Larry and I decided to wake up as there was nothing left for us to do. He kept apologizing saying he could've sworn he set himself as the dreamer but I told him it might've been my fault. As soon as I felt stable enough to stand, I stood up to take a look, and lo and behold, I had switched the probes. I must've been distracted by the ring being ready that I missed it. But of all the dreams Larry could've sat in on, it wasn't the worst dream to have. And I was even grateful for it because it told me what I've been wanting to know.
For days, I've been worrying over Clara's silence but now that I know the events leading up to it, I know this is what she wanted. She wanted this for herself and that was enough to make me sleep at night knowing she didn't do this against her own will. After cleaning up and putting everything away, Larry put his hand on my shoulder.
"I think it's about time you called her," he said softly and I nodded my head.
Half an hour before lunch, I excused myself saying I was going out for a smoke and called her number. Normally, I'd text her saying I was going to call but I didn't want to wait as it was getting late. I pressed the phone to my ear and leant against the wall, listening to it ring.
"Hello, Van," she said and I couldn't help but smile. She sounded well and in a good mood.
"Hi Clara. Long time no talk," I said conversationally. "I got your letter and Matilde told me what happened. How're you holding up?" I didn't waste time and cut to the chase. She's known me long enough to know I'm not the type for long, drawn out conversations.
"We're fine, thanks for asking. Things are a bit crazy at the moment." The way she said that made me laugh. Clara is the type to downplay a lot of things. If you're not careful, you'll miss what she's really trying to say. I looked down at the ground which caused my hair to fall in my face so I pushed my hair back with my free hand.
"I'm sorry. I know you like your privacy so you must be overwhelmed right now. I can't imagine how this feels for you."
Clara took a deep, shaky breath. "Yeah. The police have been kind providing housing and protection from the public but I miss my house and the freedom. I know this is temporary though. The public wants closure and the police are working on it."
"May I ask how it all went down?" You could hear the uncertainty in my voice. She's probably tired of telling the story over and over again.
"How long do you have?" she asked.
"I'm not doing anything right now," I answered. It was a blatant lie. She knows I'm at work but she continued anyway.
"I've been wanting to come forward for a while now but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I decided to finally do it. I went to the police station with my family and told them I was Clara. At first, they didn't understand what I was saying and then I told them I was the girl who went missing back in 2015.
"One of them remembered the story and said it was impossible. They recovered a body but I told them it was someone else. They were still skeptical so I asked them what they needed to properly identify myself. I gave them my ID and they looked me up; they went through my entire history. My dental and health records, and they even found my parents and brought them over. It wasn't until they realized that I was really Clara that word got out and the rumors started. People would gather around wondering what was happening and demand answers. Although they had good intentions, they were quite aggressive so the police provided us housing and protection from the public." Clara paused to drink something.
"How're you doing on time?" she asked for good measure. I knew I was past my normal break time but I didn't want her to stop. Today isn't that busy but I wondered if Bondy and Larry would wonder where I've been.
"I'm good. Got nothing much going on today."
"Good," she said, and then continued. "When they told me my parents were waiting to meet me, I got very nervous, sick even. I haven't seen or heard from them in over 8 years. Were they angry? I felt like 22 year old Clara, the one who always feared her parents. But the reunion turned out just fine. It was very emotional and I got to hug and kiss my parents for the first time in a long time. I couldn't believe they were really there. They're much older now. They've got white hair and wrinkles and it made me realize how much time I lost and I felt very bad about it. I kept crying saying I was sorry and they assured me everything was okay and that they weren't angry. They were so happy to see Mia and Rafael.
"You were right about my parents. They were just happy to have me back as they thought they lost me all those years ago. And then we just talked for ages! There was so much to say! But of course, we weren't done. The police asked for my help in identifying the young woman who died and I tried my best to recall the details. They showed me photos of missing women from 2015 and I was able to identify her. The unfortunate thing is that cremation basically destroyed all her DNA so there's no way to positively identify her. However, some details I remember line up with what her parents remember, and although we're not a hundred percent certain it's her, we're fairly confident it's her. Her family was able to give her a proper burial and celebrate her life. I'm sure you've read all about it. It was a very nice thing for the community to do for her. I think they were just happy to get some closure.
