NOVEL NEXT Chapter 474.
Chapter 474. Reunion. (1/4)
Sunday arrived.
It was the one-week mark, halfway through our vacation.
But that was not all.
It was a fated day.
A day of reunion for a certain mother and daughter pair. Where they would finally face each other, resolve the burdens in their heart, and clear the air.
Who was I with right now?
Dawn.
The current time of day?
Evening.
Where were we?
The city Dawn’s mother lived in. More specifically, staking out the hospital in the city Dawn’s mother worked at.
How did we get here today?
My motorcycle.
Why my motorcycle rather than Dawn’s pickup truck?
Because Dawn let Rosa, who'd gotten back late last night, borrow her pickup truck for something early in the morning before I woke up. What Rosa needed it for, I didn’t know. But knowing that Wisteria had gone with her again today, she definitely wasn’t up to any good.
She left me in the dark for the most part, but I didn’t mind since she at the very least left a note for me this morning.
‘I’m leaving Dawn’s side to you today while I finish dealing with that other pesky problem. Let’s meet up later today when we’re done at our final destination for our trip. It’ll be just the two of us ♡’
That was what her note said.
But getting back on track, it turned out Dawn’s mother was working today despite it being a Sunday. Well, just because it’s Sunday doesn’t mean there aren’t people getting injured or in need of life-saving surgery.
As one would expect, it was an extraordinarily stressful profession where you always had to be on your toes.
We’d actually arrived in the afternoon and spotted Dawn’s mother when she was on a break. Dawn didn’t want to bother her mother while she was still in the middle of her shift though. She said she wanted to wait until her mother was finished. We weren’t certain when her mother would finish, but we did know when she left the last time we were here.
That time was slowly approaching. The closer it got, the more fidgety Dawn got.
“Are you nervous?”
“Actually… the thing is… I’ve really got to pee.”
“Hah? Now? Why did you wait until it was this late? Why didn’t you go sooner? If she finishes the same time as the last time we were here she should be coming out soon.”
“I… thought I could hold it in. But… I can’t hold it any longer. The closer it gets to the time, the more I have to go.”
“She could come out at any moment you know. What if you miss her because you go to the washroom now? All the time we spent waiting for her out here would be wasted.”
“If that happens please just do something about it. I’ve really gotta go and can’t hold it.”
Dawn hopped off the bench we were on and made a run for the washroom inside the hospital. We’d been seated on a bench outside the hospital keeping an eye on the exit.
If she came out with the doctor from last time, this would be pretty difficult. If she did I’d planned to approach the doctor and pull him away from her by making up some bullshit so Dawn could talk to her alone. Dawn wasn’t aware of everything after all.
It might actually be for the best if her mother does come out while Dawn’s in the washroom. There’s no telling how she’d react if she came out with that doctor. Maybe she’d give up thinking that her mother moved on and didn’t care about them anymore.
And wouldn’t you know it, right on time, five minutes after Dawn left, the same time as the last time we were here, the golden blond-haired woman we’d been waiting for exited the building. Thankfully, she was alone today.
I didn’t have Dawn’s phone number to text her to hurry up and let her know that her mother had appeared. I could only blame myself for that. Rosa was likely busy right now and she might not immediately see a text from me. Either way, I had to act or else today would end in failure.
I stood up and started to approach Aurelia from the other side of the crosswalk. Honestly, I didn’t know what to say to her without Dawn around. She might think I’m trying to hit on her or something. All I had to do was stall her until Dawn got back.
The only question was how?
When I looked up from the ground and my eyes met with Aurelia on the other side of the crosswalk, her tranquil eyes shook slightly. It wasn’t something absurd like love at first sight, it was because she recognized me from the last time I was here and she caught a glimpse of Dawn’s side profile.
Similar to her daughter, it was clear she was afraid. Afraid to confront her past. Dawn might be like a ghost haunting her. Suffocating her.
I could tell she was holding her breath when I took my first step into the crosswalk toward her. She was frozen in place on her side of the crosswalk in front of the hospital exit, terrified, but trying to hide it.
Was it that scary?
But… in a way, her being frozen in place was good. It bought Dawn some more time to get back.
I continued my advance one step at a time. She wasn’t looking at me anymore. Her hands were clenched at her sides, ever so slightly shaking. Her mind was no doubt in turmoil.
When I reached her side I stopped and asked, “Are you okay? You don’t look too good, Ma’am.”
“I-I’m... fine.” Her voice quivered as she squeezed those two words out, pained.
“You know, whenever a woman says ‘I’m fine,’ they’re usually not fine at all.”
She bit her lower lip, shut her eyes, and took a deep breath as she said with a tinge of bitterness, “Thank you for your concern… but you’ve read too many stories, young man.”
“Have I though? You know, now that I get a better look at you… have we met before?”
“No, we have not.”
“Hmm, I see. But I swear you remind me of someone. You… definitely resemble someone I know.”
“You’re a decade or two too early to try using that pick-up line on me. Were you planning to say your future girlfriend, thinking you’re clever? I’ve heard that line more than I can count.”
“Hmm, actually, speaking of girlfriends, you do actually look like my girlfriend. But please don’t misunderstand, when I say girlfriend, I don’t mean it in a way to try and hit on an old lady like you. I mean my girlfriend, her name is Dawn. Ah, that’s it, it’s your eyes! They look exactly like hers now that I think about it. Oh, you even have the same hair color.”
Dawn’s mother squeezed her forehead as she stuttered back, “O-Old lady… No, forget it, you’re just a kid… and I am getting old. Anyway, the resemblance is surely just a coincidence. Blond hair and blue eyes aren’t exactly uncommon.”
In no way did she resemble an old lady. She was undeniably much more mature than Dawn, but her skin was still fair, elastic, and supple. She was a beauty devoid of a single wrinkle on her lovely troubled face.
“Oh? Did I ever say her eyes were blue?”
“You said my eyes look exactly like hers, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but what if I just meant the look to them and not the color?”
“I see, it was my misunderstanding.”
“But anyway, she does have blue eyes just like yours.”
“Annoying kid.”
“Hmmm, you know, if I didn’t know any better…” I cocked my head back and jeered with an awful fake smile, “I’d think you were the good-for-nothing incompetent cowardly mother that abandoned her who’s too afraid to face her now that she’s grown up.”
Each and every word I uttered was laced with venom intended to stab like knives directly in her heart.
Would she face her daughter if I did something like this? I didn’t know. I was testing the waters to see what sort of reaction I’d get.
She let out a dry self derisive chuckle, “Haha… I’m no mother, so you’re definitely mistaken.”
Rather than anger, she agreed. It seems that was how she genuinely thought about herself too.
“I’ll be on my way now. Please... take good care of your girlfriend.” Her intention to flee was clear.
Just when she took a single step forward I let out a devious chuckle, “Hehehe, take good care of her? Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to take real good care of that stupid country hick in bed before I get rid of her. She can hardly be compared to the other women I’m sleeping with, but since I’ve never done it with a girl from the country and she at least looks good enough, I don’t mind fulfilling her little delusional fantasy of getting together with a city boy before I dump her.”
Aurelia froze in place before her entire body trembled furiously with the wrath of god as she asked in a stone-cold voice, “What... did you just say?”