Roses and Sonatas [Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns]

Chapter 60

Grandma Alice shifted tiredly in her chair, looking drained from her lengthy tale. She turned her head and gazed out the window, lost in silent reverie for several minutes before she resumed her narrative.

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Well, Lori dear, as much as I'd love to say that we had a fairytale happily-ever-after, we didn't. We were still two flawed individuals, and we had our share of disagreements, misunderstandings, and even a few fights. But we kept trying, and we never gave up on each other. With time, as we learned more about each other—and ourselves—our relationship improved, and while we never had a perfect marriage, we did have a happy one. I never regretted our decision to stay together, and we loved each other until the day he passed on. Even now, I love him still and miss him constantly.

Early in the morning on August 20, we welcomed our daughter—your mother—into the world. We christened her Liliana Ruby Blake—Lily for short. Her first name was a combination of Lily and my mother's name, Anna; her middle name, Ruby, was in remembrance of my childhood friend.

Your mother was a strong, healthy baby, weighing in at a little over eight pounds and measuring not quite nineteen inches in length. She was rosy red and wrinkly and perfectly beautiful. It was love at first sight for both of us. Cam had been working hard to be a better husband... but he was a natural when it came to fatherhood. The tender love-light in his eyes as he gazed down at the tiny miracle asleep in his arms... it was a wonderful sight. Two years later, your aunt joined our family—christened Camellia Faye and called Cami for short, she was named for both Cam and the lovely flower, and Faye had been Cam's mother's name. Your grandpa was every bit as adoring and gentle with her as he was with your mom—and likewise with you and your brother and cousins, when all of you were born.

Mikhail returned two weeks after Lily's birth. He had not returned to say farewell before his trip, and I had not been able to write him at any time to let him know of our reconciliation. Cam was at work, and Alisa, Nathan's young ward and altar maiden, whom I'd hired to care for Lily part-time so I could resume my farm duties, had not yet arrived. So Lily and I were alone in the house when he came knocking on my door.

I let him in, dreading the interview, but I could see even before he walked through the door that he knew. I don't know how—if Beth had told him, or someone in one of the towns had filled him in, or perhaps he'd even bumped into Cam on his way. But... he knew. He looked so... sad. No—more like wistful, as if he had just been awakened from a beautiful dream only to realize it was nothing more than a dream. Looking at my sleeping daughter cradled against me, he sighed. "It... was lovely while it lasted, Alice. Deep down, I knew it had no substance. Though for a brief, shining moment, I allowed myself to hope—perhaps far more than I should have."

He declined my offer of tea, saying, "Thank you, but no. I... won't be staying, Alice." I exclaimed aloud in dismay, waking Lily. He reached out a hand and lightly brushed her plump little cheek with his finger as he stared up at him. "She's lovely, as I knew she would be—just like her mother." He sighed and continued. "No, I didn't accept either Ina's or Rutger's offers this year. I... had a feeling I wouldn't be staying this time. Even if neither of you could see it back then, I could. I could feel how much you both loved each other."

"But... but why? Why can't you stay?" I asked, feeling tears stinging my eyes.

He looked at me with a sad smile. "Do you really need to ask me that, Alice? Very well. First, I could not bear to cause discord between you and your husband. And you know—with all that has passed between us—that I would do just that, warranted or not. I would not endanger your happiness for any price, even at the cost of my own. And second, it's... too painful. To have come so close to such bliss, just to lose it in the end... it's more than I can bear. If I were to stay, every time I saw you—every time I saw you with him—I would die a little inside. So... it's better that I take my leave of you. This time... I'm afraid forever."