Twonder (Completed)

Chapter 42: An Old Man's Greatest Gift

" So how you wanna go about this?" Wakeem asked as he and Cleo stood on the elevator waiting for it to transport them to their shared apartment. After her untimely arrest Cleo, Wakeem, and Greg had gone back to the office and had an impromptu meeting about the day's events. They were positive an important link was missing in the whole accusation Biltmore had laid out, and without him they figured it'd be a needle in a fucking haystack to find said link. They were running out of options and finally Cleo had called it quits for the night, her body and mind needed a reprieve from the tumultuous day, and she was gonna give in to it.

" Tomorrow I'll do a little digging, but for now I wanna put that shit to rest. Ard?" Cleo pleaded as she walked up to Wakeem and laid her head on his chest. Wakeem immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, this was all the talking that needed to be done.

The two stepped off the elevator hand in hand and there sitting outside their door was a huge cream box with black and purple ribbons tied into a bow on top. Cleo let go of Wakeem's hand and quickened her pace to reach the big box, she wanted to open it right there in her hallway but then her common sense kicked in and she stood entranced by the possibilities of what could reside inside.

Wakeem watched her from afar as she walked towards the box as if her last breath depended on it, bent over to touch the ribbon, but then stopped herself midway and retracted her hand until she was back in a standing position. She stared at the box with an adoration she'd only displayed towards Nathan, and even though Cleo didn't know whom the gift was from just yet, her body did.

" You good?" Wakeem walked up on his woman and stood on the opposite side of the gift box looking her entranced frame over.

" Yea babe I'm good. Let's just go in, I'll open it in there." Cleo feigned sureness as her heart beat a thousand times a minute and her head swam with the possibilities of what this box contained.

Wakeem opened up the door and Cleo watched as he lifted and carried the gift box in. He laid it on the bed in their bedroom and Cleo followed behind him as he did so, lagging behind like a little kid waiting for their parent to leave them alone to enjoy a new toy. Wakeem soon got the hint and left Cleo alone with the undoubted Lavelle gift; about fed the fuck up with Nathan's magnanimous power over her.

Cleo sat down on the bed, adjacent to the ominous box, and unstrapped her heels while peeking out the corner of her eye at the huge gift box. She simply couldn't take her eyes off of it, her curiosity was peeked to absolution and she didn't have the willpower to fight it.

" Ok." Cleo let out a breath and crawled her way to the box, sitting up on her haunches so she could open it up comfortably. She took her time with the thick ribbons, untying them slowly so that she could savor each moment as it ticked by slowly and store it in her memory bank for later revision and analysis. The ribbons gave way and Cleo lifted the lid of the box to reveal two more shoe box sixed parcels surrounded by tissue paper, and a small notecard that lay on top. Cleo picked up the notecard and read it silently, soon a big ass smile was plastered on her face.

Cleo,

For all you have given me this past year, and all the things you will bless me with in the future I savor your love the most. I know I'm not there in person, but hopefully I will be one day, and even if I'm not I want your future to be the brightest. Here are some things to show you this old man still has the capacity to listen and fulfill his promises.... even from here.

Love, Nathan

Cleo had tears in her eyes even before she got to the last line and the droplets of salty liquid dropped on the notecard and smudged Nathan's handwriting on impact. She then quickly moved the card from the line of fire and ripped through the tissue paper with renewed fervor as she picked up the smaller of the two boxes and laid it carefully in her lap as she sat Indian style. Inside laid a diamond-encrusted man's Rolex with the inscription, ' an old man's greatest gift' written on the underside, and a book of handwritten pages that was simply titled ' To Wonder'. Cleo leafed through the pages and found Nathan had narrated a story in which their lives intertwined and fell into place within each other; it was a meticulous dialogue between Nathan's heart and creative mind and the product of such was beyond beautiful. Cleo loved both of these gifts so soundly; she couldn't imagine what was in the other box.

As Cleo lifted the lid of the second box her mouth dropped in awe as she took into her hands the Smith and Wesson 45 caliber custom wood grain handle handgun she'd been eyeing for the past couple months. She'd told Nathan on numerous occasions how much she'd wanted it, but she just couldn't see herself spending that kind of money on something she'd probably have to ditch after using, the gun was over a thousand dollars after all. Nathan had been listening, and suddenly Cleo's horrific day didn't seem so horrific anymore. 

I know this is a short chapter guys, but another update will come soon. Hope ya'll enjoyed. Vote, comment, and share!