The Last Option
Chapter Fifty-Four: The Reunion

Within seconds the shock turned to emotion in the woman, who was now trying to stifle her tears. She brought her hands to Bernard's face and pulled him to her, making him lean in a little because of his greater stature; the old woman kissed him on the forehead and then hugged him effusively. Bernard was relieved to know that she was not angry with him, and was also moved to embrace her.

"I missed you so much, ma," he said, with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry for leaving like this."

She stopped hugging him and put one of her hands on his mouth.

"Ssshhh... Don't say anything, son. Don't say anything."

She hugged him again, still excited. Camila watched the scene moved from the car.

"It's good to know you're well, son," said the old woman, "and a great joy to see you again."

She turned away and looked at him again, caressing his face.

"Just a moment!" she said, reaching into one of the pockets of the robe she was wearing and then pulling out a pair of glasses, which she immediately put on. She got a better look at him through the glasses, and again the emotion came over her, filling her old eyes with tears. "You're still as handsome as ever! But come in, man, come in!"

Ma Lucille, as the old lady was called in the family, stepped back a little to let Bernard in, but he took her by one of her hands and stepped back as well, letting her look down the street and pointing to the car parked out front. "I didn't come alone, ma."

Lucille saw the car and inside Camila and Nathan, who were looking at her, the former with a smile, and the latter, as serious and calm as ever. Lucille put her hand to her mouth again, repressing a surprised expression. "Is she Margaret? She doesn't look like her. And you have a son?"

"She's not Margaret, ma," said Bernard. "Her name is Camilla, and the baby is my son."

Lucille was about to go outside, but Bernard stopped her.

"I'm going to tell them to come. May I?"

Lucille looked at him a little surprised by his question.

"Of course you can come and get in, come on! Come!"

Bernard quickly went to the car and helped Camilla out with Nathan. When Lucille had them in front of her, she couldn't help hugging them too, and then began to cuddle Nathan, who always was smiling through his pacifier. "What a cute little boy, please come in!"

They all went to sit on the furniture in the living room, which was full of objects that seemed antique to Camila. In front of one of the walls was a table with many portrait holders of various sizes, with both black and white and color photos, most of them of children of different ages. In the center were two slightly larger ones with black and white photos of an adult couple, one of them with the woman next to the man elegantly dressed and smiling, and the other with another slightly younger couple but facing each other, she dressed as a bride, and he in an elegant white suit, also smiling.

Camila's attention was drawn to the group of photos, and before sitting down she gave them a quick glance. Lucille noticed and walked over to the table, touching her fingertips to the black and white photo and staring at it for a few seconds. "That was my husband Doug," Lucille said sadly. "It's the only picture I have of him. He was, and always will be, my great love."

"And the bride and groom, who are they?" Camila asked shyly.

"They are my parents," answered Bernard.

"Her name was Amelie," Lucille said, looking at the photo. "She was my daughter. My only daughter. Cancer took her at an early age."

"I was eight when she died," Bernard said, "and my brother Bryan was five. Ma took care of us, since my father, two days after my mother's death, had a heart attack and died, too."

"Good heavens! How much tragedy together!"

"On the death of John, my daughter's husband, the doctors were surprised because he was in very good health. They said maybe it was the sadness of losing Amelie. He loved her very much, and she him. But let's not talk about sad things!" Lucille pushed away from the table of photos and went over to where Camila was sitting. She motioned for Nathan to come into her arms. "Do you want to come with ma Lucille, beautiful baby?" Nathan threw his arms as well. Lucille scooped him up into her arms and sat across from them in a rocking chair. "Tell me: what is the name of this handsome little gentleman?"

"Nathan," Bernard replied. "As you can see, he's very quiet and speaks very little, only what is necessary."

"I see. Do you know how to say your name, precious?" Nathan looked at her and nodded, always smiling through his pacifier. Lucille gently took it out of his mouth and he didn't resist. "Here, tell me your name." "Nezan," he said, smiling mischievously.

"And what are your parents' names?" "Benar and Camila."

