By the time they got to Mrs. Hunt's house, Ella already felt overwhelmed with all the options.
"We're only just starting, you know?" Molly looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You're going to have to learn how to deal with all sorts of situations in order to support Leon."
"Seems so..." Ella followed her out to the house, and they headed to the living room filled with flowers and decorations to choose from.
"Now that you've chosen a venue." She pulled out a binder with all the information on it and what flowers and decorations went along with it.
"Wait, this place..." Ella looked at the map that was included in the venue. "It's near the beach where I first met Leon..." Walking distance even. At least I think it was there...
"Is it? All the better, I suppose. Now, sit." She patted the couch beside her. "We have decisions to make."
---
Ella held onto her pounding head after making more decisions than she could keep track of. Leon's mother seemed to get annoyed every time she couldn't make a quick enough decision, but they made it through most of the things she had planned.
"By the way, when are you quitting?" Molly asked.
"Excuse me?" Ella frowned. "I'm not quitting."
"You're not seriously going to keep working as a concierge, are you? That's a busy job; you need to have an open schedule for Leon."
Normally busy, but less so with Leon trying to keep me to himself. Still, I'd rather at least keep going part time. "You don't think I can support Leon and still have a job? I'm mostly his concierge, anyway."
"What will you do when you have children? They eat up even more time than your job..."
"Um... Children? We... haven't talked about it much."
"They need constant attention, and I'm expecting at least two grandchildren."
"Wait a second... since when did you give Leon constant attention? I met him when he was still only a child, and he was depressed and feeling unloved..." I don't think it's my place to mention he wanted to kill himself. "He definitely didn't get constant attention from you, though I think he craved it."
Her eye twitched. "You don't know what it was like! I was always busy with my husband—"
"So busy you neglected your son?"
"I... I love Leon... We gave him everything he asked for. He got all the latest toys and all the vacations around the world. Everything."
"Everything but your attention." And love. "I'm sorry, but all the toys in the world can't replace a parent's love."
"Hmph... We'll see how you do once you become a mother. It's not easy."
"I don't know if we'll have kids or not, but if we do, they'll have more parental love than you can imagine. I believe you when you say you love Leon, but I wish you'd actually show it with actions over words. Now, if we're done here, I want to go home."
She sighed and composed herself. "Yes; we've gone through what we needed to. I'll get the driver to send you back."
Ella held up her hand. "Thank you, but I need a walk to clear my head."
"Oh, alright..." She cleared her throat. "Be well then." It wasn't until Ella was walking away that Molly noticed Ella's cheeks reddening a bit. She was about to ask if she was okay, but Ella walked out of the room before she could.
"She didn't look too good." Her assistant cleared the table of tea and snacks.
"Probably overwhelmed. It is a lot to take in." Molly looked at the binder on the table.
"Don't you think you should warn your son?"
---
Ella sighed, enjoying the cool breeze on her face. "I can't believe I said all that to her... It's not really my place to say any of it, is it? Then again, I will be her daughter-in-law..." She shook her head, trying to push those thoughts to the back. Geez, my head feels so stuffy. Maybe I just need some water.
She headed into the nearby convenience store and bought a bottle of cold water before heading back out. She spotted a park nearby with a few benches surrounded by flowers and decided to sit and hope the fresh air would help clear her head. Gotta love parks...
"Ah..." she sighed after taking a drink of cold water.
I hope I didn't screw up any of the choices or piss her off too much, but really, how can she think she was an attentive mother? An image of young Leon on the edge of the cliff, debating on if he should jump or not, passed through her mind. He looked so sad... Even with all my troubles when I was younger with a father who abandoned me, I never got to that point. That's probably thanks to my mom. She may not have always had time, but she always made sure I knew how much she loved me. I'm so lucky.
She looked up at the sky and noticed dark clouds rolling in.
Ugh, that can't be good... I better not stay here too long or I'll be caught in the rain. She got up from the bench and stumbled a step. Her head spun, and she saw spots before falling back onto the bench.
Phew, definitely not good.
She waited a minute before getting up again. Okay, hopefully, no more dizzy spells... Wait, how far am I from home?
