Gabriel stood there, frozen, hearing voices on the other side of the door, his heart beyond broken, and his mind already made up, but somehow he knew that he shouldn't be there.
He never was here before. It felt wrong to be here.
He knocked, at last, his eyes barely holding the tears that somehow restarted anew.
"Gabriel?" Alex answered the door. Whether it was a coincidence, he wasn't sure.
"I came to see you and your father." Gabriel said with a shaky voice.
"Come on in." Alex invited his friend inside, leading the way through the rooms filled with people to the living room where a woman in the wheelchair cried next to the fireplace, with her husband holding her hand in silent support, shedding his own tears. They were consoled by a few people in the room. Adam Best stood in the far-end corner of the room, sipping on wine.
"Would it be okay if I spoke to Claire's parents?" Gabriel asked quietly to which Alex nodded unsurely.
"Uncle, aunt." Alex said to the pair by the fireplace. They looked up at Alex with pained looks, holding as much pain in them as Gabriel. Gabriel's hand was shaking. He thought it through so many times, he imagined how it was supposed to go and what to say, but right now he had nothing to say. This was not any of the scenarios he ever imagined.
"What is he doing here?!" Joseph, Claire's father, asked sharply, almost screaming. Alex was unsure how to explain it. After all, what was Gabriel doing there?
Leanne squeezed Joseph's hand to calm him down but it had no effect.
Joseph rushed towards Gabriel with the very clear intention of throwing a punch.
Gabriel dropped to his knees in front of them, not caring about tenths of eyes staring at the scene around him. He lost control of his tears, letting them run freely.
He bowed his head in respect, but more so to beg. Or maybe not, because he couldn't beg them for forgiveness. He didn't deserve forgiveness.
"I'm so sorry." Gabriel managed to utter between sobs. "I'm so sorry."
"You dare show your face in here?!!!" Joseph roared, his face twisting in anger. Leanne grabbed his hand again.
"I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect her. Heaven knows I've tried. I've tried." Gabriel uttered which made Joseph freeze.
"What do you mean?" Joseph asked, his hands still clenched into fists.
"I've tried to protect Claire. I've tried to. But…"
"Why would you care?" Joseph was furious. He didn't need Gabriel to remind him of his loss. He blamed Gabriel for his loss. He needed someone to blame and the person responsible for it was out of his reach. But there was Gabriel.
"Joseph." Leanne called his name in the hope to get him to calm down.
"Because I've loved her." Gabriel admitted truthfully. "I loved her beyond anything."
"You don't know anything about Claire to speak like that." Joseph said coldly.
"I may not know everything but I know enough. Enough to know that I loved her more than anything else in the world." Gabriel hesitated as he looked up at a pair of eyes so similar to the ones he loved. "I know that she danced to the rock songs when she cleaned, that she hummed while cooking, that she messed up her hair while concentrating on a challenging problem, that she gasped at plot twists in the book, that she closed her eyes while playing the piano, and that she sometimes laughed so hard that she cried. I know that when she saw something beautiful her eyes widened in wonder, that she could quote Dickens by heart. I know that she loved books with unexpected endings. I know what made her happy, sad, scared… And I know that she cared about everyone, even those who didn't deserve it."
"You spoke of Claire on the tv merely days ago How can you know all of this?" Joseph asked.
"It shouldn't be me saying this, it should've been Claire." Gabriel said. "She should have been the one."
"Tell me." Joseph demanded.
"Claire and I were married." Gabriel said as the wave of sobs shook his body again. Silence befell the room. Claire's relatives in proximity had their eyes glued on Gabriel. Watching him with studious curiosity. Analysing his every move. Judging him.
"What?" Leanne said first as she rolled her wheelchair with struggle around her husband.
"Claire was my wife for over half of a year." Gabriel took out the slim folder from his suit's inner pocket passing it to Leanne.
Leanne stared at the contract with her shaky hands yet her tears stopped running. It was shocking perhaps or rather her trying to piece things together.
"Come on, Gabriel." Alex came up to him helping Gabriel stand up.
"This contract…" Leanne spoke again as she looked through each of the clauses. "It's not a typical marriage contract."
"No, it isn't." Gabriel admitted as he looked down in shame, still sobbing. At this stage, it was his body's automatic response.
"Did Claire marry you out of love?" Leanne asked as she stared at a date on the contract which was about the time her treatment suddenly was sped up and she was moved into the private hospital.
"No." Gabriel shook his head.
"Who suggested this arrangement?"
"I did." Gabriel admitted.
"Why did you want to marry Claire?"
"Because I loved her."
"Didn't it bother you that she didn't love you back?" Leanne asked as she tilted her head. Her questions were vicious but yet she remained calm and warm towards Gabriel. This only made his guilt worse.
"At first, my love was selfish but then it did start to bother me. I realised that I was causing her pain. I gave her a choice to leave…"
"That's when she was with us, isn't it? She left you for two months." Leanne said quietly. "But then she went back to you."
"Yes, she did."
"Aunt, if I may…" Alex chipped in.
"Alex, did you know?" Leanne asked as she looked up at her nephew. Alex froze knowing that it was about to turn against him. He nodded.
