Hale's

Chapter 14

Rafael lifted his head from her shoulder. "W-what?" She didn't mean it the way he thought she meant it, right?

Samantha sighed, caressing his cheek with a sad smile. "So what ever happened to Jonathan?"

"Oh," Rafael said slowly, trying to calm his rampaging heart. "He lives in Tonbridge... He owns a flower shop."

Her smile brightened. "That's wonderful. I remember he always had a knack for flowers. Saved my lilac petunias from certain death once!" She laughed softly.

Rafael also laughed a bit, wiping at his eyes with his sleeve. "Yeah, I remember that – when you had given them that weird fertilizer that almost killed them."

"Oh yes. It was awful," she said tragically and chuckled, before continuing in a slightly more serious tone. "Did you go see him?"

Rafael nodded, taking one last shaky breath before sitting up again and composing himself. "Yeah. I went to see him earlier." Did he really want to talk to his mother about all this...? But who else did he have? Wesley didn't know Wendy or Jonathan or anything that had been going on back then, so he probably couldn't relate at all... And maybe his mother really was trying right now?

Just in that moment, Henry knocked and brought their tea. "Anything else, madam?"

"Please call Mallory and tell her I won't be able to make it to our tennis match today. She should be at the club already. That would be all – thank you, Henry." She smiled at the elderly man who gave a polite nod.

"Yes, madam." And with that, he left again.

Rafael smiled softly at himself. It was the first time his mother had cancelled her plans for him. It was also the first time he had given her a reason to, but still...

"So how is Jonathan doing?" She picked up where they had left off while Rafael poured them some tea.

"Good," he mumbled hesitantly. Should he tell her that she was a grandmother? How would that go over? Did she want grandkids? They had never spoken of it...

Clumsily, he handed her the cup, almost spilling some.

"Are you alright, my dear?" Samantha asked softly, giving him an understanding smile.

"Yeah. Fine... I just... I was surprised to see him, that's all." How could he explain this to her? She would probably die of a heart attack if she knew the truth.

"Oh. I thought you had gone over to see him?" She asked confused.

"Yeah. No. I mean yes... I did... But no... Well... I went to the flower shop – I hadn't known it was his," he rambled nervously.

"Oh. I understand." She nodded, taking a sip from her tea. "He told you about Wendy?"

Rafael took a quiet, deep breath to calm himself. "Yes. She had an accident."

"I'm very sorry to hear that... I always liked her very much. She was such a bright young woman," she said slowly, apparently dwelling in memories.

Rafael just nodded, not knowing what to say.

"You should invite Jonathan over some time. It would be a real shame if you two lost touch again."

"Uh... Yeah... I don't really think that Jonathan wants to stay in touch, mom," Rafael muttered uncomfortably. How could his mother suggest that? She knew Wendy had left him for Jonathan...

"Oh. That's a real shame. You two were always so close." She shrugged.

Rafael gave her a weird look. "It was ages ago."

"Yes, but good friendships don't come along every day. I don't know exactly what happened between the three of you, Rafael, but I do remember how happy they made you. And how devastated you were when they were gone..." Samantha suddenly wiped at her eyes, and Rafael noticed in shock that she was crying.

"Mom, what's wrong?" He asked concerned, putting his tea down and scooting a little closer.

She lifted her head to give him a devastated look. "Oh my darling... It was me and your father," she said quietly before a wave of sobs overcame her.

"What...?" Rafael asked confused, a sickening feeling spreading through his stomach. "Mom? What are you talking about?"

She took a deep breath before looking at him; her eyes filled with sadness and regret. "I saw you with them... And I told your father because I was so upset and didn't know what to do... I'm so sorry, Rafael. We thought we were doing the right thing."

"What did you do?" Rafael whispered horrified, edging away from her.

"Oh Rafael, I'm so sorry," she sobbed, reaching over to touch him, but he moved out of her grasp.

"What did you do?!" He almost yelled, getting up.

"I didn't know how much they meant to you. I thought you were just fooling around and I was scared if someone found out it would ruin your future!" She said desperately, but Rafael barely heard her.

"The letter," he muttered. "It was from you... I don't understand... But... They left... How did you get them to simply leave me like that?" He whispered in disbelief.

"Your father gave them a letter from you which stated you would be disinherited if they didn't leave, and that you wouldn't throw your life away for them," she admitted sadly.

Rafael wanted to hit her and scream at her, but instead he just sat back down, staring at the teapot. Over ten years of his life had gone to waste... Ten years he should have spent with Jonathan, instead of in total loneliness and misery.

"How could you, mother?" He whispered, giving her a desperate look.

"I'm so sorry," she stuttered, overcome by a new wave of tears. "I didn't know any better. I was so shocked when I found out what was going on... I was so scared for you... I was scared for what it would mean for our family if someone found out. I was scared what my friends would think of me. I was scared of losing you to a world that I wasn't part of..." she rambled miserably in between sobs. "You had already distanced yourself so far from us, and finally I knew the reason. I was so scared of losing you completely that I did the only thing I could think of..."

"You destroyed my life, mother. Jonathan and Wendy were all I ever wanted, and you took them from me," he said bitterly. "And now Wendy is dead... She died believing that she was worth less than money to me." As much as he wanted to yell at her, he couldn't because he was actually moved by her regret even though he was so angry. "You should have disinherited me."