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Seth smiled. He could imagine her as a young girl, her eyes all wide as she listened to May, the same way she looked when he talked about all the equipment and robots they were developing at Movement.
“Initially, I was worried that Clary’s youthful energy would tire May out, just as our children and grandchildren did.” Edward lifted the mug to his lips. “Even her parents often chided her for bothering May, but Giulia told everyone to let Clary be. When I brought up my concerns, Giulia told me to watch them—really watch them. I did, and ...” He shook his head. “I cried. Because it had been so long since I heard May laugh. And the more time May spent with Clary, the more her spirit returned.”
“Why?”
Edward shrugged. “I don’t know. I asked May, and she just smiled and said Clary was her angel.” He put down his coffee and rested his arms on the armrests. “I think it was just the way Clary was so genuinely interested in May. She didn’t mind sitting next to May and listening to her read Austen’s novels aloud. May would try and teach her French, and Clary would mess it all up, but they would just end up laughing. Or maybe it was the way Clary tried to include her in everything. When Giulia taught her how to bake bread, Clary would ask May to join them.” His lips pulled back into a wide smile. “The servants were all flustered that Clary dared drag Mrs. Eolenfeld into the kitchen, but the kid didn’t care. She even roped me in when I got home. May and I got flour all over ourselves, but it was the most fun we’d had for a really long time.”
Clary was still exactly the same.
She had to include everyone in putting up the Christmas tree. She didn’t care that Elton and Aldric had shown their dislike of her. She still wanted to include them.
“Then one day, Clary started begging her parents and Giulia for chores in exchange for money. They kept asking her why she needed the money, but she refused to explain. She saved every penny she earned. Then one day, when she and her parents came back from their day off, she bounced over to May to show her a pair of pink Mary Jane shoes she bought for her—using the money she’d saved.” Edward looked over at him. “That silly girl had heard the story about a village praying for rain and only one kid showed up with an umbrella. So she decided she needed to get May a pair of extra beautiful shoes—as a show of faith that May wouldn’t need to remain in her wheelchair.”
“So she’s been delusional since she was little.”
Edward laughed and smacked his leg. “Delusional? What doctors and nurses had been trying to get May to do for years, Clary accomplished in one month. May was so touched that she had to put on the shoes and show Clary that she could walk. Then Clary began to draw her out more. ‘Look at the flower there!’ ‘Please take me to see the Bay.’” Edward turned to him again. “Clary wasn’t allowed near the banister without supervision.” He tipped his head up to look at the sky. “And just like that, May started walking again. And then Clary saw people dancing on TV, and May offhandedly said that she knew how to do that, that she used to dance with me. So Clary begged May to teach her. And just like that, there I was, dancing with my wife who had been too depressed even to walk for years.”
Seth sat back in his chair. “And you’ve never told her?”
“I thought she knew. May was always calling her ‘my angel.’” Edward got up and walked over to the banister. “Wherever we went, May would insist on bringing Clary and her family along.”
“Clary feels really grateful to you. She says she wouldn’t exist without your wife.”
“May did ask me to pay for the IVFs. But Clary has been a way bigger blessing to both of us. What she did for May and me, I can never repay.” Edward clasped his hands together. “Before May passed, she made me swear that I’d make sure to take care of Clary and make sure she lives a blissful life.” He turned back to Seth. “Can you do that, Seth? Can you promise you’ll give her that?”
“I’ll try my best.”
Edward grinned. “Which is all any of us can do.” He nodded. “I know you have your own wealth, but would you be up for signing a prenup to say you won’t touch any of hers?”
Seth frowned, then shook his head with a small smile. “So she’s right. You guys are still keeping things from her. It isn’t just this mansion.”
Edward sat on the banister. “Her parents died because of me. They would still be alive and working if we hadn’t taken them to Mexico.”
“She doesn’t blame you.”
“I know, but I still owe it to her. I’ve projected the amount of money her parents would’ve earned and invested it. It’s grown to a sizable amount, and besides this mansion and the first-edition book, May left her several pieces of jewelry and some money, which I’ve also invested over the years. Giulia and I discussed giving everything to her when she turned eighteen, but we came to the conclusion that she would probably refuse unless we were both dead and gone and she had no choice but to take them.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Isn’t it ironic that the one person I’m more than happy to give money to refuses to take it from me? That the one person I’m more than happy to help refuses to come and ask me for it.”
Seth laughed once.
“It isn’t as much as what you have,” Edward continued. “But I’d like to protect whatever she has.”
“I can sign it now if you want,” Seth said.
“So you’re thinking about marriage?”
Seth turned, and stood up when he saw Grandma Moretti.
“I didn’t think you two were so serious. Isn’t it a little too soon to be thinking about marriage?”
Edward’s brows drew together. “You eloped with Moretti less than a week after meeting him.”
Was the old man actually on his side?
Grandma Moretti shot Edward a glare. “That was a different time. I’ve always reminded Clary to be sensible, and not fill her mind with romantic notions from all those books May used to read to her.”
