Love Me Until My Heart Stops

“You know, we don’t have to do this right now if you don’t want to” Ella noted as she pulled her car to a stop, her eyes peeking at her younger sister who was sat quietly in the back seat.

“She’s our mother, Ella, we can hardly just ignore her forever more” Esmé reasoned gently “Besides, she’s got two weddings this year and I don’t want to be the reason she’s not there for them. Whether she hid things from us or not, she did still raise us” she explained, her dark eyes glancing out of the door towards the boutique that they had selected to start their hunt for Esmé’s dress.

“I know” Ella reasoned “But I don’t want this day marred by yelling. With the way you and Gerard are, you’re only going to get to do this once and I don’t want you upset by it” she noted.

Esmé smiled at thought, but shook her head gently. “I want her here, Ella, and I am sure Eloisa does too” she commented, her eyes glancing at her other sister who sat in the passenger seat.

Eloisa nodded. “She’s got a point, Ella, mad at her or not, she is still our mother and we can’t just pretend like she isn’t” she reasoned.

Ella nodded her head. “Alright then. Let’s get this over with” she noted before she pushed the car door open, making her way towards the small shop with her sisters in tow.

“Girls” Delia smiled weakly as she watched her daughters step into the store “I was starting to think you’d not show” she added.

“We thought about it” Ella muttered.

“Ella” Esmé warned gently before she turned to her mother, offering her a weak smile “Hola, mama” she noted, pulling her into an awkward hug. Delia hugged her tightly before she pulled back, her eyes examining her youngest’s face. She knew she had a lot to make up for, in the days since she had last seen her daughters, she had become more aware of her mistakes, and she wanted to fix it. She wanted her daughters to forgive her.

“I am so sorry girls” she whispered gently.

“Sorry isn’t good enough, mama” Eloisa murmured.

“You made papa out to be the devil” Ella added.

“And he still may be, but we don’t know and that is at least partly on you” Esmé contributed, clarifying her elder sister’s comment “We needed the chance to meet him, mama, to make our own minds up and you didn’t give that to us, even now. I’m 27, the others are in their 30s, and we should have known before now that he still around” she added.

Delia nodded her head. “You’re right” she murmured.

Esmé nodded. “Mama, once the wedding is done with, I would like to meet him and I don’t want that to upset you” she announced gently. It was a spur of the moment decision, Esmé hadn’t even mentioned it to her sisters, but she knew what she wanted. Even despite her best efforts to stifle her curiosity, she wanted to meet the man that had clearly gotten to Gerard enough that he sided with him.

Delia’s eyes widened. “You do? All of you?” she pressed, her eyes flicking to Ella and Eloisa briefly.

“We do” Ella noted, agreeing with her little sister.

Delia sighed. “Then I can’t stop you” she murmured “But just be warned, he’s a charmer, your father, and I doubt he’s changed. There was a reason that I fell for him all those years ago” she warned gently.

“That’s a judgement we’ll make” Ella noted “But right now, we have something a little more pressing to deal with. We have a blushing bride-to-be who’s not got a handful of wedding dresses to try on and I am deeply concerned by it” she quipped, offering a smile to Esmé who blushed a little.

Delia nodded. “Let’s find you the perfect dress, Esmeralda” she enthused, offering the best smile she could muster.

Esmé nodded. “I’d like that, mama” she enthused, squeezing her mother’s hand.

~#~
“So, how much do I owe to a boutique?” Gerard teased as his face lit up the screen of Esmé’s laptop. It had been a strange afternoon, things were still a little tense between Esmé and her mother, but aside from it, she’d enjoyed herself. It had taken more than one attempt, they’d travelled to three different shops before they’d found it, but Esmé was pleased with the results. It seemed to be the perfect fit for her and she couldn’t wait to wear it.

“You don’t owe them a thing” Esmé mused “I paid the bulk of it and my sisters both chipped in. They said it counted as our wedding present” she noted.

“How is your wedding dress a present for me?” Gerard posed, his nose wrinkled slightly.

“Well, two reasons. One, you get to see me walk up the aisle in it and two, you’re the one who gets to take it off when the party is over” she enthused, a small smirk on her face.

Gerard thought for a second, a smirk appearing on his face. “I should thank them” he mused.

Esmé giggled.

“How was it with your madre?” Gerard posed.

Esmé shrugged. “Awkward” she replied softly “She apologized for what felt like the hundredth time, but we explained to her that it was probably going to take a little more than an apology. And then we agreed that once the wedding is done with, that we wanted to meet our padre” she explained, her dark eyes peeking at the screen.

“You did?” Gerard noted, leaning forwards a little.

“It was a spur of the moment thing, I kind of just said it, but Ella and Eloisa agreed. We’ve got a few months between our wedding and Eloisa’s and I think we’d like to use that time to meet him” she explained, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

Gerard smiled. “I’m proud of you” he quipped.

“Why?” Esmé pressed.

“I know you” Gerard returned, shrugging a little “You’re very fond of your madre and I suppose part of me thought you’d just go along with what she wanted to make her happy, but I am proud of you, querida. It’s not easy and I am pleased you’re making your own mind up” he grinned.

Esmé shook her head. “I’ve never known him, Gerard” she mused “And I guess a part of me wants to” she added.

“I’ll be with you, either way” Gerard offered, seeing that she was slightly nervous.

Esmé smiled. “Gracias” she breathed.

Gerard smiled at her gently before Lionel’s voice echoed from over his shoulder, causing him to groan. “I’ll see you when I get back?” he posed.

Esmé nodded. “Of course, I love you” she smiled.

Gerard grinned at the camera and blew a kiss before he padded away, causing Esmé to shake her head a little. It was a big step, she knew it, but she wanted to push it to the back of her head for a little while. She had something far more pressing to be dealing with and she wanted to devote her full attention to it.