Chapter 14 — A Place at the Table
1352 Words
The morning after Ethan's victory, Ellie woke to sunlight spilling across the hotel room.
For several seconds, she forgot where she was.
Then she remembered.
San Aurelio.
The competition.
Lucas.
Ethan.
Everything that had happened over the past few days.
She turned toward the other bed.
Ethan was still asleep, his trophy resting carefully on the bedside table.
Ellie smiled.
He had refused to put it anywhere else.
She quietly got out of bed and⁶ went to the window.
The city looked different from above.
Seven years ago, she had walked through these streets carrying exhaustion and disappointment.
Now she was standing in the same city with her son beside her and a completely different future ahead.
A future she didn't understand yet.
But perhaps that wasn't a bad thing.
---
A knock sounded at the door.
Ellie opened it.
Lucas stood outside.
"Good morning."
"Good morning."
He held a paper bag.
"I brought breakfast."
Ellie looked inside.
"You remembered what Ethan likes?"
"I asked."
She smiled.
"He's going to be spoiled."
Lucas laughed.
"I have seven years to make up for."
Ellie's expression changed.
"Don't try to make up seven years in seven days."
Lucas nodded.
"I won't."
He looked past her.
"Is he awake?"
"Not yet."
"Then I'll wait."
Ellie stepped aside.
Lucas entered.
He placed the food on the table.
For a moment, they stood in silence.
It felt strangely domestic.
Almost like a family morning.
Ellie immediately pushed the thought away.
They weren't there yet.
---
Ethan eventually woke.
The moment he saw Lucas, he smiled.
"You're here!"
Lucas laughed.
"I said I would be."
Ethan looked at the breakfast.
"You brought food."
"I did."
"Mom doesn't let me eat pancakes every day."
"Your mother is right."
Ethan looked between them.
"You both agree too much."
Ellie laughed.
Lucas smiled.
The room felt lighter.
---
After breakfast, Lucas asked Ellie about the scholarship.
"Did you think about it?"
She nodded.
"I did."
"And?"
"I'll accept."
Lucas smiled.
"Good."
"But not because of you."
"I know."
"I want to study because I want to finish what I started."
"You should."
Ellie looked at him.
"You really remember everything."
"I remember you telling me you wanted to study literature."
She smiled faintly.
"I wanted to become a teacher."
Lucas's expression softened.
"You'd be a good one."
"Maybe."
"What stopped you?"
Ellie looked at Ethan.
"Life."
Lucas nodded.
"Then maybe life is giving you another chance."
---
That afternoon, Lucas drove them around the city.
Ethan sat in the back seat, excitedly pointing at everything.
"Mom, look!"
"I see it."
"That building is enormous."
"I know."
"Have you been here before?"
Ellie looked through the window.
"Yes."
She recognized the street immediately.
The café where she had once worked was still there.
The old bookstore remained on the corner.
And then she saw it.
Rosewood Apartments.
Her heart tightened.
The building looked older than she remembered.
Lucas noticed her expression.
"Do you want to stop?"
"No."
She hesitated.
"Maybe."
Lucas pulled over.
Ethan looked outside.
"What's here?"
Ellie stared at the building.
"This is where I used to live."
Ethan looked surprised.
"You lived here?"
"Yes."
"With Grandma and Grandpa?"
"Yes."
Lucas didn't say anything.
He knew exactly what memories were inside those walls.
---
They entered the building.
The hallway seemed smaller than Ellie remembered.
Mrs. Rosa was sitting behind the reception desk.
She looked up.
Her eyes widened.
"Ellie?"
Ellie smiled.
"Hello, Mrs. Rosa."
The older woman immediately stood.
"Oh my goodness!"
She hugged Ellie.
"Look at you!"
Ellie laughed.
"It's been a long time."
Mrs. Rosa looked toward Ethan.
"Is this your son?"
Ellie nodded.
"Yes."
Mrs. Rosa smiled.
"He looks just like..."
She stopped.
Her eyes moved toward Lucas.
Lucas stood silently.
Mrs. Rosa's expression changed.
"You."
Lucas nodded.
"Hello."
She looked between him and Ethan.
Then back at Ellie.
Understanding slowly appeared in her eyes.
