Chapter 52
We parked just outside of the orphanage. To my surprise, the event wasn't public - no banners, no cameras; it looks like a very usual day for the orphanage outside.
Someone knocked on Axel's side of the car to which he rolled the window down.
"Axel, come on, what are you idling about? Your mom kept asking me where you were."
"Wait your mom?" I asked.
The man outside guffawed, "Whoa-oh, who do we have here?" He angled his head so he could see me. "Lauren?"
"You know me?"
Axel cleared his throat, "Lauren this is Peter, Peter this is Lauren."
"Of course, I know you. I'm his manager; it's my business to know who he's seen with by the paparazzi."
"Oh, you could blame him for that one."
"O-kay," Axel held out his hands. "Let's not?"
I waved my hand to dismiss.
"Alright, well, come on, you two, they're waiting for us."
"Mm-hm," Axel nodded. "You go ahead, we'll be right behind you."
"Alright, but if I don't see you inside in five minutes..."
"I know, I know."
"I'll come back."
"Okay, yeah, go." He rolled the windows up and faced me. "Well, let's go?"
"No."
"What? We talked about this."
"Yeah, but I didn't know your mom is here."
"So? It's not like she's the queen or the president or something. Come on."
"No."
He breathed deeply then went out of the car.
Well, that was easy.
My side of the car door opened.
"What are you doing?"
"Remove your seatbelt."
"No, I won't go inside. I'll stay here."
"You wouldn't breathe inside the car."
"There are windows! Plus I can wait outside."
"In this cold?"
"It's not that cold," I said just as the wind picked up. Nice timing, mother nature. "I'll just stay here. I can roll up the windows."
"Again, you can't breathe."
"Nah-uh. You can't trick me. I saw that this car has a leave-your-dog-inside-the-car feature."
"You're not a dog."
"At this moment, being a dog doesn't sound so bad."
His lips curled, patience wearing thin. He ducked and entered the car.
"Whoa, what are you doing?"
He looked at me, our faces dangerously close, "I'm just removing your seatbelt." His hand hold onto the already unfastened lock. "Don't get any ideas."
He grabbed my hand to drag me out but I kept my stance.
"No."
"Come on, please. It isn't so bad inside."
"I'm not ready to meet your mom, okay?"
"She's not so bad, come on."
"Axel, what's taking you so long?" A woman's voice called.
My eyes bulged at the sound and I shook my head, warning Axel to watch his next words.
"Lauren doesn't wanna go."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I whispered.
"Lauren is here?" she said and the sound of heels clicking pavement followed.
"You're gonna pay for this," I said and stepped out of the car. I grinned as his mom gets closer and said in gritted teeth, "Lock your car and let's walk."
He chuckled and walked next to me with one hand in his pocket.
"You think this is amusing?" I said while smiling.
"You don't have to smile like that. It's just my mom."
"That's the point! Oh my God, here she is."
"Hi," she smiled with her eyes bright.
"Mom, this is Lauren. Lauren, my mom."
"Hi, Mrs. James, sorry for the delay, I was just tying my shoelace."
She glanced at my feet, "You're wearing boots."
"Uhhhh, I mean, the, uh,"
"Yeah, what was it, Lauren?" Axel jibed.
"Uh," I looked down at my shoe, "The ribbon behind it? Yeah, that! See?" I twisted my leg to an angle. "Um, it came off and I had to tie... it."
"Good save," he whispered behind my ear.
Mrs. James nodded slowly, trying to understand my explanation while Axel tries to contain himself from laughing.
He cleared his throat, "Yeah, mom, I had to wait for her. I can't leave her there."
Mrs. James looked like she came back to her senses, "Of course! Oh, and, Lauren?"
"Yes?"
"Please call me Beth. Mrs. James is my mother-in-law."
I nodded, "Okay, Mrs."
She raised a brow at me.
"Beth." I continued even though it sounds wrong coming out of my mouth.
She smiled, "Let's go in then."