"And now that leaves us. The public wants to know about us but the police are wrapping up their investigation. They'll make a statement next week providing closure and then hopefully we can move on with our lives. We've all talked extensively about what we wanted to do after this blows over and Rafael and I agreed that it'd do some good to move back to Chicago where we'll be less known. The thought makes me sad as Portugal has been my home for the past 8 years and I'll be taking Rafael's family away from him.
"Oh, Rafael...he's the sweetest saying we can always visit during summer. He knows how much I've sacrificed and he wants me to be happy again. And that basically summarizes where we are now. Do you have any questions?"
I was so engrossed in her story that I didn't know what to say. It seemed like an overall positive experience to me and I was happy to hear that, save for the public wanting to know what was happening but their solution was to move back to Chicago. She's right in that not many people know about the case in America. I tried to think of something I wanted to know but she basically answered everything. Although I knew the answer to my question, I still had to ask her.
"Do you regret telling the truth?" I asked. Clara was silent for a moment and then replied.
"Not at all. It feels good to have this weight lifted from my shoulders. I feel like I can breathe again. The only thing I regret is not doing it much sooner."
Relief washed over me and I sighed, feeling much better than I did previously. We said goodbye, promised to talk again, and then I made my way back up. Bondy and Larry were gone when I came back, most likely out for lunch. I hadn't realized how long I'd been gone so I grabbed a sarnie from the cafeteria and brought it back to my desk to eat. It was a quiet and lonely lunch but I did some work feeling guilty for being on the phone for so long.
-
After work, I stopped by the jewelry store to pick up the ring. I was nervous to the point I felt sick. When I entered the store, the lady locked eyes with me instantly and smiled.
"I'll be right with you. Let me help this customer first," she said and I nodded my head, looking at the display case right next to me even though I had no interest buying another ring. After waiting, the woman approached me and told me to sit down at her desk. I could see the small, velvet box right in front of me.
"I know who you are but I will need to see the receipt or ID. It's protocol," she said, smiling slightly. I reached into my back pocket and took out the receipt, placing it on table. She took it and made sure the information matched before giving it back to me. "Thank you, Mr. McCann. Here's the engagement ring you ordered." She pushed the box towards me and opened it. I just stared at the ring not believing my eyes.
"C-Can I take it out of the box?" I asked and the woman chuckled.
"Of course! You have to inspect it to make sure it's to your standards."
I reached towards the ring and carefully took it out of the box, holding it up to eye level. It was exactly what we talked about from the gold band to the stones. Every slight movement caused alternate flashes between light and dark; it was a brilliant diamond and I couldn't stop looking at it. Florence was going to love it for its beauty and sentimental value. I tried to imagine it on her hand and had to stop myself as I was getting emotional. I was going to ask for her hand in marriage and slide the ring onto her finger.
"Well, what do you think?" Her voice startled me and I almost dropped the ring but managed to save it. She apologized saying she didn't mean to scare me.
"I don't know what I'm looking for," I told her truthfully.
"You're just confirming that it is indeed the ring you ordered. The correct style, diamonds, color, and so on. And then you'll look at the integrity of the ring to make sure there are no flaws. I already checked when it first arrived but you should check it again." I turned the ring over in my hand to look for any flaws but couldn't find any.
"It looks good to me."
"Great. Well if you find anything, you can bring it to the shop and we'll fix it for free. My hope is that the ring will be a perfect fit but your future fiancé can come in to get it resized if needed. Thank you for your business, Mr. McCann. I hope you're satisfied and will shop with us again. All the best with the proposal."
I thanked the woman, shaking her hand and left the store with the box in my hand. Before putting it in my bag, I opened it, closed it, and then opened it one more time to make sure the ring was still there. The last thing I wanted was to lose the ring. It cost me a pretty penny!
When I got on the bus, it was too late to call me mum and dad as it was past midnight in the UK. I'll tell them the news tomorrow. I took out my phone, found the group chat, and typed my message.
The ring is everything I imagined and more. I can't wait to propose to her.