Phoebe did not stray far when she stepped out of the office, she hung around the counter area peeking at the door, craning her neck as if it could sohow grow longer like that of a giraffe and enable her to see inside.
A call from her mother distracted her for a mont.
"Mum, can you call back later?" She said as soon as she answered the call.
"Why? Are you with a client or is the cafe flowing with custors?" Jenny quizzed.
Phoebe looked around; the herb counter was packed but Rosette was working on it. All the custors that had co for drinks and snacks had been tended to. Sabrina and Sylvester were cleaning the juice machine. There was no client waiting to be seen, only gossip waiting to be heard.
"We are busy, there is so much going on. Do you have an ergency?"
"Nothing, I am just calling to get an update on Minka's situation. Is she divorcing or not? Do you know how many of us are dying to know? Is it true that the Diggens and Osbourne's fought?"
As quickly as she could, Phoebe went through as much of the story as she could and then hung up and continued watching the door. After about thirty minutes, it opened, and Boyd Alton ca out. He wore a sardonic expression; it was obvious that whatever they had talked about in there had not pleased him.
He glanced at Phoebe and Rekha that were pretending to be busy, and they looked away quickly acting as if the walls, tables and chairs were more interesting than anything else around. It was awkward, not just for them but him as well.
"Uhm, goodbye." Alton gave a quick wave and hurried away.
As they watched him leave, Rekha said, "She must have broken it off I can tell from the resentnt etched on his face."
They looked at each other and bolted to the office in desperate need to know what had transpired between the couple. Old lady Mayfair was not far behind them, and she nearly shoved Rekha out of the way to get to Maureen.
"Aunt what happened?" Phoebe approached her aunt who sat with her head resting in the palms of her hands as if she was extrely sad. "Are you crying?" She suspiciously asked.
Maureen lifted her head, her eyes as dry as a desert. "Crying! Oh hell no. Why would I cry over a man I don't love? I just told him that I will not be marrying him. At least not until I am certain that it is the right move for us both. I insisted that he heal fully spiritually, do so soul searching and after that if fate wills it, we will find a way back to each other." She relayed to them.
It was not surprising to Maureen that relief actually appeared on the faces of the listeners. She had not been the only one experiencing discomfort with this relationship.
Grandma Mayfair went ahead to make the sign of the cross and sigh in relief. "Lord, I thank you; I was going insane." She raised her hands to the heavens before returning her gaze back to her daughter. "You have co back to your senses finally. I was right when I wanted to chase him away earlier. How did he react to what you told him?" She asked.
She ignored every look of disbelief on the faces of everyone around her, acting as if she had always been against Maureen's involvent with Alton.
Laughing casually, Maureen ignored her mother's shaless ability of turning black to white and twisted her lips to one side. "Actually, it went better than I expected, he said that he understood where I was coming from, and he was willing to give all the ti in the world."
Her words produced a deep scowl on Phoebe's forehead. "That's not how he seed to aunt, he seed furious when he left." She spoke.
Rekha raised her hand halfway. " neither." She added to Phoebe's words
"Maureen that man seed gravely disappointed, we all saw it." Grandma Mayfair stated, worry marred on her face. What if he did sothing to her child? She was going to have assign secret bodyguards to Maureen and also remove Alton Boyd from the list of guests that could access the Mayfair manor.
Giving their worries a little dismissive wave, Maureen snorted. "Well naturally of course he had to be disappointed, look at , I am a catch."
The others rolled their eyes, they wanted to tell Maureen to be serious for a mont.
"I am not blind; I could see through his calm facade." Maureen shared.
Letting out a weary sigh, Rekha sat close to Maureen, her troubles temporarily paused to deal with Maureen's troubles. "I am not a relationship guru, but that man is hiding sothing, please be careful senior Maureen." Unease flickered in her expression.
"Why are you calling Maureen senior Rekha?" Grandma Mayfair eyes road the two won, confusion drawn in them.
Blinking rapidly, Rekha cleared her throat. "Well, it's just to accord her with respect because she is older than , that is all." She shut her lips tightly.
Maureen raised her index finger. "First of all, drop the senior Maureen and start addressing as aunt because you call Edward uncle. And secondly, all of you do not worry about Boyd, I can handle him. I know that he is hiding sothing and until he cos clean, I see no future with him even though he is as handso as a devil." She giggled but the others remained still, not finding her words funny.
Old lady Mayfair made the sign of the cross and briefly glared at Maureen. "You are following to church on Sunday and getting dunked in a pool of holy water."
"It was a joke mother." Maureen whined.
Old lady Mayfair would not hear of the excuse, she had turned back to Rekha. "My dear girl you are coming ho like we discussed, do not say no to this grandmother of yours." She patted Rekha's hand.
If she had any doubts before, Rekha beca certain about accepting the invitation after seeing the hopeful gazes of Maureen and Phoebe. "Of course, Mrs. M...." her words drifted off when she noticed the frown on the old woman's face. "G-grandma Mayfair."
Gales of happy laughter escaped them at Rekha finally conceding defeat. They were all relieved to have the opportunity to sohow pay her back for what she lost in part due to Cillian's request in the past.
Later that evening after dinner at the Mayfair household, Edward was shocked when his mother raised the subject of his father to him.
He was even more surprised to find out that she knew his father was partly responsible for Bernard Montgory's death because he entrusted Bernard with an important relic.
"You should have told ! I deserved to know what your father had done because I am his wife. Do you know how I feel now knowing that he did not trust with even more of his secrets, but he told you. Do you even think of as your mother if you could hide these things from ? Poor Rekha, I find it hard to look her in the eye now.
You knew the truth and nonchalantly raised her while lying to her and us about your reasons why. Do not act like you helped that poor girl out of the goodness of your heart. Guilt must have been the motivation." Grandma Mayfair scolded him in a rage filled voice. "Why didn't you co to Edward? Why?"
Edward's hands lightly smacked the table. "I couldn't say a word; father told to keep it a secret." He confessed abruptly.
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