I won't let you go

By Stefania Gil

Calvin and Bridget are engaged; however, they don’t portray the happiness of a couple planning their future wedding.
And although they are convinced they are meant for each other and feel confident of the love they have, everything seems to stumble when Bridget has to put some distance between them because of a «family» matter.
That distance, which seemed harmless and insignificant would be the key to understand that their true loves, are in other people who they had left behind many years ago. People who thought they had forgotten but, that really, they were just there, lingering in a corner of the heart waiting for the opportunity to let go of a memory that could revive the feeling even for a few seconds.
Neither one of the two was waiting to have the meeting with the past. Especially Calvin, that with each encounter with Elena, his father´s nurse, reminds him every moment of that girl who stole his heart one night and whom he could never forget.
Elena has just come back to the United States after leaving her mother´s ashes in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. And she is grateful that the Wagner family, once more, is helping her get ahead by getting her a good job opportunity to take care of Baltashar Eldridge´s health, a man she remembered very vaguely but in a good way, thanks to some summers the Eldridge family was on vacations at the Wagner house.
It seemed like an excellent idea to reunite with her childhood friends: Alex, Emerick; and her childhood platonic love: Calvin.
What awaits Elena and Calvin? What do Elena and the girl who stole Calvin´s heart that summer in Santa Mónica have in common? Will Calvin become something else than just Elena´s platonic love?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stefania Gil
• Release date: Jun 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781071545270

Book preview

The characters, places, and events described in this novel are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.

We only part to meet again.

— John Gay —

Foreword

Since he was very little, Calvin Eldridge had shown his calling would be with justice, practicing law as someone who would fight to show the truth of that which he defended. He had a magical gift of capturing the attention of those who surrounded him.

Everyone went quiet while showing respect for his words, which were always coherent and with such solid arguments, that, not even the wisest of men, would have been able to argue with him.

Not because he was a child, no. Nobody dared argue with him because Calvin wouldn’t leave room to refute any of his arguments.

His father knew he would be a lawyer, you didn’t have to be a genius to know that, and the fact that he spent some summers at the Wagner’s house played in favor of Calvin’s passion to learn how to make the world a better, fairer place, for those who needed him.

That was how this little speech genius, at such short age, was William Wagner’s favorite, a good friend of Balthasar Eldridge.

Promise me that when your son finishes college, you will send him to my office immediately William Wagner saw Baltashar with interest.

I will, as long as he wants to defend people in his free time, Willi Eldridge snorted. My first born will be an architect like me.

Now, the snort came out of William’s mouth.

Don’t you see your son’s potential, Baltashar? That boy was born to be a lawyer.

Both were leaning against the frame of the tall, elegant window of the luxurious Wagner mansion, whose view was straight to the sea where the children were playing and laughing as they always did.

We have good children Eldridge said, smiling with pleasure, and then, sipped a little bit of his whisky.

We are raising them well, man. As it should be. Your woman and mine are the best at laying down the law Wagner paused to watch his daughter laugh.  Because I confess that I am an idiot when I am with Bridget. She is the light of my eyes.

And I understand you Balthasar reassured him. My little Alex doesn't see me as the two ruffians who do nothing but argue with each other.

There was a silence and Baltashar spoke again.

How is Mary Joe taking the miscarriage?

Wagner lowered his head and that was when he went to sit directly in the leather chair behind his imposing, solid wood desk.

Baltashar followed him and sat in the chairs across from the desk.

What’s wrong Willi? Baltashar was starting to get restless.

Mary Joe and myself will not be able to have children again because we might endanger her health. The last loss almost made us lose Mary and... William was not able to continue because the memories knotted in his throat Baltashar did not want to interrupt, although he was going to scold him for not having been informed of the whole story, there was no time to decide. They had to remove her uterus because she wouldn’t stop bleeding. I can tell you now he saw him with fright, we almost lost her.

Baltashar rubbed his face with his hands.

How is it that you’re telling me this just now? That is what friends are supposed to be for, to support each other at a moment like the one that you just went through.

I am sorry, I know. In that moment, I wasn’t in the right mindset to tell anyone, Baltashar, and then, what else was there. Saying we had had a loss was more than enough. Baltashar filled the glasses up again.

Luckily, María’s arrival to this house has been a blessing. Mary and her have a good time together and I think this has been the best therapy for my wife. The Latin blood seems to draw them closer and the truth is that the joy María radiates is one of a kind. Even I feel happy when she is with us. Baltashar saw him with doubt.

Don´t ever dare think that I could cheat on my wife. Is it that you do not know me? William seemed offended It is as if I thought you could do the same.

Not even if we were going through a crisis. I would be unable to cheat on my dear Abie. And, I know you wouldn’t do anything of the sort to Mary, I just said that to annoy you. They both laughed.

So, Mary Joe is well emotionally and has accepted no more children will be coming?

Yes. The worst is over and everything is overcome, luckily, as I said before. Besides, Elena, María’s daughter, is becoming the surrogate of that child that we both wanted and couldn’t have after Brie.

As long as it doesn’t become a problem with the housekeeper Baltashar stated, in reference to María.

William shook his head.

