Chapter 11: Of Tears and Chocolate Pt.4 of 4

That same morning as Kate awoke at roughly six AM Cane’s text message popped up on her phone’s screen. “I would like to organize a moment with you and your parents just so we can officially put our cards on the table. I may even have an unexpected gift for your mother I think she’ll greatly appreciate. If she doesn’t mind me bringing it. It’s nothing vulgar I promise, just a piece of her past I feel obligated to return before I can move on, more surefooted than before. If not I understand. I would still like to meet her and your father about us. I would call her but I only have your number to go by sadly and I hate the thought of dropping by unexpectedly unless it’s an emergency. Old habits eh?”

His message hung in the air, a silent declaration of his intentions that Kate couldn’t ignore. She knew Cane was a man of his word, and she felt a twinge of excitement and dread at the thought of their secret being laid bare before her parents. After a moment of contemplation, she replied, “Okay, I’ll talk to them. We’ll figure out a time that works for everyone.” She didn’t know what Cane had planned for her mother, but she had a feeling it would be significant.

“Excellent. And don’t worry the gift is not edible but just as precious and sweet as you, as memories of the past tend to be, I just hope your still enjoying that chocolaty smell I gave you”, Cane replied with a wink emoticon.

Kate felt her stomach clench at the thought of her mother and Cane meeting. What would she say? What would she do? Would she even remember the gift he spoke of? But she had to trust Cane, he had never steered her wrong, even through all the twists and turns of their unconventional relationship.

She approached her mother in the kitchen, knowing she was an early riser too and tried to broach the subject as casually as she could manage. “Mom, Cane wants to talk to you and Dad tonight. He says he has something important to discuss with all of us.”

Her mother looked up from her coffee, curiosity in her eyes. “Oh? What could it be?” she asked, sipping delicately.

Kate felt a bead of sweat trickle down her spine, but she managed a shrug. “He said it’s about our relationship. He has something to tell you, something important.”

Her mother’s eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of concern etched into her features. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Kate lied, her voice wavering slightly. “He just wants to be upfront with you both.”

Her mother set down her coffee cup, her gaze piercing through Kate’s façade. “Well, that sounds serious. I’ll speak with your father and see when we can all sit down together.”

“He also wants to bring a gift, something from your past that he says you’ll love,” Kate added, trying to sound more excited than she felt. She watched her mother’s expression carefully, looking for any signs of recognition or concern.

Her mother’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “A gift? From my past? How peculiar. Did he say what it was?”

Kate’s heart skipped a beat. “No, just that it’s something you’ll appreciate. Something that belonged to you.”

Her mother’s eyes searched hers, a hint of suspicion in her gaze. “Very well. Tell him we’ll be expecting him tonight after dinner. I’ll make sure your father is home too.”

The tension in the air was palpable as Kate nodded and retreated to her room, her thoughts racing. What could Cane have in store for her mother? Was it something that would bring them closer together or tear them apart? Her stomach was a knot of nerves as she dressed for work, her mind playing out various scenarios, each more alarming than the last.

When the moment arrived just after nine o’clock a gentle rap on the door alerted them to his presence. They were all there even Perry, it felt wrong not to include him somehow as her mother opened the door. It had been raining out as Cane folded his umbrella closed and greeted her mother with a warm smile saying “Barbara, beautiful as ever, where have the years gone?”, her mother blushed and allowed him in, Kate felt a strange mix of emotions watching them interact, it was like watching two people from two different lives collide into one, the awkwardness was palpable but so was the excitement, a mix of both dread and hope.

Even Cane’s attire reflected the seriousness of the situation, more than not because of the weather, but still as he walked in dark navy suit with a black tie over a white shirt he seemed oddly humbled, like a larger than life figure in her life suddenly reduced to the qualms and limitations of mortal men, it made her feel a strange sense of protection for him. Her mother ushered him in with a smile that was both warm and a little sad, “Cane, it’s been too long. I can’t believe you’re actually here.”

