Unleash The Island

Chapter 16

Ed asked for Lisa to invite her family over for Christmas, so she did just that. She held it together to seem like they were a perfect-picture family, the three of them. He was the perfect father, which he was, Leo was healthy and happy, and Lisa was still in love with Ed. Even with the decorations, gifts, and cheery exterior, it all felt like a massive lie.

Dinner was great. Ed's family came together, including Morgan's. Lisa's parents even showed up. Lisa had forced a smile the entire time, leaving her with a painful jaw later. Her parents would slip a few remarks to her, forgetting Ed learned some Portuguese over the years. Eventually, they all sat by the tree and exchanged gifts. The only thing keeping Lisa from getting up was Leo sitting on her lap. He received the most out of everybody there, along with loads of attention.

"Such a beautiful, little boy," Lisa's mother said as she squatted in front of the two of them. She had dark, brown eyes on the contrary of her daughter's green ones. Her mother placed a hand on Lisa's knee as she said, "He has your hair and eyes."

"And Ed's nose," Ed's mother said, joining in. "He's going to be one charming man one day." The two of them smiled at each other.

There was no joy behind this interaction for Lisa. Their families were finally in a room together and it was going better than Lisa could have ever imagined. After a year of Lisa's mother disagreeing about having a baby so young, she was present and holding his hand. Ed was talking to her father, and they laughed together. And, yet, the endless void in her gut grew an inch.

It was the day right after Christmas. Ed's parents had taken the ferry back to the mainland and Lisa's were back at their home as of that morning. They ripped the cheap foliage off of the chimney and tossed the fake Christmas tree back in the box they bought it in. The gifts were sorted. Ed placed his on the bed, Lisa tucked hers into the closet, and Leo's went in his drawers. The two of them cleaned up the house and ate the leftovers all day. It was not as good as it was the day before, but she did not want to go grocery shopping.

Once Lisa was finished, she washed her plate and said, "I'm going to head out for a little."

Ed stopped asking after a while. He would just stay silent and ignore her. It hurt him more than it did her when she would leave for her errands, then come back with a glowy face and nothing in her hands. It stung when she would walk into the house with a smile until they would lock eyes, as if he was her depressor.

Since November, Wayne was in town for the holidays and was staying until early January. Lisa had barely seen him since his relatives were around. He had told her the family was gone, meaning it was just Gavin and him. Lisa had bought each of them a gift and brought them into the mansion when she arrived.

Wayne opened the door for her with a beaming smile. He was dressed in all black with a golden watch.

"It's nice to see you," he told her as she walked inside. "It's been...how long?"

"Maybe three or four months," she answered him. "You left in August."

"That's right," Wayne said as he shut the door. His eyes met the wrapped boxes. "You got me a gift?"

"And Gavin."

Wayne walked towards her and took them out of her hands. "I have a gift for you as well, along with news. But, we have to go outside for both of them."

Lisa placed her bag and phone on the dining table, following him towards the back. Their tree was massive and had a couple of gifts sitting at the bottom. Most of them were for Gavin. She drove her eyes away from the tree and brought them forwards. The glass doors showed the backyard. The pool had a cover on it and snow covered the sand. What stood out was the dock. There were streamed lights down the path. White, bulb lights were wrapped around the wooden poles, reminding her of candy canes.

Wayne held out his hand for her to grab, which she took, and he led her towards the dock. The water was calm and slightly frozen over. With each step, they got closer to the end. Her heart was racing, but the cold kept her relaxed. They stood at the end of the dock with Wayne facing her. He stood to the side and pointed towards the water. Lisa followed the finger and tried to look for something, but nothing was apparent.

"Can I get a hint?" she asked him.

He faced the water to make sure that the part of his news was still there. Pointing again, he said, "You see those cargo boats out there?"

Lisa focused on the water again until she saw them. They were in the distance, almost missable if they were not so big. "Yeah."

He lowered his hand and intertwined theirs. He studied every shade of green in her eyes. "Right now, the company I own is primarily in Long Island." Lisa was ready for anything flown at her. "After some thought, I've decided to expand out a little more. To better the business, gain more sales, and...to be on the island." He released one of his hands and pointed towards the cargo boats, once again. "Those boats out there are bringing my boats to a warehouse nearby."

"So...you're opening a division of your company here?" Lisa asked for confirmation.

Wayne nodded as he brought his second hand in the back, feeling how cold she was getting. "Yes. It's going to be in Edgartown by the water. That way, I'll be on the island more." He took a deep breath before saying, "So, that's the news and I have the gift remaining." Wayne began to lower himself until he had one knee on the wooden planks.

"Wayne-"

"Lisa Matos Valle...," Wayne started with while pulling out a box from his coat pocket, "you are kind and courteous. You've shown me that I can love again...love somebody as amazing as you." He opened the top part of the box to reveal a ring with an opal-shaped diamond. "I want you. All of you. For the rest of our lives. So...will you marry me?"

Lisa was speechless. She knew how he felt about her. She could have seen this coming from a mile off, but kept it in the back of her head. "What about Leo?"

"He can join us," he informed her. "He'll have an older brother and anything he could ever want."

Lisa's hands started to move forwards. "What about Ed?"

Wayne could see her mind work and about to explode, so he stood from the ground and held the box in his hand. "I'm not asking you to marry today, Lisa. Take as much time as you want." He held her cold hands in his. "You know where I'll be."

He began to walk them back down the dock and towards the house. While Wayne made them hot chocolate, she pondered everything. There was Leo, the deceased Georgia, Gavin, and Ed. She envisioned two futures: one with Ed and the other with Wayne.

With Ed, they were living in the same house. He was quiet, timid. He would resent her for being able to sneak to another lover. Overtime, the two of them could hate each other more. Leo would be crying and when he was grown up, he would be wearing oil stained pants.

With Wayne, they were living in a mansion, even if it was not on the island. Leo was cheery and played games with Gavin. Wayne and her would be sitting on the couch, enjoying their sons' laughter. When they grew up, they would have graduation caps on.

"I'll marry you," she blurted, causing Wayne to turn away from the stove. "I want to marry you."

Before running to her, he turned the stove off. He wrapped his arms around her and they

hugged. Tears rolled down her eyes with happiness. Her heart lifted even more when he pulled the box out.

"You don't have to wear it now," he said as he held it out. "I can keep it at the house."

"I just need a couple of days," she told him. "I'll pack my things and move here, with Leo, if that's okay."

His smile beamed as he said, "Of course. That's perfectly okay. Better than okay."

He embraced her once again and they remained in that position until Lisa had to go back to the house.