Get Back To You

Jake drove cautiously, concerned that Lia might b.u.mp her head from often hitting the brakes. He let Giselle sit back with Lia as the child fell into deep sleeping as soon as they hit the roads. Looking through the rear-view mirror, little Lia, who exhibited enthusiasm at the beginning of the dinner, slept like a doll by her mother"s side.

"Wow, she is fast asleep, isn"t she?" Jake exclaimed.

"She had a lot of fun today. Thank you for inviting us," Giselle confessed.

Usually, it is just the two of them until now, so being to new places and meeting the missed family, made the child happy at the cost of draining her stamina. Nonetheless, Giselle felt glad, for the two can no longer be alone during holidays. Now, they have something valuable to be with, precious people that care and love unconditionally.

Jake expressed his pleasure in inviting the two. He got worried if Lia might get bored being surrounded by the adults, but Giselle rea.s.sured him that little Lia enjoys having company. All that time away from her family members turned the child to embrace new people, seeking new comrades, and ready to accept old relatives.

"How"s Lia handling all of this- being away from her father and new environment? I"m sure it"s different here; The food, the people, and the surroundings," Jake inquired.

Thanks to Lia"s flexible nature, the farewell, the moving process, and settling downtown became quite comfortable for Giselle. Part of the convenience was because they"re moving to a place where Giselle grew up, and that means Lia could meet her grandparents. Yes, the new city is a different environment for a young girl, but there"s hope, there"s help moreover, there"s family.

Jake almost got impressed with little Lia"s courage. He glanced through the mirror again to look at Lia"s resting face, wondering.

"Does he- Lia"s father visit?" he questioned.

"He did, a couple of weeks ago,"

A flashback of their first fight replayed. Lia might be adjusting quickly to the new atmosphere, but that can also indicate that things can get complicated anytime.

"It"s tough, right?" Jake asked.

Giselle had a tough time admitting, "Yes, but he said he would join us for the holidays," she replied emphatically.

"Oh, so he must be visiting you guys for Christmas, right?"

"I hope so! He still hasn"t confirmed at his work," her response lacked confidence this time.

"I think he would!" Jake encouraged Giselle, "So, What does he do?" he changed the subject.

"He is a production artist for an advertising firm."

Thankfully, it worked that Giselle"s dull mood returned, distracted to Jake"s diversion.

"That"s interesting," he kept her occupied as they drove past from one busy street to another.

Engaged to driving, Jake let himself careless to once again comment about Lia"s father.

"I"m sure he misses Lia, though," he muttered.

He said to realize the slip of his thoughts, almost feeling sick to have brought it up again.

Jake feels blue from seeing Giselle"s expression yield to an old sulk. He panicked to scan through his jumbled thoughts to address and ended up flipping the coin to his side.

"Well, I hope you don"t feel down. Parenting is hard, but there"s joy in it too," he said to make peace, but Giselle returned the ball.

"Oh, you just wait and see!" she declared.

Jake sighed mutely, feeling grateful to have successfully diverted Giselle from sulking. The subject shifted to parenting, and both had exciting opinions to share. Giselle had an actual experience while Jake had visions. Upon reaching the end of their distracted chat, Giselle noticed Jake"s immense desire to raise a child. He expressed his views enthusiastically without holding back.

Only someone who hasn"t actually had the happenings would have such precise visions, Giselle thought. Actual parenting is a much tough job to surpa.s.s fortuitously.

"I love kids. I love them."

Nonetheless, Giselle found Jake"s parenting pa.s.sion to be ardent. She saw the glow in his face, especially talking about kids.

"Why don"t you and Anna have a child together?" she asked from reading his face.

To her surprise, his face dimmed to hear Giselle and had already lost that fresh glow.

"We tried," Jake said, disturbed.

"What happened?"

The pressure was on, and amidst the subtle traffic that seems to be pressing to his panicking sight, Jake hesitates to speak. But he had Giselle waiting for to hear him.

