"There is not much we can do Mr. Lancaster."
Adam rolls his eyes in frustration as he sits inside inspectors Lane's office. "Yes there is! Daniel Smith broke into my house and assaulted my wife, do what you usually do with situations like these."
Inspector Lane leans forward tapping his desk as if making a point. "Technically, he did not break in, Mrs. Lancaster did open the door."
"She did not invite him in and asked to be assaulted, did she?"
The Inspector looks at him without being able to come up with an answer. "I will be completely honest with you. Most of our funding comes from Mayor Smith, and if we incarcerate his son, we will jeopardize it, and we need it desperately."
Adam watches him in disbelief. "So he's allowed to walk the streets of Lakewood and assault as many women as he wants, is that what you are telling me?"
"Now Mr. Lancaster, he spent a week under my custody and he did seem like he regretted his actions."
"Ah well, as long as he showed some remorse, then I believe we can forget about it."
"I don't like your tone," says the inspector harshly.
Adam stands angrily. "And I don't like the way you are handling things. This man hurt my wife. What if tonight, he decides to break into your house and assault your wife? Will you seek justice then? What is going to take for you to do your job?"
"I am going to have to ask you to leave," he replies.
Adam shakes his head angrily. That was it then. The police won't even touch Daniel because of who his father was.
Ò Ò Ò
Adam walks inside his house finding Gilda and Lily cleaning every inch of his house. Gilda, seeing him, runs down the stairs fervently wanting to know the outcome of his visit. Adam simply shook his head and sits on the couch defeated. He doesn't know what to do. He can't keep on living in this town knowing that Daniel was still out there, regardless of his apology, of listening to him saying how much he loved Sophia, his promise that he was going to leave her alone, he went ahead and did this. Adam is no longer sure if they will be safe in this village.
Sophia walks down from their bedroom, her eyes light up when she sees him sitting on the couch. She's wearing a black dress, her hair up in a complex style making her seem older than she actually is.
"Hey," she greets as she takes a sit beside him. "How'd it go?"
Adam shakes his head, which is answer enough for her.
"Mh," she says not as disappointed as he thought she would be. "I knew that would happen. Him being the son of the richest man in town and all."
"I'm sorry..."
She takes a hold of his hand. "No, don't apologize. You tried your best and I love you for that. We can't dwell on it, I'm afraid it won't do any good." A shadow of sadness crosses her face, but it disappears behind a smile. "Remember, we have a dinner party to attend to."
"Ah yes, the awaited party of the year."
Sophia giggles as she stands patting his leg. The most awaited party of the year was the celebration of his parents' anniversary. It was their Silver Anniversary, which made the occasion a grander of an affair than any other party they have ever organized. It will take place at the great hall, only the prosperous members of town were invited. Adam usually looked forward to the event, every year, he would be so excited to be surrounded by such prestigious families, that it made him feel like he was just as prestigious. But after all he and Sophia have been through, from their first time apart, to the miscarriage, he doesn't feel like facing the most snobs from Lakewood, especially Mayor Smith and his son.
"We don't have to go, you know," he calls after her as she walks up the stairs.
"Not go to your parents' silver anniversary? Are you mad?" he hears her giggle. He smiles, hearing her laugh again made him happy.
Gilda interrupts his thoughts as she grabs a pillow from beside him and pounds it down on the floor.
"Gilda," he starts. "I have been thinking."
"Oh?" she says enthralled on the pillow beating task.
"Would you be our housekeeper?"
Gilda looks up astonished by the suggestion. "Why?"
"What do you mean why? I'll need someone to look after the house when we're gone."
"When who's gone?"
Adam rubs his hand nervously. "I'm thinking of taking Sophia away for a couple of months. Maybe longer."
Gilda stops and drops the pillow and takes a seat next to him. "Oh."
"I need to take her away from this place. I can't risk having her around..." he comes to a halt not wanting to say it out loud.
"I know." Gilda says. "Around Daniel Smith.".
"And around Lakewood as well, it's surrounded with bad memories."
Gilda nods. "If you believe it's what she needs, then I'll gladly be your housekeeper."
Adam reaches for her hand keenly. "Thank you, I know how much Sophia admires you, and it really means a lot to me to have your support."
