 10 minutes and we're called in. We talked to Dr Fukunaga for a little bit, and then he gets down to business.
"Okay, Claire. Let's test out your ribs. Stand up straight. Perfect. Now, I want you to try and touch the ceiling with both your hands. Stop if there's any discomfort."
She nods and raises her arms. That first movement doesn't seem to bother her at all. Then she starts reaching for the ceiling, but stops abruptly when she starts getting on her tiptoes.
"That hurt, huh?"
She exhales loudly. "Yes, it did."
"Don't get frustrated, Claire. You're actually doing pretty good. Most people can't even stretch without feeling pain immediately, you stretched a good 4cm. That's really good progress. One more month. I think in one more month your ribs will be completely healed up."
"A month?" she asks.
"A month for your ribs to be as good as new. You just told me you can do everything now. You're only going to get better. Now, I have your x rays right here. Let's see how your arm is doing."
Claire sits back down next to me. I smile at her.
"This is impressive, Claire." He steps aside so we can see. He pulls out another x ray and puts it besides the one that was already there. "Look at the difference. This one was taken when you were first brought in, and look at the one you had taken yesterday."
I wince a little. The fracture looks horrible. She broke both bones in her arm, both in one place, thank God. But it looks quiet gruesome and incredibly painful. But then I look at the most recent x rays, and the bones are aligned perfectly and you can see the place where her body is repairing those bones. Incredible.
"I told you you were like Wolverine. Look at that!" I say pointing to the x ray.
"Yeah, yeah." She says not very happy.
"Your arm needs 2 more weeks, Claire. Then I'll take the cast off."
"Really? You said 6 months." Claire says a little more happy.
"Well, I kinda lied to you. It can take for the radius and ulna up to 6 months to heal. I didn't want to tell you anything less just in case they didn't heal very quickly. But it turned out pretty good for you."
Claire is giving him her best deadpan look. "I'm not going to yell at you because you saved my life and I will be eternally grateful for that. You're lucky."
I nod. "It's true. You don't want to see her wrath be unleashed. It's killed villages."
She turns her deadpan look to me. "See? A whole village in Bhutan just died."
Dr Fukunaga laughs and asks Claire to stretch out her left arm. He starts unwrapping the bandages around her burn. He pulls out from his drawer a pair of glasses with magnifying lenses and puts them on. He examines Claire's burn and then takes the glasses off.
"It looks like it's healing the way it's supposed to. Do you feel any discomfort?"
Claire shakes her head. "No, other than intense itching, but that stopped about a week and a half ago."
He nods. "You don't need to wear the bandages anymore. But keep wearing the sleeve when you're outside. If you're indoors, you don't need to wear it. Keep applying the creams and in about 4 or 5 months you should see a true difference. You're doing great, Claire. Congratulations."
Claire complained a little on our way home about not being 100% healthy, but then she realized that in one month she would be 100% healthy.
"I have to write to HR, let them know that I can start working in a month."
I make a right turn. "Wow, one step at the time. We haven't even asked him if you can fly yet. What about your burn? You still have a good 10 months before you can stop wearing the sleeve. I'm sure you're going to need rehabilitation for your arm. Please, worry about your health first. I know your itching to get back to work, but take it easy."
"It's fine, Owen. I'm sure whatever rehabilitation I have to do I can do in Philadelphia. In 2 weeks we have to go back, we'll ask Dr Fukunaga then. But I really think we should start getting things done. I don't want to wait any longer. You don't have to worry about me."
I roll my eyes. "You're asking me to not breathe by saying that. I will always worry about you. So don't ask me not to."
She smiles. "Well then, try not to worry too much about me."
"I'll try, but I probably won't succeed."
When we get home we call Jason to ask him if the apartment is still available.
"Yeah, man. It's yours if you still want it."
"Definitely. We're not sure yet when exactly we'll be able to fly, but it probably be in one month."
"Sounds perfect. Give me a call when you guys know for sure." He tells me.
"Will do. Thanks, Jason."
"Of course. Bye."
"Bye."
The next couple of weeks Claire and I do our own thing individually. She sits in the living room talking to Masrani Global people on Skype, writing emails like crazy and writing documents. I actually wonder if she's already started working at Roche and not told me. I ask her and she tells me there are still a lot of things that were left hanging from Jurassic World. She needs to make statements and close off a lot files that were left unattended. She tells me she's getting paid for this and not to worry.
"I'm taking it easy. I'm just sitting here working on my laptop, it's not like I'm on an office running around from meeting room to meeting room. Don't worry."
"I told you to not ask me to do that." I tell her as I tie the shoelaces of my running shoes.
"Sorry, I forgot." She stops typing and looks at me. "Where are you going?"
