Stone Mansion
"Dominique when are you going to give me a grandchild?" Cecilia Stone was busy tending to her flowers in their garden with the help of her eldest son.
"Sooner or later." Dominique answered blankly. He was carrying a basket filled with roses his mother had plucked.
"In a few months, you'll be thirty without a girlfriend or wife, no children to call your own. I'm not happy about that." Cecilia frowned as she adjusted her hat with her gloved hands. All she wanted was to be a mother in-law and a grandmother to Dominique's future wife and children.
"Timothy and Jake is there, why don't you pester them to give you a daughter in-law." Dominique didn't want to experience this talk alone and deliberately added his brothers names.
"Jake already gave me Ezekiel and I'm happy about that but Timothy is like a basket you keep pouring water into and will never get filled. I wish Cynthia was still here then Jake would have had the full package by now." Cecilia Stone sighed softly. This was a sore subject in their family. Ever since the death of Ezekiel's mother, Cynthia, Jake was not the same as he used to be. He may look fine now but there was still that lingering ache in his eyes.
Dominique noticed his mother's sad stance and decided to give her a side hug while rubbing her arm.
"He will find another when he is ready." Dominique assured earning a nod from his mother.
Cecilia regained herself and then turned to face her son with a glare. Her baby blue eyes where throwing daggers at him. "But you are not off the hook, boy. I will still get a daughter in-law from you even if I have set up a thousand blind dates which you will attend no matter what."
Dominique sighed. This was the reason why he hardly comes back to their house. The nagging, threats and murder attempts from his mother was enough to last him for a lifetime.
"You will just have to be patient. I need to make her comfortable and get her to like me before jumping into marriage." What Dominique didn't know that he had earned himself a lot of questioning from Cecilia.
"So there is indeed someone! Who is she? Is she gentle? Is she beautiful?!" Cecilia's baby blue orbs sparkled brightly. There was a chance of her getting a daughter in-law after all. She was indeed happy and surprised. Her son didn't chase after women instead it was the other way round but he didn't pay heed to them. Maybe this woman was different.
"You will know when you meet her."
Dominique smiled a little as he remembered the woman that captured his heart. Her emerald green eyes were so beautiful that he could stare at them all day without getting tired.
Cecilia didn't miss the smile on her son's face and her heart leaped with joy. All she really hope for was that her sons could be happy with their families in the future.
"When you're ready you can bring her for dinner so that I can get to know the woman who won my son's heart." She nudged Dominique and them wiggled her eyebrows with a smile on her face.
Dominique nodded. What his mother didn't know was that she had already met her before.
Atleast his mother was now among the people that accepted Esmeralda. But he was quite conscious of his father. He knew that his father was a bit skeptical about the woman. He didn't trust her and felt she harbours ill intentions towards their family, so it would be quite difficult to get his father to accept their union the day she agrees to his proposal and present her as his wife. Wife... hm he liked the sound of that. No matter his father's decision he was not going to give up on her for anything.
"But honestly son, tell me something about her. I'm dying to know who she is."
Dominique saw the curiosity in his mother's eyes.
"She's cold."
Cecilia gasped bringing her gloved palms towards her mouth. "Is she sick?"
Dominique saw that she misunderstood and proceeded to explain "No. What I mean is, she doesn't show emotions that easily and doesn't find enthusiasm in anything."
"So she is just like you?" Cecilia dropped her hands and raised a brow at his explanation. They say opposite attracts but in this case, likes attracts.
"Not really. She is fun to be with, a little bit closed off but a good friend." Dominique tried to describe Esmeralda to the best of his ability.
Cecilia stared at her son's straight face with a smile. Since when did he become this wordy?
"I can see she has brought little changes in you."
"What do you mean?" Domique frowned as he dropped the basket in his hold on the soft grass. His pink apron made him look a little bit less dangerous but cute. This was due to his mother's insistence.
"You weren't this communicative before. You always reply my question with a single word." Cecilia turned back to her rose bushes and began trimming.
"Well in order to make the conversation pleasing I had to speak more often even though she doesn't mind silence."
"I can see. She must be very understanding. Does she know your title?"
"Yes, but she doesn't cling to me and instead distance herself away."
Cecilia frowned. "Doesn't she like your company?"
"I can't say. Though we talk and share a few moments together she doesn't seem to dislike having me around. We only meet up once in a while on few occasions."
Dominique followed after Cecilia who was now walking to the tool house.
"Haven't you set up dates, lunch, dinner?" Cecilia was happy and felt like she was on cloud nine. Conversing with her son like this brought joy to her soul.
"I did."
"Then what's the problem." She could feel there was something disturbing him.
"I offered to pick her up but she refused and said she will come on her own." Though he agreed to her terms, he wasn't happy about it.
"Then let her be. Give her time to adjust to this, to you. Women don't like pressure. Try to be patient with her, okay?"
"Okay."