Gilda smiles like a mother smiles at her child. "You know how much I love her, she's like the daughter I never had. I want the best for her, just like I know you do, you'll always have my support."
They exchange smiles. Now all Adam needs to do is ask Sophia if she's willing to leave everything behind, and not see anyone in her or his family for months, and go to a place where they don't know anyone where all they will have will be each other.
A knock on the door interrupts his thoughts and as he opens it, he regrets it immediately.
"Hello, may I speak to Sophia please?" Mrs. Smith asks quietly.
"No," he says hastily.
Valerie looks down at the floor embarrassed. "Please, I need to speak to her."
Adam watches her intently, she seems like she hasn't slept in days, which tells him she found out about her husband's disgusting act. He opens the door for her and lets her in. He signals Gilda upstairs and she nods understandingly.
Valerie stands awkwardly by the door. Adam, against his better judgment invites her to take a seat on the couch. They are quiet for a few minutes. Adam stands by the window trying to think of a place he could take Sophia where she would enjoy herself, somewhere far and safe.
"I know everything," says Valerie breaking the silence.
Adam grunts in response.
"I don't know if you are aware, but my husband and your wife had an affair while I was away giving birth to my child."
"It was not an affair," he simply answers.
"Excuse me?" she says, Adam detects a defensive tone in her voice. "They met in secret every night for weeks."
"It was not an affair."
"Forgive me, but I strongly believe that..."
Adam turns firmly. "Your husband lied to Sophia, he took advantage of her innocence. He made her believe he cared about her, he spoke appealingly, and he convinced her that he loved her. It was nothing more than a game of words."
"You really think they weren't involved? That she stayed virtuous even when they met without a chaperone?"
"I know they were never involved."
Valerie goes quiet. Her blue eyes start to water. "Forgive me, I just don't know what to think. I had no idea Daniel was so obsessed with her. I didn't think he was capable of hurting anyone, please forgive me."
Adam lays a comforting hand on her shoulder. "There is nothing we can do about it now. What's done is done."
Valerie looks up at him in admiration. "You're a good man Mr. Adam Lancaster, just as I heard from everyone in town."
Adam smiles but she misinterprets the act of kindness. She lays her hands on his chest and stands on her toes, she tries to kiss him.
He pushes her away gently confused by her act.
The rejection was enough to break her. "I'm sorry," she cries, hanging her head low sheepishly. "It's just that I hear how much you love her in your voice, how much you defend her, how you talk about her, and I want that!" she takes a step back and faces him. "Daniel and I are being forced to move away, the Mayor is sending us somewhere far, he won't tell us where. And the thought of me being alone with the kind of man who is capable of doing such ghastly things, scares me."
Adam rushes to her but avoids any physical contact. "Don't go, if you know what he's capable of, run away, go to your hometown, speak to your father, he'll understand, he will take you back."
Valerie gazes at him. "You are a sweet man. You are the man I see myself with, can't you see I will do you well?" she reaches for his face but he holds on to them.
"You need to stop this."
"But I..."
"He said stop," comes a commanding voice from upstairs. Sophia walks down the stairs firmly and confidently. Valerie freezes in place as if she was caught on her charade.
"I understand you need to speak to me," Sophia asks as she stands by Adam. Adam watches her agog. Her determination and straight forwardness amazes him.
Valerie stops crying and looks at her with a hint of hate in her eyes. "What makes you so special?" she says nastily. "You have this man eating from your hand and you have hypnotized my husband, why do you deserve the love of these two men? Why?"
Sophia shakes her head and simply says, "Get out."
Valerie nods. "Of course, you got what you wanted, didn't you?" she starts taking Adam off guard. Where was the vulnerable crying girl from a few moments ago? "You pretended to be my friend just so you could mess with Daniel's head."
"Out, now," Sophia replies firmly.
Gilda hearing the heated interaction, stands by Sophia's side. "You heard the lady, leave this house."
Valerie turns to Adam as if begging him to defend her. But he grabs her by the arm as gently as he can, and walks her to the door and opens it for her. Feeling sorry for her as she walks out slowly. That woman was truly unhappy.