“My reason for being here is simple and despite the weather devoid of any intentional drama, I promise”, he said as he cracked a smile. “I’ve only come to say my peace about my relationship and my intentions about your daughter, if you’ll all allow me”, he gestured not only to Kate’s parents but to Kate herself “and leave you with a memento I’ve held true to my heart I think you should finally have back. It seems only fair after all that Kate has given me, I feel nonplussed for not thinking of it earlier, but life rarely gives us these perfect moments to express ourselves”, he said as Kate felt her heart flutter in her chest.

Kate’s mother indicated he take a chair by the table fitted for only four at a time as Kate and Cane sat on one side and Kate’s parents on the other, leaving Perry on a nearby couch. “Firstly, your daughter is nothing but spectacular and more level headed at her age than I believe I ever was but I’m guessing you already knew and cherished that about her”, he said as he seemed to be getting up the courage to say what he really needed to tell them. “I won’t lie to you and tell you I’ll live forever, nor do I expect my age will do Kate any favours should she decide to go to college, university or pursue another life wholly different from my own but neither do I want her to feel tied down to one place if she feels she needs to explore more than this town, more than me”, he said with more than a hint of sadness. “All I want for her is to seek her own happiness, her own future and the wisdom that comes from knowing that no one can live your life for you”, he said. “That’s why I’m here, not to ask permission or beg forgiveness but to let you know I feel like you do, unsure even amazed by her and the way she makes me feel. All I ask is not so much a blessing but a promise that you’ll hold me to my word to let her make up her own mind, her own decisions based on what you’ve seen so far and what could be, which has been tragically little in light of your sisters passing, but that’s why I’m here”, he said his face etched in the concentration needed to pull through as he finished his impromptu speech. “Not to surprise or shock you with sudden proposals or previously unknown pregnancies, only to tell you how your daughter makes me feel and that hopefully that feeling is reciprocated”, he said, finishing.

Her mother Barbara took a moment to digest his words, looking at Kate and then back to Cane, “Well, Cane, you’ve certainly taken us by surprise”, she said, her voice even and measured. “We appreciate your honesty, and we can see that you care deeply for Kate. But this is a lot to take in, especially after everything we’ve been through with Silvia. We need some time to think about it, to discuss it as a family.”

Kate herself looked between Cane and her mother, her eyes wide with a mix of hope and fear. She had never seen Cane so vulnerable, so earnest, and it shook her to her core. She had always seen him as the strong, dominant force in her life, the one who knew exactly what he wanted and took it. But here he was, laying his feelings bare before her parents, asking for their trust in a way that made her realize just how much he truly cared for her.

“I can only respect and honour your feelings, all of your feelings”, he said as he looked around “and in that spirit, the nature of my gift”, he said as he fished a small velvet covered, rectangular case, shining black in the reflective light hitting the surface before he lay it on the table and opened it up. Inside a gold, round locket with a plain, unassuming smooth surface that seemed to have a brilliant glow in direct light, polished and cleaned to a mirror shine on a pure gold-link chain alongside a pure silver one built into either of the two separate pieces of the necklace. “This was made by your grandfather Kate, Lewis Smith, a jeweller, prized for his gold and silver jewellery. Silvi would tell me how when he felt particularly uninspired he’d sit either her or your mother down and tell tales or tell jokes or even just recount the days passing until inspiration hit him. Silvia would be his muse for silver due to her name and Kate for gold, due to the colour of her hair. One night when all the clients orders were done, there remained enough material to fashion either one small locket for each of his daughters or this”, he said as he picked up the weighty piece and slowly with a smooth sliding motion of the unlocking hinges opened it up. Inside, a horizontal weaving S pattern of intricate silver not present on the smooth surface of the seemingly normal looking locket now intertwined around two thumb sized, age worn photos along the curves of the S of Barbara and her sister Silvia, captured in their youth. He handed both separate pieces to her mother, as she opened her trembling palms to accept them. “The day Silvia came to convince me never to pursue you again, understandably I resisted”, he said with a solemn voice “knowing what I know now maybe ... maybe I still should have done more. I don’t know anymore. What she did do is convince me that what you needed was more important than what I wanted, that putting my own needs above someone I loved was not who I was trying to become to redeem myself of my past, and that by declining your sister I would doom that man from ever taking a foothold in this world. Silvia as perceptive as ever bestowed this necklace into my keep as a way to remind me of her own sacrifice she was willing to make, to part with something precious so that I may do the same. I feel I’ve held on too long to it Barbie”, he said eliciting his nickname for her, “but at the same time, just long enough”, he said as he leaned back into his chair, seemingly drained in the exchange. “I’ve seen it restored several times over the years, each and every time your fathers work has always been praised and recognized by the elaborate S for Smith he always found some way of placing elegantly like a signature on his work. Each time I told them “a fathers greatest work will always be his children, trinkets can never hug you back or tell you how much they love you and appreciate you for your struggles. Why else would they protect and love them so much, no matter how much pain it could cause them to endure”, he said as he turned his head toward Kate’s father. “The real gold is family, the real silver is the love that never tarnishes, holding them together”, he said as reclined completely, seemingly exhausted beyond his years. The invisible weight on his shoulders not completely gone but at least acknowledged and shared.