Ella looked around, having wandered more off the main streets than she thought.
This is my city; I shouldn't get lost...
Drip, drip. Two droplets of water hit Ella on the top of her head.
Uh-oh... She looked up and more rain splashed down on her. Looking around, she spotted a bus stop and rushed over for cover.
"Always comes out of nowhere." She sighed.
Crackle. Boom.
"Ah!" Ella yelped and covered her ears. Ever since a thunderstorm knocked out the power for hours while she was home alone as a child, she'd been terrified of thunder.
Crackle. Another rumble of thunder ripped through the sky and lightning hit the middle of the street not far from her.
Her ears still covered, she started to rock.
It'll end soon. Tough it out like always. Who am I kidding? I try to be inside when there's a thunderstorm. Across the street, there were a bunch of stores, but she couldn't bring herself to go rushing across out of her cover. Maybe I should take the bus... but how long until one shows up?
She scrunched her eyes shut, afraid of seeing the lightning close by.
Please end soon. A strong wind wiped by and she shivered, more soaked by the rain than she thought. Why is this happening? It was so nice out earlier.
A Rolls Royce screeched as it did a u-turn and pulled up in front of her.
"Ella!" Leon practically lunged out of the car towards her.
"Leon?" She stood
Boom. Thunder sounded again, and she let out a small yelp as she covered her ears. Strong, warm arms wrapped around her.
"It's okay, Ella. I'm here now." Leon kissed the top of her head. "Geez, you're soaked and burning up." Leon took off his jacket and put it around her. "Let's go home."
He ushered her into the car while she was still covering her ears. He sat down in the back beside her and buckled them both in before wrapping his arms around her again.
The car took off, with Zeke driving it.
"Why... Why didn't you call me?" Leon whispered and gritted his teeth, trying to stop himself from snapping.
She looked over at him, her eyes blurry. "Sorry..." she mumbled and leaned into him as she blacked out.
"Ella?" Leon gripped her tighter. "Dammit..."
"Don't worry; we'll get her home." Zeke glanced in the rear-view mirror at Leon.
By the time they got to Mrs. Hunt's house, Ella already felt overwhelmed with all the options.
"We're only just starting, you know?" Molly looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You're going to have to learn how to deal with all sorts of situations in order to support Leon."
"Seems so..." Ella followed her out to the house, and they headed to the living room filled with flowers and decorations to choose from.
"Now that you've chosen a venue." She pulled out a binder with all the information on it and what flowers and decorations went along with it.
"Wait, this place..." Ella looked at the map that was included in the venue. "It's near the beach where I first met Leon..." Walking distance even. At least I think it was there...
"Is it? All the better, I suppose. Now, sit." She patted the couch beside her. "We have decisions to make."
---
Ella held onto her pounding head after making more decisions than she could keep track of. Leon's mother seemed to get annoyed every time she couldn't make a quick enough decision, but they made it through most of the things she had planned.
"By the way, when are you quitting?" Molly asked.
"Excuse me?" Ella frowned. "I'm not quitting."
"You're not seriously going to keep working as a concierge, are you? That's a busy job; you need to have an open schedule for Leon."
Normally busy, but less so with Leon trying to keep me to himself. Still, I'd rather at least keep going part time. "You don't think I can support Leon and still have a job? I'm mostly his concierge, anyway."
"What will you do when you have children? They eat up even more time than your job..."
"Um... Children? We... haven't talked about it much."
"They need constant attention, and I'm expecting at least two grandchildren."
"Wait a second... since when did you give Leon constant attention? I met him when he was still only a child, and he was depressed and feeling unloved..." I don't think it's my place to mention he wanted to kill himself. "He definitely didn't get constant attention from you, though I think he craved it."
Her eye twitched. "You don't know what it was like! I was always busy with my husband—"
"So busy you neglected your son?"
"I... I love Leon... We gave him everything he asked for. He got all the latest toys and all the vacations around the world. Everything."
"Everything but your attention." And love. "I'm sorry, but all the toys in the world can't replace a parent's love."
"Hmph... We'll see how you do once you become a mother. It's not easy."