As he closes the door he turns to Sophia, who looked away trying to hold back her tears. Gilda pats her back trying to calm her down, but Sophia doesn't move. She stands tacitly facing the wall, wiping her tears with her fingertips using up all her strength to keep it together.
Adam stands behind her and lays his hands on her shoulders. He's not quite sure how to react, and he hates it. He hates how much Sophia suffers and no matter what he does, it will never be enough. All the pain from everything that has happened will never go away, not as long as she is still in Lakewood.
Sophia lets out a hesitant laugh and turns to him. "All this needs to stop." She exhales sharply as she controls her crying. "Why can't we be left alone?"
Adam just nods, making the decision to take Sophia away as soon as possible.
Ò Ò Ò
As they arrive to the party, they are greeted by his father and mother who stand by the entrance welcoming their guests. Mr. Lancaster Sr. shakes Adam's hands as his mother holds on his arm proudly as she converses with Sophia. Anyone would think they were one happily married couple.
They walk inside and are immediately surrounded by the rest of the guests, all of them congratulating Adam as if he had any involvement in their Silver anniversary. Adam simply shakes their hands and thanks them. He anxiously looks around hoping to see his father alone, a very unlikely scenario but he hopes he can have a talk to him about him leaving the carpentry business, now that the place was owned by Mr. Smith, he wanted nothing to do with it.
He spots him in the far corner of the hall, standing alone wanting to hide a flask behind his jacket, Adam is somehow not surprised by this sight.
He excuses himself leaving Sophia with his mother, he approaches his father rapidly but a fat man gets in his way.
"Mr. Lancaster."
"Mayor Smith," he replies indifferently, trying his best to avoid any further contact with him.
"May we speak?"
"No we may not."
"Mr. Lancaster, I promise you, I've got good news for your wife."
Adam stops for a second and gives him a stern look. "Don't come near my wife," he states and he walks away from him without turning back. He makes his way to his father's side. He's father nods acknowledging him.
"I'm planning a journey that will last for a few months," he starts. His father doesn't seem to care, he keeps watching and smiling at his guests. "And when we come back, I'm not coming back to the shop."
This gets Mr. Lancaster's attention. "What are you saying?"
"What you heard. I'm resigning. The shop is no longer the place I enjoyed spending my days in."
"You can't be serious."
"I am and I'm sorry, I cannot work in a place where I am no longer comfortable." Without getting into any specifics, he walks away leaving his father puzzled by this seemingly rash decision.
He walks through a crowd he once felt honored to be part of. Fake smiles and pretentious eyes look his way as he scans the crowd looking for the only person that really matters to him. He comes to realize that most of these people didn't deserve his contempt, there was no reason for him to dislike them, but seeing all of these people, including his parents, trying to please Mayor Smith, laughing at his little jokes and admiring him for the sole reason that he is the mayor, makes his blood boil. But he can't blame them, can he? They all want to be on his good side. Adam was real good friends with Daniel and he tried his best to be on the mayor's good graces, and now Adam looks back and realizes that all of it was not worth a damn thing.
Mayor Smith took over the Lancaster job and completely changed it to the last thing his grandfather wanted it to be when he built it from dust: A commercialized business. His grandfather, his father and he, were strong believers of the art of furniture, the creation of something that can transform a room, it wasn't so much about the earnings, though they were substantial, it was about working hard on a rocking chair, or an armoire and making it part of a home.
The mayor did not get that. And his father lost focus, he let the mayor hire men who were all about the making of furniture, and of nothing else.
And the fact that the great Mayor of Lakewood was covering for his son, made everything extremely harder on both him and Sophia.
"Adam!"
Adam turns and finds he's mother in law watching him with a smile on her face. "I know that look," she says. "My husband has that look whenever he loses sight of me."
Adam chuckles realizing for the first time, how much Sophia looks like her mother. The more he spoke to her, the more he was reminded of Sophia, her eloquence, her graceful movements, were the exact replica of Sophia.
"Last time I saw her, she was going to the powder room." She suddenly gets serious and holds Adam's arm tightly. "Is something the matter? She doesn't look like she's herself. It's like she can't stand being here."
