Finding a Happy Ever After

Chapter Six The Picture in The Box

Edward stared at Audrey in disbelief.

“Seriously? You're still on about that?”

Audrey folded her arms and nodded confidently.

“Yeah, because I can never come to the conclusion that you can cook, no matter what.”

Edward sighed dramatically, shaking his head.

“Fine! Nick made it.”

Audrey's eyes widened with satisfaction.

“I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!”

“Okay, calm down. Don't rub it in!” Edward protested.

Audrey burst into laughter.

“Dad, I knew you could never cook. I mean, look at you! You couldn't even make a decent pancake without turning it into something that could be used to hold a door open!”

“Excuse me?” Edward asked, looking offended. “Those pancakes were perfectly fine.”

“Perfectly fine? Dad, even the kitchen door disagreed with you!”

Edward stared at her for a moment before shaking his head.

“Well, at least I can say one thing. You can't cook either.”

Audrey's laughter immediately stopped.

“Excuse me? What did you just say?”

“You heard me. You can't cook.”

Audrey placed a hand on her chest, pretending to be deeply offended.

“Dad, please. At least I'm better than you!”

Edward smiled mischievously.

“Your mother was still the best cook among us.”

Audrey's expression softened, and a warm smile spread across her face.

“She obviously was.”

For a moment, they shared a quiet smile as memories of the woman they both missed settled between them.

Audrey leaned against the table.

“Mom must have had some kind of magic trick for cooking. I honestly don't know how she did it. Everything she made tasted so good, but whenever you or I tried to prepare something, it somehow became a completely different story.”

Edward chuckled.

“Speak for yourself, young lady. I was improving.”

“Improving? Dad, please. Let's not start another argument.”

“Fine, fine. I'll let you have that one.”

Audrey laughed softly before remembering something.

“By the way, I saw Nick earlier. He mentioned that his mother was sick. How is she doing now?”

Edward's expression became thoughtful.

“Oh, she's doing much better. It was just a minor sickness, nothing too serious. Nick was worried, of course, but she's recovering.”

“That's good to hear,” Audrey replied with relief. “I was a little concerned when he mentioned it.”

“There's no need to worry too much. She's doing all right.”

Audrey nodded.

“I bet he comes here very often to see her.”

“Yeah, he does,” Edward answered. “Almost every winter and during most summer holidays. Whenever he gets the chance to take a break from work, he comes home.”

Audrey looked surprised.

“Wow, that's a lot.”

“Tell me about it,” Edward said with a small laugh. “Sometimes I wonder whether he spends more time here than he does at his own place.”

Audrey smiled.

“Well, I guess it's nice that he still makes time for his mother despite being so busy.”

“Definitely. Not everyone remembers to slow down and spend time with family when work gets demanding.”

She glanced at her father.

“You must have felt pretty lonely after all these years, though.”

Edward looked at her for a moment before giving a small shrug.

“Hmm. I've been trying.”

Audrey's smile softened. She understood what he meant. Since her mother's death, the house had been missing a part of its warmth, and with Audrey living away for so many years, Edward had spent much of his time on his own.

She wished she had visited more often, but she couldn't change the past. All she could do was appreciate the time they had together now.

Before she could say anything else, Charlie's voice rang out from upstairs.

“Mom! We're done now!”

Audrey turned toward the staircase.

“Be down in a minute!”

She then looked back at her father.

“Oh, Dad, I have to go tuck them in. It's been a pretty long day, and I think we all need some rest.”

Edward nodded.

“Yeah, of course. You should get some sleep. You've had a long day.”

Audrey smiled.

“All right, then. Goodnight, Dad.”

“Goodnight, sweetheart.”

She took a few steps toward the staircase, but just before leaving the room, she stopped and turned back.

“Oh, and Dad?”

Edward looked up.

“Yeah? What is it?”

Audrey smiled at him.

“I love you, Dad.”

For a brief moment, Edward seemed surprised by the sudden declaration. Then his face softened into a warm smile.

