Calvin got in first and roared the engine of his BMW. I looked up at the sky and tried to clear my disarranged train of thoughts. Then praying that I had not just taken one of the worst decisions in life, I opened the passenger door and got in. Deep down, I was somewhat mischievously excited for sneaking out of the palace on a day I was supposed to stay in and I could feel a smile playing on my lips.
Once I secured the seat belt in place, Calvin drove towards the palace gates after turning up the stereo and then came to a halt at the gates. One of the guards, stationed at the gates, tapped on the shutter at my side and I rolled it down, trying my best to hide my mischievous grin.
After assuring the head guard that I will be back before dark, so that my father would not be questioning my absence, thus causing no problems, they opened the gates and let us pass.
Next to me, Calvin was chuckling quietly and I raised my eyebrows at him, wondering what he found so amusing. The air between us seemed to have changed drastically from moments ago and I was starting to feel a lot less nervous. I tried to ignore the voice inside me, telling me that the last time I was comfortable around him did not turn out well.
"You sure know how to play innocent to get away, don't you?" He asked in a playful purr, which made goosebumps appear down my arms and legs.
"Well, I am actually innocent for your information and right now, I don't believe that I've done anything bad as you try to sound," I said, faking a huffy tone as if I was annoyed, and then, as an afterthought, I added; "Well, that is unless you don't plan to kidnap me. Then I probably dug up my own grave. So I'll still be innocent, won't I?"
This made him laugh more, shaking his head as if to say I-can't-believe-this-girl. I smiled at his light mood, which was so new to me, and then I remembered that I forgot to ask where we were heading to. But when I raised the question, he just smiled and totally ignored it as if it did not matter at all. I decided to ask again after some time as I was starting to get somewhat nervous again, but this time he replied by pulling the car just outside a simple, but classy-looking restaurant. The homely surrounding eased my tension and I was about to ask Calvin if we have arrived at the right place. I could never imagine a person like him in this type of serene place.
But to my astonishment, he had already gotten down and was by the side of my door, rapping lightly on the shutter. I turned to look at him and could not help but smile as he held the door open for me. This simple act of him, which was so not like his usual self, surprised me beyond words. I was further taken aback when he offered me his hand. However, I was not very sure if this gentlemanly act of him was simply to prove that he was as good as Fabien in this aspect or if he had sincerely changed his attitudes toward me. So I decided to ignore his extended hand and got down on my own, afraid that if I took his offer he would start humiliating me like he used to. Even though I did not take up his extended hand, I still felt butterflies as I got down and walked ahead of him to hide my blush, which would certainly betray my emotions.
I could hear him clearing his throat awkwardly and I stole a look at him over my shoulder for a short moment and could see him trying to look unaffected by my rejection. I turned back around before he could notice me looking and the thought that this bad boy could also be alarmingly cute at unexpected moments crossed my mind.
Within seconds he had jogged across to me and had stopped beside me before he asked; "You were laughing at me just now, weren't you?"
I smiled, covering my lips with my hand. "Yeah, sorry, but you looked kinda cute just now," I admitted.
At that, he grinned, and the tension that was starting to build up when he asked the question simply vanished. Despite Calvin's usual irritating, nerve-wracking behavior, I could sense some sincerity in him and I was certainly starting to warm up to him. I believed him to be the same. The small smiles he gave from time to time held more emotions than any he has shown all those years we have known each other.
We entered the restaurant in peaceful silence and he led me to a booth-style table set for two at a corner of the shop, which he did not forget to mention was one of his favorite spots for a relaxing mealtime. The table was arranged close to a set of bay windows, which even had benches attached just like in old-fashioned houses. I could almost picture myself seated there cozily and reading a nice classic novel till dark.
I sat down first and Calvin took his seat opposite mine. When I glanced out of the window, I thought that it would be nice to come and watch the snowfall in the next wintertime, enjoying a cup of coffee right at this spot.
