It was like he lost his parents all over again.Drew stared at the headstone marking the remains of his parents, and his heart constricted within him. His grip on the bouquet of flowers tightened. Never had he felt so much anger.As he read the epitaph, the words “they shouldn’t be here” kept echoing in his mind. And that did nothing to help his anger. Or grief.He wasn’t sure he felt grief. Not when it felt like his heart was a hollow basket, and the lacrimal glands in his eyes had gotten so dry, he was no longer capable of producing tears.Was this what grief felt like?A soft hand covered his hand holding the flowers. Feminine fingers pried his fingers from their chokehold, collecting the flowers in the process. Without a word, he watched his wife lay the flowers on his parent’s grave. When she turned, wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest, he held her tightly. Like she was his anchor. And she was. In this time when he felt out of touch with everything,
“I am fine!” Maddie esclaimed for the umpteeneth time that day and it was only just one in the afternoon.“I will believe that when you stop sleeping like a log of wood.” Drew shot back.Her mouth rounded in an ‘O’ of surprise, then she burst into laughter. “That was not so very nice, Drew. You don’t go around telling a woman that she sleeps like a log of wood.”“Not when the woman is my wife and is stubbornly claiming that she is fine even though clearly she isn’t.”She had been sleeping alot recently. And she might or might not have just woken up from what was supposed to be a very short nap that elongated into a good sleep. But that was not the point. She was fine. “I am fine. Everyone has the right to feel overwhelmed once in a while.”“What is overwhelming you, love.?”“School. Classes. Reading. I am preparing for exams and I have been reading alot.”“Baby, you’ve been falling asleep while reading. The number of times I’ve had to carry you from where you had zonked out to the b
“Wait, what?” Aiden’s eyes bounced between Drew and Maddie.Drew nodded. “You are going to be an uncle.”Aiden swallowed hard. The hard guy looked as if he was about to tear up. “I wanted to ask how but I remember how many times I had to excuse myself out of the room so that you guys could…”“Aiden!” Drew exclaimed while she just laughed. “We get it.”Aiden’s face softened in a smile. He stood up and pulled her up into a hug. Then he gave Drew a one-shouldered hug. “Congratulations, guys. I am so happy for you both. To think that I was so opposed to all these from the beginning.” His eyes got flooded with emotions. “I am so glad it all worked out. Does Mom and Dad know?” “Aunt Lauren was the first to figure it out.” Drew answered. “Even before we did.”Aiden laughed, then suddenly got caught up in his thoughts. When he pulled himself out of his thoughts, he flashed them a bright — perhaps a tad overbright — smile. “Whether a boy or a girl, I am the child’s godfather. You guys going t
Drew’s heart was full as he watched Aunt Lauren fuss over Madeline and their daughter. She, Uncle Keith and Aiden had come over immediately they got home from the hospital.He noted the look of wonder that came upon his wife’s face as she stared at the face of the precious baby in her arms.Melissa Vivianne McBride.Melissa because Madeline had always loved the name. Vivianne after his mother.He may or may not have choked up when she named their daughter after his mother.A tap on his shoulder turned his gaze away from the two people he had been staring at all day. “I have something to tell you.” Aiden said, his eyes so serious.He remembered when Madeline told him that Aiden would let him know what had been going on when it was time. It seemed now was time.With a nod, he stood up, mouthed the words, “be right back” to Madeline and headed to his study, Aiden keeping in step with him.He opened the door and allowed Aiden to step in first before bringing in the rear. “What’s it, Aid
"Dave and Vivianne McBride, the owners of the multimillion McBride Foods passed away early this morning. The couple were said to have been returning from a business summit when they got into an accident. Chief of Police, Bruce Dickinson, says that there were skid marks found on the road. Based on that, he believes that the accident had happened while they were trying to avoid a collision with an incoming vehicle. "The couple is survived by their son, Drew McBride, the famous game developer…" Maddie Taylor switched off the TV and collapsed on the couch, exhausted and a tad irritated. She pushed out a breath and shut her eyes. The rich never ceased to set the country in an uproar. Even in their death. ***** Dave and Viviane McBride of the multibillion McBride Foods died and the whole earth wept. Listening to the reading of his parents' will, Drew McBride was overcomed with deep hatred. Hatred for the popularity that his parents' company had cas
Three years later. "The city is in an uproar. Drew McBride, heir to the McBride Foods, finally appears." Britt Shelby, Anchor 24 Tv news reporter, nearly bounced on her chair. Her eyes shone with glee. "After three years of silence and absence." Maddie rolled her eyes. Oh the life of the rich. To have the whole world practically living on the things you did and didn't do. Who cared about a twenty-two year old young lady, who was waitressing to make needs met for herself and a sixty year old lazy scumbag, who was unfortunately her father? No one. But when an entitled, pompous, profligate millionaire walks into the city? Hold up everyone! The rapture was near. "Rumor has it that not even his uncle and cousin knew where he disappeared to after burying both parents." Kris, Britt's co-anchor, chipped in. "The question is why now?" To say the hot Blondie reporter was excited was an understatement. Bored, she turned off the TV and gulped down her soggy cereals. She shouted a goodbye to
Maddie returned, carrying a mug and the coffee pot just as another gentleman walked into the cafe. Black hair cut in a punk style, feet light like a cat's, eyes sweeping every corner of the cafe as though searching for danger, everything about this gentleman told Maddie that he was someone that flirted with danger. Those sharp eyes landed on her handsome customer and he made his way to join him. Her handsome customer saw him and smiled. Not a polite 'what can I do for you' smile, but a 'good to see you' smile. Maddie snagged another mug and made a way to their table. "Where in God's name did you find this place, Drew?" The dangerous looking guy asked her handsome customer. Drew. He didn't look like a Drew, yet, she realized, it fit him. She placed the mugy on the table and filled them with coffee. "Stumbled into it, actually." Drew replied. "When you called asking to meet, I simply mentioned the first cafe I saw." Then Drew smiled up at her and nodded his thanks. She turned aw
Maddie was literally dead on her two feet. Andrea, one of the waitresses came down with flu that afternoon, and she had to substitute. Then Rache, the flighty blond that waitressed the night shift, had a "special dinner" with her boyfriend, and she couldn't cancel because she believed "he just might propose." Even though they had only been seeing each other for three weeks. In simple words, Maddie had been on her feet since seven in the morning. She was sweaty, tired, incapable of producing a sentence that consisted of more than four to five words, and had no patience for snotty customers — hence the reason why she had walked out on the voluptuous brunette who with a shrill voice had made her displeasure about their "soggy fries" and "too oily" hamburgers known. Times like this, she wished she had a social life. Even a teensy tiny one. But, alas, her life consisted of working to make ends meet, caring for her father, and taking college classes online. The good part is that she was