thirteen

She smiled when she saw the elderly woman hold Katie's hand and brought her closer to her and hugged her.

She was really fond of children.

When she looked at Pearl and then turned towards the rest of family, she smiled at her. 'You are most welcome.' Because of Pearl, the house was full and filled with happiness and she appreciated that.

'Madame, food is ready.' The maid said to the grandma.

'Come, let's eat.' Jacob's great grandma invited.

Pearl walked with them; honestly, she half excepted it to be this calm, the woman should be mad at her for coming into the grandson's life, but she was happy that she made the family complete.

Jacob fills her in everything that has been happening since they got here, he told her about the chess, the snakes and ladder and all other things.

'Katie can you beat me in snakes and ladder?'

Katie only shrugged; she shouldn't get ahead of herself.

'But, let's give it a try.'

'Grandma, you might not win.' Molly told her.

Grandma only smiled.

'What is the prize?' Jacob asked her.

Pearl didn't understand why Jacob thinks that everything should be based on a prize, without a prize couldn't he based his mind on the game for fun?

She smiled at him and smiled at Katie. 'When the deed is done, we can talk prize.'

He just nodded. 'But I know you won't let Katie win, don't let her win.'

They laughed.

She smiled as she looked at the moon in the sky over her head, she was standing on the balcony. The night was ending gracefully; Grandma Harley had told her after dinner; that she was happy, she was here, she was glad that her presence had changed William although she hadn't given her reasons why she said those things but Pearl nodded and then Grandma Harley offered to see Jacob and Katie off to bed but she didn't have the will power to say no to her. She smiled.

Her daughter was happy with this family and she wondered how long it would last because she had been thinking of Richard lately, after what happened back at Chicago, when she had tired defending herself against him and she fled, what if he comes looking for her, will she be able to say no to the man she decided to marry just to make him accept responsibility for the child he fathered? Why didn't she just raise the child with her mom; like Mrs Sonia suggested?

Now the man almost killed her, maltreated her daughter......

'Are you calculating how far you can run from here?'

She didn't look back, she already knew who it was; his voice was gentle and sweet to the ears.

He walked to her and the landing and rested his elbows.

'What are you doing out here?' She asked him.

He shrugged. 'Enjoying the cool wind, it seems hot inside.'

She mistakenly glanced at him, which she shouldn't have; it was incredible hot here right now.

'I guess grandma likes you and Katie a lot in just the hours she's been here.'

Pearl smiled. His grandma was very friendly.

'She even thinks, I should convince you to remain in the ranch by simply courting you.'

She met his gaze; what was he talking about?

When he noticed her expression, he smiled. 'Which I won't do. Like I promised I won't do anything you didn't approve of.' He said trying to ease her worries.

She sighed and turned back; William was by far more than a gentleman, he was the best kind of man she had never imagined to have met, he had everything; looks, money, love for his kind and if care was not taken he would want her to or he already did.....

'William, you never told me about your Parents.' She picked a topic, other than stealing glances at him.

He looked at her. 'Well, my parents are separated, dad is gone; he suffered from a kidney failure and mom.....she is recuperating in a rehabilitation centre.'

She was sorry about that.

'Is she alcoholic, drug addict, addicted?'

He smiled at her. 'Drug addict, she has been there for a few years now; it actually started after my dad passed on, she had been dependant on drugs, nerves calming, blood draining, drowsiness, and some other reasons but she is a good woman.' He told he as he looked at absolutely nothing except dark fields.

They were sharing background information about themselves. She should at least share something. Pearl smiled. 'My mom is a nice woman, after she lost the love of her life, she raised me with my grandma; who is very strict, they live at the ranch in Texas.'

He looked at him; with so much money she must have had, she left everything to come and work as a teacher when she knew she could get everything she asked for on a platter of gold.

'Why did you come all this way to look for a job?' He couldn't help himself but ask.

She looked at him this time; 'I believe someone who said there is nothing sweeter and more satisfying than your handwork.'

He looked at her; he wasn't sure he got her message but she was glad he didn't probe her on that matter.

'How has it been raising the ranch by yourself, beside you have a son, your siblings and younger ones.' She immediately changed the topic. She didn't want to him to ask her any questions about her life.

'Well, thanks to the man who taught me how to build myself up; God rest his soul, he gave me the insight that I could do anything if I was strong enough to believe in my will and abilities.'

She nodded, admiring his strength. 'I guess you must have had a lot of abilities.'

He smiled at him. 'Come on, I was 11 when my dad passed on and although I felt like a heavy load on my shoulders, I registered in my mind that whether I am small or big, I was capable of doing things, my younger ones could never do, there was no room of weakness or excuses.'

So that was why he had said that he wanted Jacob to know how to accept responsibility? She wondered but did not voice it out.

'Tell me, how was your stay in the ranch, did you ever want to do anything else, and why didn't you stay?'

She sighed, there was no way, he would not continue an unpleasant subject when she was so determined not to share.

