"Did you see anyone leaving with a child in the description I gave you?" Nicolas asked, talking to the head of security on the telephone,
"Okay! Let me know if there is a new update."
He hung up the call and heaved.
"Any news on Ivan?" Patricia asked and he shook his head.
He sat down on his chair. He had already called every security guard in the building and alerted the police about it. He stared at the door and waited for a solution to walk in. Camilo knocked once on the door and came in with Ivan.
"Grandma!" Ivan said happily, running towards Patricia.
"Ivan,honey!" Patricia said as she opened her hands for a hug and embraced him,
"I thought I would never see you again."
She broke the hug and stroked his hair.
"I'm sorry, Grandma! I didn't listen to you. I wanted to see Daddy but got lost. It was Uncle Camilo and Aunt Alejandra who found me and brought me here." Ivan said remorsefully, apologizing for his mistake.
"Aunt Alejandra?" She asked confusingly and looked at Camilo.
"I'll explain later." Camilo said softly.
Nicolas looked at his son with anger which had burst. He stood up from his chair and got hold of his son's hand. He tightened his grip on his wrist. Patricia stood up and tried to pull out Ivan's hand.
"Why did you leave the car?" Nicolas said sternly as he raised his voice at him,
"Didn't Grandma tell you not to? Why are you so stubborn? Do you know how worried we all were? You acted so foolishly and almost gave your grandma a heart attack. You look wise but act stupid. I..."
Ivan looked at his father fearfully and moaned softly. Tears raced down his cheeks while he was being scolded. Patricia broke his grip and pulled Ivan close to her.
"Calm down, Nicolas! He is just a child!" Patricia reminded and comforted Ivan who was crying.
"He always gets away with his wrong deeds because you keep defending. You keep pampering and wouldn't correct him whenever he does something wrong. He will never grow up if you keep siding with him." Nicolas said angrily.
"That's not true and you know that!" Patricia defended herself.
She looked at Ivan who was still crying. The tears had stopped but he was sniffing.
"Ivan, please go with Uncle Camilo. I want to talk to your father."
She pulled him closer to Camilo and smiled at him.
"C'mon,kiddo! I'll buy you a lollipop!" Camilo said gladly, trying to cheer him up.
He took his hand and led him out of the office. Nicolas glanced at Patricia who seemed pissed off by his action and backed the office.
"Why did you yell at him like that? He had already apologized for his mistake, what else do you want him to do? Write an apology or probably hold a press conference in your honour? Is that what you want?" Patricia said, displeased with the way he scolded his son,
"Give him a break. He has already been through a lot."
"That shouldn't be the reason for his foolishness. I too have been at losses and I'm dealing with them perfectly. He should learn to make wise decisions for himself." Nicolas replied coolly.
"Can you hear yourself? How can a four-year-old make wise decisions? He is still a child for crying out loud. He needs someone to direct him,guide him and not yell at him every time he makes a mistake." Patricia said,
"Maybe you should work on your parenting skills and be a better father to your son. Than the strict CEO you are."
Patricia looked at him and shook her head.
"If you continue with this harsh attitude of yours,you may forget you have a mother and a son. You aren't the Nicolas I gave birth to. You're not the son I brought up." Patricia said disappointingly.
Her words hit Nicolas. He turned around and saw her leaving his office. The door banged and he slapped the table. Camilo came in minutes after Patricia had left.
"What do you want?" Nicolas said plainly, without giving him a chance to speak,
"Are you here to remind me I'm a terrible father? If you are here to give a lecture on parenting, just know I'm not interested."
"You should at least be grateful. If it wasn't for that lady who found Ivan,who knows what could have happened to him." Camilo pointed.
"If you have nothing else to say,you can use the door." Nicolas replied coolly.
"Nick-." Camilo said but was interrupted.
"I said GET OUT!" Nicolas snapped.
Camilo didn't drag the matter any further and left his office. He bumped into Mady on his way out.
"Sorry, Camilo! I didn't..." Mady apologized.
