When she returned from visiting her brother in Arizona, the weather had gone from bad to worse. As she stared at the street outside as the bus passed, she recalled her time with Ethan. It wasn't enough, she thought. A week, maybe two would have quenched the thirst for her being away from him. She remembered the birthday cake that she'd purchased for him and after a lot of inspection from the correctional officers, was allowed to have it brought to him.
"How did you manage to get them to give me the cake?" Ethan had asked her.
"Special request, really… nothing too fancy. Some people in here aren't that bad. I gotta say, it's not as bad as I thought."
"We have what we get and we do the best with it," Ethan replied. "Thanks for everything, Ingrid… I appreciate that."
"You're welcome, Ethan. I wish I could do more… like that smartwatch I told you about, I wish I could sneak it in here for you but the security is pretty tight they wouldn't let me."
"I'm a hundred percent sure that they can't allow me to have that watch here Ingrid, and besides what would I do with it?"
"Some movie? Some Netflix… I dunno. You know what? You make sense." Ingrid replied after a long silence. "I guess that I missed you a lot and I'm glad that we got to spend this time together."
"I missed you too. And I'm happy that you came."
Ingrid saw Officer Beleck heading to their table once again, a small grin plastered on his face. Ethan turned around and saw him approach and groaned.
"I'm wondering what he has to say now," Ingrid said, rolling her eyes. It wasn't until he was standing next to them that they looked at him.
"Sorry little family, but your visiting time is over." Beleck said as he checked his wristwatch.
"What?" Ingrid inquired, eyebrows shot up.
"You guys have by far had the treat of your lives here today. I mean we even allowed you guys to eat foreign food here, just because your father asked the warden to and the warden allowed so. But sometimes rules are rules and now… it's time to ciao."
"Really?" She insisted, whining.
"Up. Now." Beleck said and took some steps back. "Say your goodbye kids. It's time for you to head home now."
"Ingrid it's okay," Ethan told her. "We've had the best day ever."
"I'm not ready to go. I'm not."
"Ingrid… please. Let's not keep mom waiting. You said that she was waiting for you. You need to go and tell her."
Ingrid took a look at Ayden who had been quiet all along beside her. He was pinching his nose over and over. "Ingrid… it's okay. You've seen him, ate with him… played cards. I believe that it's been worth it." Ayden told her, taking her hands. She trained her eyes back at Ethan who was smiling at her, green eyes filled with contentment.
"Fine. Fine. We're going." She responded, nodding. The three got up from their seats and Ingrid wasted no time going to hug her brother one more time, one last time for the day.
"I'll come to visit you again soon," Ingrid told him under his embrace.
"You have a life, Ingrid. Go study, have the baby, and continue studying. Don't let my situation stop you. You have a life, so live it." Ethan said as Ayden stepped closer to them while they were still hugging. He was still pinching his nose. "Ayden, I hope you've heard what I said. Take care of her."
"I will. I promise." He responded while taking Ethan's hand in a handshake.
"Okay. Don't try anything stupid you two. Just love each other and be there for each other. And Ingrid, please let Ayden know what he has involved himself in, okay?"
She nodded.
"Okay, that's enough," Beleck told them. Ingrid pulled away and wiped away a stray tear with the back of her hand.
"Bye Ingrid."
"Bye Ethan…"
The bus came to a stop by the bus station, and Ingrid and Ayden got out among some other uptown Seattle residents. The weather was all queer and rainfall could be seen coming from a mile away. Dark grey clouds decorated the six-thirty evening sky while fog choked the street lights out of existence. The two walked in tow; silent as graves. The cold was dawning on them from every direction and the air around their noses was hot. They had to reach home sooner lest they'd be in a shower.
She reached home knowing that her parents were absent as her mother had informed her two hours earlier. From her point of view, Ingrid saw her mother being too busy to even meet her daughter after she had come from school, in addition to the Arizona trip. She however understood that her mother nonetheless was a boss. A corporate boss. Whatever had strangled her in her roots that deep to the point of not giving Ingrid that much attention must have been that important. And if so, she could have assigned what was keeping her away from home to someone else while she just relaxed, after all, she was a boss. Either way, Layla wasn't around and she knew that, and she wasn't coming back home before ten. The two were to wait for her, together.
The house seemed big at first glance to Ayden when he got in. The corridor to the living room was wide, with artifacts that seemed to have been won from high-end art auctions from all over the world. Everything looked expensive, delicate, exquisite, and more expensive. From the marble floor to the carpet that rested on top. From the chandelier on top to the oak wooden furniture that housed the artifacts that lay along the corridor. And on and on they went