DOMINIC“What do you think Father wants to say?”Janet shrugged while her focus remained on the last bit of the cookie in her hand. After a deep swallow and some mouth-twitching noise I chose to ignore, she said, “He might just want to appreciate her. What?” One of her brows jerked with a touch of teasing. “Do you think he will try to convince her to leave you?”“Why would he do that?” My frown was very huge. “He wouldn’t dare.”“Relax. I am just joking. Pops would never do that to both of you. Or any of us.”“I know.” I scoffed. “I was joking as well.”Janet shook her head. “You still suck at making jokes. Some things never change.” I smiled at her words. “Hey, brother?” She looked up at me while noise from the living room hit our ears harder.“What is it?”“I shouldn’t have blabbed about the New York thing. I almost ruined things.” Janet was almost mumbling her words. She still doesn’t work well with portraying her feelings when she is in the wrong. “I am sorry.”“You almost ruined
GRACE"Okay, Dominic. I think it is your time to wear our traditional sweater," Janet announced as she whipped out the said sweater."Oh no, no." Dominic's voice boomed across the room and for some reason, he reached for my hand as though I was a very strong bodyguard that would ward off preying hands that would force him to wear the sweater. "I am not putting on that hideous thing.""But someone has to wear it every Christmas," Janet pouted and I wondered why anyone would want to wear something that looked and smelt like a disaster.Yes. It is that hideous.It possessed a terrible shade of red that failed to blend with the bright green that sprawled over the chest of the sweater in the form of a potato. Or… Santa Claus? The shape was hard to read.So, I squinted my eyes to attempt figuring out what the sweater was all about.Then, Janet asked, "Grace, do you want to put it on?"I didn’t think. I didn’t hesitate. My hands waved frantically and my lips rushed out a response. “No. No. N
GRACEA few hours later, we arrived in Manhattan and I found my way to David’s place. And without wasting time, David drove me to a rarely used state prison yard where I was supposed to meet Samantha… or the person that’s Samantha’s sister.When we arrived at our destination, my eyes carried a certain weary and I became concerned about the next few minutes of that day.“Is she really in there?” I asked David."Yes. Samantha is waiting for you. She is going to explain everything in detail.”“Can’t you just tell me what you know?” My mind could experience a change. I was becoming hesitant and perhaps, I was not ready to face the crazy truth.It seems coming down to Manhattan might be a waste of time."Grace,” David must have sensed me holding back, “you can’t grow cold feet right now. You need to know the truth and you need to know it now.” I darted my sight to him and I was certain that my entire being was screaming silently that I was sacred. “Grace,” his tone softened, “you have come
GRACE“So…” It took some strength to stop my eyes from twitching with confusion and slight anger. “All that time, I was speaking with your sister? How did I not notice? How…?”Samantha got up. “How could you have noticed? Sandra always managed to fool our parents. Anyway, I need you to see something. It is the reason I asked us to meet here.”She motioned to a nearby guard and the man led the way until we reached the end of the corridor that branched to our left. My legs felt heavy as we moved, but I pushed myself because I still desired to know the full truth.I also need to find an answer to the part of me that keeps wondering if there’s a chance that the woman with me is Sandra and not Samantha. After all, from what I have heard, Sandra is good at impersonating her sister.At the end of that corridor was a heavily barred room. No doubt, it was a prison and while I tried to figure out who the occupant was, Samantha stepped aside and gave me a full view of the room beyond the bars.T
GRACE“Did you guys plan this on purpose?”“What are you talking about?” I turned to face Tiffany who was heading for the huge closet that came with my suite.“Your wedding is a day before Valentine’s. Did the two of you decide to ditch the official lover’s day?”“I doubt we saw things that way. We just picked a date that seemed fine because we didn’t want to drag things out.”Tiffany smiled. “You two sure are lovebirds.” She dragged out the bag where my wedding gown was resting and I left the dresser and walked to the bed in the middle of the room. “Have you tried your gown since the last time?”"Why? Isn’t it foolish to keep wearing the gown when its moment of service is yet to come?" That question remained on my lips as I grabbed a plate of cake from the food tray that was just delivered to my room.But as I bit in to enjoy the bliss of the pastry, Tiffany gasped and rushed to my side. After snatching the plate to my surprise, she asked, “Why? What do you mean by why? What if you g
GRACEA lot of minutes filled with silence passed before I finally said something.While my mind failed to fully imagine the kind of chaos that could be going on in Janet’s mind, I asked, “Does Dominic know?”She shook her head and set the plate aside. "Neither does Pops. And we need to let him know before that woman does something rash. But I am a little scared.” Her breath shuddered, her jaws tightened. “I know this will be harder on Pops and Dominic.”I took steps forward and said, "I'm coming with you.""No.""Come on, Janet. Now is not the time to follow wedding norms. This is an emergency, Janet.”"I just"I cut in. "I can't sit back and talk about makeup and wedding gowns when something this huge is happening."Janet sighed and the next thing I knew, she was holding my hand. With that contact, she led me out of the room while others stared at our backs in slight confusion.As our feet rushed, Janet asked, "How do you think she found out about the wedding? We made sure to keep t
