Only You - Part 15 & 16
YEAR 2006
Part 15
She is smiling at the guests and their children, the kids are running around having fun at the poolside and some are happily paddling in the pool. She feels tired as the party is nearing the end, but she feels ecstatic looking at her happy children’s faces. They are sitting under the big umbrella tearing up wrapping papers to have a look at their birthday presents, as David and her mother help them. “Mama! Mama! Look at my doll,” her daughter screams excitedly as she runs to her side. She looks at her daughter’s doll and smiles, “What a pretty doll you have there, have you chosen a name for it?” she asks as she sits her daughter on her lap. “Mmm I’ll ask Papa,” her daughter answers as she carries her doll like a baby. Her son sees his sister on his mum’s lap and as usual insists to sit on her lap too. “Boy there’s no room, later you’ll sit on mama’s lap. Now please sit on this chair ok?” she coaxes her son as she pulls another chair beside her. “Mama, look at what Papa gave me,” he is eager to show her, it’s a small train set. “Papa knows you well,” she answers her delighted son, she then turns again to have a look at her daughter’s doll, she then realises that both are gifts which had been given extra thought to. Her children’s Papa seems to spoil them but somehow he knew what presents they would dearly love. Whereas all the expensive presents David had bought them they had just put aside.
David walks toward her and extends his arms to hug both the children, they ran to him and hug him for awhile before they move away, David hardly meets them and they therefore are not comfortable to be around him. He then turns to her, “I’ll make a move now, my plane leaves in an hour’s time. It’s a wonderful party you’re having for the kids.” She smiles to him, “Thanks for coming David, I’m sure the kids love you being here, do drop by when you’re free, you’re always welcome.” He looks over to the children and waves to them, “Bye Boy, Bye Girl, Daddy’s leaving now!” the children look over to him and they wave back and cry in unison, “Bye Daddy………” She looks on as David walks away and lets go a sigh, she is happier now since she had made the decision to leave him, it had been three years since their divorce, until today she is glad he had agreed to release him without a fight and gave her full custody of the children. His only condition was she let him be apart of the children’s life and recognised him as their father.
Her mother walks toward her and sits by her, “Hmm those kids still prefer their Papa’s gifts then the expensive toys David bought for them. She nods her head, “They must really love Papa, whoever he is, and it’s too bad he can’t turn up for this birthday party, I was looking forward to meet him.” Her mother smiles, “You’ll meet him soon enough, Mummy had met him all the times and he is a good man,” she assures her. Her children seem to love their neighbour who had moved in about six months ago, her mother had told her that he had been given them swimming and tennis lessons at their apartment’s club house, surprisingly until today she had yet to meet him, only her mother had met him as she baby-sits her children everyday before she returns from work. After her divorce, her mother had decided to help her take care of the twins and had moved in with her at her new apartment. Carly had managed to get transferred to LA, she wanted to raise her children where she herself was brought up.
As the party ends, she asks her children to bring in all their gifts and thank all the guests that had come, mostly neighbours and her colleagues. She quickly asks her children to strip and she goes into the bathroom to draw their bath, she puts in a lot of bath gel as they love to play with bubbles. Her mother is already seated in front of the television, relaxing as it had been a tiring day for her, she is however happy to celebrate her grandchildren’s fifth birthday, and as usual within a few minutes her mother is asleep on the sofa. She turned off the television and let her mother rest in peace as she ushers the children into the bath tub. As always by the end of the bath she will be as soak as the children but she enjoys bathing and playing with them, she then tucks them in their beds, a double decker bed with Boy on the top bunk. She goes back to the living room and wakes her mum, “Mummy, lay down on your bed, you’re tired,” her mother drowsily walks to her own bedroom. She sits down and watches the news as she sips her hot drink before she goes to bed, sometimes memories of nights where she used to sit with him watching television while they have their hot drinks return. She sighs, “Mike, where are you now? Are you happy? I’m happy now, thanks to you.”
When she first discovered that she was pregnant, she was overjoyed, knowing immediately who the father was. It was her second month in pregnancy when she had a home test done, she had noticed that she had missed her monthly cycle for the second month and had noticed a slight change in her moods. The first person she told was her mother, she had driven to her mother’s house as she knew she had to break the news in person. Once she had her mother seated she told her, “Mummy, I have great news for you,” she was beaming as she said, “You’re going to be a grandmother soon!!!” Her mother had jumped up from her seat and hugged her, “I’m so happy Carly, at last I have grandchildren, I’m so happy.” They sat down on the sofa and chattered away happily thinking about how she’s going to handle her pregnancy and even delivery. As their excitement dies down, she lays her head on her mother’s lap and her mother touches her hair gently, “Carly, its Mike’s child you’re carrying, isn’t it? Are you going to tell David?” She sat up straight and looked into her mother’s eyes, “Yes it’s his child, I’ll tell David and ask him for a divorce,” she said in a determined voice. She then started to sob and as her mother hugged her she whispered, “At least I have his child; at last I have a piece of him for myself.” They both cried, she still crying for her lost love, her mother crying as she knew her daughter could never love another.