"It"s, Anna, she- had a miscarriage," he replied to add, "two times- so,"

Giselle apologized immediately to have had stressed the kind man for her curiosity. Now, she was able to apprehend his love for kids. It"s ingrained that he respects and values the presence of a child immensely, for having experienced its loss.

"How"s Anna taking it?" Giselle asked.

"Pretty tough! She never agreed again to try for a child, because she fears that it might as well-" Jake paused, even to deny such cold thoughts, but he couldn"t completely stay away from considering.

"It"s hard on us, but we"re doing alright," he promised her.

Giselle suggested that she could try talking to Anna, but Jake stopped her from pursuing such ideas as it would scare his wife off again. Giselle implied that it"s typical for Anna to manifest such horrors, but having given birth to Lia, it would be best if she could encourage poor Anna.

Eventually, Jake agreed.

"Thanks, Giselle. It means a lot to us," he said to enter the neighborhood where Giselle lives.

"Don"t worry. You"re both good people."

Giselle said to see him lastly relax and smile again. She then guided him to her apartment as they drove past few people who still celebrated Thanksgiving on the streets.

Reaching the apartment, Jake enforced to carry the sleepy little Lia to get the mother"s permission to tuck her in bed and kiss goodnight. Jake enjoyed every minute he spent with Lia and admired the little girl as if it was his own. He then prepared to leave at once when Giselle thanked him again for everything. Jake returned the gesture. However, his steps halted to a sudden recall.

"One more thing!" he says to grab her attention.

"I may not know as much as Anna does, but I hear that you and Lillian are pretty much close,"

Giselle"s face switch to his say.

"I just wanted to say that- by the way, I knew about the two of you from Anna. I"ve met Lillian as soon as I started dating Anna. So, I watched her for a long time and let me tell you that after you left, she has lived her entire life suffering."

"Yes, it was quite the wild way she lived, but she never made good memories. She had us, yet she kept running away, hiding the anguish. But you know what? During all those times, she kept calling for someone, and that is how I came to know about you, Giselle."

"Giselle is the only name she kept begging to Anna."

"I understand it must have been hard for you as well, but I hope that you two can work it out together. Sometimes we think running away is the best choice, the right decision to not get hurt. But it"s not, Giselle. You don"t need me to tell you that."

"Just remember that you"ll always have our support. Take care,"

Jake finished his little talk and led his way out of the apartment.

"Jake?"

He heard Giselle trail to call his name. He paused to attend to her.

"Thanks!"

It was a genuine sound of her voice that a.s.sured him that his words didn"t fall on deaf ears. Giselle had listened to him, word by word. He felt glad to have made that stop to say something that could possibly give her the courage to fight for the love that deserves enduring all these painful years.

"Also," she called again, "you"d make a great parent!"

Her sincere wish made him smile again. The glow returned to greet Giselle, a hearty farewell.

"Thanks! I really hope so," Fingers crossed, Jake left the place with a friendly goodnight.

****

When Jake reached his home, he found the trio scattered on the couch. All three exhausted to fall asleep on their territories. Jake yelled, telling them to occupy the extra rooms, but none of them budged an inch to his cry.

Helpless, he chose to use physical force on them.

Diego groaned as he stood up to Jake"s escort and ended up crashing on one of the guest"s rooms. He returned to guide Lillian, but she yelled back at him to leave her alone on the couch, for it"s her favorite spot to fall asleep. The comfort of the cushions gave her great support to rest, and she was not ready to give it up for some regular queen-sized bed with expensive decorations.

"Fine! Do as you like it!" Jake grunted to shift to his beautiful wife, thoroughly wearied out. He watched her worn-out face, dark circles peek behind the makeup, and her hair all tangled to infinite interlocks. Nonetheless, she looked a beauty to his eyes. Smiling softly to such sweet sight, he carried her gently to their room, bidding goodnight to the lost Lillian nearby.

Carefully, he put his wife on their bed, not disturbing her peaceful slumber.

Jake thought of Giselle"s idea. He prayed that Anna could move onward with everyone"s support and affection. Gingerly, he kissed her a lovely goodnight and soon joined by her side, ending the Thanksgiving, feeling grateful.