I leave to pour the two of us some fresh wine, and some water for my parents. I place the four glasses on a tray as I gather my thoughts.
As I reenter the living room with the tray of drinks I catch a glimpse of Luis smiling in my direction. It is a bittersweet smile that comes far too naturally and automatically makes me blush.
But that moment is broken by the sudden sounds of my mother coughing fiercely as she is struggling to breathe. As a reaction, I drop the tray on the black marble floor, smashing the drinks on impact and spilling wine, water and shards of glass across the floor as I run to my mother's aid.
My father is holding my mother, who is coughing blood into a tissue. The sight is absolutely horrific! "Dad! What do we do?" I call out in fear.
He hands me his phone with the doctor's contact number highlighted. "Call this number!" he yells. I take the phone from him, my hands are shaking and I can barely breathe as I press the call button.
I listen as the phone rings. DR Jenkins answers on the second ring. My mouth has a mind of its own as it forces out the words: "My mother, Diane Andrews... she's..."
While I cannot remember the full extent of our conversation I must have given him the correct details as he was there within ten minutes.
Shortly after DR Jenkins has arrived at the estate, my mother is escorted to her bed where she is thoroughly examined and treated. We are ushered out of her room to leave her to rest. The doctor informs us that she is doing okay, all things considered.
But still, I feel useless and as the cleaner has already tended to the smashed glass on the floor, there is absolutely nothing that I can do to help.
To my frustration, my father sends Luis and I up to our room, informing me that a good night's rest would be best for all of us. But after everything that has transpired tonight, neither one of us can sleep.
My head is still spinning from the wine and my heart is hurting over everything that I cannot control. I sit on the bed, my back up against the soft pillows, the blanket is pulled up to my chin and I look to Luis for comfort.
He is sitting beside me. The red blanket is neatly resting on his lap. He is silent. Clearly, he doesn't know what to say. I don't blame him.
When he signed up to this, he had no way of knowing just what was coming his way. But compared to a week ago, there is an ease that I feel whenever I am around him.
"Tell me something to take my mind off of this," I beg of him. He scratches his forehead and sighs.
"Like what?" he asks. He looks at me and those soft brown eyes make everything feel better.
"Anything?" I reply. He is still clueless about what to say. I can see him thinking and for once he seems uncomfortable in the situation that he is in.
I remember the conversation that we had on the night of my parent's anniversary dinner. That night that I refused to hear what he had to say.
"Why did Adam pick you for this plan?" I finally ask him. "I know that I cut you off last time that you wanted to tell me... So, tell me... Why did he pick you?"
I watch the color drain from his face and I know that the secret that he has been hiding is a big one. It only makes me want to know more. "Why don't we talk about something else? Like... you never told me what you do? Where do you work?" he asks, trying to change the subject.
My jaw drops open. I really don't want to go into that conversation right now. I don't want to tell him that I am unemployed because my boss was a sexually perverted dirtbag.
Chapter Ten: A Moment of Bliss
Start from the beginning