"You like this place?" Calvin asked, noticing my smile.
"Yeah, it's nice," I nodded. "Would I be right, if I say that you enjoy classics may it be a movie, fiction, or even music?" I knew I was treading on easily-crackable ice which was Calvin, but I could not help asking him that as I knew preferences in artistic work certainly led to important pieces of someone's life.
"You got me there," he laughed softly.
I was suddenly reminded of the similarities between the two Beaufort cousins as they both showed a liking for classics in their own ways.
At that moment, a sassy waitress appeared at our table and probed Calvin on the arm playfully, and handed him the menu card before glancing at me briefly. I noticed her slight coldness towards me, but she was also trying to show some respect due to the fact that I was the princess, which only made me laugh. After stating his order, Calvin handed me the menu and I placed mine as well. Before leaving, the waitress gave him a suggestive smile, which Calvin returned. This only earned an eye roll from me.
When he looked at me as if to say what-was-that-for, I replied; "I take it back. You don't like here because it reminds you of any classical piece. You stick around to flirt with the girls here, don't you?"
Calvin let out a low whistle, looking very amused. "Look who's jealous. I was only trying to be nice to that hard-working girl and most importantly trying to see your reaction. Oh, that reminds me you would be interested in knowing who Jenny is, right?"
The smirk on his face showed that he was well aware of what was going on in my mind and I blushed again. He seemed to have a lot of whatever it takes to make me blush and to put me through an emotional turmoil.
Taking my silence as a yes, he continued; "You don't have to worry, that's my aunt. You know, my aunt Marian, whom your uncle calls Jenny, which is short for Jennifer -her middle name."
An unintentional sigh escaped my lips and I gasped when I realized what I had just done, covering my mouth with my hands. This only made his egoistic, narcissistic, self-satisfied grin widen and I glared at him.
"See I was right. You must have thought she was someone I hooked up with. That, my dove, was Jessica, not Jenny." He said airily, amusement clear in his eyes.
I swatted his hand, which was on the table, and protested that I could not care to be curious about his love life whatsoever. I was made into a mix of emotions by him calling me his dove, which sounded very poetic. Did he think he was Shakespeare?
Luckily at that moment, the food was served, saving me from further embarrassment. I was sure that I saw the waitress from earlier, who now served the food, slipping a piece of paper into Calvin's hand as she turned to leave. This I decided to completely ignore and not comment on, not wanting to give him a chance to comment on what he called my jealousy or to look smug.
As I was about to take my first bite of the taco I ordered, Calvin decided to show me the note the waitress gave him. I almost choked on the food, surprised at how far he would go to display his cockiness. I tried not to read it and pretended as if I was not interested in it at all. But when he pestered, my curiosity won over and I briefly glanced at it. It contained her mobile number and her name, which was ironically Jessica.
"Jessica, is it?" I asked from him, giving him a cocky smile, which he deserved for trying to mess with me. For some reason, I wanted to shout this at the waitress, who was now busy at the counter, but I knew more than to give in to urges.
"Yeah, but my ex is prettier," he said with too much sincerity.
An awkward silence followed after that and I decided to eat slowly, fully focused on the food. After some time, Calvin decided to break the silence. This time, however, he looked solemn and not at all cocky and I dreaded what was coming.
"So now that you know who Jenny is, I guess you wonder why your uncle would want to know how she was doing." His words reminded me that I was indeed curious as to why Uncle James would ask after someone's health and look so concerned unless there was something serious behind all that. "So your uncle and my aunt used to date back when we were both younger. I think their relationship started when we were around eight or nine."
My jaw dropped at the sudden revelation, which no one had cared to mention to me. Even though I knew that the rumored lady love of Uncle James was from the Beaufort family, I was unaware of whom she was or how serious the relationship was.
"I assume you didn't know of this. So, no one told you?" He asked more from himself -he must have noticed my reaction. I slowly nodded, still not sure whether I should take his word on this and believe him. "Well, their relationship lasted for around 3 years and your uncle made aunt Marian pregnant with his child.
