Anna walked down to the Grand hall where she met Jimmy, he looked worried as she approached him. “Hey stranger.” She smiled at him.
“Babe, where did you go?” he asked in a worried voice.
“To use the bathroom, I told you.” Anna replied with a convincing smile; trying to act normal was difficult for her, because what if she was overselling the lie?
“Yeah, but it has been almost an hour. I got worried and asked one of the maids to find you but she returned and said you were not in the guest restroom.” Jimmy said to her.
“Yeah…” Anna bit her lips hesitantly, trying to come up with a quick response. The thing about lying is that when you tell one lie, you will need to tell more lies to defend the first lie, and if you are not smart enough, you will get lost in your own lies.
“The hallways!” she suddenly said with wide eyes.
“The hallways?” Jimmy asked with furrowed eyebrows. “What about them? And I called you twice but you didn’t answer, you had me all worked up.”
“There are so many hallways up there, I got lost and had to trace my way back, it was stressful. But you don’t have to worry, as you can see I am fine, and your calls… My phone is on DND, so I missed it. I am sorry, I will try not to get lost again.” She replied with a little chuckle to lighten the moment.
“I am glad that you are okay, and that is not going to happen because I am going to accompany you for the rest of the night,” he announced with a smile.
“Huh?” Anna muttered
“Yeah… If we are going to get lost in this building, then we will get lost together.” He said with a small laugh as he took her hand.
Mr. Blackwood was climbing down the large staircase when he caught sight of Anna and Jimmy, he growled with him as he saw them holding hands. He had gone to his bedroom to change into different attire and comb his hair after leaving Anna.
In order to draw attention to himself as the crowd was engrossed in their small talks and gossip, Mr. Blackwood signaled a waiter to bring him a glass of wine and a little spoon. Standing halfway up the dazzling staircase, he gently hit the spoon on the glass cup four times to get their attention and the next minute, all eyes were on him.
He cleared his throat while waiting for the noise to die down and then he began to address the crowd. "My friends," he said in a deep, powerful voice that filled the huge room. "I stand before you tonight, not just as a birthday celebrant, but as a witness to the fabric of life unfurling before us."
There was a wave of understanding through the crowd. Some leaned forward, their eyes shining with what they had been through.
"Tonight," he went on, "we celebrate not only years lived but also moments shared, laughter that echoed, and tears that dried.” His eyes slowly went towards Anna and she nodded at him with a small smile.
“We celebrate the past made of successes and failures, dreams pursued and goals met." He said and paused again.
People nodded their heads, smiled, and whispered warm things in the quiet background.
"I see faces I know and faces I don't know among you," he said as he looked around the hall, stopping at each group and person. "Old pals who have walked with me through sun and storm, and new acquaintances whose threads now form part of the ever-growing design."
The sound of grateful laughter filled the room, making it feel warm and welcoming, like a winter fire crackling.
"Tonight," he said, raising his glass higher, "let's toast to the things that hold us together." He said and just then, his eyes met with that of his mother. There was a man standing not too far from her and he could guess who she had come here with. "To family, friends, and the love that grows like roses in this beautiful garden we call life."
Anna slowly looked towards Mrs. Forbes and back to Mr. Blackwood, she hoped he would take her words and hear the old lady out.
Mr. Blackwood continued, "Before I end my speech, I would like to thank you all for gathering here to celebrate with me, it is the one day in my life where I am not lonely and I have you all to thank for that. May the coming year be a future woven with bright threads." His voice was filled with sincerity. "May we chase our dreams with fearless hearts, may we offer comfort with open hands, and may we find joy in the everyday race of life. Please do well to enjoy yourselves while you are here, there are all kinds of food and drinks, feel at home. Thank you again for attending."
A loud round of applause came from the hall, and it made him feel good with himself, maybe he wasn’t that bad with words. He always feared like he would turn out like his father someday, a man who is terrible at communication.
Mr. Blackwood smiled, and it was a real, thankful smile that went all the way to his eyes. One more time, he raised his glass in a quiet toast to the magic of the night and the shared moments that made life worth living. He might never get to experience this for another 365 days, so he best enjoys it while it lasts.
** **
Mr. Blackwood was out in the garden, he needed some air as he couldn’t bear to be in the same room with the others. Firstly, there was Jimmy and Anna who wouldn’t stop their touching and smooching. Okay, maybe they weren’t smooching but he was all over her, then there was his mother…
Maxwell imagined what his father would think of him now. Yes, he might have dropped the idea of basketball and eventually went into business but at least he still proved his father wrong, he didn’t become a failure like his Sadist Dad had predicted.
“That was a beautiful speech,” the feminine voice dragged his attention. He didn’t need to turn around to know that it was his mother, her voice hasn’t changed much in twelve years, it just grew less affectionate.
Maxwell did not respond to her words, he just stood with his arms behind his back, staring into the night. It was a beautiful evening and the stars were up, maybe he would just see a shooting star and wish this old lady away.
“You must miss home so much to create an exact replica of it here. The garden is quite the same as the one you played in as a kid, you must have those memories stuck to your head.” She continued as she stepped closer to him.
Once again, Mr. Blackwood scoffed without looking back at her. He wasn’t having any of this discussion and even though he wanted to do as Anna said and hear her out, a part of him was fighting the idea, resisting her voice in his head.
“I couldn’t help but notice back there that you still had the wristband on, so perhaps I still mean something to you.’
“Or maybe I just love the way it looks on my wrist!” Maxwell clapped back as he turned to face her, unable to ignore her anymore.
Mrs. Maria Forbes smiled, glad that he looked at her face, it hurt when he ignored her. “You were always a stubborn kid, I am glad to see that hasn’t changed.”
“So you want to see what changes I have been forced through in these past years? Well, shocker! I am not the little boy you cast out to the cold years ago, I am different now, Maria.” He responded.
She nodded. “Of course, I can see that. But you wouldn’t accomplish all these if you were not my stubborn little boy. I am proud to call you my son.”
“No! don’t you dare!” Maxwell snarled at her as he stepped closer, an intimidating look on his face. “You lost the right to call me your son the minute you abandoned me in the middle of that road, that was the day you ceased to be my mother.”
“That was your father!”
“And you sat there and did nothing!” Mr. Blackwood shot back at her. He was very mad right now and he didn’t want to hear it.
!