"It's okay,Mady!" Camilo replied dryly and cut her off.
He left her at the door and suddenly remembered something.
"Oh!" Camilo said and got her attention,
"If I were you,I wouldn't go in there."
He glanced at her and walked to his office.
"Why? Is something wrong?" She asked curiously.
Camilo didn't reply and went to his office. Mady wanted to knock on his door but refrained from doing so. She didn't want to take any chances and went back to her office.
<
The mixed screams that came from the roller coaster made the place lively. Patricia and Ivan got tired from all the rides they rode and went to a fast food restaurant across the park. They ordered some hamburgers,fries to go with their burgers and hot dogs too. Patricia was dipping a fry in ketchup and noticed the sad look on Ivan's face. She ate the dipped fry and cleaned her greasy fingers with a serviette.
"What's wrong Ivan? Don't you like hamburgers? Do you want me to get you something else?" Patricia said.
Ivan shook his head while he stared at the hamburger on the table.
"Then what is it?" She asked eagerly.
"Grandma,am I adopted?" Ivan asked, looking at her with a sad look on his face.
Patricia was surprised at the question he asked.
"No sweetheart, you're not adopted! What made you think that?" She asked curiously.
"Eversince Mummy died,Daddy never cared about me. He doesn't play with me nor does he come to my show-and-tell like most of my friends' dads do. He is always busy and doesn't have time for me." Ivan said sadly.
"Oh,sweetheart! Your dad loves you very much. He cares about you a lot. He is doing everything possible to see you're okay and don't lack anything. I know he might be busy sometimes but doesn't hate you. You're his son and he is still your father. You're the best thing that has happened to him. He doesn't like seeing you get hurt or being sad." Patricia said calmly with a smile,
"Just tell me when your class has another show-and-tell and I'll come there myself. Does that sound good?"
"Really, Grandma?" Ivan asked excitedly.
"Uh-huh! But one condition." She said.
"What is it, Grandma?" He asked.
"You'll have to eat your food so that we can go home and have dinner. How does that sound?" She proposed.
Ivan nodded and started eating his hamburger hurriedly.
"Easy now! Otherwise you might choke on your food!" Patricia cautioned with a chuckle.
After they were done eating, Patricia asked for their bill and paid. They got into the car and Gustavo drove them home. Ivan was exhausted from all the fun he had and fell asleep on Patricia's lap. She gently pulled out his toy car from his hand and kept it aside.
"Mrs Patricia?" Gustavo called while he took a right turn.
"Yes, Gustavo!" Patricia replied.
"I want to apologize for what happened earlier. It was my fault Ivan snuck out of the car." Gustavo apologized,
"I accept whatever punishment you may give me. I'm really sorry for putting you and Mr Nicolas in a state of panic."
"Gustavo isn't totally to be blamed for what happened. You told me to watch over him and I didn't. So,if you want to punish Gustavo,you may as well include me in the punishment." Sofia said.
"I was disappointed in you two, especially you,Sofia. I thought I had lost my grandson thanks to you two's negligence. Luckily,I didn't. I'm glad he is safe and sound. I would've punished you but it takes a lot of courage for one to own up to his mistakes. So,I'll spare you." Patricia said.
"Thank you,Mrs Patricia!" Gustavo said and let out a sigh of relief.
"You're welcome! You should be lucky that Ivan didn't get lost. Otherwise,you would be talking to your boss and not me." Patricia said.
Sofia and Gustavo glanced at each other and smiled sheepishly. Gustavo arrived at the house and sounded his horn for the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper heard him and opened the gate. He drove in and pulled in front of the front door. He waited for everyone to get out. He drove the car to the garage and parked it. Patricia rang the doorbell while Sofia carried Ivan who was still asleep.
A maid opened the door for them. They walked through the archway. The lights were on.
"Sofia,run a warm bath for Ivan." Patricia said as she sat down on the couch.
"Okay,Mrs Patricia!" Sofia replied and laid Ivan gently beside her.
