“I never said I missed her,” Maxwell said coldly. He glared at Maria over the rim of the mug.
“It’s been five months, Maxwell, you haven’t spoken to Emma in five months. You never went a day without speaking to your granddaughter! Her graduation is this weekend. Even if you aren’t going to go, can you at least call her?”
“I have no granddaughter,” he said in a spiteful tone. He sipped and his face took on a frown, “Why does this taste awful?”
“You seem to forget that your granddaughter is the only one that can prepare tea the way you like it.”
“I’ll just have coffee then,” the man said stubbornly as he set the mug down, “Like I've been doing for the past months.”
“Not happening, you seem to have forgotten what your doctor said. You have to cut back on the coffee. So now, tea will no longer be on the holidays when Emma used to be around to prepare it for you. Tea is now an everyday thing. Get used to the taste, Maxwell.”
Maxwell glared at the receding back of Maria and took another sip of the brew. He set it down and muttered, “I bet she makes it so intentionally.”
He opened the drawer again and turned the photo frame around. He sighed as he stared at the picture of his little girl. The door slamming shook him, and he quickly closed the drawer. He looked up to see an amused Maria setting a tray of sugar-free snacks before him. She clasped her hands in front of her and waited for him to eat. When he was chewing, she said, “I just wanted to let you know that I'll be going down to North U for Emma’s graduation. I cannot have my little girl have no one with her during her graduation. My niece, Gianna will be here to helpout for the weekend or if you prefer, you can move to one of the guestrooms of the ranch and get service there.”
“I’ll go with the latter,” he said, not bothering to spare her a glance.
She nodded and excused herself. At the door, she paused to look at him again and she sighed. She had known even as she spoke that he would go with the latter. Maxwell Price did not trust easily and there were a few people he had ever let into his house and his world. He was hurting greatly from his rift with Emma, even more than when Emma’s mother got pregnant. It was because he loved her more and was closer to her. She felt sorry for the both of them but there was nothing she could do about it. The old man was as stubborn as a mule, set in his ways and refused to forgive. He refused to see how much he was also hurting himself. It was obvious how much he was missing his granddaughter even though he chose to ignore it. There was not a day that went by that he did not pull out that drawer and stare at the picture. Or was it when he took long walks around the ranch, stopping at all the favorite places of him and Emma? Or when he stopped in the stables every day to give her horse, Rainbow a rubdown and a treat? Even with all his words about not having a granddaughter, her pictures were still hung all over the house and her room was just as she had left it.
Maria shook her head as she headed to the kitchen. She hoped it would not be too late when he realized himself. Emma had made a mistake, but he was making a bigger one, and it was causing pain on both ends.
*
Emma's eyes flitted to the clock over the blank spot on the wall where the plasma TV used to be, till John sold it, justlike he had sold other gadgets in the house. Where was he? She wondered as she paced. She heard a loud slam from the front of the building and instinctively, her hand flew over her baby bump, covering it protectively. She shut her eyes tight and took in deep breaths to calm her nerves. Feeling a bit better, she hurried over to the window which overlooked the front the building. She got there in time to see John kissing a brunette just under the streetlamp. The apartment was on the fourth floor so some of the words floated up to her easily.
“I’ll call you later, babe. As soon as that hag is out of the house, you can come over!” She heard John call to the girl as they separated.
She watched the girl grab him and kiss him again. Her heart breaking, Emma watched John spank the girl’s butt and she sauntered off. As soon as he headed into the building, Emma hurried to the bed and hid under the covers. If she chose to face him tonight, one of two things would happen. It was either he gave her a good beating, or she broke into tears and that would only provoke him to beat her. So, at the end of the day, it all ended in tears.
Emma heard him enter the apartment moments later. Less than a minute later, he was climbing into the bed. The strong smell of alcohol, cheap perfume and sex followed him and as he settled under the covers, Emma heard him say, “The bitch is sleeping. Anyway, no point her being awake. She has nothing to offer.”
Emma shut her eyes tight, trying hard to fight the tears that were threatening to fall. She knew what he meant by that. She always brushed aside his sexual advances and it had never sat well with him. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep but with a heavy weight in her heart.
The next day, by the time she was awake, John was gone. A tired Emma dialed him and waited for his response.
“What do you want, Emma?” he snapped.
“Hi babe, uh... I just wondered where you went to. Remember today’s my graduation? I was hoping you could come with me...”
“What do I care if you are getting an award today, bitch?” he snapped.
He hung up and Emma stared at the phone, tears rolling down her cheeks. Where had it all gone wrong? It had all been going so well for them all through the second month of the pregnancy and then, John had suggested he move in with her.“What better way to be near you and our kid, to take care of you both better?”He had asked. She had thought it was a great idea at the time and had been absolutely impressed that he had thought of it. She did not need the roommate, after all, her grandfather had paid for a four-year lease when she moved in in her freshman year, to cover her entire studies. Rather, her innocent and naive heart had hoped that somewhere down the way, while living together, John would fall for her and realize how much he cared for her. How wrong she had been.
Not up to a week after he moved in, the demands had started. He always needed money for one thing or the other that never seemed to have a defined name. Emma was very prudent and economical so even though the monthly stipends had stopped coming in from her grandfather, she had savings she had accrued over the year, not to talk of the wages she got from her part-time job at the café. At the start, her grandfather had been against her taking up a job together with her schoolwork. It was a good thing she had told him the agreement, else thingswould have been harder. Now that her pregnancy was reaching its third trimester, she would not be able to work at the café as before and so, her savings would have to come into play. All these had been on her mind when John had started his demands, so she had only been able to give him fractions of what he asked for. It got to the point where she could no longer give him any. He started taking money from her purse and when that proved unsuccessful, the next turn had been to sell the gadgets in the apartment. And then the beatings began.
Every time it happened, she told herself that she had done something to deserve it. He was under a lot of stress what with finals coming up and needing funds, he had nowhere else to take out his anger. And so, she had told no one of his abuse, physical and emotional. And then, Carrie had swooped in with proof that John was not a student at North U. He was not a student anywhere. She had been disheartened by the news and had made the mistake of confronting him. She had gotten the worst beating ever and he had left her for worse. And of course, when he returned, she had apologized to him just like she always did after he hurt her. She did not want to lose him. Her child needed a father, and she needed his love. And after she found out she was having twins, her fear soared as she worried how she would care for them by herself. Her children needed a father, there was no way she could do it on her own, she told herself and she had resolved to take him for who he was. After all, when he beat her, he never hurt her belly, so he did care right? So, she took it all, the beatings, the affairs, the drinking.Surely, he will change one day,she told herself.He came to us because he wants to be a part of our life, because he loves the baby so surely, he will change.She had to believe it. She just had to.
Chapter Six
“The bitch!” John said as he threw the phone on the ground. He was spread across the settee, a beer bottle hanging off one hand, a cigarette in the other hand. Brad quirked a brow as he walked into the living room.
“Do you have to do that here?” Brad asked as he settled down across him. He was cradling his own beer but unlike his friend, he didn’t smoke.
John glared at his friend and took a long whiff. When he released the smoke, he said, “Shut it already man. I don’t get to smoke around Emma because of the stupid baby. Can I just do this here in peace already?”
“You sleep around with girls in her apartment not caring about her. Why should you be bothered about the smoking?” Brad asked with an eye roll.
“Do you always have to show how stupid you are? If I smoke around her, that will make her think I don’t care about the kids. Now, doesn’t that throw a wrench in my entire act?”
