The Danish Delight (Mads Mikkelsen)

Chapter 31: "Memory Lane"

Chapter 31: "Memory Lane"

"Was your flight pleasant?" My mother cautiously stuck to her casualties as she handed me a warm cup of peppermint tea.

I took a large sip and waited for her to make herself comfortable in the seat across from me. "Yeah, It was altogether painless... as opposed to other things. Thank you again for flying me back here at the drop of a hat, Mom. I really appreciate it."

"Oh Honey, I'd pay for you to fly home everyday if it meant that your father and I could see you more often."

"Yeah.." My eyes gazed off to the side as I continued to speak. "I know I sort of up-and-left right after high school. I wanted so badly to run off and scurry as far away from the East coast as humanly possible; I never stopped to think about how it would affect you or Dad. I'm sorry for that."

My mother giggled. "Elise, I never blamed you for a moment. You'd been sheltered here your whole life and had never been granted the privilege of exploring what the rest of the world had to offer until that point. When you first received that scholarship offer from USC, I knew that there wasn't even a remote possibility of your staying here. I knew that, despite my wishes for you to continue on closer to home and study law at Yale, you'd inevitably follow your own dreams as a film student in California. At times, yes, I do wish that I could see you more often; but, I also respect that you are an adult and need space to create a new life of your own."

I skewed my head, carrying confusion in my voice. "I had always thought you were disappointed with my choice to leave?"

"Please, I could never be disappointed with you, Elise."

We shared a long, genuine moment of respected silence as we smiled in reassurance of our strengthened Mother-Daughter bond.

"So, are we going to spend the rest of the evening taking exhilarating trips down memory lane, or are you going to tell me what went on between you and Mads?"

"Wha- how did you know that something went on between us?"

She momentarily brought her gaze toward the stairs and lowered her voice to assure that she would not wake my father. "Darling, when you called, I immediately recognized the pain in your voice and the sheer disappointment that it brought along with it. I knew of it because I, too, held the same emotion when....... when I had first found out that your father had cheated on me."

I bit down onto my lips as harshly as I could to keep myself from crying, but the pain managed to seep through.

"Elise...." She paused. "Did Mads cheat on you?"

The tears instantly ran down from my cheeks and dripped just bellow me, into my empty teacup. I was in such a deep amount of distress that it literally paralyzed my capability to speak aloud. Therefore, tears were all that I could manage to physically express my answer.

"My baby..." My mother knelt down beside me and took me into her arms.

Yet, even while being held in the warmth of her body, I couldn't keep myself from crying profusely.

"Shhhhh... Shhhh.." She forced my head into her chest and caressed it; she continued to repeat herself until my obnoxious cries lessened into small whimpers. "Shhhh... Elise, calm down darling."

No...

'...Please tell me, what's the matter?'

No...

STOP!

STOP!!

STOP!!!

The memory seared through my aching chest and made me gasp for air as it poisoned me with the blackness of its sinful, heart-wrenching cruelty.

"STOP!" I pushed her away and ran out of the room as I continued to scream. "Please! Please! Just make it stop!!!"

"Elise!" My mother shouted after me, completely unaware of her uncanny likeness to him.

Just as I began to run up the stairs, my father ran down in his pajamas. "What's going on?!"

Without word, I buried my face into his chest and vigorously struggled to breathe while I sobbed away.

"Elise...? Elise...?" He looked down at my mother who was just as confused as he. "Judi, what happened?"

"I'm not sure. I think I said something that set her off." She shrugged.

"Okay, okay... I think that's enough chit-chat for the evening." He patted me on the back and brought me back downstairs toward the guest room. "Come on, let's get you to bed. We can discuss this more in the morning. You need to rest."

I nodded softly and followed him and my mother into the room. They both helped me to catch my breath and decrease my sobs as they kissed my forehead and tucked me in.

"Goodnight, sweetheart. We love you. Don't be afraid to come up and wake us if you need anything." Mom added before shutting the door behind her.

Goodnight.

'Goodnight Elise... Dream sweetly...'