Dominic had texted Isabelle he was going to be at her place in a few minutes and he was coming with his trusted doctor.
"Okay I need the both of you to behave, okay? Important people are coming to the house today for dad"
"Okay fine. I'll be on my best behavior" Rosa said, Isabelle turned to Jimmy for his response.
"I'll behave, I promise"
She had prepared lunch and had set the table, when the doorbell went off.
"Rosa, go open the door" Isabelle said.
"Hello Dominic, Hello Sir" Rosa said, smiling as she welcomed them in.
Benjamin sat at the seat offered to him and Rosa, while Dominic went on to join Isabelle in the kitchen.
"Hello Doctor..."
The cutlery she carried in her hands dropped to the floor.
"Benjamin?" she asked, her hand covering her mouth in disbelief.
"Hello lamb" Benjamin stood up, very surprised.
She went over to hug him. Dominic stood there, confused as he had no idea what was going on. And then it dawned on Benjamin what was going on.
"This is my son I told you about, that found you lifeless on the road" he said, and Dominic's mouth dropped wide open.
"Uhm, Jimmy Jimmy, come with me" Rosa said and they both left the dining room.
"It was you? She's the girl? The sacrificial lamb?" Dominic asked Benjamin in disbelief.
"And you're the son?"
"Apparently, the both of you have known each other for quite some, but it seems you both missed the path where you first met" Benjamin said, an awkward silence followed.
"I'll go check on my patient" he said and found his way out of there.
They looked at each other in disbelief.
"How could I have not recognized you? I mean I saw you, I carried you in my arms"
Isabelle still stood there, too stunned to speak.
"I think you should have a seat" Dominic said and sat down too. "The day you ran out of that hotel, was it Ryan?"
She nodded her positive, clenching her fists in an attempt not to cry.
"I'll kill him" Dominic muttered under his breath.
"It doesn't matter Dominic"
"You saved me. Just when I thought you were helping save my dad's life, you saved mine already Dominic, and I never even got to thank you for it" she continued. He held her hand.
"How did you get invited to that party Isabelle?"
"I came with a friend " He pulled his hand away from her.
"Ryan!?"
"What? No. I came with Sophie, my friend that's with Elijah, remember?"
"Oh. Right. Sorry" he said, sitting down.
"What did he do to you in that room?" He asked.
"Uh, he wanted us to make a sex tape, and I said no. And then he drugged, beat and almost raped me, but uhm, I wasn't going to go down without a fight "
"He what?" Dominic said, his teeth gritting and his blood boiling.
"Hey Dominic, that's all in the past now" she reassured him.
"Alright" Dominic said, faking a smile.
But deep down, he wasn't done with Ryan.
"Okay everyone, let's gather round" Benjamin announced as he came out of the room.
"How's my dad, doctor?" Little Jimmy asked.
"How do I put this exactly?" Benjamin thought as he scratched his head, not wanting to break the heart of the little kids.
"Just tell us, please" Rosa said,
"Your dad has what we call neuro cancer, I believe you should know this already" They nodded their heads affirming.
"What's neuro cancer?" Little Jimmy asked.
"It's cancer of the brain little one" Benjamin answered,
"And uhm, it has gotten to type 3 or stage 3, Glioblastomas"
"What is Gloglobosmiss?" Little Jimmy asked, he had never heard the word before. They chuckled at his incorrect and cute pronunciation of the word.
"It's a bad stage of brain cancer, Jimmy" Isabelle answered.
"But fret not, not all hope is lost. With the proper use of radiation, chemo and carefully undergone surgeries, your father should be just fine"
"About the surgeries, uhm, we were told, but we couldn't afford them" Rosa said
"Your father will have everything he needs for better health" Dominic assured her. It was a gloomy atmosphere, everyone was emotional, coupled with the newly found discoveries.
"My oh my, this looks delicious" Benjamin said looking at the bowls of soup Isabelle made, trying to lighten up the mood.
"Let's dig in" Dominic said, clapping his hands.
"Well, it's about time, damn it" Rosa said, rolling her eyes.
"Yaay!" Little Jimmy added, he had been waiting for food.
Isabelle dished a plate out for everyone, she made Veggie rice with shredded beef and peppered chicken soup.
"Will he be able to walk again?" Rosa asked Benjamin, who had no certain answer to her question.
"God willing" he smiled, and they went on with their meals.
"Thank you so much, for everything, we really cannot thank you enough." Isabelle expressed their gratitude to Benjamin and Dominic.
"Hush now, little lamb, you're family now" Benjamin said and waved them goodbye.
"As for me, I'll be sticking around to help you with the dishes" Dominic said as he watched Jameel hold the door for
Benjamin.
"Nope, that's Rosa's job" Isabelle said, and her sister glared at her.
"What? Isn't it?" Isabelle asked
"But he wants to help you, why push him away" Rosa said, trying to wriggle her way out of doing dishes, she looked at Dominic.
"Well don't look at me, your sister's the boss" Dominic said, his hands up in surrender.
"Okay fine, Dominic and I will do the dishes" Isabelle said and Rosa ran off.
"Let me help you with that" he said as he carried the dishes to the kitchen.
"So, it just occurred to me that I've been to your place before"
"As it would appear " he said,
"But why do you live so far away from the city?" she asked, remembering how far she had to walk.
"To be away from people" he said.
"Sometimes, it may seem lonely, it may seem unhappy, dull or even unfulfilled" she said quoting her statement about black.
"Why do you run from the world Dominic? Why is your guard so high?" Isabelle asked, not knowing he was a Mafia.
"Have you seen Batman?" He asked.
"What does Batman have to do with this?"
"You see how he lived away in the mountains?"
"Oh, Dominic please" she chuckled.
"I'm the Batman, I'm the Batman, I'm the Batman " he sang as he goofed around, both of them laughing at his joke.
"It's just how we live" he said.
"Can I ask you a question?" Isabelle asked
"Sure"
"What about your mom?"
"Uhm, I never met her" he said abruptly.
"Oh" Isabelle said softly.
"No need to feel sorry for me, I never knew her"
"What happened?"
"Actually, I don't know. I never asked either" he said, he never knew much about his mom.
"Would you like to ask?"
"Maybe, maybe not. I don't really care, she doesn't exist to me"
"Dominic" Isabelle called softly but also in a scolding manner.
Dominic dropped the tablecloth, he had never talked about it, and he didn't want to.
But Isabelle was pressing questions, and she was giving up until she got her answers.