Authors: Ashley Blake
“Emma, what’s wrong?”
Kelly must have seen the panicked look on my face because she looked worried
for me.
“Oh my gosh Kelly, I am
sure that they are used to seeing him with models and I look nothing like
that! What if they don’t like me because I don’t look the way his other
girlfriends did?”
“Emma Blakely, I am
really surprised that you even said that. If they don’t like you because of the
way you look then that is their problem. I happen to think that you look
absolutely beautiful and more importantly, so does Caleb. It doesn’t matter if
his parents don’t like the way that you look, all that matters is that you like
the way that you look and he likes the way that you look. And from what I’ve
seen, he more than likes the way that you look. So don’t worry, I’m sure that
everything will be fine.”
“I hope so.”
As the car pulled
through the gates and we drove toward Caleb’s parents’ house, my mouth nearly
hit the floor of the town car. It wasn’t a house, it was, without a doubt, a
mansion and it was stunningly breathtaking. I wasn’t new to mansions, we lived
in a pretty big house back home, but it was nothing like this.
“Oh my goodness Caleb,
the house is amazing! Did you grow up here?”
“I did and don’t be
intimidated by the size, once you get inside it is surprisingly cozy.”
As soon as we walked
into the house my eyes instantly went up to the painted ceiling and the picture
looked really familiar. I quickly turned my head toward Caleb when it clicked,
and I realized what I was looking at.
“Is that what I think it
is?”
“Yes, it’s a recreation
of Michaelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. My mom loves his work and
she and my dad hired an artist to recreate much of what is in the chapel.”
I was completely
mesmerized as I leaned my head back and stared up at the ceiling. “It is
absolutely beautiful.”
“I’m happy to see that
you enjoy the work on the ceiling.” A woman’s voice rang out in the foyer and
my heart started thumping in my chest as I realized that it must have been
Caleb’s mom. I turned to see a stunningly beautiful woman, who didn’t look a
day over 40 years old, and an extremely good looking older man walking toward
us.
“Hi Mom, hi Dad.”
His mom reached out and
gave Caleb a kiss on the cheek and a big hug and his dad shook his hand. That
struck me as odd and kind of cold. I could see what Caleb was talking about
regarding his relationship with his dad just from that initial encounter.
He
might be a tough nut to crack.
“I would like for you to
meet my girlfriend Emma Blakely. Emma, this is my mom and dad.”
His mom smiled at me and
reached out and hugged me. "Emma, we are so happy that you are able to
spend Thanksgiving with us. Caleb has told me so much about you and I have been
so looking forward to meeting you.”
“Thank you Mrs. Morgan,
and thank you so much for having me. It is so nice to meet you.”
“Emma, any friend of
Caleb’s is always welcome in our home. We are so pleased that you were able to
join us for Thanksgiving.” His dad was nice enough to me but he was all
business.
“Thank you, Mr. Morgan.”
A man in a uniform stood
by as we talked and I found out that he was their butler.
“Michael will put your
things in your room and Caleb can show to your room in a few minutes. Towels,
soaps and lotions are in your bathroom which is attached to your room. Dinner
will be served in 30 minutes and I’m sure you want to freshen up first, so we
will see you in the dining room in a little bit. Do you need anything right
now dear?” She smiled at me and it lit up her face. She was so pretty.
“No Mrs. Morgan, I’m
fine, thank you.”
“Okay then, Caleb honey,
please show Emma to her room, and then we will see you soon for dinner.”
“Okay mom.”
Caleb’s dad didn’t talk
a lot and he just followed his mom down the hall. As we walked through the
house I marveled at how beautiful it was. It must have been at least 20,000
square feet.
“Caleb, this house is
amazing, I can’t believe that you grew up in something as magnificent as this.”
I was gushing and I
think it embarrassed him a bit because he tried to downplay how awesome his
house was.
“It’s really not all
that Emma, just a home like any other, and we are normal people just like other
families, we just happen to have a few more financial resources than some
people.”
I really loved that he
was so humble about the privileged life that he lived, it made him so much more
down to earth and relatable. It was another one of the many reasons that I
loved him.
As soon as I walked into
my room, I understood exactly what Caleb meant when he said that the house may
seem big on the outside but it had a cozy feeling inside. Once I was inside my
room, you would never have guessed that it was housed inside of a huge
mansion. The room was big but had all of the comforts of home. The pillows
were big and fluffy, the comforter was nice and thick, and there was even a
brand new robe waiting for me in the closet. I instantly felt really
comfortable there.
Caleb closed the door
behind us, gathered me into his arms and his eyes searched mine. “I’m so happy
that you’re here Emma.”
The butterflies
fluttered in my belly again as he gently caressed my back and I smiled up at
him. “Me too.”
He bent down to gently
kiss me on the lips, and then he went to his room to freshen up before dinner.
Just as we were walking downstairs for dinner, I heard a male voice bellow
throughout the house.
“Mom, Dad, I’m home!”
Caleb looked at me with
a huge grin on his face. “Colton is here…finally! I can’t wait for him to
meet you.”
As soon as Colton saw
Caleb he ran to him and gave him a big hug.
“I didn’t know you were
home already, mom and dad thought you might be coming tomorrow!” He turned to
me and raised the back of my hand to his lips. “This must be the woman who has
stolen my brother’s heart. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name Emma.”
He was just as charming
as his brother and the good looks ran all throughout this family. Colton was
gorgeous! I couldn’t help but flirt back just a little bit.
“Colton, you sure know
how to flatter a girl.”