Axel tilted his head toward the building and we followed his mom inside.
"Axel!" The kids shouted and came running towards us. I moved out of the way and watched as they flocked around and attacked him with hugs.
"Hey, hey, hey, I missed you all too."
"Hey," a woman said next to me. "I'm Mia. Axel's sister. You're Lauren, right?"
"Hi, yes. Nice to meet you." I shook her hand.
"It's very nice to meet you too, I didn't know you were coming."
"Oh, I didn't know too."
Her brows pulled together.
"I meant," my heart pounded. How do I explain this? We were buying an engagement ring? "We... we were driving and Peter-"
"Mia!" A man called from behind me. I turned and saw an older muscular brunette version of Axel wearing a black polo shirt. "The catering arrived."
"Alright, I'll be there," she answered and he disappeared to the back. "That's Gavin. He's our brother. I just need to fix this issue with the caterers. Let's talk soon, okay?"
"Yeah, okay."
"Axel!" the loud voice of a little girl caught my attention. She tugged at his pants while carrying a Charlie Brown doll in one arm.
"Lisa!" He bent to his knees and picked her up. "Oh, wow, look how you've grown!"
She giggled until her eyes landed on me. She leaned closer to Axel and whispered something in his ear. I watched their exchange as he nods and shakes his head. I wonder what they're talking about.
As if on cue, Axel glanced at me and smiled.
What the hell are they talking about?
He carefully dropped Lisa and she walked in front of me, our eyes locking for a moment.
"Hi," I waved my hand but she looked at me sourly and gave me the side-eye before running to the other kids.
Axel stood beside me.
"What did I do that a four- or five-year-old would look at me like that?"
He placed both hands in his pockets watching Lisa play with the Charlie Brown doll. "She's jealous of you."
"What?"
"You're a new face. She asked me who you were and I said you were a friend and that you came with me."
"Oh, great, now a child hates me too."
He nudged me by the shoulder, "Don't worry, I don't hate you."
"Well, that meant a lot."
"Oh, come on. Hey, I saw you met my sister?"
"Yeah."
"What'd she say?"
"She said she didn't know I'd come."
"Yeah?"
"And I told her I didn't know either. She was confused."
"Yeah, I could see that."
"I didn't know how to explain that we went out shopping for a ring and I was about to make something up, but thank God your brother came."
"Oh, you met Gavin?"
"Well, not really. He just called on your sister to come to him."
"Oh, right. That's very typical of him though, don't be offended."
"I'm not. But how is that typical of him?"
"Well, he's always talking about business. He and Mia's husband are partners. They run a hotel together."
"Oh, okay, but I think they were talking about the catering?"
"Oh, that. Well, that's Mia's realm. She's in the food industry. Gavin's just being his nosy self, no big deal."
"Hey, don't say that about your brother."
"Well, it's the truth. He knows it and it's okay. You know there's Type A and then there's Gavin, he's like triple-A or something," he chuckled. "Ah, that's just him, everything has to go his way."
"Are you ready?" Peter showed up in front of us.
"Oh, of course." Axel nodded. "Come on," he took my hand and led the way.
"Where are we going?"
We stopped and he dropped my hand, "Just stay there."
"You don't tell me what to do," I said as he walked away.
"Hey, kids, let's pick up where we left off last month?"
"Yeah," they said in unison.
"Last month?" I asked Peter next to me.
"Yes, he does this every month."
My eyes rose to see Axel huddled with the kids. "Okay, I'll give you a little recap about our story just in case you forgot about it." Everyone was all ears and as he told his story, the kids were wide-eyed and engrossed with everything he says.
I turned to Peter, "He does this every month?"
His eyes widened, "Yeah," he exhaled. "About that," he moved closer to m, "Can you keep it a secret?"
"What is? That he's going here every month?"
"Yeah, well, I shouldn't be telling you this, but since he came here with you, I suppose it's okay."
I nodded my head to encourage him to go on.