Patricia took off the sweater she had on and kept it on the arm of the chair. Her toes were arching and she took off her shoes.
Sofia came back and carried Ivan to his room. She helped to the bathroom and bath him herself. She wrapped a towel around his waist and carried him to the bed. She searched for his pyjamas and put it on him.
Ivan sleepily crawled on the duvet on his bed and rested his head on the pillow. Sofia used the duvet to cover him and turned off the lights as she left the room. She went to the living room. She didn't see Patricia there and decided to go to her room instead.
"Mrs Patricia," Sofia said with a knock on the door,
"I wanted to know if I needed anything."
"No, Sofia! I'm good. You can go to your room." Patricia replied from inside.
"What about Mr Nicolas?" Sofia asked.
"Don't worry about him. I'll handle it. You should go and rest. I've stressed you enough for today." Patricia said.
She nodded and went to the quarters.
Nicolas returned home hours later, almost a minute to 11 p.m. He rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer. Patricia opened the door and Nicolas furrowed his brow. He ignored her and walked through the archway and made his way to the staircase. He climbed up the stairs and went to his bedroom.
He opened the door and walked in. He tossed his briefcase on the bed and went to the bathroom. He stood under the shower head for a while. He kept reliving what happened that day.
"Give him a break! ....He is only a child for crying out loud. He needs someone to direct him,guide him and not yell at him every time he makes a mistake."
"If you continue with this harsh attitude of yours,you may forget you have a mother and a son..."
Those words kept ringing in his head repeatedly. The death of his wife still haunted him.
He could still hear the truck's horn, screeching of the brakes when he swerved the car to avoid the incoming truck and the shattering of the windscreen when they crashed into the tree. He closed his eyes and recalled all that happened that night.
Agnes had cuts on her face and arms. Nicolas had cuts too but managed to get out of the car. He wobbled and missed his steps. He had a serious headache as a result of the crash. He placed his hand on his head and noticed he was bleeding. He turned around and looked through the broken window and saw Agnes, sitting on the passenger seat and was unconscious.
Nicolas quickly opened the door and unstripped the seatbelt she had on. His strength was exhausted from the crash and used the little he had left and got her out of the car.
"Agnes! Agnes!!" He called but she didn't respond.
Nicolas opened his eyes. He was terrified by the vision. He looked around and remembered he was still in the bathroom. He rinsed off the lather on his body and got out of the shower cubicle. He put on the pyjamas he had dropped on the bed earlier. He sat down next to the bedside table and pulled open the bottom drawer. He brought out the picture frame he had hid.
"You know,this is all your fault." Nicolas said, talking to Agnes' photo,
"If you hadn't left,I wouldn't be this way."
He paused and let out a sigh.
"I never thought getting over your death will be this difficult. Everyone is mad with me,even Ivan. I feel so terrible right now that I can..." He continued,
"I wish all this was a f**king dream and will be over by morning. Am I really a bad father? Was this the life we both wanted? How would you know? You ditch me for the Paradise above."
Nicolas stared at it for a while and faced it downwards on the table. He brought out his medicine bottle and saw that it was empty. He had finished a month's dosage within two weeks. He flung the empty bottle across the room and it rolled to the dressing table.
He stood up from his bed and left his room. He went to Ivan's room. He opened the door to the end and stood at it. He folded his hands and leant against the door's frame. He stared at Ivan who was still asleep.
"...Make sure you find Ivan and pray nothing happens to him..."
"...It was Uncle Camilo and Aunt Alejandra who found me..."
"You should be grateful. If it wasn't for that lady who found him,who knows what could have happened to him."
"...If you don't find a mother for Ivan,then I will."
Those words popped into his head. He was curious to know who the lady was and wanted to thank her. He brought out his phone from his pocket and tapped a particular caller ID. He tapped the message icon and typed a message.
"Meet in a restaurant at noon. I'll send you the name and the address by morning. I've a job for you to do."
He tapped the send option and sent the message. Within a minute,he got a reply.
"Whatever you say Mr Nick!"