"I don't know if we'll have kids or not, but if we do, they'll have more parental love than you can imagine. I believe you when you say you love Leon, but I wish you'd actually show it with actions over words. Now, if we're done here, I want to go home."
She sighed and composed herself. "Yes; we've gone through what we needed to. I'll get the driver to send you back."
Ella held up her hand. "Thank you, but I need a walk to clear my head."
"Oh, alright..." She cleared her throat. "Be well then." It wasn't until Ella was walking away that Molly noticed Ella's cheeks reddening a bit. She was about to ask if she was okay, but Ella walked out of the room before she could.
"She didn't look too good." Her assistant cleared the table of tea and snacks.
"Probably overwhelmed. It is a lot to take in." Molly looked at the binder on the table.
"Don't you think you should warn your son?"
---
Ella sighed, enjoying the cool breeze on her face. "I can't believe I said all that to her... It's not really my place to say any of it, is it? Then again, I will be her daughter-in-law..." She shook her head, trying to push those thoughts to the back. Geez, my head feels so stuffy. Maybe I just need some water.
She headed into the nearby convenience store and bought a bottle of cold water before heading back out. She spotted a park nearby with a few benches surrounded by flowers and decided to sit and hope the fresh air would help clear her head. Gotta love parks...
"Ah..." she sighed after taking a drink of cold water.
I hope I didn't screw up any of the choices or piss her off too much, but really, how can she think she was an attentive mother? An image of young Leon on the edge of the cliff, debating on if he should jump or not, passed through her mind. He looked so sad... Even with all my troubles when I was younger with a father who abandoned me, I never got to that point. That's probably thanks to my mom. She may not have always had time, but she always made sure I knew how much she loved me. I'm so lucky.
She looked up at the sky and noticed dark clouds rolling in.
Ugh, that can't be good... I better not stay here too long or I'll be caught in the rain. She got up from the bench and stumbled a step. Her head spun, and she saw spots before falling back onto the bench.
Phew, definitely not good.
She waited a minute before getting up again. Okay, hopefully, no more dizzy spells... Wait, how far am I from home?
Ella looked around, having wandered more off the main streets than she thought.
This is my city; I shouldn't get lost...
Drip, drip. Two droplets of water hit Ella on the top of her head.
Uh-oh... She looked up and more rain splashed down on her. Looking around, she spotted a bus stop and rushed over for cover.
"Always comes out of nowhere." She sighed.
Crackle. Boom.
"Ah!" Ella yelped and covered her ears. Ever since a thunderstorm knocked out the power for hours while she was home alone as a child, she'd been terrified of thunder.
Crackle. Another rumble of thunder ripped through the sky and lightning hit the middle of the street not far from her.
Her ears still covered, she started to rock.
It'll end soon. Tough it out like always. Who am I kidding? I try to be inside when there's a thunderstorm. Across the street, there were a bunch of stores, but she couldn't bring herself to go rushing across out of her cover. Maybe I should take the bus... but how long until one shows up?
She scrunched her eyes shut, afraid of seeing the lightning close by.
Please end soon. A strong wind wiped by and she shivered, more soaked by the rain than she thought. Why is this happening? It was so nice out earlier.
A Rolls Royce screeched as it did a u-turn and pulled up in front of her.
"Ella!" Leon practically lunged out of the car towards her.
"Leon?" She stood
Boom. Thunder sounded again, and she let out a small yelp as she covered her ears. Strong, warm arms wrapped around her.
"It's okay, Ella. I'm here now." Leon kissed the top of her head. "Geez, you're soaked and burning up." Leon took off his jacket and put it around her. "Let's go home."
He ushered her into the car while she was still covering her ears. He sat down in the back beside her and buckled them both in before wrapping his arms around her again.
The car took off, with Zeke driving it.
"Why... Why didn't you call me?" Leon whispered and gritted his teeth, trying to stop himself from snapping.
She looked over at him, her eyes blurry. "Sorry..." she mumbled and leaned into him as she blacked out.
"Ella?" Leon gripped her tighter. "Dammit..."
"Don't worry; we'll get her home." Zeke glanced in the rear-view mirror at Leon.