I stand up. "Well, I haven't done a proper workout in a while and I thought I would do a type of cross fit routine. I'm gonna go do some push ups, sit ups that kind of things out here in the yard, then I'm running around the block for 30 minutes, then I'm coming back here and swim for another 30 minutes and to finish it all off, I'm jumping some rope."
She starts smiling smugly at me. "You have gained weight haven't you?"
I start fixing the armband with my iPod. "No."
She laughs. "Whatever you say, honey. Have a good workout."
I narrow my eyes at her and lean down to give her a kiss. I walk out into the yard and press play.
I have gained weight. 11 pounds. I mean, I'm not about to slit my wrists for 11 pounds, but I've always had an ideal weight and I try to maintain it. I have been eating a lot. I'm surprised I haven't gained more weight.
I start by stretching and letting myself get taken by the music and the workout. The playlist I put together includes Eminem, Kanye West, Jay Z, AC/DC, Toto, Asia, Led Zeppelin and Ellie Goulding. I know, completely random to include Ellie Goulding, but Claire listens to her and I want to see if I dig her music. I've heard a couple of songs, but I've never actually heard her songs.
I start by doing 4 repetitions of 30. First I start with sit-ups, then push-ups, jumping jacks and finally, squads.
I feel like I'm about to have an asthma attack by the time I'm done with the first fourth of the routine. I haven't worked out properly in at least 2 and a half months. I feel very out of shape. My whole outfit is already damped. I wonder if I should just stop for today. But I decide to push through for 2 reasons. 1) If I walk into that pool house after an hour, Claire is going to have a field day with me and she will 100% know that I, have in fact, gained weight. 2) If I don't start getting in shape now, later is going to be 10 times worse.
I stretch out some more and head to the kitchen. I drink half a glass of water and grab a Gatorade bottle and head outside. I don't get too cocky with it. I start jogging, focusing on my breathing. I take sips of Gatorade every 5 minutes. Towards minute 25, I really kick it into high gear. I start running as if I had a T-Rex chasing me. I get home breathing so hard, I wonder if I might pass out.
I remember my swim shorts are in the laundry room and I go change into them, leaving all my sweaty clothes soaking in water.
My iPod and headphones are water resistant, so I jump into the pool with them. I do 15 minutes of freestyle and 15 minutes of breaststroke. I feel myself start breathing better. The water is soothing on my muscles. I get out of the water and dry myself off. Now for the last part and probably the one that is going to murder me. 10 minutes of jumping rope. I stay in my swim shorts.
Just in that moment, Ellie Goulding starts playing. 'Holding On for Life' is the name of the song that is playing. I start jumping rope then, and I immediately feel my muscles tighten up. I'm going to be so sore later.
The song has a nice beat to it. I don't know if it's necessarily a work out song, but it's definitely a nice song. The song ends and 'I Do What I Love' comes on, also from Ellie Goulding. That song is a little more club-y, the beat is a lot more marked, but again, don't know if it's a work out song. But I like it though.
The 10 minutes pass and I drop to the floor like I was just shot. My leg muscles are already hurting. Tomorrow I won't be able to move. I stand up and jump back into the pool. I float, letting myself relax. I close my eyes and focus on my breathing.
I don't know how long I was there floating on the pool. But when I feel relaxed enough, I get out and head into the pool house to have a warm bath and see if I can reduce the soreness for tomorrow.
I dry my self off as much as I can, but I'm still sweating. I hate it when that happens. I step into the pool house and Claire is still in the same place I left her.
"You had a good work out?" She asks not looking away from the screen.
"Yeah, I think I might not be able to move tomorrow, though." I say throwing the wet towel in the basket that's in the bathroom.
Claire stops typing and looks at me. Her eyes travel around my naked torso and I start smirking. "See something that you like? Cause you can come and get it."
She looks at me, moves her laptop to the side and stands up. I follow her with my eyes until her body is practically against mine. She lays her fingers against my stomach and starts moving them around. She looks up at me. "You know, one of the reasons women want to punch men sometimes, is because of how easy it for you to lose weight. It can take us months to lose 10 pounds, but men? They work out for a week and cut back on some things, and just like that they lose 15 pounds. But, I'm starting to see why women might not complain as much as we probably should."
"Why is that?" I ask getting closer to her.
She smiles seductively. "3 hours ago, your abs were nothing like they are right now."
"Yeah?"
"Uh huh."
We look at each other and we both lean forward at the same time. But this time it's different. This time, things are a little more… desperate, hungrier. I put my hand on the small of her back and bring her closer to me. I feel her hand behind my neck and we deepen the kiss. I pick her up and lay her on the bed. I'm getting rid of her clothes, when I remember one tiny detail.
