Maxwell pointed again at the pot.
Looking at them, Claudio read a little note attached to them. It read. "Get well soon, Maxwell. Love, Suzie."
"She was here!" Claudio shouted with delight.
Maxwell nodded, smiling.
"Nurse!"
The nurse came back in. "What is it now?"
The private detectives had let Claudio down again, they hadn't found Suzanne, but his father had! She had been visiting him. In fact, she had visited a few times.
After speaking with the nurse, Claudio arranged for the staff to let him know as soon as she appeared again, offering $5000 to the staff member who called him.
Then, he waited.
And waited.
The night before his first competitive game, he received the phone call. Suzanne was visiting Maxwell, and Claudio had to race over to the hospital before she left. He screeched through the streets in his Lamborghini and around city corners. He rushed up the stairs to his father's ward, his mutant powers carrying up there in no time. Then he charged down a corridor and to his father's room.
When he stepped inside, there she was. Suzanne. Looking as gorgeous as ever. She wore a yellow origami dress that stretched down to her knees and had her beautiful brown hair tied up on her head. In her eyes he saw the warmth that he so admired.
"Suzie!" Claudio yelled.
"Hi Claudio … I better go … " She couldn't bear to look him in the eyes.
"Suzie, please listen," he said gently.
Maxwell looked on from his bed.
"Suzie," Claudio held her hand. "I am so sorry, please forgive me for being such an idiot. I know life hasn't been good, but if you let me, I promise to love you for the rest of our lives. I love you, and I'm sorry it's taken me this long to realize it."
Suzanne felt a rush of excitement. In the last few weeks she'd been able to get a job working as a sales assistant and even set up an apartment while she looked at colleges. She was standing on her own two feet again, and she liked that. Yet, through all of that she had missed Claudio. To hear him say that he felt the same way was music to her ears, but there was still one big issue.
They embraced and kissed passionately.
"What about your family reputation, Claudio? Do you really want to be married to someone labeled as a prostitute for the rest of your life?" Suzanne asked, concerned.
But just as Claudio was about to answer another voice spoke, strained yet strong.
"Love's more important than a name … " Maxwell said, speaking for the first time since he'd had a stroke.
Tears of joy streamed down both Suzanne and Claudio's faces.
"I couldn't have said it better myself, Dad," Claudio said before continuing to kiss his wife.
***
The group of conspirators who attempted to ruin Claudio's career were not revealed. That struggle would wait for another day. Yet, in some ways Claudio had wanted to thank them. If it were not for them, he would never have met the love of his life.
Three wonderful things happened that year, Maxwell recovered fully after extensive physiotherapy, Claudio was cheered on by all of his family as he won another Super Bowl, and, most important of all, Claudio and Suzanne found out they were expecting their first child; a son, born out of love, who would wear the family name of Vega with pride, just like the generations before him.
THE END
BONUS STORY 3 ON NEXT PAGE
3. The Boss's Proposal
Lily Day's breath became labored as she looked at the notice that hung on her bookstore's glass door. Large red letters were scrolled across the top of the page, screaming at her. Her gaze was iron, and her body was buzzing. Lily felt as though she was going to fly apart from the inside out. EVICTION NOTICE
Her chestnut brown hair thrashed in the wind, hitting her peachy skin and getting caught in her umber eyes. Her delicate hand met her thin, pink-lipped mouth as a tight gasp escaped her violently. She felt her breath get caught in her chest, and refused to allow her to breathe. She could hear her own devastation.
She had fought so hard for this store. She had worked every day since high school to buy it, and now, here it was, about to be taken from her. Taken like a security blanket from a reluctant child with a misunderstood parent. The loss cut her deep. She was at a loss for a reaction, and also for words.
She had known that her rent had gotten a bit behind, but she could not have guessed that it had gotten to this point. She had emptied all of her accounts, sure that sales would pick up. After all, the store had only been open for a few months. She thought the sales had been impressive and had hoped her landlord would understand and give her some extra time to pay rent. No business owner was successful in their first year, at least, that's what every magazine and article that she had read had said. Didn't they understand that?
She felt as though she was being taken on by a power much too powerful for her. An entity that was much larger and greater than she could hope to be. She felt like a child on a playground being bullied. Helpless.
Lily did the first thing that she could have thought to do; she called her sister, Holly Day. Holly had been there for Lily since she was born. After their mother died, Holly had taken over the family. She was the only person who would have been able to do it anyways. Their father quickly fell into a deep pit of alcohol and verbal abuse, and Holly did all that she could to shield Lily from the pain that entailed for the two of them.
Lily thought back to those late nights where Holly held her tightly as she cried while their father screamed in the living room, complaining about his life and their bank account. Holly would sing Lily lullabies that their mother had taught them. She would rock her and tell her stories about how one day it would be all right. That's what this bookstore meant; it was her all right. It was her happiness that she had been deprived of for so long.
Holly had also invested all her savings in the bookstore so Lily was scared to see her reaction. She began to sweat as the other line rang. She remembered the day that her sister had emptied out her savings account with a smile, happy to help her sister. Holly's husband James had been resistant to the entire idea. Lily understood why, but a small amount of her resented him for it.
After Holly got married to James, Lily felt truly alone. Holly was busy being a newlywed and planning for children, and their father was little more than a ghost that occasionally needed bailed out of jail or bill money.
"Lily?" The mellifluous voice on the other line asked.
Her sister's sweet and kind voice had Lily erupt in tears that refused to stop.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
Her words were comforting and loving, just as they had always been. Rain began to pour, and Lily worked her key in the door with a shaking hand as she grabbed the now wet and curling piece of paper.
"My shop … they want to take it." Lily choked out, her words stuttering.
"Be right there." There wasn't a trace of annoyance or anger in her sister's voice, something she was thankful for.
Lily fell into the nearest chair as she dropped her heavy head in her hands. Her heart throbbed and her throat clenched. She didn't have too much time to fall into a nadir of despair as Holly came running in. She had Lily's nephew, Bryce, sitting on her hip, the three year old in the same miserable state that Lily was in. She must have woken him up earlier than his usual time.
Lily imagined her sister waking up Bryce and dressing him quickly as she put him in his car seat, and listened to him wail as she drove all the way down to the store in the wind and the rain. She hated herself for it.
Holly handed her sister her God Child, who seemed to calm down in the arms of despondent company. He began to play with her owl-figure locket, bringing a smile to Lily's face.
Her nephew had brought her joy. She was so excited when Holly had called her, telling Lily that the countless attempts of Inv-tro Fertilization had finally worked, and she was pregnant. Since then, Bryce had been dear to both of their hearts. For Holly, he was a prayer come true, for Lily, he was the person that had made her sister happiest. When Holly told her that she was Bryce's God Mother, it blew her away.
"I knew he would make you feel better." Holly said as she reached for the eviction notice. Lily gave it over as she looked at her dear nephew.
Holly read over the paper, and cocked her mouth to the side as she thought.
"You have thirty days, so we need to think of a plan." Lily looked thankfully at her sister.
She had been too panicked to even read what the notice had to say. She cursed herself for being so reactive. She could have avoided this entire fiasco if she had only calmed down enough to read what the paper had to say.
Holly walked to the back of the bookshop and began to make the two of them a cappuccino. The soft aroma of coffee lulled Lily even further. She looked around at her second home. It had been everything that she had dreamed of. She had even planned every book that would line its shelves. The day she paid for the shop was the best day of her life. The day she sold her first book was remarkable. Today compared to those had been the most depressing day of her life. Her heart was in pain, and she felt like a failure.