Barbara’s reaction to all this was a mix of shock and awe. She took the two locket pieces from Cane’s hand, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She knew the story behind the locket all too well. It was a symbol of her father’s love for her and her sister, and she had thought it lost after Silvia had passed away.

“They slide and locked perfectly in place”, Cane said “their were meant to mirror both of you at the time of its making, Silvia’s control and steady hand and your fiery passion and haste complimenting eachothers grace”, he said with a mixture of sadness and fondness strewn across his face.

Barbara’s cheeks were wet with tears as she held the locket in her hand, feeling the weight of the past and the warmth of the gold and silver, a silent reminder of the love that once was and the love that could be. Her hand trembled as she clasped the necklace around her neck, the locket resting right above her heart. “Thank you, Cane,” she whispered, her voice hoarse with emotion. “This means more to me than you could ever know.”

“If Kate and you would allow me I’d like to kiss her goodnight and be on my way, I imagine you have much to share and talk about and some wounds are still too fresh for me”, he said as he stood up from his chair. Kate’s father nodded solemnly and Kate felt her mother’s eyes on her as she nodded in agreement.

As he walked towards the door umbrella in hand Kate stood up and walked towards him, her mother nodded and Kate felt her heart race, unsure of what she was going to do. She threw her arms around Cane’s neck as he turned round to face her and kissed him fiercely, her fear and love mixing together in a tumultuous cocktail that she hoped would convey everything she couldn’t put into words.

Cane’s reaction was one of surprise and instant shock as the kiss took hold. His body becoming less rigid from the unexpected show of love as he relaxed and rested his hands on the back of her head, thumbs resting on her cheeks as he held her to him. It was a lover’s kiss, cherished by both, sweet ‘till its end.

When they parted, Kate whispered, “Thank you, for everything.” Her eyes searched his, looking for reassurance, for a promise that this wasn’t the end that their love would somehow prevail against the odds. Instead all he could offer was a weak smile, the tender hurt in his eyes reflecting the conversation of the evening, but wordlessly letting her know she was not the source of it, as he kissed her softly on the forehead and made his way to go.

Outside her doorstep on the pavement, the rain not yet quite gone but weaker than before Cane called out to Kate standing on the canopied stoop over her doorway “I’ll call you again tonight and see how you’re all doing”, he said his voice caring with just a hint of concern. “Make sure she’s okay, a mother is most vulnerable when she sees herself in her daughter taking the same steps she did, okay?” he added as Kate nodded, her eyes never leaving his.

“Don’t worry so much”, he said “it’ll give your wrinkles, just look at me”, he said offering a weak smile, a small but ponderous window into his state of mind. “Take care”, he said as he began walking off.

“Cane!” Kate called out after him, stepping into the rain. He stopped and turned, looking at her with a question in his eyes. “I love you too”, she called out, the words hanging in the air like a confession she hadn’t meant to say so soon, so loudly. But she knew she had to, it was a declaration she needed to make, to solidify their bond in the face of the storm that was surely coming.

