Chapter 5. Reunited

DYLAN

“Welcome back, Ashlene Grace Ridley.”

She turned when she heard it. Out of a sudden, I couldn’t help but blurt it out. Seeing her in the place where she belonged, inside a huge house with 12 rooms, a wide lawn with fountains and flower gardens, an indoor pool with a heater, a huge adjacent estate that was named after her, and a family law firm where she should be, and a room that was bigger than the only place I could afford, I suddenly felt overwhelmed of the woman I loved.

Deep down, I knew that somehow, I deprived her of this with the life I could offer, to only have one kind of food per meal, to have an electric fan instead of an air conditioner, a single bed with a very thin cushion to support our backs, a crowded room where she needed to donate some of her clothes to the orphanage to make room for some of our things.

“I have to say, I appreciate that you agreed to this,” she said, frowning. She took three paces towards me and cupped my cheek.

“Thank you, Dylan Joe Villazon.”

I smiled. Of course, anything for her.

She smiled and looked around the room. Her eyes lingered on the picture frame that was hanging at the top of her bed’s headboard. It was a picture of her during her eighteenth birthday. On a grandiose occasion, a lady in a bloody red gown posing for the cameras with a bed of roses behind her. She looked at it wistfully, like being reacquainted with an old friend.

I sat on the chair beside the small table to rest. Something about driving that long exhausted me, and a good nap sounded about right at the moment. She went nearer to the hanging picture frame and touched it.

“I thought Dad threw this away. I thought he hated me so much.”

“I doubt that.”

“You don’t know him. You have no idea what things he can do when he’s mad.”

I shut my lips then. She was right. I had no idea what kind of man her dad was, but I got an ill feeling I’d find out soon.

Breaking the moment, we heard a honk coming from the front door below. Ash’s eyes widened a little, and there was a look of surprise on her face.

“That must be Dad and Anton,” she said and went to the windows to check. I followed her, one step behind.

The curtains were down. She reached for them and tied them up, one by one, causing the glass to show us a clear view of the lawn in front of the house. Indeed, there was a car parked. Two cars, rather.

The Ridleys were here.

“Hurry, let’s go and meet them.”

She rushed to get her jacket from the headboard, and we went out, locking the room door behind us. As we went down, I heard the voices of two men engaged in a conversation in the living room. When we reached the room, the two men of the house were there as we went down, standing, talking about a case they just won.

“Dad!” Ashlene rushed to hug her father. Her brother was nodding with a smile; on his left hand was a glass of alcoholic drink. Whiskey, I guess.

“Ashlene! God, I missed you so much. Finally, you decided to come back,” Seth said.

“I missed you, Ash,” Anton said and put down the glass on the low glass table. Ashlene gave him a hug, too.

“I missed you both. And I’m glad to be back… I hope we can just leave everything that happened behind?”

“Of course,” Anton said.

“We’re just glad you’re here.”

“Thank you… and Mom, where is her… where is she?”

Anton looked away. “We don’t need to talk about this now, do we?” Anton side-commented.

Seth inhaled before responding. “It’s okay. When your mother’s on her deathbed, she specifically asked to be cremated, darling. So, we… the morgue has transported her for cremation.”

“Oh. Okay… thank you for telling me, Dad,” my wife said, disappointment evident in the tone of her voice. I felt bad as well. For all I knew, it was what she wanted to be here for, to say goodbye for her funeral. Not like this. She let out a deep breath and glanced at me.

Okay, this is it. After ten seconds of awkward silence, I stepped in. I was certain Seth and Anton were waiting for me to approach first. I cleared my throat and offered my hand, hoping I’d be welcomed by shaking hands, not throwing fists.

“Seth, Anton… glad to see you,” I said. I knew my wife was watching behind me.

“Dylan,” Seth said and shook my hand. Anton only stared at me up and down. I kind of expected that.

“I won’t keep you any longer. Anton and I are exhausted. We only came here to grab the documents and we’ll be on our way. Please, feel at home,” Seth said.

Anton picked up his whiskey and downed the liquid in one gulp. He placed the empty glass on the table and followed his father. I stood there for a little while, following them with my eyes. Something about that encounter made me feel uneasy. An implied hostility. Especially with Anton. He couldn’t even try to be civil with me.

“See? It wasn’t that bad,” Ashlene said.

I only smiled. Glancing at her, she looked satisfied. This was what she wanted, and it showed.

I was hopeful. Perhaps this could open new doors for the Ridleys and me. Now that we were under the same roof, I could use every opportunity to prove my worth to them. Hopefully, they’d come around. If not, then I would do everything to win their favor. No matter what it takes. For Ashlene. For love.

“Are you hungry? Let’s check the kitchen for some food. We need to hurry, though. Let’s go to that cremation place my father said. I still have to say my farewell, one way or another,” she said and pulled me to the kitchen before I could answer.

And yes, I was hungry.