When You Close Your Eyes

“Well, aren’t you going to say something?”

Isabelle, who’d flicked her attention down towards her feet, jumped at the sound of her mother’s voice before she lifted her head, her blue eyes peeking timidly towards the older woman. It had been a couple of seconds, after her mother’s voice had filled the air, the three of them had stood in silence, and Isabelle wasn’t quite sure how to break it, even if she knew that there was no denying that the word ‘wife’ had fallen out of Lionel’s mouth, a small part of her didn’t quite know what to say or do next.

“You said the word ‘wife’, Lionel” Francesca mused, her voice caught between hurt and angry “And you didn’t say that for no reason. Will one of you please tell me what is going on?” she posed, her blue eyes flicking between her daughter and her boyfriend. She didn’t want to yell, if she knew one thing about Isabelle, it was that if she yelled, the blonde would merely shy away, but still she wanted to be answered, even if she did have a good idea of what had happened, she wanted to hear the words from either Isabelle or Lionel’s mouth.

Lionel, who’d moved to settle Isla back into her Moses basket, offered the older woman a soft look before he shook his head, a soft sigh falling out of his mouth. “Mrs Pereira…”

“Please” Francesca interrupted softly “Just tell me what is going on” she added, offering him a slightly sharp look.

Lionel flinched a little at the tone of her voice before he nodded his head, his hand gently moving to take a hold of Isabelle’s which fiddled nervously with the bottom of her shirt. “OK” he mused softly “A little while ago, whilst we were away on vacation, me and Isabelle…we decided to elope” he admitted, his dark eyes peeking up towards the older woman nervously.

Francesca blinked a couple of times, slightly caught off guard by his words, before she shook her head. “You…you eloped?” she spluttered “You’re…you’re married?” she added, her blue eyes peeking towards Isabelle.

Isabelle shifted a little, not liking the tone of her mother’s voice, before she nodded her head. “We are” she confirmed softly “We have been for a few weeks now, but Mama…”

“You couldn’t have waited?” Francesca interrupted, her voice more than a little hurt.

“Mama…”

“You’d have had to wait a few months. Once the two of you picked a date, it would have taken no time at all to put things in place, but you couldn’t even hold out for that. Why, Isabelle?” Francesca muttered, her blue eyes settled on her daughter who stood a little away from her, her fingers nervously playing with Lionel’s.

Isabelle shifted a little before she shook her head. “It was a spur of the moment thing, mama” she murmured softly “The moment, it seemed right, and whilst I hate that you’re upset, I…I don’t regret it. It was our decision, mama” she added softly.

She knew that her mother was upset, the tone of her voice as well as the expression she wore confided it, but Isabelle didn’t want to say that she regretted the way things had worked out, even if she had hurt her mother by eloping, she didn’t regret the way that things had happened between her and Lionel.

It had been sudden, the idea of eloping had come out of nowhere, but still Isabelle was pleased that they’d done it, even if other people had gotten hurt. The way that she and Lionel had gotten married was perfect for the two of them and, to Isabelle, that was the most important thing.

Francesca allowed her words to hang around them for a couple of seconds before she shook her head, a small sigh falling out of her mouth. “I just don’t understand why you needed to rush into it” she mused softly “The two of you, you’ve been so meticulous, so careful about everything you do, and this…it’s fast. I just…why couldn’t you hold off? Why didn’t you let us share in your moment?” she added, her eyes flicking towards Lionel who stood beside Isabelle, mumbling soft words of reassurance into her ear.

Lionel mulled her question over briefly before he shook his head. “We didn’t do this to hurt you, Mrs Pereira” he murmured softly “It was just something that made sense to us there and then. We didn’t do this to exclude you, we did this because…because it was what we both wanted” he added warmly, his hand gently squeezing Isabelle’s.

He knew that Francesca was upset, the look on her face as soon as the word ‘wife’ had fallen out of his mouth had confided it, but he wanted to offer her a little reassurance, even if he was sure that things would be tense between them for a while, he wanted to reassure her that neither he nor Isabelle had intended to hurt her.

Francesca spared a look down towards their hands before she shook her head. “All you want to do was wait” she muttered “We could have planned quickly, it wouldn’t have taken any time but…

“We can still do that” Isabelle interrupted softly.

Francesca blinked, slightly caught off guard by Isabelle’s voice, before she tilted her head. “What?” she posed.

“The planning” Isabelle clarified softly “We can still do it, mama. I want to do it” she added, her expression slightly hopeful.

Francesca studied the hopeful expression on Isabelle’s face briefly before she shook her head, a soft sigh falling out of her mouth. “I…I am going to need a little time to wrap my head around this, Belle” she murmured softly “I mean, I know that you didn’t mean to hurt anyone, but this…it hurts, sweetheart. You’re my little girl, I was supposed to be there when you got married and the idea that I wasn’t…it’s not something I can overlook easily” she added, her voice wavering a little.

Isabelle noted the tone of her mother’s voice before she nodded, a soft sniffle falling out of her mouth. “Lo siento, mama” she murmured gently.

Francesca offered her a stout nod in return before she turned on her heel, padding out of the living room and back up the stairs.

Lionel watched after her for a couple of seconds before he flicked his attention towards Isabelle, his stomach twitching at the sight of the tearful expression she wore. “Isa” he murmured softly “Nena, I am so sorry” he added, his arms wrapping softly around her waist.

Isabelle startled slightly, not quite expecting the hug, before she cuddled into him slightly, her loose tears soaking into the light material of his shirt.

Lionel held onto her for a couple of seconds, allowing her to cry, before he shifted his hand, gently cupping her cheek. “I am sorry, Isa” he murmured softly, his thumb gently brushing the loose tears off of her cheek.

Isabelle sniffled a little before she shook her head. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for” she murmured softly “We made a choice, the two of us, and whilst my parents are likely to be upset about it for a while, I like the choice we made. You don’t?” she posed, offering him a tearful smile.

Lionel quirked a small smile before he leant towards her, sneaking a soft kiss. “I love it” he mumbled softly “But I am still sorry. If it weren’t for me…”

“They’d have found out one way or another” Isabelle interrupted softly, her fingers gently pushing his dark hair off of his forehead.

Lionel offered her a dubious look, wordlessly enquiring if she was OK, before he nodded his head. “We should probably think about heading upstairs” he mused softly.

Isabelle nodded her head and moved to lift Isla into her arms. “I’ll get her settled down and I’ll be with you” she added before she ducked into him, sneaking a quick kiss before she padded out of the room, making her way upstairs.

Lionel watched her go for a couple of seconds before he shook his head, a small nervous sigh falling out of his mouth. He knew that there was no avoiding it, with Francesca knowing about their marriage, it was only a matter of time before Marco found out, but Lionel hoped that they didn’t make a big deal of it, even if he knew that they were likely to be more than hurt by the idea of their daughter getting married without the two of them around. He hoped that they wouldn’t attempt to cause a problem between him and Isabelle.