𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚂𝚊𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜

Chapter-41

Somehow, going to Monaco was more nerve wracking than all the days I spent with Helen, talking to officials to get permits to film in locations. On a sunny morning, I started my drive to the place in my rented car. The sweet little thing was probably older than I was, well maintained and costed much more to rent than a regular car. But if I was roaming the riviera, I might as well immerse myself in the stereotype.

A refuelling break later, I was in town. A sudden air of comfort took over, it felt like some long awaited longing had been fulfilled. I found myself beaming from ear to ear as I drove to Baba's house, for a change the narrow lanes didn't intimidate me.

I could see Baba standing in the balcony, waving down at me with a big smile on her face. A few minutes later she opened the gates to welcome into her house. She showered me with hugs and kisses, really glad to have me back at last, I was generous with my praise and honest about how difficult the first few weeks had been since going back to Osaka.

"So what are you going to do for the next few days?" She asked, settling down with a cup of tea.

"Not much, this evening is what I'm nervous about." I said, taking a sip of the tea she had brewed for me. The delicate flavour of the tea made me smile, I had missed this so very much. No matter what teas I bough, how I brewed them, they just never taste the same.

"I add the special ingredient of love." She chuckled.

"Keep your secrets then." I continued drinking the rest of my tea.

"Are you worried about something?" She asked. "You've gone pale, you're fidgeting with the table cloth." She pointed out.

"I'm actually very nervous Baba. Charles has asked me to join his family for dinner this evening. What if they don't like me at all?" I said, tucking away hair that had come free of the hair tie holding it out of my face.

"What makes you think the default emotions of someone towards you will be dislike?"

"I don't know. What if his mother doesn't think I'm someone her son should be with."

"That shouldn't matter because he chose to be with you. What matters is how you feel towards him and what he feels towards you." She smiled, I could see in her eyes she wasn't just talking about me. Maybe she wished that someone had said these words to her when she was with my grandfather.

Out of instinct I reached for her hand placed mine gently on hers, with a smile on my face to let her know I understood what she meant. "My family didn't like Lars at all, they were already coping with their daughter performing in another country and to add to it she's in love with some guy she met in that foreign country." She laughed. She was reminiscing her past, and I wanted to hear all of it, so she poured her heart to me.

"He didn't have much family, just his mother. She liked me a lot, and I adored her, she was a lovely woman who had raised such a gentleman. Her support is what let me marry him, people will come around, what mattered is I knew there was no one else I wanted to grow old with." Here eyes were welling up with tears, I wrapped my arms around her, giving her a big warm hug.

Grief is a strong emotion, it lingers around forever and it hurts the most when it's about your soulmate. It shows you people in a light you've never seen them before, my Baba, who is what I imagine sunshine to be if it was a person was carrying so much sadness with her. I wish I could take it all away, but I couldn't, what I could do was listen to her, and now I was going to make it a point. She may smile all the time, but clearly, this wasn't the kind of grief you just move on from.

A very sentimental cup of tea later, I helped her prepare lunch. I wanted to cheer her up so I put on one of her favourite movies, told her to leave the responsibility of this meal to me and just have fun, we ate lunch and resumed watching the movie. I decided to take a nap, I woke up a little before evening and decided to get dressed. We were planning to meet at his apartment before we headed to our dinner reservation, at least he had the time to brief me a little bit.

I headed to his apartment with a bouquet of flowers in my hand, I wasn't showing up empty handed to the restaurant! I rang the doorbell and in a few seconds he was beaming at me, pulling me in for a kiss that made me smile. We talked for a while about how work had been, what we're up to now. He gave me a little brief about what his family was like, they honestly sounded like very lovely people.

We arrived at the restaurant a little before them and got seated at the table, soon they walked into the place. I was a little intimidated by his mother, Pascale, she was dressed impeccably. The hostility on her face melted the moment she spotted us, walking towards us with a big smile.

"How are you doing Emiko? It's so nice to finally meet you!" She beamed giving Charles a hug followed by me.

"I'm doing very well, thank you! I got you some flowers." I said handing her the bouquet.

"These are lovely!" She said taking the bouquet.

"Arthur, Lorenzo. This is Emiko. Emiko, these are my brothers Arthur and Lorenzo." He introduced me.

"I know her. She knows me! She's the reason I passed my social science classes." Arthur laughed.

"I've heard so much about you, it feels like I know you." Lorenzo teased me. "Seriously! This guy doesn't shut up about you."

Things were going well, really well! They were so warm it felt like I had known them forever. In a sense, we did. We were reconnecting after years, putting bits and pieces of memories together. Turns out Baba and Pascale were still very much in touch, I was the only one who had fallen out of loop. I didn't know much about her but she sure knew quite a lot about me.

Our drive back to Baba's house was pleasant, all I could think about was the look in his eyes, when I was interacting with his family. And now while he was driving me home, I watched him with the same look on my face. We were here, I kissed him good night and stepped out of the car, just as I was closing the door he parted his lips to say something but then stopped, shaking his head.

"No! You can't do that! Tell me what you were going to say!" I held the door open again.

"You're going to laugh at me."

"I've seen you in a Banana suit and I still love you so what's your point?"

"You're the person I want besides me, everyday, through every experience be it good or bad."

I couldn't really say anything, my heart skipped a beat. All I could do was stand there like an fool and blush. I shut the door and watched him drive away, after he left I squealed, I squealed so so so much.