"Claire loved Gabriel. I saw her a few weeks ago and she was truly happy." Alex looked over at Gabriel who barely stood up straight. "Besides, Gabriel already took a bullet for her. I'm sure if he could, he would've done the same again."
"What?" Leanne looked up at Gabriel. "Was the recent shooting with you also to do with Claire?"
"They've tried to kill her then. I've barely managed to shield her. I didn't manage to save her the second time." Gabriel said through the sobs, dropping back to his knees.
Leanne moved on the wheelchair silently, placing her hand on Gabriel's back. She leaned over and hugged him, sobbing alongside him.
"Leanne! He's one of the Moores!" Joseph sounded disgruntled behind her but his voice wasn't as violent.
"This man used himself to shield our child and literally took a bullet for Claire. He is our son-in-law. I trust that Claire made the right decision in being with him and all we can do is accept him with open arms and offer him support." Leanne said sharply.
"But he's the Moore!"
"We can't choose our families." Leanne cupped Gabriel's face in her hands, studying it carefully. "Besides, I can see so much of Diane in you." She said to him.
"I have nothing to do with my father." Gabriel said decisively. "I am going to make sure that he faces justice at last."
"It's Gabriel, isn't it?" Leanne asked quietly.
"It is, ma'am."
"I've said that we're family so don't you dare ma'am me!" Leanne grumbled. "Claire wouldn't want us to. Leanne or mum will be fine." She let go of him and smiled. Gabriel nodded in surprise.
"Get up, mate." Alex pulled Gabriel up to stand. "Nonna!" Alex exclaimed as an older woman walked into the room. "She might not be my grandmother but she acts as if she were." Alex said quickly to Gabriel.
"What mischief are you up to now?" Nonna asked with a thick accent as she walked up to them.
"Oh, Nonna, that's not a nice thing to assume of me!" Alex sounded disgruntled but his face had a smile. It wasn't a happy smile as it was filled with the same grief as everyone else's smiles in the room.
"You're always in trouble, Ragazzo."
"Of course not. Always an Angel."
"Non un angelo, Diavolo reincarnato!" She huffed.
"Alright, Nonna." Alex gave in as he rolled his eyes. "I wanted to introduce Gabriel to you."
"Gabriel's a good name." Nonna said decisively. "Hero of God or God's my strength. Good, proper man's name." She looked back at Alex. "And then there's you. You have a good name and you don't live up to it. Defender of humankind, Al Diavolo!"
"Nonna!" Alex couldn't believe what he heard.
"So, who are you?" Nonna asked Gabriel directly. He was slightly taken aback by the elder's openness towards him.
"I'm…" Gabriel stuttered.
"He's Claire's husband." Alex said quickly.
"Stai Zitto," Nonna said to Alex. "Let the pretty boy speak." Alex chuckled knowing how Nonna is.
"As Alex has said, I'm Gabriel. I'm Claire's husband…" Gabriel felt a huge gulp in his throat. "Was." He corrected himself.
"Boy, the passing is never the end of one's love." Nonna waved her finger at Gabriel. "You ARE Claire's husband if you still love her. My husband passed away years ago and I still say that I'm his wife." Nonna said with a warm smile.
"Here." Adam came up to them passing Gabriel a drink.
"Did you know Claire was hiding such a pretty boy?" Nonna asked Adam.
"I did not, Nonna Angela." Adam said with a smile. "But did you know that he got Alex out of more trouble than you can count on your fingers?" Adam asked as he patted Gabriel on his back. Gabriel felt small and insignificant beside so many strangers.
"Oh, Ragazzo." Nonna shook her head at Alex.
"I didn't mean to interfere in a family gathering." Gabriel said to Alex worriedly.
"It's your family, mate. I was contemplating getting you in here anyways. I wasn't sure how to bring it up or how to get you out of your house." Alex admitted. "So, what made you get out of the house?"
"It was Claire."
Alex looked at him quizzically but before he said anything Nonna looked back at Gabriel.
"Have you eaten?"
"What?" Gabriel didn't seem to understand the question. Nonna wrapped her arm around Gabriel's elbow and led him to the kitchen.
"We have pasta." Nonna said as she pushed Gabriel towards the chair. The kitchen was quiet, and empty besides Alex, Gabriel, and Nonna. Nonna moved around quickly, clattering in the cupboards. She took out a plate and started loading it before placing it in front of Gabriel. "Eat. You need strength." She urged Gabriel as she sat down opposite him. Alex shifted around and loaded his own plate before sitting next to Gabriel.
Gabriel slowly ate the food which was ever so similar to Claire's cooking. He felt a gulp in his throat but forced himself to eat.
Adam soon called Nonna over when more family members arrived.
"How did Claire get you out of the house?" Alex asked as they were left alone.
"She left the CD with recordings of her playing the piano." Gabriel said with a sad smile.
"That's nice."
"Alex, I think that she knew." Gabriel said quietly, his hand shaking as he held onto the fork. "She must've known that it was going to happen. She was prepared. She knew that I wasn't going to be able to protect her."