Their Tale

Redemption

My sleep is shaken by the sound of a phone ringing. With sleepy eyes I check the time on the night stand clock and see that it is a little after three in the morning. Following the sound, I notice that it is Celeste's phone so I shake her lightly in an effort to wake her up.

When she does, I point to her phone which she looks at in equal confusion. Slowly she takes hold of it and sits up when she sees the name "It's Andrew." Both of us surprised at why he would be calling so late she answers the phone then putting it on speaker "Hello?" The response is silence, confusion grows on her face, maybe he dialled by mistake "Andrew?"

Her voice weary at the sound of shallow breathing when I notice a small shake in her hand, the phone almost slipping when she brings it closer to her before unsurely asking "Angel?" The sound of movement and shuffling rings through the speaker when a voice finally comes through "I'm sorry, I just needed to hear your voice." The frail grip loosely holds the phone as we take in the voice of the man we love, one who despite current events Celeste leaned for each time she went to bed and opened her eyes "Are you okay?"

A chuckle, sarcastically humoured vibrates through the phone "Without you and Evita, never." He shares through the phone. A heavy gulp of emotions goes through us in reaction to what he had just said. No other words are shared as we all breath in this space of such uncertainty yet we all knew the truth. There was an abundance of words that needed to be said right now.

"Evita?" My name whispered brings me out of the emption filled haze. "Yes." Once again it is silent but not out of a lack of words but a selection of them on his side "Nothing feels right without you both. I just want to protect you. I will always protect you." The last of his words are whispered, almost like he was saying them more to himself. A moment of words broken free to the word.

Celeste brings her free hand into mine so that I can focus on her and when I do, I see all that she wants to say. That he shouldn't be on a phone, under a roof we were not under. That he should be here, right next to us. With a shaky voice I respond "It's late..." My whisper the only words I could think of.

"It is. Get some rest. I love you both." The last few of his words falling softer but I heard them, we all did and I was not going to act like I didn't "I love you too." Celeste's eyes shine with a glimmer of what I guess is hope, her hand giving me a last squeeze "I love you too."

Her words not just to the man who held the phone on the other end, but to me as well. With a last goodbye the call ends but the emotions, they don't. If anything, they feel clearer than ever. Placing the phone back on the stand Celeste lays close to me, her arms wrapping around my waist, laying her head on my shoulder "Could we really? Forgive him."

My hand trailing her arm I sigh, my question lost to the space "Is it harder than letting him go?"

There was no other call today. Along with the glim grey weather of the city there was this uncertainty in the air of what was next. Do we call him and tell him we were ready to hear the full story?

With my arms around Celeste we sit in focus of the conversation we had been having. First thing we both done was decide to find out what the Nader family was connected to, and to say they had power was a heavy underestimation. They were a branch in one of the most influential families in a small country named Al-badaya, close to Dubai. Once they left Al-badaya and found themselves in America they worked until they became the fastest growing influential couples in this side of the world. Information on them was scarce but one thing was clear.

Samir and Marisol Nader. Architectural and entreperural royalty.

My first thought as I saw all that came with their rise and status was the thought of how Angel must be feeling as he is thrown into the spot light. From a doctor to the heir of a dynasty worth billions. He must be terrified. Still one question stood in the thought of it all right now, and that was. Why was Angel suddenly open to accepting the Nader name and space if he was so clear that he had been refusing them for years?