She could remember the last night she spent at the ranch with 3 months ago baby in her womb; she turned and looked towards the house.

'Mom and I liked different things, she wanted me to learn how to be a business woman, not dependant on any man, which I managed to be literally.'

He looked at her, when she spoke of her mom, her face lit up.

She remembered that night; when she told her mom and grandma that she was going to live with Richard and compel him to accept his responsibility as a father. Although Ms Sonia didn't say anything when she declared her intentions, she didn't stop her, didn't accept anything before she would always support her in whatever thing she does in the name of experience but eventually, she didn't do it that night. Grandma although had been furious that she didn't say anything, she tried talking her granddaughter out of it but Pearl had already made up her mind and now she was seeing the results. Why didn't she listen to her grandmother; the woman had told her that if she didn't listen she would disown her and never allowed her back to the ranch and she without thinking twice; left.

Because she didn't want Katie to live without knowing her father but what he did to her; her daughter was better off without a man like Richard.

'Grandma wouldn't let me come back home unless I left him and that meant leaving Katie without a father and I wouldn't forgive myself.'

'So you risk the luxury and all comfort that you could enjoy, that Katie could enjoy and went to a man that brought you down to nothing else but worthless. What did you gain afterward, he cheats on you, betrays you, tries to steal your money.'

She looked at him; wasn't sure he understood for she told him.

'This isn't about luxury, it isn't about feeling comfortable or secure.'

He charged at her; how could she be so foolish? 'Tell me, what is it about? Are you going to tell me, you were madly in love with him and left everything and followed him?'

She looked at his eyes, filled anger, he felt angry for what she was telling him, why should he be angry; he had no right!

'I was doing this so that, Katie wouldn't live without a father, I was thinking about my daughter, her happiness.'

He forced a laugh. 'Yeah, right! And where did that leave her?' He asked her.

Pearl was dumbfounded, as bitterly as it might have sounded, it was true; Katie was not happy, she cried most of the time in the marriage and Richard never cared. Was this the kind of father, she had thought he would be?

'What is keeping you quiet?' He asked her when she didn't answer.

Maybe he had gone too far this time, maybe he shouldn't have said that, he looked at her; she was staring into space now, thinking of what he said.

'Pearl...'

She didn't look at him now, there were tears in her eyes; she tried hard to stop them from pouring out.

'I'm sorry.' He said softly.

She only sighed knowing it wasn't his fault, he only said what he felt and what he said was the truth.

She shook her head and she rubbed her hands on her face trying to clean the tears. 'You have no reason to say sorry.'

He looked at her as she used her hand brush the tear that fell down her cheek.

'I have been hiding the truth from myself for long; I did the right thing, when I openly contributed to Katie's troubles.'

He sighed and gently, not caring what she thought, he placed his hand on her shoulder to ease her pain, to comfort her.

She felt his strong hand caress her shoulder; he was comforting her as the friend he was right now and she appreciated it.

'He didn't care what I was to him, when I married him; I made him solely promise to acknowledge Katie and he didn't instead, he was only her father by name.'

'Did he maltreat her?'

She nodded. 'He'd flog her a few times when she didn't listen to him or get him provoked or humiliated, but Katie never do that intentionally and I didn't want to cause any harm, I only wanted him to accept responsibility for his actions.'

He shrugged. 'I guess he had other plans before you decided to go back into his life.'

She looked at him this time with tear filled. 'I was thinking about Katie, not myself...I only wanted her to have a father.'

He looked at her as the tears fell from her eyes; yes she was stupid, she was learning her mistakes. He raised his hands and cleaned the tears from her face.

'I know you thought you were doing the right thing; as my mom would always say; when you force someone to accept responsibility, you will regret it at the end.'

She shook her head. 'Katie...'

He held her face, as tears came rolling down. 'Katie is his daughter.' He completed for her.

'Only on paper, a father does not have to be a biological father before he treats his child properly, he can be the one that you only just met, Katie didn't have a father, you raised her on your own.' He completed.

She shook her head hard this time as he held her face in his hands.

'He.....'

'He is nothing. Tell yourself, understand where you are standing, get over him, or do you love him that much that you don't have the courage of living without him.'

She shook her head. She could never love him, she never did.

'Tell yourself; you raised her alone, he was never there, he was never at home; when she was sick, he was never there for her birthdays, didn't even come to her school; what kind of a father is that? Katie doesn't even find him again, she doesn't recognise his face, you shouldn't care, you shouldn't let it hurt you, and you have to there for your daughter, for Katie.'

'But, it hurts so much.'

Then he wrapped his hands around her. 'Just give it a few days, everything will be fine.' He assured her.

Pearl wrapped her hands around the body that held her; it was comforting, more than the comfort she had ever received for a very long time now.

He kissed her head. 'It will be okay, I promised.'

She felt her whole body at ease and her heart soften against his, with that word, with him by her side everything would be fine, she only had to think of Katie's happiness.