A Beautiful Forever

chapter 40

Paige

Butterflies are churning in my stomach as we follow Robert’s Mercedes through the night. I put in a call to Kathy to let her know that

we are going to be a little longer, and she tells me that everything is fine, Grace is fast asleep and we should take our time.

I feel relieved and kind of sad at the same time. I miss my baby.

“So everything’s fine?” Elliot asks.

“Yeah it is, I don’t even think she misses us,” I tell him.

“Of course she misses us. She's just secure enough that she can handle her grandmother looking after her for a few hours – that’s

all.”

He takes a hold of my hand across the centre console and gives me a reassuring squeeze before breaking away as he flicks the

blinker on and squints out the windshield.

“What the hell…?” he trails off, turning into a street behind his father who’s pulling into a parking garage under a block of flats.

“What? Where are we?” I ask as he pulls over to the side of the road and parks the car.

“I used to live here,” he says. “I didn’t think he still had it.”

“Had what?”

“The flat, this is the flat he used to let me live in. I moved out when he stopped supporting me. I thought he’d sold it.”

I look up at the white brick building. It looks like it was built in the seventies, it’s very close to the beach. I can hear the ocean from

where we’re standing.

“Does your dad live here now?”

“I don’t think so…”

“We ready?” Robert asks, opening the entry door from the inside for us. They must have entered from the car park. Erica is standing

behind him, a massive smile on her face as she gestures wildly for us to come in.

Walking up the stairs, my heart is thumping in my ears, Elliot seems a little tense, and I don’t know what’s going on. So I blindly

follow behind Robert, stopping when they stand in front of a brown door.

“This is it!” Erica exclaims.

“We’re at the flat,” Elliot points out, a question hanging in the air when he finishes.

“Your flat,” corrects Robert, holding out a key and taking my hand before placing it on my palm.

“What?” we say in unison.

“The flat – it’s your wedding gift!" squeals Erica “Open it!”

“Dad, I –”

“It’s done, son. It’s yours. The paperwork is inside.”

“I don’t know what to say,” I stammer out.

“Just open it!” Erica insists.

My hand is shaking as I reach out and put the key in the lock. As the door swings open I’m faced with a long narrow hallway. A faint

smell of paint invades my nostrils as I step inside, closely followed by Elliot.

As I walk down the hallway, I first come to a formal dining room with a square, chestnut-coloured table, surrounded by eight leather

chairs and a high chair in the corner, there’s a mantle off to one side and on it are some photos of Elliot, Grace and I. I look back at

Elliot, utterly surprised.

“Do you like it?” Erica asks coming to my side. “We renovated and I decorated it for you, but if there’s anything you don’t like, just tell

me, and we will fix it up lickety split!”

Tears start to fill my eyes and threaten to spill, as I look around the room. “No, it’s perfect, thank you,” I tell her.

“Can I show you around?” she asks, reaching for my hand. I’m speechless and simply nod my head and let her pull me along as she

chats about what she did with each room.

In the lounge room, she has put in a massive leather cream coloured couch in front of a large round foot rest that is covered in a

beautiful burgundy, grey and white fabric. On the floor is a burgundy rug that covers all but about ten centimetres worth of floor. On

the wall is a mounted flat screen television with a low line cabinet underneath it holding the DVD player and there’s two matching

book cases either side, artfully decorated with books, vases, candles and photographs.

The kitchen has been done with all stainless steel appliances and a dark granite bench top that has a small drop when it becomes a

breakfast bar that looks out the window.

The first bedroom is for Grace, with a beautiful white sleigh cot, with a matching chest of drawers and change table. It has been

decorated almost entirely with butterflies, the most exquisite butterfly mobile hanging above the cot, and there is every toy a baby girl

could ever hope for.

Next up is the main bathroom, it has a sleek bath tub with spa jets inside and a glass partition to turn it into a shower. The large

mirror has vanity lights around it, and the sink is shaped like a bowl and rises out of the counter top.

I gasp when I see the main bedroom, it almost looks like the bed and breakfast we went to. Above the bed is a blown-up photo of

Elliot and I, kissing on our wedding day. I look over at Erica, trying so hard not to cry, “This is so beautiful, Erica,” I breathe.

“Wait, you haven’t seen all of it yet,” she says pulling me towards a door that I assume leads to an en-suite. I’m surprised with it

opens to a walk in wardrobe before it becomes an en-suite, she has even put a chair in the middle of it. It is quite simply amazing.

The en-suite itself is also gorgeous with a his and hers basin and a corner mini spa bath and shower combined.

I look around with my mouth open, never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would live in a place like this. “This is so amazing

Erica.”

She has her hands clasped in front of her as she watches me happily, “Let me show you the view,” she says, pulling me over to the

sliding door on the other side of the bed. “You can see the ocean,” she tells me as I step out and take in the panorama before me.

“I think I just went to heaven,” I say looking out at the roaring black ocean encircled by the dotted lights of the city surrounds.





Elliot


“I can’t believe you did this for us,” I say to my father as Erica takes Paige through the flat.

My father gives me a half smile and shrugs. “Thank Erica, it was all her idea. She’s a good woman. She made me see that I was

being too hard on you.”

“She did, did she?”

“She’s helped me alter my perspective. Everything doesn’t seem so black and white to me anymore.”

“I’m glad dad. I'm really very glad that you found someone who obviously makes you happy.”

“Thank you son, I can say the same to you, you seem to have found yourself one amazing woman... Although son, I do have to say

that I’m sorry for the choice I forced you to make with your last girlfriend. I was wrong. I should never have done that to you.”

Looking at my father right now, was like I was meeting him for the first time, gone was the man who intimated me all through my

youth. Instead, I’m faced with a man who is only human, just like me. I regret that I felt so much hatred towards him for so many years,

knowing Paige and all she went through has altered my own perception, I don’t care about things that happened in the past

anymore. I only care about now and what’s ahead for all of us.

“You don’t need to say sorry dad, if she meant as much to me as I thought she did. I would have fought for her. The fact I didn’t says it

all really doesn’t it?”

“And you’ve found your girl worth fighting for now?” he asks me.

“Yes dad, I found her. I fought for her, and I’ll fight for the rest of my life if that’s what it takes to keep her,” I tell him seriously.

He pats me on the back, urging me to follow him through the flat to find Paige and Erica, “I’m proud of you son,” he says walking

ahead of me. I can’t help but smile as I follow him through the flat that used to be my home, but now looks like a new flat entirely.