“Love you too, sweetheart.”

Audrey smiled back before finally heading upstairs.

For the first time in a long while, she felt a little more at peace. The pain of David's betrayal was still there, and she knew she couldn't simply forget everything that had happened. But being home with her father had reminded her that even when one part of life fell apart, there could still be people who loved her and wanted her to be happy.

When Audrey reached the children's room, she found Tessie and Charlie waiting for her.

“Hey, my babies!” she greeted them warmly.

“Hey, Mom!” they replied together.

Audrey walked over to their beds and looked at them affectionately.

“Are you both comfortable?”

“Yeah, Mom,” Charlie answered, snuggling farther beneath his blanket.

Audrey smiled and gently adjusted his pillow.

“Good. I want you both to get a proper night's sleep.”

Tessie watched her mother quietly for a moment before asking, “Mom?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Are we staying here for a long time?”

Audrey paused as she turned toward her daughter.

“I'm not sure yet, but we'll be here for a while.”

She sat on the edge of Tessie's bed.

“Why do you ask? Don't you like Grandpa's house?”

Tessie quickly shook her head.

“No, it's not that. I love it here.”

“Then what is it?”

Tessie lowered her gaze toward her blanket, playing with its edge.

“I just wanted to know how long I wouldn't see Dad.”

Audrey's expression softened.

She understood that, despite everything that had happened between her and David, Tessie still loved her father. Whatever mistakes David had made, he was still their dad, and Audrey didn't want her children to feel that they had to stop loving him because of what had happened between their parents.

She gently brushed Tessie's hair away from her face.

“Sweetheart, you and Charlie can call him over the phone whenever you like, okay? You don't have to stop talking to your dad.”

Tessie looked up at her.

“Really?”

“Of course, darling. You can call him when you want to talk to him. For now, though, it's bedtime. You both need to rest.”

Charlie yawned loudly.

“I'm already sleepy, Mom.”

Audrey laughed softly.

“Then close those little eyes of yours.”

She adjusted Charlie's blanket, making sure he was comfortable, before turning back to Tessie and pulling her blanket up around her shoulders.

“There. Is everyone comfortable now?”

“Yeah,” Charlie mumbled sleepily.

Audrey leaned down and kissed his forehead.

“Goodnight, my baby. I love you, Charlie.”

“Goodnight, Mom. Love you too.”

She turned to Tessie, who was watching her with a small smile.

“Goodnight, Mom,” Tessie said. “We love you too.”

Audrey smiled warmly and kissed her forehead as well.

“I love you both so much. Sleep well, okay?”

“Okay, Mom.”

Audrey gave them one final affectionate look before leaving the room and gently closing the door behind her.

The house gradually became quiet, and before long, the night passed.

The following morning, Audrey found herself in the garage, surrounded by boxes, old furniture, and all sorts of things her father had apparently collected over the years.

She had decided that keeping herself busy would help her settle into the house. Besides, the garage looked as though it hadn't been properly organized in ages.

Audrey bent down and began opening one of the larger boxes.

“Oh, my goodness,” she muttered, moving a few old items aside. “He still hasn't gotten rid of all this old stuff.”

She picked up a dusty object and examined it before placing it back inside.

“What is all this? Does he even remember keeping these things?”

She continued sorting through the box until something caught her attention.

It was a small trophy.

Audrey lifted it carefully, brushing some dust from its surface. As soon as she recognized it, a smile spread across her face.

“Oh! This is my science fair prize!”

She turned the trophy slightly, examining it from different angles.

“I came second in that competition. I remember how disappointed I was because I wanted to come first so badly.”

She chuckled at the memory.

“I didn't even know Dad still had this.”

For a moment, she stood there holding the trophy, remembering how excited she had been when she first received it. She could almost picture her younger self proudly showing it to her parents, hoping they would be impressed.

She had no idea that her father had kept it all these years.

Just as she was about to put it back into the box, a voice sounded behind her.