He smiled then broadly, as the rain picked that time to ramp up, as lightning flashed and thunder rolled. With careful steps on the smooth, wet pavement he came up to her, dropping his umbrella. It was his turn to shock her with a kiss that left her breathless and the rain falling around them like a misty veil. “I believe I may yet make a hopeless romantic out of you Kate, I must be infectious”, he smiled warmly as she blushed, “Now go back inside, it’s cold and your mother needs you more than I do right now, I’ll be okay, I’ll call you in about an hour or so after I unwind all of this”, he said as he picked up his umbrella again and turned to leave, waving to her as he did.

The door shutting was like a thunderclap in the silence left by Cane’s departure. Kate stood there for a moment, the rain soaking her to the bone but she felt warmer than ever before. Her mother had seen the kiss; she knew it and she felt the weight of her stare boring into her back.

When Kate finally turned around, her mother was sitting at the dining table, the locket still in her hand. “Your father and I need to talk with you,” she said her voice low and heavy. “But I think you know what we’re going to say.”

Kate nodded her heart racing. She had never felt so exposed, so raw in front of her parents. “I know it’s a lot to take in,” she murmured, her eyes downcast.

“Kate,” her mother’s voice was gentle but firm, “What you do in the privacy of your own life is your business. But Cane is an adult, and he’s made his feelings clear. We just want what’s best for you, and we need to consider the consequences of your decisions.”

Her father’s footsteps echoed in the hallway as he joined them, his face a mask of contemplation. “We’re not blind to what’s been happening,” he said, taking a seat beside Barbara. “We’ve noticed the way you two look at each other, the way you light up when he’s around. But we can’t ignore the fact that he’s significantly older than you, and that there’s a history here that’s ... complicated.”

Kate’s chest tightened her heart racing like a wild animal in a cage. “I know,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “But I love him, and I think he loves me too.”

Her mother’s expression softened a hint of understanding flickering in her eyes. “Love isn’t always easy, Kate. Sometimes it comes with sacrifices and challenges we never anticipate.” She paused, stroking the locket gently. “But if you truly believe this is what you want, we’ll support you. Just promise us that you’ll be careful, that you’ll think things through, and always try and be honest with us.”

Kate felt the tension in her heart melting away as her mother spoke, her words a balm to the fear that had been festering within her. She took a deep, shaky breath, stepping closer to the table. “I promise,” she said, her voice stronger now. “I’ll always be honest with you, and I’ll always think about the future. But Cane makes me feel safe, understood in a way I’ve never felt before.”

“That’s good”, her mother said “but love is also about respect, for yourself and for each other, for your own boundaries and the boundaries of those around you. Not to reiterate what I said before but make sure he knows there may be some things in you he can never help you with, as kind hearted and considerate as he is, as well as indulging”, she ended with a little knowing smirk that drove Kate to blush.

Her mother hugged her tightly, the locket pressing against her skin, a warm reminder of the unspoken love and trust that now bound them all. “We just want you to be happy,” she whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. Kate’s father nodded solemnly, his expression a mix of concern and acceptance. “Now let me give you something your aunt Silvia swore me to always give to my daughters when we grew up and had families, she said, as she slid the locket halves in place, locking them together as she slid the two link chains over Kate’s head, gently tucking her long lengths of purple hair out of the way so it laid flat against her skin.

“The locket is a symbol of your love, of your courage, and of your independence. It’s a reminder that no matter what happens, you’re always a part of us,” Barbara said, her eyes misting over. “But it’s also a reminder of the past, of the decisions we’ve made and the paths we’ve chosen. Don’t let it weigh you down, Kate. Use it to guide you to a better future unclouded by the decisions of the past.”

Her father took Kate’s hand in his own, giving it a firm squeeze. “Your mother’s right. We’re not here to dictate your life, but we are here to offer guidance. You’re an adult now, and you must navigate this world on your own terms. Just remember, love isn’t about possession or control. It’s about growth, understanding, and supporting each other’s dreams,” he said gently squeezing her mother’s shoulder. “I know I found mine”, he said, as he took her mother in his arms and kissed her forehead.