CHAPTER 3: THE FAMILY THEY NEVER KNEW
CHAPTER 3: THE FAMILY THEY NEVER KNEW
The next morning, Bennett asked Clara to meet him in the mansion's garden.
Neither of them knew how to begin.
"I owe you an apology," Bennett finally said.
"For treating you like an employee..."
"...when I barely treated you like a person."
Clara smiled faintly.
"You couldn't know."
"No," he admitted.
"But I could have cared enough to notice."
She looked toward the roses Eleanor loved.
"My mother used to tell me that kindness isn't measured by what people have."
"It's measured by what they choose to give."
Bennett nodded.
"And you gave my mother something I couldn't."
"Time."
Weeks passed.
Instead of returning to housekeeping duties, Clara spent every afternoon beside Eleanor.
Sometimes they talked.
Sometimes they played old records.
Sometimes they simply watched the ocean together.
One evening Eleanor whispered,
"I always wanted my children to know each other."
Bennett gently squeezed Clara's shoulder.
"We're here now."
Eleanor smiled peacefully.
"I can finally stop worrying."
She passed away quietly before sunrise, holding both of their hands.
May you like
Not alone.
Never alone again.