“Hey, Audrey!”

She jumped in surprise.

“Oh my God!”

The trophy slipped from her hands and fell toward the floor.

Nick immediately stepped forward, startled by her reaction.

“Whoa! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.”

Audrey bent down quickly, picked up the trophy, and checked it before placing it carefully back into the box.

“It's okay,” she replied, letting out a small laugh. “You just startled me. I wasn't expecting anyone to walk in.”

Nick smiled apologetically.

“Sorry about that. I should have announced myself before coming in.”

“It's fine. Don't worry about it.”

He glanced around the garage, taking in the numerous boxes and scattered belongings.

“I heard some noises coming from here, and I knew Eddie hadn't been in this garage in a long while. So I was wondering who was making all that noise.”

Audrey laughed.

“Well, it's me. I decided to keep myself busy and tidy up the garage a little.”

Nick looked at the boxes again, then back at her.

“Well, that's going to be a lot of work. Eddie doesn't get rid of his stuff. He keeps almost everything.”

Audrey immediately nodded in agreement.

“You got that right! I don't think he has thrown anything away in years.”

Nick picked up a small box and examined its contents.

“I'm beginning to believe this garage has its own history museum.”

Audrey laughed.

“Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if we found something from when I was a baby.”

“Don't say that too loudly. We might actually find it.”

They shared a laugh before Nick put the box down.

“Why don't I help you out a little? It'll go faster if we work together.”

Audrey hesitated.

“Oh, that's no bother. I'm sure your mom is still weak and needs you.”

Nick shook his head.

“She was sick, but it wasn't anything too serious. She's doing better now.”

“Are you sure? I wouldn't want you to neglect her just because you're helping me.”

“I'm sure,” Nick replied with a reassuring smile. “Besides, I needed a little break myself.”

Audrey looked at him curiously.

“A break?”

“Yeah. I just used the opportunity to come back home, relax, and cool my head down from work and life in general. Being a CEO can be really stressful sometimes.”

Audrey raised her eyebrows.

“I can imagine.”

“Trust me, you have no idea. There's always something that needs attention. Meetings, decisions, problems to solve. Sometimes, I feel like the company would fall apart if I took one full day off.”

He gave a small laugh.

“Of course, I know that's probably not true, but it certainly feels that way sometimes.”

Audrey smiled.

“Well, then, perhaps helping me clean this garage will be a nice change from all those meetings.”

“Exactly. At least here, the biggest problem is figuring out why Eddie has kept so many useless things.”

Audrey laughed.

“Now that sounds like a challenge.”

“I'm ready for it.”

“All right, then. Since you've offered, I won't stop you.”

“Good. Where do we start?”

Audrey pointed toward the large box beside her.

“Let's start with this one. Who knows what we'll find inside?”

Nick crouched beside her, and the two of them began sorting through the old belongings. They exchanged occasional jokes as they worked, moving items into separate piles and trying to decide what could be kept and what could finally be thrown away.

A little while later, Charlie wandered into the garage.

He seemed far more interested in exploring the boxes than helping with the cleaning.

“Mom!” he called.

Audrey turned toward him.

“Yes, baby?”

Charlie walked farther into the garage, looking at the various objects scattered around him.

“There's so much stuff in here!”

Nick smiled at him.

“Morning, Charlie. Are you planning to help us clean?”

Charlie looked at the boxes, then at Nick.

“Maybe.”

Audrey laughed.

“That's not a very convincing answer.”

Charlie ignored her and continued exploring. He crouched beside another box and began looking through the things inside, carefully lifting one object after another.

Then he suddenly stopped.

He had found an old photograph.

Charlie picked it up and studied it, his little face filling with curiosity.

“Mom?”

Audrey continued arranging the items in front of her.

“Yes, sweetheart? What is it?”

Charlie looked from the photograph to his mother.

“Who is this?”

Audrey turned toward him.

For a brief second, she couldn't move.

She knew that photograph.

And she had never expected to see it again.