"C'mon kids, you gonna do this with me ? I'd really like you to." Larry chided his children, getting settled on the sofa, looking around him to check that everything was satisfactory in the background for his vlog. He set up his phone ready to record. Michaela and Kayden appeared in the doorway looking far from happy.
"Do we HAVE to ?" Michaela whined as only a nine year old could.
"No, you don't have to, but I thought it would be a good thing to do. A NICE thing to do." He cut her a side glance, a wry smile on his face. Larry was mostly over his anger at Lau now. He had calmed. He had seen Laurent's vlog a few days ago, and noticed how much calmer and happy he seemed. His whole demeanor was different. Happy maybe wasn't the right word, but he seemed happier, more at peace, more hopeful about his place in the world. He thought his body language was more relaxed, and when he had talked about Larry, or rather, to Larry, his whole face and body just lit up, it was so plain to see. Larry had thought that maybe he was imagining it, or reading too much into it, but it was there, as plain as the nose on his face. Laurent's unswerving, unyielding love for him and their children. That Larry was the light in his darkness. The old Laurent. And it made him smile again.
So, he decided he would record a vlog too, from his perspective, for the Read-Bourgeois faithful. As Laurent had said, it was the least he could do, after their followers and fans had always given them both so much support and love over the years. Larry also knew that Laurent would see it too, and that would make both of them happy.
"Come here, then" he beckoned Michaela, as Kayden got comfy in his lap.
"Kayla, what is it, sweetie ?" While Larry's hurt and anger had subsided quite a while ago, replaced with reason and hope, Michaela was having a harder time getting to grips with her papa's departure. She saw it as him having abandoned them, and hurting her daddy badly in the process. She had watched as Larry walked around the house like a zombie day after day, in the days after Laurent left, not being able to focus on anything, not even smile, unless it was for her or Kayden. She saw him sit for hours in front of the T.V. or out in the garden, in the same place, not even moving except to raise his hand to brush away the tears from his face. She heard him as he sobbed uncontrollably in his and Laurent's room late into the night, as she sat on the floor in the hallway, facing their bedroom door, crying her own quiet tears for her daddy's broken heart. And as much as she loved her papa, and God, did she love him, and even as her mind knew there was a good reason why he had to ask for help elsewhere, she couldn't forgive him, at least not yet, for the pain he had caused her daddy. Larry had an idea this was the case, and he completely understood her reticence.
"Sweetheart," he tried to persuade her, as she sat next to him and Kayden, crossing her arms in front of her in a huff. "This isn't for papa, although I'm sure he will see it. It's for everyone out there who send us their love. For all the people who don't even know us, who have helped us get through the tough times." She let out a deep sigh then. "Tell you what. Think of it as a "thank you" to all those people who sent you and Kayden all that fabulous stuff, all those lovely presents. Who said prayers for all of us. We can do that, can't we ?" He looked her directly in her face now, holding her chin up, so that she had no choice but to look at him. A faint smile crossed her face as she nodded.
"OK then. Let's do this" he smiled at his daughter before kissing her forehead. He leaned forward to press record as he rearranged Kayden in his lap to face the camera a little better, as Michaela looped her arm in Larry's.
"Hey guys ! How ya'll doin' ?" he asked, a genuine smile on his face. He sighed deeply, as he hadn't rehearsed anything to say, as he, like Laurent, had wanted what was on his mind and in his heart to make it's way to the camera untempered. "We're here to say "Hi !" to all you lovely people who have supported Laurent and I since day one. Since I was pregnant with this one" he smiled pulling Michaela a little closer to him, kissing her hair, "and since having this one" he ruffled Kayden's hair then too, "but especially since everything that happened with ..... the hostage incident." Michaela looked into Larry's face, concerned, knowing how just talking about it affected him. It seemed to affect him more than her. She had blocked those few days out completely, like they had never happened. She didn't need to talk about them, relive them, or even think about them, and Larry had noticed. He had tried to talk to her about it, suggested counselling, but she wanted no part in it. He couldn't help but think that it would all resurface again when she was older, and he did not look forward to that day. But for now, he carried on,
KAMU SEDANG MEMBACA
YOU PROMISED ME FOREVER -- Sequel to "DIFFERENT"
Fiksi Penggemar5 years later, Laurent and Larry Read-Bourgeois and their two children, are living a seemingly perfect life. An unexpected, and traumatic event leaves them lost and bewildered, their perfect life now a nightmare. They keep their life, but can they...
