Chapter 12

" If you are among the roses, your friends will look for you among the thorns. - Swedish Proverb "Hey come look at this..." Ryan said as he followed Katrina and the old man into the living room. They were in the hallway and all around them lay portraits and pictures of people who he assumed were Katrina's maternal relatives. "What?" Katrina asked as she doubled back to him. "This... She looks familiar doesn't she? I could swear I have seen her face somewhere..." "The portrait in my dad's office. She is supposed to be my mother, he never talked about it but grandma let it slip one day..." "Who are those people with her?" That is my sister Charlotte and her husband Henry. Would you believe it that that picture was taken some months before you were born...they had been so happy until the accident occurred." "What accident?" Katrina turned around to address the man who had now introduced himself to them as Kenneth the younger brother of Katrina's maternal grandmother. "The one that claimed your grandfather and put your mother in that hospital bed. Dominic was driving, I do not know what exactly happened but they had an argument. He was not paying attention and it costed him everything...Now come there is more to show you here. " The old man said as he moved on to show them the living room. Behind him, Ryan gave Katrina an understanding look. It now all made sense to them, her father's attitude and even why they had never had from them. Her maternal relatives are. If Charlotte had blamed Dominic for the accident, then that explained the bad blood that was between them. Either that or the guilt that Mr. Maracheli had felt led him to isolate himself and thus keep his daughter from her relatives. "A lot makes sense now but I still have questions and they keep compounding by the minute." "Worry not. I am sure he will smoothen everything out for you." Ryan said to her as he ran a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I guess so. It is a lot to take in..." "I know and I am right here if you need anything. You do not have to carry all the burdens by yourself you know. I am willing to help. If not as your husband then as your friend." She hugged him. Tears were threatening to come out but she held them in, unwilling to spoil her make-up and the white shirt that was on his shoulders. " Thank you." she whispered back. " Now, are you ready to go and find out the rest?" " As ready as I could ever be. It is not a comfortable position but to find out the truth I guess I will have to work through the discomfort." "Let's go then." she reached out for his hand and they followed after the man who had walked out through a door at the end of the hallway. As they went past its threshold they came to an open room with a couple of sofas, a coffee table, and several bookcases. The room was bright, the sofas covered with a floral loose cover and the cabinets were made of light mahogany that made the room bright despite the stilts that cast a shadow from the outside. On the windows hang some white translucent curtains with the blinds being the same floral material that made up the seats' loose covers. The only thing dull or dark in that room was the carpet. A chocolate brown fluffy rug covered the entirety of the sitting area but not the rest of the room. "Come in. Please do forgive the clatter. I got excited and retrieved the albums. They are many but you Charlotte, she liked to document everything in pictures. I frowned upon it before but I guess seeing this being here with you makes all the memories so meaningful. I mean there is everyone, starting from your grandparents, your mum even you are here." "How is that?" a surprised sat down to take a volume. He patted the space next to him and Katrina took it as he handed her a volume of her own. "Your grandmother, Mrs Maracheli... She kept her updated. Sent her pictures. Things had soured between her son and Charlotte but bless her soul she tried to bridge that gap." "But it didn't work." Katrina volunteered. Knowing her father, he was as stubborn as a mule and there was no way of trying to make him see things differently if he did not want to in the first place. "No. I believe he actually forbid contact or so Charlotte told me, but a grandma is a stubborn one too." the old man smiled. "She continued to send us photos." After the next few hours were spent turning pages and perusing photos with the occasional story or anecdote from the Oldman Kenneth. Like he had promised the albums were rich in the history of both her grandparents and her mum. Stella, she had always known her as such. The mysterious woman who had always hanged from her father's office wall. He had called her his inspiration. His muse and even though the Marachelis were practically old money, this tragedy had led the forlorn businessman to work harder, to grow his empire, and become the most influential businessman in Urberium. "He moved on... I hear?" Kenneth asked her. "Yes. Alice is the best step mom that anyone could ask for." "I am glad that you were never alone. We missed you growing up but look at that you came back to us. God brought you back to us." "Us? You mean there are more?" Ryan chipped in once again by asking the proper questions, ones that Katrina did not have the nerve to ask. "Of course. You have cousins. My own grandchildren and of course your aunties and uncles, that is,my children. You could always meet them. I am sure