She had called David over to her apartment, telling him she had something extremely important to discuss. Once he arrived, she had asked him, “David, its time, as you had promised me before; you’ll release me if I asked for it.” David sat and stared at her intently, “I’ve promised that I’ll let you go if you meet someone else to marry. So who is going to be your new husband?” She softly answered, “I’m not getting married but its best you let me go now before I’m beginning to show.” He looked at her surprised, “Oh when did this happen, hmm let me guess, it must had been your Hawaii trip.” She nodded and waited for his agreement for a divorce. “Are you getting married?” he queried, and she just shook her head, he then continued, “Since you’re not getting married, why don’t you just have the baby and no one will know that it is not mine.” She looked at him, “Why David, why would you want to accept another man’s baby?” He answered softly, “It is good for my image, and both of us know I can’t have children, but the public don’t. Anyway think of this seriously, you surely do no wish for a stigma of carrying a child out of wedlock.” She had then given it a thought and had even discussed it with her mother, eventually she had agreed to stay married to him as to give her child a future.
It took her two years after she delivered her twins to realise that she did not wish to bring up her children within a lie. She was also in constant fear that her children will grow up to discover David’s world and think that she had condone it. Eventually she did get her divorce and he didn’t mind releasing her on the condition that the world acknowledges the twins as his children. She finally feels sleepy and goes to her bed, she makes sure she sleeps in the centre of her big bed; she smiles as she goes to sleep. As dawn breaks, she awakes and as customary sometime in the middle of the night, her two angels creep into her bed, she kisses Boy on her left and Girl on her right as she hugs them closer in their sleep. Everyday she thanks him for his gifts to her, their labour of love. As and when she misses him, she’ll look at her twins and she can see him through them, “Mike my darling, you kept your promise, you did not leave me alone”.
Part 16
He looks at his watch and it’s almost 3:00 p.m., he remembered he promised Boy and Girl that he’ll take them for a movie as a treat, as he could not be with them at their birthday party yesterday. He can’t get away from his meeting as it was crucial, and he was pretty upset that it turned out to be the day he was looking forward to surprise her. He informed his secretary that he’ll be going home early and rushed off. He smiles to himself as he drives and turns down the sun shade, he had slipped a picture of him and the children there and he often looked at them when he’s driving. It had been the happiest time in his life when he first met them, one look and he knew they were his. It had surprised him that they had taken to him immediately and he was sure then his only obstacle now is to convince her to take him back. Mummy had assured him that she still loves him but he wants to be sure he covers all bases this time around, no more empty promises, this time they’ll be together permanently, with their children. Their children… he loves to say it out loud, it never occurred to him that she had been nurturing their labour of love by herself; he loves her more for that, just when he thought there can’t be more of her to cherish.
Life had been turbulent for him, the trials he had gone through would have made many ordinary men gave up. However, he had survived only due to his luck of having found a love strong enough to help him through the gutters he was in. He had managed to turn his life around within the past two years, after the tragedy in his family, until today he cried thinking of the sacrifice his mother had made for him. “Mum, I missed you so,” he keeps wishing his mother is still with him, to witness his happiness. If only his mother is alive to watch him with his children and if only she had met his love, he knew his mother would have left the world at a happier note. He truly believes that a mother’s love is the greatest love in the world; he had seen his wife’s love for Junior and had also seen what his mother is capable of doing for his happiness. Until today he still wished he had been there to help his mother, thinking if he did that he could still have her by his side. “Mum, I’d rather be a fool than having you dead,” his tears wells as he remembers his old fragile mother, who had sacrificed herself for him.