GRACEWe were all in front of Mr. Powers’ ward and swimming in silence after the doctor informed us that the older man was lucky to have survived the cardiac arrest he suffered.After hearing that, I can only imagine how strong the love he had for her was.But I just hope he is okay at the end of the day. He doesn’t deserve to suffer because a particular person could not make a decision that is befitting a person with sense.A sigh left me and I grabbed Dominic’s hand to continue encouraging him to remain strong."What will happen to the wedding?" Quintin asked.Janet, who already joined us, looked at the clock above us. "It is almost midnight," she stated."We can always reschedule the wedding till Father gets better, " I said since that was the only reasonable thing."Maybe." Janet sighed.After a short silence, Dominic said, "We are getting married tomorrow.""How?"Even others found his statement a bit odd. They carried confusion on their faces."Pops won't be able to attend, Domi
GRACE“Good morning, baby.”That strange yet soothing voice caused my eyes to snap open faster than Thanos’s fingers. For a second, I trained my sight on the familiar ceiling above me because I could already tell that I had once again brought home another stranger after a long night of drinking.My head started to race, trying to figure out what and what happened the previous night.Even though one thing was sure- I entered the clubhouse drunk and then got extra drunk- it was necessary I remember who I hooked up with.Ugh...who am I kidding? I won’t remember shit. My nightlife is a shitty cycle.A shitty, shitty cycle.Once it was established that I am indeed stupid, I braced myself to face the man I had foolishly brought into my house with the intention of having crazy and drunk sex with. It is the type of sex I would never remember and that is the most perfect because I don’t exactly work well with feeling ashamed.Gently, I sat up.But my head hurt madly, I had to groan and grab bo
GRACEWe were all in front of Mr. Powers’ ward and swimming in silence after the doctor informed us that the older man was lucky to have survived the cardiac arrest he suffered.After hearing that, I can only imagine how strong the love he had for her was.But I just hope he is okay at the end of the day. He doesn’t deserve to suffer because a particular person could not make a decision that is befitting a person with sense.A sigh left me and I grabbed Dominic’s hand to continue encouraging him to remain strong."What will happen to the wedding?" Quintin asked.Janet, who already joined us, looked at the clock above us. "It is almost midnight," she stated."We can always reschedule the wedding till Father gets better, " I said since that was the only reasonable thing."Maybe." Janet sighed.After a short silence, Dominic said, "We are getting married tomorrow.""How?"Even others found his statement a bit odd. They carried confusion on their faces."Pops won't be able to attend, Domi
GRACEA lot of minutes filled with silence passed before I finally said something.While my mind failed to fully imagine the kind of chaos that could be going on in Janet’s mind, I asked, “Does Dominic know?”She shook her head and set the plate aside. "Neither does Pops. And we need to let him know before that woman does something rash. But I am a little scared.” Her breath shuddered, her jaws tightened. “I know this will be harder on Pops and Dominic.”I took steps forward and said, "I'm coming with you.""No.""Come on, Janet. Now is not the time to follow wedding norms. This is an emergency, Janet.”"I just"I cut in. "I can't sit back and talk about makeup and wedding gowns when something this huge is happening."Janet sighed and the next thing I knew, she was holding my hand. With that contact, she led me out of the room while others stared at our backs in slight confusion.As our feet rushed, Janet asked, "How do you think she found out about the wedding? We made sure to keep t
GRACE“Did you guys plan this on purpose?”“What are you talking about?” I turned to face Tiffany who was heading for the huge closet that came with my suite.“Your wedding is a day before Valentine’s. Did the two of you decide to ditch the official lover’s day?”“I doubt we saw things that way. We just picked a date that seemed fine because we didn’t want to drag things out.”Tiffany smiled. “You two sure are lovebirds.” She dragged out the bag where my wedding gown was resting and I left the dresser and walked to the bed in the middle of the room. “Have you tried your gown since the last time?”"Why? Isn’t it foolish to keep wearing the gown when its moment of service is yet to come?" That question remained on my lips as I grabbed a plate of cake from the food tray that was just delivered to my room.But as I bit in to enjoy the bliss of the pastry, Tiffany gasped and rushed to my side. After snatching the plate to my surprise, she asked, “Why? What do you mean by why? What if you g
