Chapter 52: Chapter 52



.

Very soon Sampson’s voice was heard, “Lola, it’s Me.”

Dolores’ tone became very anxious, “Yes.”

Sampson paused before saying, “The woman you mentioned is dead…”

“What?” Sampson hadn’t finished and was interrupted by Dolores.How had she died? She was clearly healthy and not that old. How could she die that easily?

“Lola.” Sampson called out to her tenderly to comfort her, “Don’t be overwhelmed. This matter doesn’t need to be investigated through this woman…”

Dolores gripped the phone tightly and fidgeted. She couldn’t calm down and wasn’t sure why she was so anxious. Was it because her hopes were dashed or because of something else? She didn’t know. She only knew that she was restless.

Her eyes sank, “Are there any more clues?” Was she expecting more?

Sampson was silent. The two remained silent but did not end the call. It was so quiet they could hear each other’s breathing.

After a long moment, Sampson said, “Lola…,” he said and then paused, “Do you really want to know who the father of the child is?”

Dolores lowered her head to look at her feet. The sun’s rays fell around her feet and the shadows swayed. She wondered if she really wanted to know who the father of her child was.

Dolores wondered. How long has she had these thoughts? She only began to have that desire after she sensed Matthew’s clue.

“If the answer disappoints you and is not what you expected, will you still want to know?” continued Sampson to ask.

Dolores didn’t know how to answer the following questions. Perhaps she was conflicted within herself.

“Why don’t you answer?” Sampson forced an answer.

There were many kinds of feelings in existence. One kind was known as love out of familiarity. She had lived with Matthew under the same roof. Would that be love? That was why Sampson questioned her.

“Lola…”

“I’m listening.” Dolores interrupted him, worried that he might ask something she couldn’t answer.

It was nighttime in the field. Sampson was standing by the roadside in another country. The street lights cast a long shadow across the ground for him…..

He lowered his head to look at his own shadow. Actually, he also wanted to know if the man that night was Matthew, as Dolores suspected. The woman was dead and the hotel security video recordings had been erased.

But he had found out the truth. He took Dolores’ photograph and asked inside the hotel. A hotel employee recognized Dolores and saw what had happened that night and told him for sure that the man was Matthew. But he didn’t want to acknowledge it and perhaps didn’t want Dolores to know.

If they had a child together, even if Matthew didn’t like her, he would do it for the child’s sake…he dared not think any more and he didn’t want Dolores to know. He liked her and wanted to take care of her. After all, he was the first one to see her. He had seen her since she was a child.

“Lola, I found out that the man that night…” Sampson tightened his grip on his cell phone.

Dolores’ heart leapt and she felt it catch in her throat.

Suddenly she was covered by a shadow. She turned around and a person approached from the bright light. Deep features were hidden by the bright sunlight. Through the light scattered by the floating dust, she saw clearly who it was and her expression became nervous and defensive.

She anticipated Sampson saying the person she guessed.

“It was a local,” Sampson said.

Boom.

This response was like setting off a bomb in Dolores’ heart. local? That meant that what she had seen in Matthew was just a coincidence. Was her guess wrong?

“Lola, did you hear me?”

“I’m busy, bye.” Dolores ended the call in a hurry. In her anxiety, she dropped the phone with a thud.

She was about to bend down to pick it up but Matthew picked it up before she did. He looked at the number on the phone and narrowed his eyes, “Who was I to make you so nervous to see me?”

Dolores pretended to be calm, “I wasn’t nervous. Your sudden appearance startled me.”

Matthew laughed and leaned over to look at the woman, “Really?”

Dolores felt a shiver run down her spine as he stared at her and she couldn’t respond. At that moment, Coral served the apples and broke the tense moment.

“These apples are crisp and sweet. Taste them.” Coral placed the apples on the table.

Dolores quickly looked away from Matthew to take the apples. They were very sweet and juicy. She picked one up for Matthew, “Take one.”

Matthew looked down and didn’t move and just stared at her hand with the apple.

Dolores brought the apple to his lips. It was fresh and sweet. Dolores blinked and said, “It’s very sweet.”

Matthew took a bite and looked at her, “I’ll forgive you since you’re so understanding.”

Of course, he knew she was trying to change the subject. Coral laughed and realized it was time to leave and supervised the workers outside.

Dolores pursed her lips and didn’t dare reply. She chewed the apple as she took off her jacket and threw it on the couch and sat on it. He looked at the piano and asked, “Do you know how to play the piano?”.

Dolores turned around, looked at the piano and nodded, “I knew a long time ago, but I haven’t played it in a while. Now my fingers are stiff.” She said as she looked at her fingers.

Matthew looked at his fingers thin and fair, but his palms were calloused. He frowned and was about to grab her hands when she got up and walked over to the piano. She sat down at the piano with the lights behind her and her fingers gently rested on the piano keys. Ding, a crisp sound rang out from the piano.

The sound was clean and crisp.

She wrung her hands to regain her touch, and although it had been years since she had played the piano because she had been learning for so many years, she was still confident enough to play.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and placed his fingers gently on the keys.

He began to play the melodious music of ‘Sadness and Happiness’. It was the first score he had ever learned and he liked it. As he played, images of happiness and sadness appeared in his mind…his existence was small but he had experienced so much.

Matthew looked at her back and became immersed in thought. Were the calluses on her hands caused in Country A? Was she terribly injured when she was abandoned by her father?

As he pondered, he was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. He was visibly annoyed by the untimely ringing. He frowned angrily when Dolores stopped playing at the sound of the phone ringing.

The room immediately went silent and the ringing of the cell phone became more pronounced. Dolores got up and walked over curiously to find out why he wasn’t answering the call. As she got closer, she saw that the phone indicated the caller’s name, Helen.

Dolores sat down across from him, “It’s Miss White, why isn’t she answering?”.

Matthew blinked and looked away as if to indicate that she was intruding. Of course, he didn’t feel like answering and so he didn’t.

But the caller was very persistent. The phone continued to ring incessantly.

Dolores smiled, “Are you worried about me listening in on your conversation? Then I won’t bother you…”

She got up and was about to walk away when Matthew grabbed her wrist and with a jerk, she fell and sat on his thigh. She wanted to move but was grabbed tightly by Matthew around her waist.

Matthew responded to the call with his other hand ….

.

.

.