Adam nods, Mrs. Willis was not blind. "Not that I know of," he lies. "I'll go up and check up on her." He walks away shaking his head. Coming here was a bad idea. Of course Mr. Smith's presence was going to affect her, he was at least thankful Daniel was smart enough to not show his face here.
He walks up the stairs towards the powder room but he finds it unoccupied. Then he hears the faint sound of a piano being played, the cheery sound from the violins from the ball downstairs drowns the sound. He follows the piano music into a hall he didn't even know it existed. The music changes to a slow, nostalgic tune, he recognizes it immediately. He arrives to the room, a big round table surrounded with chairs stood in the center, his wife playing the piano right beside it. He walks inside as quietly as he can but Sophia stops playing abruptly and looks up.
"Please, don't stop on my account."
Sophia gives him a smile and continues with the song. Adam takes a seat beside her on the bench, facing her. He lets the music bring him back to the time he first met her, his surprise of how drastically his opinion of her changed. The woman he once described as insipid, was now the light of his life.
She finishes the song and turns to him. "Do you recognize the song?"
"Of course, it was the same song you played for my family when we first met."
Sophia smiles at his response. "It seems like it was such a long time ago."
Adam nods. "Indeed it does."
Sophia looks down at the keys and plays them one by one. "I know I insisted to attend this party, but I can't handle it," she says apologetically.
"I know. I'm not doing so well either," he admits. He shifts in place so he can face her better. "I've been planning a holiday."
"Oh," he replies quietly.
"For the both of us."
She looks up as if surprised to have her included in his plans. "Oh?"
"Maybe a couple of months somewhere new where no one will bother us."
"And where do you suggest we go?"
"Somewhere in Europe. I was thinking we could buy a cottage in Italy, maybe."
Sophia smiles and says, "The dream you were forced to give up because of me."
Adam shakes his head. "I did not give it up. I chose you over it. And now, my dream is to take you to Italy with me." He takes a deep breath and locks eyes with her. "I just want to take you away from here. There's too many bad memories, too much has happened here that has the capability to haunt us for the rest of our lives. I know it means being away from your family but I strongly believe we need..."
Her hand on his cheek makes him go quiet. "I will go wherever you go."
Adam exhales all his worries abandoning him. He runs his fingertips down her cheek, he traces her lips gently and in one swift motion, he kisses her fervently. She lets out a quiet moan as his tongue slips in through her soft lips.
Someone clearing his throat makes them pull away.
"Father!" says Sophia standing, her cheeks red.
"Just thought you would want to be present when your father delivers his speech," says Mr. Willis trying to fight a smile.
"Ah, yes," Adam replies clumsily. "We better go down."
Sophia giggles as she walks past her father out the door.
"Sophia," comes Mr. Willis' voice. "Go right ahead, I need a word with Mr. Lancaster."
Sophia nods puzzled. Adam could feel nerves already growing inside his stomach. They haven't had a man to man talk since after he beat him, and he has to admit, he still intimidates him.
"I just wanted to say how glad I am that you've been by Sophia's side through all of this."
Adam blinks in surprise but her tries to hide it. "I just did what any husband would do."
"No, you did what a true man would do. Some husbands don't do well with miscarriages. Blaming the wife and what not. You stayed with her and offered her your support, and I'm extremely thankful for that. Now I know I've made a good choice by choosing you." He stretches his hand. Adam shakes it firmly. "You're a good man."
As they both walk downstairs to the party, his father was already in the middle of his speech. He finds Sophia waiting for him at the other end. Her eyes light up when she sees him making him feel warm inside.
"Is everything alright?" she whispers worriedly.
He reaches for her hand and kisses it. "Everything's fine, we'll leave once my father finishes."
Sophia smiles and turns her attention to Mr. Lancaster Sr. Adam stays attentive to Sophia's face not wanting to miss a thing. He was also thankful for Mr. Willis picking him for his daughter. And as he hears his father addressing his wife, thanking her for staying by his side throughout all these years, his father's hollow words never sounded so true for Adam.
Six months seem like years considering what they've been through. He watches Sophia tenderly as she laughs at something his father says. Her soul and beauty stole him away and he can't imagine his life without her.