His life had been in status quo until to date, four years had passed through and he had lived his life as the material provider for his family, he had tried to give them everything possible to ensure her wife’s suffering is eased and his son’s comfort is taken care. The only relief he had was his mother, the old fragile woman is the only person who understood him and in her quiet gentle ways eased his personal pain. His mother had noticed that her only son’s marriage was unhappy even before he had left for his MBA studies, he had spent more time with her and her late husband in comparison to his own wife and son. Both she and her late husband had noticed how cold Stacey treated him and how she had managed to distanced his own son from him. There are times they regretted agreeing to Bucky’s request of forcing him to marry Stacey but they had hoped the marriage will turn to be blissful for their only son, at first it had seemed so but Stacey had shown her true colours once he had moved her and Junior to their own home. It was his mother who had cared enough to ask him to reduce his drinking, he had often came home drunk driven back by his colleague, usually after entertaining clients. His mother had also noticed the amount of liquor he had in his room, she was well aware that at time he drinks himself to sleep.
The drinking had at last stopped when her mother asked him to tell her the truth, what is killing him inside, to share his sufferings with her. “Mike, you know there’s not a single soul I love more than you,” his mother started her conversation. She was sitting in her beloved rocking chair and he was at her bed, “I know Mum.” He walked over and sat at his mother’s feet and laid his head on her lap, she gently rubbed her beloved son’s head, “Tell me what you been keeping inside you,” he looked up at his mother with tears in his eyes. “Mum please don’t worry, let me deal with it myself,” he spoke softly coaxing his mother to leave the subject. “I’ve never asked you for anything, this is my request, tell me the truth,” his mother had been determined; once and for all she wanted the truth from her son. “Start with whose ring you have dangling at your chain, who is she?” He was startled by her question, obviously his mother is old but senile she is not.
“I know the girl owns your heart and soul since you return from your studies, tell me everything,” he then moved away to sit on her bed and started his story, the love story that started beautifully but ended in despair, as he was telling her he held on to the ring and looked into his mother’s eyes, searching for the disappointment and remorse. Instead he only saw sadness in her eyes and her tears started to flow after he spoke about his last conversation on the phone with her. His mother walked towards the bed and sat by him and hugged him, “I never thought you are capable of loving someone so deeply, I feel your pain,” she then held his face, “Stop drinking, when you need to talk, come to me. I’m here for you.” He nodded and kissed his mother’s cheeks. “I want your promise, once you and Stacey are through, you are to search for her,” he smiled to his mother, “Mum, she might had found someone else.” His mother looked straight to his eyes, “This is my last wish, I want you to thank her on my behalf, for loving my son. Promise me Mike,” he nodded slowly and prayed he’ll be able to keep his promise to his mother.
As any other day he arrived home in the darkness of night, his heartbeat became fast when he saw police car and ambulance outside his house, he ran into his house and found police officers everywhere. He shouted, “What’s going on here? Where’s my wife? Where’s everyone?” A police woman quickly pulled his aside and asked him to follow her to his mother’s room, he saw his mother lying on bed with a paramedic by her side. He ran to her side and saw that her head was bleeding, the paramedic started to speak, “Sir, your mother refused to go to the hospital, she needs medical attention,” he turned to his mother, “Mum, let’s go.” His mother looked at him, “Mike, I’m ready to be with your Dad. Please ask them to leave the room, I need to tell you something.” He turned to the paramedic and police woman and asked them to leave the room; she then started to speak in between her gasps, “Mike, I overheard Stacey and Bucky downstairs. Junior is not yours, he is Todd’s. All along they had planned to pin you for this.” He was stunned by his mother’s words but he was more concerned about his mother’s wellbeing, “Mum, we’ll talk about this later, let’s get you to the hospital first.” His mother smiled, “Mike, I miss your Dad, I want to be with him now. Stacey and Bucky realised I overheard them and he hit me, when I fell down bleeding they panic and ran away.” At that moment his temper flared, “Bucky hit you; I’m going to kill him!” His mother pulled him and softly said, “Forget everything; I’ve settled your problems. Keep your promise to me, find her,” slowly her breath diminished and he hugged his mother’s lifeless body.
The police woman knocked and entered the room when she heard him cried out loud and went to his side, she called upon the paramedic to check her pulse, the paramedic indicated to them both that she had left them. He wiped away his tears and spoke to the police woman, “I need to go down to check on my son,” he had forgotten about Junior in the chaos. The police woman stopped him, “Your son’s body had been transferred for an autopsy” he sat down in bewilderment, Junior had died too? It was getting too much for him, even after what her mother told him, he had accepted Junior as his son. The police woman slowly informed him, “All units are out searching for your wife and Bucky, your mother had given us the testimony that they tried to kill her.” He softly answered, “They killed Junior too.” Both the police woman and paramedic looked at each other and softly she told him the truth, “Sir, before you return home, your mother had informed us. The person who switched off your son’s life support system is your mother.” He just sat there in silent digesting what had been told to him.