GRACE“So…” It took some strength to stop my eyes from twitching with confusion and slight anger. “All that time, I was speaking with your sister? How did I not notice? How…?”Samantha got up. “How could you have noticed? Sandra always managed to fool our parents. Anyway, I need you to see something. It is the reason I asked us to meet here.”She motioned to a nearby guard and the man led the way until we reached the end of the corridor that branched to our left. My legs felt heavy as we moved, but I pushed myself because I still desired to know the full truth.I also need to find an answer to the part of me that keeps wondering if there’s a chance that the woman with me is Sandra and not Samantha. After all, from what I have heard, Sandra is good at impersonating her sister.At the end of that corridor was a heavily barred room. No doubt, it was a prison and while I tried to figure out who the occupant was, Samantha stepped aside and gave me a full view of the room beyond the bars.T
GRACEA few hours later, we arrived in Manhattan and I found my way to David’s place. And without wasting time, David drove me to a rarely used state prison yard where I was supposed to meet Samantha… or the person that’s Samantha’s sister.When we arrived at our destination, my eyes carried a certain weary and I became concerned about the next few minutes of that day.“Is she really in there?” I asked David."Yes. Samantha is waiting for you. She is going to explain everything in detail.”“Can’t you just tell me what you know?” My mind could experience a change. I was becoming hesitant and perhaps, I was not ready to face the crazy truth.It seems coming down to Manhattan might be a waste of time."Grace,” David must have sensed me holding back, “you can’t grow cold feet right now. You need to know the truth and you need to know it now.” I darted my sight to him and I was certain that my entire being was screaming silently that I was sacred. “Grace,” his tone softened, “you have come
GRACE"Okay, Dominic. I think it is your time to wear our traditional sweater," Janet announced as she whipped out the said sweater."Oh no, no." Dominic's voice boomed across the room and for some reason, he reached for my hand as though I was a very strong bodyguard that would ward off preying hands that would force him to wear the sweater. "I am not putting on that hideous thing.""But someone has to wear it every Christmas," Janet pouted and I wondered why anyone would want to wear something that looked and smelt like a disaster.Yes. It is that hideous.It possessed a terrible shade of red that failed to blend with the bright green that sprawled over the chest of the sweater in the form of a potato. Or… Santa Claus? The shape was hard to read.So, I squinted my eyes to attempt figuring out what the sweater was all about.Then, Janet asked, "Grace, do you want to put it on?"I didn’t think. I didn’t hesitate. My hands waved frantically and my lips rushed out a response. “No. No. N
DOMINIC“What do you think Father wants to say?”Janet shrugged while her focus remained on the last bit of the cookie in her hand. After a deep swallow and some mouth-twitching noise I chose to ignore, she said, “He might just want to appreciate her. What?” One of her brows jerked with a touch of teasing. “Do you think he will try to convince her to leave you?”“Why would he do that?” My frown was very huge. “He wouldn’t dare.”“Relax. I am just joking. Pops would never do that to both of you. Or any of us.”“I know.” I scoffed. “I was joking as well.”Janet shook her head. “You still suck at making jokes. Some things never change.” I smiled at her words. “Hey, brother?” She looked up at me while noise from the living room hit our ears harder.“What is it?”“I shouldn’t have blabbed about the New York thing. I almost ruined things.” Janet was almost mumbling her words. She still doesn’t work well with portraying her feelings when she is in the wrong. “I am sorry.”“You almost ruined
GRACEChristmas period came within a flash and I discovered that I was especially excited to be going to Dominic’s family house. Perhaps the memories I created in that home were dearer to me than I thought.I wonder if their field of flowers would have a lot of flowers in bloom. I know winter is not so friendly to certain plants. I should take a look anyway. It would be nice to feast my eyes on something beautiful and rare."This place looks peaceful," Ruby commented as she admired every part of the houses we drove past.“Right? Everything is beautiful as well.” Every house and street we drove past carried a touch of celebration decorations and that view made me certain that the whole town would be a great beauty by nighttime.As minutes passed, we became closer to Dominic’s family house and since the route we were taking was quieter, I decided to sit back and enjoy the amazing view.“Daddy, are we going to come here often?” Ruby asked, the joy and enthusiasm in her voice almost conta
GRACE“I can't believe this man,” I muttered under my breath. “Why did he leave these here?” With anger, I picked up the socks Dominic sprawled all over the floor while he was searching for his special socks.It has been many months since we moved and I still don't understand his infatuation with those socks. I won’t deny the beauty of the black and red material, but the fact he only wears them to huge business partnership meetings makes me dislike his love for the socks. If the socks were that special, he would wear them to our dates as well.But no. He would rather turn the house upside down because of those socks, leaving me to take care of his mess.With a gradually dissolving anger, I approached the drawer where Dominic just disarranged and dumped all the socks without care. He can sort out his mess when he gets back.I turned from the dresser and the image of Dominic comically rushing out of the house to escape my nagging tugged in my mind, causing me to erupt peals of laughter.