"Well, the whole family does this every year. They visit the orphanage a few weeks after the gala, but they don't know about Axel visiting here monthly."
"What?"
"He wants to keep it a secret from them."
"Okay?" My forehead creased as I try to think of the probable reasons, "But why? It's not like he's doing something bad."
He chuckled, "The thing about Axel is that he has gained a bad reputation even with his family. So, he prefers to keep all the good things he's done just to himself. And of course, me, from time to time."
My eyes darted back to the scene before me. The little girl, Lisa, is now sitting on Axel's lap while he tells them the story with unbridled enthusiasm. I don't think I've ever seen him so in his element. And never, in my wildest dreams, had I ever thought it would be in this way.
After his portion, Mia announced that the food is now ready to serve in the dining area. We all helped the kids settle on their tables.
Peter prepared some games afterward and Gavin just read a passage from The Little Prince. I thought he was going to read an entire chapter but he only read a page then went back to his phone calls. Beth said a few words and soon enough, we're all saying goodbye.
"It is very lovely to meet you, Lauren. William would be so jealous when I tell him," Beth gushed.
"Where's Dad anyway?" Axel enquired.
"He got stuck in a meeting. You know how it is."
"Oh, yeah. I know it too well."
"Oh, come on, Axel, don't be like that to your dad. You know he's doing it for us."
He guffawed. I sensed that he was about to say something very offensive about his dad so I tugged on the elbow of his shirt and gave him a warning look. I think he understood by the way he adjusted his breath despite the evident irritation that oozes out of him.
"Oh!" I exclaimed looking at my wristwatch. Beth's attention diverted to me. "Would you look at the time? I'm sorry, Beth, but I have to get going. I have a meeting with a client in thirty."
"Oh, of course, please. Don't let me hold you back."
"Never. But thank you. Really. It was an absolute honor and pleasure to be a part of all this."
"Awe. You're welcome, honey, I hope to see you again. And I'll be sure to give you a portion with the kids here same time next year."
I almost choked but Axel spoke, "Ooookay. I'll drive Lauren back, we don't want her to be late to her meeting, would we?"
"Of course not," she smiled. "Alright, off you go, you two."
I nodded and Axel waved as he walked to his side of the car.
"Love you!" Beth called out as Axel's door snapped close.
"Thanks for saving me back there," he said when we hit the freeway.
"Huh?"
"You know, with my mom?"
"Oh, that. Well, technically I wasn't lying. I do have to be in a meeting."
"Wait, really?" He stepped on the gas.
"Hold on! I exaggerated it a bit so we could go, but the meeting's only with Josh."
"Oh." The car slowly went back to normal speed. "What for?"
"I'll show him the ring and we'll talk some details about his proposal."
"Oh, okay."
The console rang a phone call. He glanced at the name and his eyes widened, immediately clicking on accept.
"Hey, Marty, I'm assuming you have news?"
"I do, Sir. The DNA test results came in."
Axel glanced at me. "And?"
There was a long pause.
"I'm sorry but she isn't your sister."
Axel's eyes closed momentarily out of disappointment. He heaved a breath and nodded, "Okay. Thanks for the info, Marty. Call me whenever you have a new lead."
"Will do, Sir."
"Okay, bye." He said as he dropped the call.
"You're still looking for your sister?" I asked.
He only nodded.
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault."
"Yeah, of course, I know. I'm just saying I'm sorry you feel this way. I can't imagine looking for a long-lost sister your whole life."
"Yeah, well, I just want to get to know her. After mom gave up on finding her, I took it into my hands without their knowledge. I was hoping that maybe someday I'll find her and I'll surprise my mom, you know?"
"Yeah."
I'm at a loss for words. I know full-well he doesn't want to be pitied and I don't particularly know what else to say in these situations, so I said, "If you need any help in finding your sister, just tell me, maybe I can help. Somehow? You never know."
He glanced at me smiling, "Thanks. You saying that is more than enough."
Not knowing how to respond to that, I only smiled.