"Good!" Lucille clapped her hands softly, Nathan clapped his hands too. "You must be able to say a lot of things, my precious, but this pacifier won't let you. How about giving it to another little boy who needs it? What do you say?" Nathan looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds, processing the information, then looked at Lucille again and nodded.

"Okay, then I'll keep it and when I see a beautiful baby like you who needs it, I'll give it to him, okay?"

Nathan nodded again, Lucille put the pacifier in the pocket of her robe from which she had taken the glasses. Bernard and Camilla were surprised, because they had once talked about how they would get Nathan to give up the pacifier, but they did not think it would be so easy for Lucille. Bernard thanked her without saying a word, while Camila only raised her thumb in approval.

The girl Bernard had met in the entryway peeked out of the kitchen door, and he took the opportunity to ask who she was.

"She's Bryan's daughter," Lucille told him. "Her name is Candace, and she's eight years old."

"Bryan's daughter? How is that possible?"

Bernard's brother Bryan was ten years his junior, making him twenty-five at the time. Bernard was surprised that he had a daughter because four years ago, when he left home, his brother was twenty-one. Therefore, the girl must have been four years old at that time, which means her brother conceived her at seventeen, and for the family, that had not happened, at least until that moment.

"Well, the idiot didn't know he had a daughter either. He had an affair with a girl older than him, and out of shame of being pregnant by a seventeen-year-old boy, the girl left him and left town without telling him anything. Four years later, she knocks on our door and tells us that she has a daughter of his and she cannot take care of her because she is going to a detoxification clinic, and here she is, with us ever since. She never came back."

"What about the girl's parents? What do you know about them?"

"Nothing. She never told us anything about them. Bryan didn't care to know who they were and where they lived either. He was just a kid looking for what kids look for at that age and nothing more. As for Candace, I had no heart to reject her. She was very pretty then, and she still is."

"I must confess that I'm amazed at everything you've told me, ma," Bernard commented, seeing the girl by the door. "I see she doesn't talk much. Is something wrong?" "She's a little withdrawn and shy with strangers, but she's a very intelligent and loving child."

Candace shyly walked over to Lucille's side. When Nathan saw her, he got down from her lap and stood in front of her, smiling at her with a short "hello". She smiled back. "This is Nathan," Lucille said to the girl. "Go and show him your room and your toys and dolls."

Candace took Nathan by the hand and led him with her to the back of the room, where the wooden staircase to the second floor was located, and then they began to climb them little by little. She went ahead helping Nathan, and he was happy about doing it."

"This is the first time he has climbed stairs," said Bernard, "and he's doing very well."

"You have to let the boy go," Lucille said with a smile. "Don't coddle him too much. Holy God!" she exclaimed, getting up from the rocking chair. "But how rude I am! I haven't offered you anything! I'm going to make some coffee." "Don't worry, ma, we're fine," Bernard said, getting up too.

"No, sir, I'll make them some coffee! Do you drink coffee, my dear?"

Camila nodded and got up too.

"I'll help you," she said. "I couldn't go wrong with a cup of coffee."

At that moment, they heard someone open the front door of the house, and they all turned to see who it was. A tall young man with very short hair entered the house, looking at the car parked in the house across the street. "Whose car is that parked in front of the Greenberg's, ma?" asked the young man. "I've never seen it before."

"It's ours," Bernard said, as everyone came out to greet him. Seeing him, the boy couldn't help but express surprise in his face. "Hello, Bryan."

Bryan was petrified for a few seconds, looking at his brother.

"Bernard is back, Bryan!" ma Lucille said in an excited tone. "He's back!"

Bryan gradually came out of his astonishment and looked down, seeing his own car keys in his hands. Bernard approached with the intention of hugging him but he quickly turned around, opened the door again and walked out to his car. Bernard went to the door with the intention of following him, but Lucille grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Let him go," she said. "He's been very upset about you leaving. He'll come back when he gets over it."

Bernard could only see how his brother got into the car and started it, pulling out violently and getting lost in the deserted street.