Oh, yes. I wonder how she had been doing with her job – as a lawyer of course. I want to ask her that so I walked towards the whiteboard and grabbed the marker pen from the table and wrote with my neat handwriting, “What are you doing nowadays?”
I looked at her back and she seemed pleased with it. “I’m currently finishing my fall collection.” she said with a big smile on her face. I was thinking. Did she just say ‘my fall collection’? What? I wrote again, “I thought you’re a lawyer. Are you? I never heard any lawyer has their own collection.”
For the first time of these five years, I heard her chuckled. “I wasn’t. Didn’t my family tell you?” I shook my head side to side. “Well, then I have to tell you now.”
Her eyes were looking at me, directly into my eyes. “When I took the plane to the Australia five years ago, I wasn’t actually gone to the Australia. The plane was stopped at London airport before continuing to the Australia and that time, I had done something unforgiving; I change my flight.” She winked at me. “I kept thinking about my dream. I realized I was so into designing stuff so I made that decision. I went to the Paris, successful signing up my name in the art university and studying as hard as I could. It never easy, tiring but I felt happy. Happy for doing something I really like. Just like you.”
I was happy for her too. I can felt my lips slowly smiling to her. Adelaine nodded. “My father was so furious. He didn’t want to pay for the university fees and left me alone there. I was so scared and nervous for what will happen to me – without money and all but my sister paid everything for me. She said, ‘I wanted give you a chance, to control your own fate. Study hard and don’t let me down.’”
Adelaine face turned to serious. She then continued the talk. “I studied so hard. I didn’t want to let her down. She did everything for me, and I wanted to pay her good deeds. After four years studying, I graduated. My sister was the first person to know. She was proud of me of course.” She smiled enthusiastically. All of these years, she was doing the thing she’s dreamed of. I was glad.
“So, one day, I saw you.” Adelaine looked cheerful. Saw me? When? “I saw you on a show. You were playing piano. Even though you had changed a lot, but I knew from the moment you were smiling,” – her eyes seemed smiling at me – “I knew he was you – Edward Cullen.”
“I was so happy – you don’t have any idea how much I smiled on that day – and I found out that you’re going to do your first solo performance, in here.” she explained.
I wrote again. “I saw you – when I played, I saw you from the stage. But you’re missing after my performance.”
She nodded once. “I had a phone call – from my mother. She wanted me back, though. I guess she do miss me in these five years. I didn’t come back after I graduated. My father was probably still mad at me. I scared – the same feelings when I met you today.”
“So, after this, you have to – again?” I replied. Adelaine looked anxious. “Yes. That’s the second reason why I met you in here. Your tutor was really being helpful to bring you here.”
He dragged me here, actually.
“I met your mother with him outside. I wanted to meet you so he agreed to help me. However,” – her face turned to sober again – “we have to separate again. I heard that you’re going to stay in here while I will go back to the New York. So this is a goodbye.” Adelaine said without looked at me in the eyes. Her eyes were avoiding me.
I froze again. No, you can’t! Please, not again! I haven’t confessed my feelings to you.
“Edward, I am sorry for neglecting you in these five years. I wasn’t forgetting you. It just, I was afraid. The last time we met, you wanted me to go and that was hurtful. I thought you hated me. That’s why I didn’t send you any letters. But even you didn’t send me letters. I guess what had happened were all history. I want to make the new memories. I want me and you just like before – when we were still at high school. ” She looked down. I hated that when she didn’t look at me.
I have to do something. If I don’t do something, she will go. Again! I don’t want to let you go. I had done a mistake – I don’t want to replay the same mistake anymore. Damn, Edward! Do something!
“I gave your mother my new cell phone number. I hope you,” – her voice shaking – “always remember me.” She looked at me and I can see her eyes – there were tears in it. She beamed at me and turned back. I startled. NO! Adelaine!
I knew that on that moment, I had to do something – fast. If I was standing at there and looking her gone for the second time, I will never forgive myself – for forever. I searched around me and saw a glass. I took it and threw it to the floor. The broken glass was scattered around. Adelaine turned at me. She was surprised. “Edward, what are you doing?” she asked with a concerned look on her face.
I wrote as fast as I could. “I didn’t want to do the same mistake. I didn’t want you to go. I’m not going to let you go again. Adelaine, for all this years, I wanted to talk, to speak but I couldn’t. I couldn’t speak, so that was the reason I played piano – to let others understand me with my songs. I show my feelings to the rest of the world but why can you understand? Adelaine, I –”
Then I stopped. My hands were trembling. Oh man! Why I can’t write that three damn words? Come on! I can’t speak, you were the last resort! Arggh!
I took a deep breath (a long deep breath) and I force every single of courage in my heart to write the last words, “I love you.” After that, I can feel my face burning up, I can’t sense all my five senses and I can’t turn backward. It all was blurring to me. Gee, I wonder how her reaction.
“You’re an idiot.”
Huh? I turned backward and I saw her stood straight up, her face blushing, her eyes began crying. On that moment, I was so surprised I can’t even move.
“Why on earth you taking so long to confess that? I thought you didn’t love me, I thought I was the one who loved you.” Now that was a big surprise. She just said – in much easier way – that she loved me. “At first, I want to confess you my feelings – that was my very first reason I met you – but I didn’t have any courage to do so. Now, you said that.” Her face turned pink. Well, confession never easy as ABC. I watched her reaction.
“Do you know I was the only friend you ever had?”
Yes, that’s because everyone was afraid of me – OBVIOUSLY.
“Do you know I loved every time you played piano?”
Yes, I know because I played piano only for my mother and you.
“Do you know that I was in love with you every time you did that?”
Umm, no.
She wiped away her tears and frowned. “Gee, I hate you for keeping that confession for so long!” I chuckled after heard those words. I walked slowly to her and smiled happily because she was in love with me too. I held her face (with all that tears and sobbing) and kissed her forehead. Her face turned white. I hugged her tightly and she started to cry again but now, it was the happy tears.
“Edward, would you mind to go back to the New York, with me?” she whispered in my ears. I nodded. I promised. Adelaine looked at me and beamed cheerfully while wiped away her tears.
After few minutes, she stopped crying (I wiped away her tears and every time I did that, her face turned white as if she wanted to faint) and we both walked away from that room. We went to outside and I saw Charles with my mother. He winked at me. I smiled back. My mother was smiling gladly to us. Adelaine held my left hand tightly and grinned back to my mother.
“I wonder about something. May I ask you a question, Edward?” she asked politely. I nodded once and chuckled. You can ask me anything, Adelaine. “Umm, when did you, actually, fell in love with me?” she asked again in very timid voice. Her face went red. I chuckled again. I let go her hand and made ten years with my fingers. She seemed pleased with that.
“Ten years? I was long than you.” I frowned. She gave me her beautiful smile I had fallen of and said, “I fell in love with you when I was twelve.” That was very shocking – I dropped my jaw. She laughed and kissed my cheek. “When the very first time I saw you walked inside the school, I knew you were my first love.” She winked at me.
And then I realized I was wasting my time complaining to the God for all things I cannot do and a gift I cannot remove until I was blind for what most matters; my mother, Charles and Adelaine. In my-not-so-tragic-life, on the last day of summer, I’ve finally found what I’ve been missing and desire of – my life.
It was finally complete.
THE END
