DYLAN'S POV
Since the time we came back from Hallowcave, I realised that Pete had immensely recovered. He seemed very happy and always smiling; even more than how he used to before calling off his and Raelynn's wedding. Raelynn had already left Lakeworld to an undisclosed destination. The person who told us this information was Raelynn's younger sister, and she blamed Pete for everything that had happened. The problem was; in trying to protect Raelynn's image, Pete had not openly stated his real reasons for calling off the wedding. Many people were not aware that Raelynn was actually involved in paying a man to rape Anisha, and also actively participating in making sure the sinful act was carried out. Who would have ever thought that Raelynn could stoop that low? Anisha did tell me that Raelynn had spoken something in the lines of if she had known, she would have made an effort to date me? Me? Dylan de Milo? I had no intention whatsoever of dating Raelynn. I wondered what could have gotten into her mind to have such thoughts; and I promised myself to never tell Pete about it. I didn't want to imagine how it would make him feel; that his fiancée had feelings for me, his best friend.
The thoughts were running through my mind as I walked into the de Milo Private Hospital, for my dad had summoned me. It was a work issue; and the man was very tough when it comes to work. He did not tolerate mistakes at all. I was happy that it was all work; for I was not in the space to handle family issues and accusations from my own mother.
In trying to reduce any chance of bumping into mum, I used the hospital main entrance, which the visitors used. There were other back doors and private elevators that I dared not touch; for I knew that if I used them; the chances of bumping into mum were very high.
It was almost 9PM, and as I walked down the corridor I thought I heard, from behind me, a very merry voice humming a tune. It sounded very much like Pete, so I stopped and waited for him to catch up with me.
"Pete!" I called out to him. "How is the evening so far? Busy?"
Pete gave me a broad smile "not too bad. The fifth floor is almost empty; most of the patients were discharged this morning."
"Good for you then," I smiled. "It's nice to see you smile! I had begun to think that I would never get my friend back again! The Pete Rockridge I have known all my life was replaced by a very sad man! You even aged overnight!" I laughed.
"Oh that! I forgot about Raelynn and the wedding! I am so over it now!" he beamed.
"You're blessed! I was afraid you would take months to get back to being yourself."
Pete laughed as the two of us walked on.
"So how did you do it? How did you manage to get over it this fast?" I inquired.
"Well let's just say, an angel smiled at me!" he smiled.
"An angel smiled at you. Care to explain?"
"I'll explain it to you another day. For now please just know that an angel smiled at me!"
"OK. I'll patiently wait." I had no intention of pressurizing him to talk.
Pete started dancing softly to the music that he was humming. I just laughed while I watched him. He danced a bit and repeated his line, making it sound more like a song which he had just composed, "an angel smiled at me…..an angel smiled at me…..an angel..."
In my father's office, he summarized for me a few issues and sent over numerous emails for my attention. All of them had deadlines, and he emphasized that I was to make sure that my team got it done in time. Grateful that the meeting was very short, I stood up to take my leave when dad spoke: "Dylan, your mother is very stressed. She can hardly sleep."
"I'm sorry to hear that." I slowly sat back in my chair.
"It's not your fault, stop looking so guilty." Dad said. He picked up a pen on his desk and played with it a bit with his fingers, then asked me, "tell me son, are you in love with that girl? Anisha?"
"Dad; I will tell you the truth. I am in love with her. I have never been so sure of anything like this."
He smiled. "Does it bother you that your mother thinks that she is not good enough for you?"
"It bothers me a lot. I love mum. I want to have a good relationship with her; not to fight with her. But she has given me an ultimatum. If I want to have anything to do with her, I must cancel all relations with Anisha."
"She said that?"
"Yes. she said that. I have to choose between her and Anisha. I cannot make a choice, dad. I love them both. I love mum, obviously. But I also love Anisha. A lot. It's a different kind of love. Asking me to cancel all relations with Anisha is like asking me to end my own life." I said in all earnest.
Dad smiled warmly at me. he stood up and walked around, put his arm across my shoulder and patted me. "You love her that much, huh?" he asked.
"I love her that much, dad. I love her with my everything."
"Does she know?"
"She does, but I doubt if she has an idea how much."
"Well then you better confess all your love for her soon. She seems to be a good girl. She might not come from a rich family; that one is your mother's biggest worry. Help her to attain the education that she needs. Teach her how to run a business. If you think she lacks in anything, take her for grooming and etiquette lessons. Mould her into what you want her to be. She is intelligent, I must say."
"You think she is intelligent, dad?" I could not hide my excitement.
"Of course she is", dad smiled. "If she managed to outwit the police force, running for days with that poor child, without being caught, then surely she is an intelligent girl who just never got a chance to continue with her education. She's smart. A sharp girl. The way she kept the police on their toes …." He chuckled a little. "All those grown and trained men could not get hold of her. All I'm saying is, she uses her brain. She isn't just a pretty face, but has the brains too."
I smiled up at him and he continued, "she gave them quite a hard time! Imagine the whole police force after one young girl! I'm happy she was innocent in all that mess. And she seems caring."
"You think she's caring, dad? What makes you think she's a caring person?" I could not help but stand up to come face to face with my dad.
I had never known, before that day, that he actually had some nice things about Anisha. Not that I expected him to have bad staff to say; it was just that I had never thought he would know anything about Anisha. It turned out he knew quite a bit; he had even come to a conclusion that she was intelligent and caring? How interesting.
"What makes you think she is caring?"
"Well she is. She went to a great extent for a child that's not even hers! An average babysitter wouldn't have done that! The way she went all out to protect that child says a lot about the kind of heart she has. And at the hospital I saw how worried she was; not even worrying about her own sick self, she was worried to death about the child."
"You saw that too? Dad! I never thought you paid any attention to Anisha! And now that you say it, I am reminded of the late pastor Everdeen. When he was dying, he asked us to look for a lady in Hallowcave, his former lover. As for me, I had long forgotten about that request. But guess what, she still insists we must do something to honour the pastor's request." I told my father.
"That's what I'm talking about." He smiled. "Ever since I picked that you seem to like her, I started to watch her. I wanted to know what kind of girl my son likes." He let out a small hearty laugh.
"Dad! You actually saw that I liked her? How?"
"It was evident. A blind man would have seen it. You love her."
Dad patted me on the shoulder and said in a serious tone, "Give her a chance, Dylan. Offer the opportunities to her. Help her achieve what life never offered her. Be her hero; but don't seek to own her. Let her be her own person, free to make her own choices and decisions."
"I understand, dad." I smiled.
"It's the first time I've ever heard you talking so affectionately about a girl. You must truly love her, son. So stand up like a man. Go get your woman. But in the process, don't lose your mother. Be a man. Get both of them. Your mum will soon come around when she sees how desperately in love you are with this girl. You can do it, son! Bring the woman home to us! She belongs in our family!"