Secret Diaries (Heartlake Cliche #1)

Chapter Thirty-One

     He sighed, trying to figure out how to make small talk.

     His father beat him to it.

     “Your mother had a boyfriend when we first met,” Hubert blurted out.

     Nick didn’t know much about his parents’ love story and it rendered him momentarily disoriented to hear it now. It made him curious though so he turned to face his father, letting the older man know he was listening.

     “She had just finished college and I was a simple office worker who dreamed of having his own business. She was my sister’s friend and we got introduced during their grad party.” Hubert started shaking his head. “I didn’t think she was the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. Rather, I saw her as ‘just one of the girls out there’.” The memories were making his dad smile and Nick felt himself smiling as well. “She was talkative and very much a worrier. Sometimes, it made me wonder how her boyfriend could last more than ten minutes with her.”

      Nick’s smile grew; he knew his mother liked to talk about anything that came to mind—especially if it was just the two of you.

     “Nothing special happened between us for months. She sometimes comes to visit Ellen, and other times, we end up having a chat. We were friends. But then one day, everything changed.” Hubert blinked then looked at Nick as if seeing his son for the first time that evening. “You know how you thought it’s going to be just another normal day and then suddenly, you see someone and everything has changed?”

     Nick remembered that day in middle school when they were dissecting a common house lizard. He nodded in understanding and he saw his father smile.

     “Julia was in the park, playing with kids, and it made me want to kneel in front of her and ask her to be the mother of my children,” Hubert said with a soft chuckle. “It was the silliest thought I’ve ever had and I was thankful I never actually did it.”

     “So what happened?” Nick asked curiously when Hubert kept quiet.

     A grave expression fell on Hubert’s face. “I found out she got a marriage proposal.”

     Nick never knew about that and he was suddenly wary and alert. It made him fear that his father may have done something stupid before; and he wondered how things were resolved.

     “I couldn’t exactly say that it broke my heart. But,” he paused to gather his thoughts. “I felt a deep kind of regret that left me feeling numb for a long time.”

     “How did the two of you end up together?” Nick urged when the silence felt unbearable.

     “I pretended that nothing has changed. But then there was a party and I got drunk. Without thinking clearly, I called her and told her what I felt.” The older man smiled bitterly. “Then feeling ashamed of myself, I avoided her. And that was the biggest mistake of my life.”

     There was a painful note in his father’s voice and Nick held his tongue from probing. Hubert obviously needed to tell his story his way.

     “I think it was a year before I saw Julia again. She was twenty-seven and had never been more beautiful. I approached her and attempted small talk. She listened to me talk about the weather for quite some time and before I knew it, she was already crying. It baffled me and I asked her what’s wrong. I got a slap instead.

     “And then she told me angrily, ‘You avoided me for a year and all you wanted to tell me was about Heartlake weather? I rejected the proposal, you idiot! I tried to tell you I’ve fallen in love with you too but you’re so selfish, you won’t talk to me!’ I remembered all three sentences because,” a teary smile started to form on Hubert’s lips, “those were the sweetest words I’ve ever heard in my entire life.”