And then things started to go downhill." He paused momentarily, looking somewhat displeased, despite his effort to remain calm. I was starting to feel that this conversation was going to go down a road that I was not going to like. "To keep this short, your uncle abandoned her and she was heartbroken, which I think caused the miscarriage. She never once said a bad word about the man, who made her go through all this mess alone."
I gasped. I did not want to believe all the bad things Calvin was saying about my beloved uncle. But the look on Calvin's face was so solemn that I somehow knew that this was all true. I tried to deny that, but I failed to contain all my emotions under control. Tears started to spill out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks. I quickly wiped them off with the back of my hand while Calvin's eyes were still cast down. I could see that he himself was going through an emotional mess and I did not want to be the one causing a scene when he seemed to be the one, who had suffered by this much more than me.
When he looked up again, his eyes looked somewhat sad; his attempt to put on a calm facade was not very successful. I tried to remain neutral about the whole situation and not to take anyone's side biasedly.
"I find it hard to believe all these things you said about Uncle James. I've known him more than you have." I replied honestly as I sensed him seeking validation, "It's not like I'm saying you just lied. All you said could be true, but maybe you haven't seen my uncle's side of the story. But of course, I can't praise him if he did such a despicable thing." I found it really hard to comment on this.
My voice was threatening to break and I could not help but take uncle's side at least a little. This seemed to anger Calvin. He had his right to feel distrusted, but I was also rightful in a way to not believe everything he uttered about my uncle. Uncle James had been nothing but kind and loving to me all these years. And let's face it, Calvin had been the exact opposite until this morning.
"Let's forget it for now. You can choose to believe me when you dig around and find the truth for yourself." By the time Calvin finally agreed, I had lost my appetite and had left the taco alone with only half of it finished. He too seemed to have not finished what he ordered. I should not have questioned him about his relationship with my uncle earlier. Otherwise, nothing would have led us to this conversation any time sooner and things would have been different and the mood between us perhaps, lighter.
"I'm sorry for sticking my nose in your business earlier. I should've known better than to ask about your relationship with Uncle James." I muttered and he nodded. I could only guess that he did not trust his mouth to speak right now.
After we finished the mojitos that were served a little while later, he paid the bill and we left the restaurant, walking back to his car in silence. However, this time the silence that followed was so different from the silence that fell over us when we entered the restaurant.
On the way back, I was silently picking at my nails and thinking deeply about Calvin's version of the history of my uncle and his aunt. It had occupied my mind fully and was rooting into my brain. I had so many questions to ask him, but I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to annoy him.
From the corners of my eyes, I saw Calvin looking at me a few times with some concern evident in his eyes. The glances he threw at me lasted no more than a millisecond, but I could see he was trying to say something to ease the tension. If my mind was not so preoccupied, I would certainly have found it new for him to look concerned about me even at a time like this.
"Is there any place you would like to go since we already came out?" Calvin managed finally, looking somewhat uncomfortable.
I shook my head and said that he could drop me at the palace gates instead. "But thank you for the offer," I added sincerely. I appreciated him trying to lighten the mood despite the situation he was in, of which only a small part I understood.
An unfamiliar ringing tone started to play and it took me a while to notice that it was Calvin's phone ringing. He had already answered the call and the expression he gave seemed alarmed.
"But, aunt, why would you not want me to come? What made you tell me to not return to your place tonight? Is everything-?" He demanded. His brow was knitted in confusion.
Then a beeping sound pierced the silence inside the car, which only meant the caller had hung up on him. Calvin pocketed his phone angrily with a shaking hand and slammed at the steering wheel harshly.
"DAMN IT!" He cursed under his breath.
I was terrified by his ferocity, even though it was not directed at me.
"Is it you aunt Marian?" I asked softly, finally managing to find my voice.
He nodded and then without another word, he gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands and swerved the car around with full force.