that would have been excited to meet you but we did not want to overwhelm you. I wasn't even sure myself when you would come." "It's okay. All in due time I guess. I have to process all this first." "Where is she now?" "Boss, we followed her some kilometers south before losing her..." Dominic banged his fist on the desk before cutting the man's narration short. "You lost her?" "With no GPS tracking system on board it was rather impossible to pinpoint the exact location of their car considering that the place is a jungle." The man stilled before sitting back on his desk. "What location was that again?" The man took out a piece of paper and slid it over to him. Dominic picked up the paper and looked at it. "Of course... I should have known, that this day would surely come." *** "Are you sure about this?" "Positive. It is now my place..." Katrina replied as she turned around to look at the house and the backdrop that was behind it. "I have to stay hereand somehow over see and look to all the matters pertain to it." "I can always stay and keep you company." Ryan volunteered. "No Ryan, I won't be alone. Sure Uncle is going back home to his place, but there will be Mrs Nimrod and the gardener..." "But..." "Please Ryan. I need this time alone. I promise I will call you when I make an appointment with the doctor. Until then, please leave me be to find the answers that I seek here." He gave her a look, a begging look, but Katrina shook her head no. "Please Ryan..." "Okay. I respect your decision. In case of anything-If you ever need anything-" "I know where to find you." "Okay. " he said even as he moved in to hug her and place a kiss on her forehead. "Be safe, okay?" she nodded as he stepped back. After a moment of hesitation, Ryan smiled back and moved to get into his car. He waved back at her one more time and started the car engine before driving off. Alone, Katrina walked back into the house with a lot still on her mind. Top on this list was Ryan's awkward behavior. She was stunned, to say the least, and could not make up her mind if he had changed or if this was just another ruse to get back at her. Part of it reminded them of the good old days but still, she could not allow herself to linger there with all the things that had gone wrong. No, she could not afford to remain in her past. Her present was here and now that life had given her another chance to make something of herself independent of her father's negative influence then she would have to take it and grasp this bull by its horns. "That guy really loves you." Mrs. Nimrod the housekeeper remarked as she joined her in the workshop. Katrina would have laughed at that comment but even she was not sure about that anymore. Was that even possible? Had he finally gotten over his puppy love towards Malisha? Or was she just his plan B. All the same, Katrina ignored the woman's comment unwilling to say anything on the topic before moving on to inspect the pieces of carvings that had once been her mother's artwork. "When was this made?" her hands trailed over a beautifully made cabinet with carved roses on its wooden surfaces. "I believe your mother made it as part of your would be nursery collection. She put her hands tirelessly to see the work completed but unfortunately..." "Yes, I know. The accident happened." "There is a matching cot here. It is not finished but..." the woman said as she moved to another section to lift the protecting covering over a white baby's cot with the same curved roses. A brush had been taken to one of the carvings with red paint and Katrina imagined that the idea had been to make all the roses appear red. Red roses on a white background. "This is beautiful." she remarked as her fingers trace over the intricately made carvings. "Yea... Your mother was an astounding artist. You have seen her other works as well?" "Yes, the murals. They impressed Ryan quite a bit being an artist himself. I believe despite his reluctance to leave me he was also quite in a hurry to get back to his studio with this newly found inspiration." "He is an artist?" "Yea... Strange how I gravitated towards the artistic type. He was my first crush you know." "Aaah...young love." Katrina smiled. If only the woman knew. No, she would not be the one to tell her. To see that sparkle replaced by a look of pity? No. She would not do that to herself. Let her believe what she will and hopefully, that would give her the respite she needed from her years of pain. "What else is there to see?" she asked even as her mind swam with new ideas, new ideas on how to use these on her soon to be fruited business venture now that she had gotten her inspiration. Sure, all these had been unexpected but it worked out beautifully. With her newly found fortunes she could now finance her business ideas and better still, inspiration was now staring back at her waiting to be used. As the woman led her to another section Katrina smiled as she came across the drafts and designs of her mother's would-be art pieces. This would work beautifully. She thought. She only had to look for some carpenters and some handymen and the rest, the rest would have to follow and hopefully fall into place. "What are you thinking now?" the woman remarked as she questioned the smile that had now formed on her face. "That this place should come back alive?" " Wouldn't that be splendid and my, what did you have in mind?" "You'll see Mrs. Nimrod. You'll see."