"I see."
Ellie gently touched her arm.
"Please."
Mrs. Rosa smiled.
"I won't say anything."
---
Ethan looked down the hallway.
"Which room was yours?"
Ellie pointed.
"Room Ten."
Ethan walked toward it.
The door had been repainted.
A different number was now attached.
Ellie stood behind him.
For a moment, she could almost see her younger self.
The frightened girl who had lived there.
The girl who had worked until exhaustion.
The girl who had fallen in love.
The girl who had cried after Lucas disappeared.
She closed her eyes.
Then she opened them.
That girl was gone.
And perhaps that was okay.
---
Lucas stood beside her.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes."
He waited.
"I thought coming back here would hurt more."
"Does it?"
Ellie looked at the hallway.
"It reminds me of who I was."
Lucas nodded.
"Who were you?"
Ellie smiled sadly.
"Someone who thought she needed someone else to save her."
"And now?"
She looked at him.
"Now I know I can save myself."
Lucas smiled.
"I always admired that about you."
Ellie looked away.
"Don't make this difficult."
"I'm not trying to."
"I know."
---
Before they left, Mrs. Rosa approached Lucas.
"I always wondered what happened to you."
Lucas smiled faintly.
"I wondered too."
She glanced toward Ellie and Ethan.
"Looks like you found what you were looking for."
Lucas looked at his son.
"Yes."
Mrs. Rosa smiled.
"Then don't lose it again."
Lucas nodded.
"I won't."
---
That evening, they had dinner at a small restaurant.
Ethan sat between Ellie and Lucas.
He was telling them about his plans for school.
"I want to build a robot."
Lucas smiled.
"Then I'll help you."
"Really?"
"Really."
Ethan looked at Ellie.
"Mom?"
She smiled.
"If Lucas is willing."
Lucas looked at Ellie.
"I am."
Ethan grinned.
"Then it's decided."
He reached for both their hands.
"Deal?"
Lucas looked at Ellie.
She hesitated.
Then she placed her hand in Ethan's.
Lucas placed his hand over Ethan's other hand.
"Deal."
For a few seconds, the three of them sat like that.
No explanations.
No promises.
No arguments.
Just three people sharing a table.
---
Later that night, Lucas walked Ellie back to the hotel.
Ethan had gone upstairs with the other students.
Lucas stopped outside the entrance.
"Ellie."
She turned.
"Yes?"
"I know things are complicated."
"They are."
"I don't expect you to forgive me immediately."
"Good."
He smiled.
"But I want to earn your trust."
Ellie looked at him.
"How?"
"By being there."
She remained silent.
"For Ethan," he added.
"And for you."
Ellie's heart tightened.
"Lucas..."
"I'm not asking you to come back to me."
She looked surprised.
"I'm asking you to let me prove that I've changed."
She looked into his eyes.
The Lucas standing before her was different from the young man she had known.
He was older.
More responsible.
More patient.
But she couldn't forget what happened.
"One day at a time."
Lucas nodded.
"One day at a time."
---
The next morning, Ellie accepted the scholarship officially.
She signed the documents with a trembling hand.
It wasn't charity.
It wasn't repayment.
It was an opportunity.
For the first time in years, she allowed herself to imagine returning to school.
She imagined standing in front of a classroom.
Teaching children.
Building a career.
Creating something that belonged to her.
When she finished signing, she looked at Lucas.
"Thank you."
He smiled.
"You don't owe me anything."
"I know."
Ethan came running toward them.
"Mom!"
She turned.
"We won!"
Lucas laughed.
"What?"
"The school said I'm going to represent the province next year too!"
Ellie hugged him.
"I'm proud of you."
Ethan looked at Lucas.
"Are you proud of me?"
Lucas smiled.
"More than you know."
Ethan hugged him.
This time, Lucas didn't freeze.
He simply held his son.
Ellie watched them.
Something inside her softened.
Maybe this was what healing looked like.
Not forgetting the past.
Not pretending it hadn't happened.
But slowly building something better from what remained.
And for the first time, Ellie wondered whether there might still be a place for Lucas in her heart.
She wasn't ready to answer that question.
But she wasn't afraid of it anymore.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD