Loving Eleanor(BWWM)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Location: Beverly Hills, California
Date: February 15th, 1950
Name: Eleanor Hazel Bush
Age: twenty-three

The waves hit the shore making the cold water splash on Patrick's attempt at a sandcastle.

"It's okay, daddy! Just keep trying!" Fox yelled to his daddy while playing with his Uncle Stephen.

Patrick smiled at his son and gathered some fresh sand and molded it for his fifth attempt at a sandcastle.

Eleanor and Isla stopped talking for a second and looked at Patrick. He was determined to make his son's a nice three-tiered castle.

"He's certainly a man of persistence. I would've given up after the second time," Eleanor laughed and shook her head.

Isla laughed as well. "Not to turn the mood of our conversation, but growing up with parents like his, persistence and resiliency came in handy." She looked at her handsome husband and smiled wistfully. His parents were awful.

Eleanor noticed her sadness and placed her hand on Isla's hand.

"Have you met their parents yet?" Isla asked softly.

Eleanor shook her head. "I haven't. Have you?"

Isla pursed her lips and closed her eyes. "I have. You don't want to meet them. I believe that everyone has at least one redeemable quality about them, Annie-Mae and Grover's are the fact that they didn't completely screw up their sons." She said haughtily.

Eleanor couldn't help but laugh at her tone. She wanted to know why Isla felt that way about them. "Are you comfortable enough to talk about what happened?" She just wanted to be prepared just in case she met them.

Isla smiled at Eleanor and nodded her head slightly. "It was a day that I'll never forget. It was something that should've come from a dark comedy film, but instead, it came from my husband's dysfunctional parents." Her eyes focused on the rhythmic waves as she went back to the rueful day.

"It was ten years ago. Somehow Patrick had reconnected with his parents and they were so excited to learn that he was married. I didn't know why they were so happy, but I didn't think anything of it. Patrick only told me about his parents from his point of view, he's a very forgiving man who tries to see the brighter side, but he made it known that he saw Mr. and Mrs. Howard as his parental figures now." Isla explained pointedly. The Howards were amazing people.

Eleanor already knew that Dale's parents were racist among many other things, but hearing about them from an outsider so to speak was even more enlightening.

"I only expected them to be poor and a little country because they're from Mississippi. I was shocked beyond measure when I met them and found out that Patrick didn't give enough information about his parents. They didn't greet me, instead, they just started yelling at Patrick for bringing "swine flu" into their home." Isla scoffed and looked Eleanor in the eyes. "Their house seemed to already have the swine flu and every other disease known to man in it. They looked at me as if I was a pariah, but I stood my ground and asked them who they think they are to talk to me any kind of way." She said sassily and rolled her eyes.

Eleanor couldn't believe that those people could just talk to a stranger that way.

"Girl, let me tell you, Stephen and Patrick pulled through with their handsome looks by the grace of God," Isla said seriously, making Eleanor laugh.

"Are you exaggerating?" Eleanor asked after recovering from her laughter.

Isla shook her head and imagined those two trolls. Her face scrunched up in disgust.