When Caleb saw that we
were playfully flirting with each other he jumped in and broke it up. “Okay,
okay enough of this, go find your own girlfriend little brother.”
“You have found a
beautiful woman here Caleb. Emma, if he doesn’t treat you right be sure to
give me a call, and I will take care of him for you.”
I giggled at his
silliness. “You’ve got a deal.” It was cute the way he was playing with me and
I really liked him, he had a cool personality.
“Okay you two, cut it
out. Let’s go eat, I’m sure that mom is waiting for us.”
Their personal chef
prepared a delicious meal for us and we were sitting around the dinner table
chatting as we waited for dessert when Caleb’s dad asked me more questions
about myself.
“So Emma, you said you
are from a small town and you went to a private liberal arts university in
Wisconsin and graduated summa cum laude, which is terrific. You want to be an advertising
executive which is I think is fantastic. A smart woman will get very far in
this world. What do your parents do?” The way he asked the question was not
rude at all, he genuinely seemed interested in knowing more about me.
“My dad owns a bunch of
luxury car dealerships throughout the state of Wisconsin.”
Caleb’s dad’s eyes
widened a bit and I could tell that he seemed a little bit impressed because it
was probably not what he had expected to hear.
“Really? How did he get
started with that? Was it a family business that was passed down to him?”
“Oh no, my dad started
the business when I was a little girl. He worked really hard to build it and
he continued to expand throughout the years and now he has 10 dealerships. He
is a self-made man.”
He looked at his wife.
“Do you hear this Carol? This is what America is built on, hard work which
will yield you great results. I really respect a man who works hard for what
he has. Your father sounds like a terrific man Emma, I would love to meet him
one day.”
“He
is
a great
man and I am sure he would enjoy meeting you as well Mr. Morgan.”
He then turned his
attention toward Caleb. “Emma, did you know that Caleb has been turning me down
for years. I want him to come work with me but it doesn't look like that is
going to happen, is it Caleb?” I could feel the tension in the air when his
father broached the subject and I’m sure that Caleb was not happy that he had
dragged me into it. But since he had, I felt that it was okay to speak up on
Caleb’s behalf.
“I would like to
interject here, and I mean no disrespect at all, but your son is extremely
talented. I think artistic talent is a gift and that gift is not given to
everyone. I really believe that life should be about following your passion and
I also believe that if you are smart, you will be able to turn that passion
into a successful living. Have you seen any of Caleb’s work, Mr. Morgan?”
His dad seemed to be a
little caught off guard with my words but I really wanted him to understand
what was important to his son, not what
he
wanted for his son.
“I haven’t, but my wife
has. I don’t doubt that he’s talented dear.”
I looked at Mr. Morgan
with nothing but sincerity in my eyes. “I really think that you should see his
work when you have a chance, you will be very proud.”
Colton added his two
cents. “Dad, his stuff is really cool. Mom knows, you really should check out
his work. Caleb is a really talented artist.”
It was interesting to me
how his mother just sat there and observed what was going on, but said
nothing. Caleb chimed in to talk about his art gallery.
“Dad, I would love for
you to come to my art gallery opening in August. I’ve been telling you and mom
about it for a while and I think it will help you understand why I love what I
do. When it gets closer I will give you guys all the info and I would really
love to see you there.”
Caleb’s dad hesitated
and looked like he was going to say something, but he remained silent. My
heart was breaking for Caleb because I knew that he really wanted his dad to be
at the opening, and he looked really upset when his dad didn’t say anything.
I saw Caleb’s mom look
at the sad look on her son’s face and she instantly pursed her lips and shot
her husband a stern glare. “John, we will be there won’t we?” Her voice was
firm and I instantly knew who called the shots in that family. After hearing
the tone of her voice, I knew that they would both be going to the opening of
Caleb’s gallery, I had absolutely no doubt about that.
He gave his wife a
sheepish look and then answered her and looked at Caleb. “Yes, we will be
there.”
Caleb smiled at his
parents and I knew that he was happy about that. We all chatted for a while
and then it was time for bed. I thanked his parents for a lovely evening, told
Colton I would see him in the morning, and then Caleb walked me to my room.
Caleb closed the door
behind him as he came into my room and we sat on my bed for a few minutes.
“Caleb, your parents are
actually going to be at your gallery opening, that is so amazing! Aren’t you
happy?”
I could tell that he
was
happy, but something seemed to be bothering him. I gently held his hand and
looked into his eyes. “What is it, something is bothering you, I can tell.”
His eyes searched mine
and then he gave me a half-hearted smile. “You know me so well. It’s just, I
wish that my dad wanted to come on his own without my mother kind of forcing
him to go, you know?”
“I know, but look at it
this way Caleb, at least he’s going to be there, and once he sees your work I
know that he is going to completely change his thinking about you being an
artist. You are so talented and he needs to see that, I really think it will
help him understand you better and it will help both of you get to a better
place in your relationship.”
He thought about what I
said for couple of minutes and then he agreed with me. “You’re probably right, I
should just be happy that he is going to be there. I really want him to see
what I can do, I do think it will help him understand me better.” His eyes
perused my face and he reached out and gently caressed my cheek with his
finger. “You are really good for me, thank you.”
I smiled at him as
butterflies fluttered in my belly. It felt good to be able to be there for him
in a way that he needed me to be. “You’re welcome.”
His eyes smoldered as
they held mine and then settled on my lips. “I should probably go to my room,
because if I stay here I can’t be responsible for what I will do to you.”