ISSABELLE

Issabelle was very breathless when she reached home. She started crying. They were tears of anger, shock, painful memories, despair, and hatred. She would never forgive Ryan. She had a very difficult time, bringing Cathy up, all alone. Why did he turn up now when Cathy had grown up and was on the verge of getting married to Steven.

She visited the storage room in the basement. It was quite dusty there. She pulled out boxes. The first box contained a pile of children's books. She looked at them lovingly. She searched out for her wedding gown in the second box, amongst other things that she had kept hidden. Her wedding dress was a pretty white net gown, with tiny, glittering crystals sewn on it. The net veil was also kept along with the dress, in the box. She had felt like a princess in that dress. She still clearly remembered the look of love, adoration, and desire, that Ryan had given, on seeing Issabelle in her bridal dress. It had never occurred to her then, that a day might come when there would be no love, adoration, and desire. How naive she had been then. Issabelle felt very nostalgic. She firmly suppressed and controlled herself, and her feelings. She reminded herself that she was not a 19 yr daydreamer any more. She was, in fact, a career woman, who had her appointment diary always full. She need not be sentimental, nor have any regrets about the past. She firmly put the dress back in its place. She decided to have a nice hot shower, and then go to sleep. She had an early morning appointment, the next day. She also had to make arrangements for the fashion shoot, and also the show, lined up on coming Saturday. She convinced herself that she would be too busy, and would not have time to think about Ryan or anyone else.

After half an hour, she stepped out of the shower, while she was drying herself with a towel, and as she pulled on a clean white panty on her slender hips, she started thinking, what must his thoughts had been on seeing her again. Would he have been surprised, to see that she was no more a girl of 19, rather she was a very mature woman. Could Ryan have remembered, that he had desired her once? Probably he must be having a woman in his life now, and no longer had any remembrance about Issabelle. She had deliberately tucked away all those memories, why did he have to come back now? What did he want? She could not understand, why those memories were once again flooding her, after she had seen Ryan, at the restaurant? She could still vividly remember his touch, his mouth caressing hers, his smell, the roughness of his jaw, she had not forgotten anything. She was not able to understand what was happening to her.

Issabelle quickly dressed herself up, when she suddenly heard the opening of the front door of the house. But she calmed herself that it would only be Catherine, as she had the spare keys of the house. Cathy called out for her, "Mom, are you OK". Issabelle rushed down to the living room. She found that Steven was also accompanying Cathy. "Mom, Jimmy called up to inform me, about something, that has upset you, and how you ran out of the restaurant," Cathy said this to Issabelle. Cathy asked Issabelle, "Mom, have you seen Dad at the restaurant, by any chance?" Seeing her face, and expression, Issabelle felt that Cathy knew, that her dad would be at the restaurant. She asked Cathy, that she knew everything, didn't she? Cathy started to cry. She said, "Mom I am sorry, I did not want to hurt you." Steven intervened, he informed that Cathy had nothing to do with this. He told Issabelle that," Cathy loves you very much, and would never think about hurting you. But she always had a secret desire to meet her Dad, which I felt was but natural. It was impossible for Cathy to get in touch with her dad, as she knew that you would be hurt if she did so. But it has been twenty years now, since your divorce. I felt that Cathy would be very happy to get married in the presence of her dad. I made some inquiries and came to know that your ex-husband has settled in Canada. I then send him a message, through people I know there, and here he is. I actually was planning to fly to Canada, and meet him personally. I never planned to call him here. Cathy has nothing to do with it". Issabelle was numb with shock, but she retorted in anger, "Well I am Catherine's mother, and I know very well, whether she needs to meet her Dad? I would have made it sure that she would have met him if it would have been beneficial for her." Steven corrected her statement by saying that, Issabelle was filled with so much hatred, that she did not bother to check someone else's feeling. She did not understand how much Cathy needed to meet her father, talk to him, to know him. Issabelle confirmed this from Cathy, to which she nodded. Filled with pain Issabelle asked Cathy, why had she not told her about it? Cathy replied that she didn't want to hurt her. "I wanted to know my father because you always told me that he had deserted both of us, and also that he had refused to believe that I was his child. I wanted to meet him because I wanted to know his part of the story, though I trust you completely Mom. Please, Mom, you know that you loved him so much. It has been a long time, and people change. He might also possibly have changed. Can you not forgive him?"