Yuna Inspired: Our Virtual Family

107

"Dear," said Mrs. Evergreen. She and her husband were still in the living room to discuss between themselves. "Aren't you being a bit—"

"This is nothing compared to what they did."

"But they've never loved our great-grandchild any less. Bruce had said that all that was done up to now was for him. Hugo-san may not have intended to hide his son—our great-grandson—from us either."

"They didn't bother to explain why they didn't look for us when Xavier was born!" As soon as Mr. Evergreen said that, a realization hit him. "How could they know of him...when Marianne was with us when she came back from college? I remember throwing a fit when I found out she was pregnant and couldn't answer me who the father was. And didn't you say our great-grandson left with... With her?"

He did a mental re-trace of the last memories he had of his granddaughter. Marianne had arrived around this time—during winter break—and said that she had finished college earlier than expected and had wanted to live in the countryside with them. Since they didn't have a room prepared, they let her live in the inn, the very same inn their guests were in. That was when he last saw her because he was busy with the business, and only his wife tended to their granddaughter.

He furrowed his brows as he looked at his wife. "You told me we lost him."

Mrs. Evergreen shut her eyes and then reopened them moments later. "When her water broke, I had our neighbor drive us to the clinic. In the car, I found out it was a breeched birth, so I turned the baby in her stomach, and it made her lose a lot of blood." As she recalled the tragic memories, she wept to herself. "By the time she had pushed him out and he was in my arms, she looked at her son and left us. She never got to hold him. We still went to the hospital to get him checked. I was in a mess, Dear. My granddaughter had just left me, and my great-grandson was just born. I-I didn't know how to feel or what to do. But I was angry—angry that the father who created this mess knew nothing of the two lives he had responsibility for, so after I buried Marianne and took Xavier from the hospital, I searched through her stuff and found the only clue of the father..." She hiccupped. "And I dropped Xavier and the note and the picture...at his front door."

*

"Can I—" Both Lucas and Hana asked at the same time as they sat across each other, separated by a small-sized, brown, wooden table. He hadn't told her why he was here but said that his grandma was already asleep, so she didn't know that he was gone from her side.

Hana smiled. "You go first, sweety."

Lucas reddened at the title his "mother" used. It used to be a term he was comfortable with, but not so much anymore. He bashfully looked away. "Can I...sit with you?"

She tapped the empty and cold spot beside her. "I'd like that."

He swiftly made his way to her.

But the two had yet to properly lock eyes with each other.

Another silence followed them.

She, however, was tempted to ask for a favor herself. She looked at the little boy. "Lucas...can I hold you?" For one last time.

He didn't look at her but agreed to her request.

She picked up the small fella, plopped him on her lap, wrapped her gentle arms around his small waist, and grimly rested her chin on his shoulder. No matter how big he was, no matter where he would be, no matter what he chose, she'd forever love him, and he'd forever be her son.

"Why did you keep me?" he asked quietly as if scared that he had done something wrong.

She thought back to when she first saw him—the small infant in a wooden basket and wrapped with a thin cotton blanket. He looked like he was having a good dream despite being in a small, unconventional bed. She answered, "I fell in love with you." There was no point in lying about anything anymore. "But later on..."