No, friend, we have a limit. We know that we are very fond of the girl, and we will try to give her everything within our reach for her to become a woman of good bearing as much as our own Brie. María is as single mother and has had a life filled with problems and mistreats. We are handling her residency in the country, the family with whom she was with here in the United States, was giving her a deal that was not the one they agreed to, and, of course, she wants to look after her daughter´s safety. She has proven to be a good person. We only want was is best for them. We do not want to fill a place that we are not entitled to and María knows that. She also knows, and understands, all the bad things my wife went through. Willi shrugged. I think it is maternal solidarity between my wife and her. The truth is that the girl is endearing and she is very well brought up.

I can bear witness to that. She still continues addressing me as Mr. Eldridge and she calls my wife Mrs. Abie.

They both let out a laugh.

Alex says Elena sometimes makes her nervous they laughed again. What surprises me is that Elena does not run every time my Alex goes near her.

That is because your Alex is the naughtiest of all.

Baltashar smiled very proudly.

Yes, she is.

Let’s see if when she is a teenager you will keep on smiling that way.

But hey, man, don’t make me bitter Baltashar took another sip, no way, I am sure I will continue being very proud of her even when she drives me crazy with her temper.

Let’s stop thinking about the future and let´s go enjoy the present. Let´s go to the beach with the missus and children now that the day is perfect to make a good bbq at the seaside.

They stood up and walked towards the door.

You still haven’t promised me you will send Calvin to me after he has finished college.

What for? Do you want him to design a new house for you? Baltashar patted his friend on the back.

They both smiled and left, the promise still there, although Eldridge never said it out loud.

He could also see his son´s potential to become a lawyer and if Calvin decided to study law, Baltashar would not hesitate an instant to put him under William´s watch so he could have the experience of being in the best law firm of the country.

***

Calvin was happy in his home with the family he was given in life.

His father was a hero, and his mother, the most sublime and delicate. Calvin felt a weakness towards his mother that was well received.

Just like Alex, his little sister who he adored, he had a weakness for his father that was perfectly reciprocated.

He always thought that the one who wasn’t well requited with the care and preferences, had been his younger brother, Emerick, who had no other choice than to find refuge in the love that good aunt Beth had saved for him.

Such was life, each with its own.

And at the Eldridge´s house, everything seemed to go harmoniously until the Baltashar Eldridge scam was discovered, and, when that happened, everything fell apart.

Calvin frowned when he remembered the last scene he witnessed between his parents before they summoned a family meeting to let everyone know what was going on and the consequences that it would bring.

He was not dumb. He knew well that the divorce was imminent and knowing his mother, they would end up living in a place far away from his father.

He saw the evident disappointment and rage in his mother’s eyes, and that made him want to kick his father’s ass for being such an idiot. But, he respected him a fair amount even when he had cheated all of them.

This man was his father and nothing could change that fact. The respect that he had earned throughout the years, made him understand that one slip-up wasn’t enough to hate him, just like he knew his little sister would be in that precise moment.

Alex wasn’t taking that episode well, which would, one way or another, affect everyone’s life.

So her parents could solve things in the best way and without allowing Alex to witness more screaming between them, they decided to send Alex and Emerick to a camp in Yellowstone for thirty days. This while their parents could sort the separation at home.

Calvin thought this decision was the most logical and tried to mediate between his father and his mother to sort things out. His mother, who was not handling her emotions very well, told him:

Don’t play lawyer on this, Calvin Eldridge. It is bigger than you and you can’t do anything about it. In fact, there's nothing anyone can do. I want you as far away from this house as possible.

Calvin went against his mother’s wishes even when he knew that nothing was impossible for Abie Eldridge when she got something in her head to do, and so, she dragged him to the airplane on which all his high school friends were leaving for Los Angeles for the long-awaited end-of-school trip.

The flight was long, fortunately, it wasn’t boring because he was sitting next to his good friend Micah and they were making plans to have fun ever since they got off the plane. Micah had been in Los Angeles many times with his family because his father had business to attend to there. He knew a lot of places to have fun although he knew that his meaning of «fun» wasn’t the same as Calvin’s.

Some grownups, parents and the boy’s teachers, were with them; not to spoil their trip but to make sure none would cross the boundaries established before leaving Houston.

Micah insisted on selling Calvin the idea that it would be very easy to escape the adult’s sight and take a stroll around the city. For a moment, Calvin let himself be led by what he considered  «irresponsible»  taking his friend’s offers.

For once in his life, if he acted irresponsibly, nobody would hold it against him.

He would escape with his best friend, they would go searching for pretty girls and have a good evening.

That is what he would do.

***

Elena, honey, do not forget to take Scooby out for a walk María reminded her daughter with a tone of exhaustion in her voice. She could not understand how her daughter was not tired of hearing her repeat things over and over again.

Elena saw her mother amused while she blew on her freshly painted nails.

Yes, mother, I told you, I would do it as soon as my nails are dry.

María bent over and gave her little one a kiss. She smiled. She would always see her as a little girl even when she was already a teenager.

Why don’t you sit down and relax? suggested Elena worriedly, looking at how her mother started to shank her leg because of the back pain, that, for sure, was