"Whoa, wait. Your ribs." I say a little out of breath.
Also out of breath, she says. "Don't worry about that. I'll let you know if they hurt."
She pulls me back down and kisses me again. I'm not going to go into details, cause that's none of your business, but I will say this; what happened that afternoon, was one of the best moments of my life. It was so perfect; she was so perfect. I guess the saying was right; good things do come for those who wait.
The next day when I wake up, at first I'm all smiles, but then I go to move to my side and a groan escapes me.
"You okay?" Claire asks me laying her hand on my chest.
"I'm so sore. Everything hurts." I say through gritted teeth.
She smiles. "Thanks."
We start laughing hysterically.
About 3 days later, we go back to the hospital ready for Claire to get her cast taken off. That morning we sat down and wrote down all the questions we have to avoid any kind of conflict.
When we're called in, Claire sits down on the bed and a nurse brings Dr Fukunaga a saw. A proper saw. It looks like something out of a horror film as Dr Fukunaga tests it to see if it works correctly.
"A couple of things before I cut the cast. Expect bruising, expect for you elbow and wrist to feel stiff and the skin on your arm will be scaly and dry."
"That's it?" Claire asks jokingly.
"That's it." He replies. He grabs the saw again and asks Claire to raise her arm out and to not move.
He turns it on and starts cutting into the cast. I'm flinching like an idiot and Claire is not even blinking. You hear the moment he goes through the cast, and I'm petrified he's going to saw Claire's arm off. He does the same in two different places and then he turns the saw off.
"Okay, now I just need to cut off the remaining pieces and you'll be able to see your arm for the first time in almost 3 months, Claire."
He takes very big, long pair of scissors and starts cutting the cast off. He holds the cast in place and when he cuts the last bit of it he removes it completely.
Claire turns her head to the other side very fast and closes her eyes. "Oh my God!"
"What is it?" I don't see anything the doctor didn't mention before.
"The smell. Did something die in there?!"
Dr Fukunaga starts wiping down Claire's arm. "Well, technically the scaly skin is dead skin. So yes, something did die in there."
"I think I'm going to have to soak my arm in bleach."
"It will go away after a good scrub down, don't worry. How does that feel? Can you move your arm?"
She starts by moving her fingers. She winces a little when she tries to move her wrist, but after a few tries she manages to move it and her elbow takes her a little more time, but she also manages.
Dr Fukunaga puts her arm in a sling and tells her to do certain exercises at home, but that she'll definitely need rehabilitation for at least a month.
"We have a couple of questions about that. I have a job in Philadelphia and we want to move there as soon as possible. I was planning on getting on a plane the day after you tell me my ribs are healed. Would that be okay?"
"The rehabilitation you can do anywhere, but you have to do it. I don't see why not, to be honest. But don't push yourself too much. The flight from here to Philadelphia is not too long, so I'm not too worried. But you know how much you can and cannot do. The moment you feel discomfort, stop. But you should be okay."
She smiles. "Great. See? I told you." She tells me.
"Wait, there's more. What about her burn? How will that be treated?" I ask Dr Fukunaga.
"By now we're 100% sure her body isn't going to reject the skin graft, as you might've realized. Right now what we're doing, is making sure she scars properly. The actual burn has been treated. The skin is still sensitive, but if she continues following the treatment just like she has, I don't see why any problems would come up."
We leave the office and Claire is practically skipping to the car. "Now your majesty, may I send the email to HR?"
I look at her sideways. "Since when do you ask permission to do anything?"
"Pff. I'm not. I'm just making you believe that you have the final choice. It's a woman thing."
"You can do whatever your heart desires, babe."
We find ourselves a month later in our new apartment. We're unloading the truck, putting boxes in the rooms and smiling like idiots. HR from Roche gave Claire a couple of weeks to settle down before she needed to start working. At first she was somewhat annoyed, but then she realized that we have a whole apartment that needs to be taken care of and her mind started running.
"So, should we go to Ikea?" I ask Claire.
She turns around from putting down a box in the kitchen and looks at me like I'm an idiot. "We just bought a $400,000 apartment and you want to fill it with furniture from Ikea?"
I forgot who I was talking to. "You have somewhere else in mind?"
"Oh, yeah. I have a couple of places in mind."
We spend the next 5 days buying furniture. I'm not going to lie, that was my least favorite part. But it was worth it when I came home a week later from the gym to find everything put in place. Claire was standing in the middle of the living room inspecting her work.
I drop my bag and walk to stand next to her.
"Does it feel like…"
"Home." I cut her off. "It feels like home."
"It does?" She asks.
"It does. It truly feels like home."
We stand there for a minute and take it all in. This is the start. Finally.