Mr. Vincenzo | 18+

thirty-five

v i n c e n z o

Laying my head in Eloise's lap was peace, a peace I hadn't known before.

I could forget all my worriers in her and find love in the way she ruffled my hairs. She could just smile at me and I'd find the greatest love in it. This, the way she she occassionally smiled at me and subconsciously kept threading her fingers in my hairs, was far too overwhelming for me. Her mere existence was. I never thought I'd get a love like the one she touched my soul with.

Her brows furrowed as she concentrated on her laptop kept on the coffee table. "Tell me about yourself," she said. "Can I go about it this like—yes, sure. So, my name is Eloise Jones. I completed my high schooling with a GPA of—"

"No," I grumbled. She looked down. Our eyes met. I wanted to forget all this and take her out on a drive, a date, somewhere where no one would know us and won't bother even if our age difference was blatantly visible.

"How then, Mr. Chairman?"

"No need to mention your name or what you did 20 years back. Start with what you're doing now..." And we went on for over an hour, skipping from question to question. I ended up being a bit biased and adding some of the questions I remembered in part of her practice. I wanted her career to start well.

At some time in between, I had to leave the peace of her lap or else my weight would make her leg go numb. She was half unwell as it was because of taking Plan B. Next time, I was using a fucking condom. Or we could discuss the possibility of an IUD.

While Eloise noted down all the pointers I told her, my thoughts went back to the conversation with Ava often but I forced myself out of it. However, one thing was sure. No one can know about me and Eloise just yet.

What would be the next accusation that flies in my face the moment our love is known? I wasn't sure if even Wade would trust me if I told him I loved his daughter or if he would just act like Ava.

And what about Aryanna? What about her friendship with Eloise?

How would this change us?

I had no answer.

"Vincenzo," Eloise called softly.

I gave my head a slight shake to rid myself of my spiralling thoughts. Eloise needed to focus on nothing but her preparation.

"Yeah, my love?"

"What did Mom say?"

"Nothing you should worry about. Ava won't try to approach Anna again. You should just focus on your interview prep right now."

Eloise put her arms around my waist and placed her cheek on my chest. It was subconscious how I started caressing her hairs.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"What for, love? Whatever Ava does is not on you."

"No, not Mom. I never even asked you what you are going through upon meeting your parents after so many years. I'm such a bad girlfriend. Are you okay, Vincenzo?"

I fell silent. I stood outside my childhood home, overlooking the same building from a corner. It had no change. It still had the same white and grey walls, the same garden, bushes trimmed to the same height like it had not seen passage of time. I wondered if the two people who lived there had changed or if they were still the same who thought my Anna was nothing but a damage to their reputation they couldn't tolerate.

The building seemed dead for as long as I stood there, stood until my legs ached. I sat in the nearest café for four hours, trying to gather the courage to actually visit them. How would Mom look now? How would Dad? Would they recognise me from the twenty-two-year-old boy they last saw?