Chapter 28: Chapter 28

"All mothers have intuition. The great ones have radar."

-Cathy Guisewite-

***

The sound of gentle flowing water from the pond combined with the chirping of the birds who had just come out from their nest. The moist morning air and sparkling dew on leaves surface created the perfect scene for morning meditation. Darline Desroches laid down her yoga mat on the grass and positioned herself in a comfortable position.

In a Sukhasana position (sitting comfortably with leg crossed) she worked on her breathing. Inhaling deeply, held it in for a good ten seconds and exhaled. She entered an even state of mind, and felt absolutely relaxed. It was then when someone decided to disrupt her peaceful moment. And it was no other than her husband, Archard Desroches.

"Honey, have you seen my power tie?" He slid the glass door. Darline was annoyed. Out of all time in a day he had to interrupt her morning meditation session. Even though Archard and her were both in their fifties then, she could not understand how the man could act like a spoilt brat sometimes, she was his wife not his mother. She puffed but put a smile back on, trying to maintain her inner peace.

"It's in the laundry, you wore it two days ago." Archard's knees went weak. It was his favorite tie, navy blue with light silvery blue stripes. He called it his power tie for a reason and it was not for a light reason. He felt a bit disappointed, because usually the maid would immediately wash it. Something must have gone wrong that day. Archard was a creature of habit, he needed consistency to perform.

"What am I supposed to do now without my favorite tie, gosh, I have an important meeting to conduct today." He pouted while filling in a glass of water to calm himself down.

"Archard, love, it's just a tie for god's sake. Now, I'll get you something else, consider this another lucky tie for you."

Darline thought her husband was being over dramatic, she ended up picking a tie which looked similar like his favorite from the laundry room and led him to their room. Archard stood in front of the mirror, fixing his collar as Darline helped him put the tie on. While they were at it, Darline decided to bring up a topic which had been bothering her mind for some time by then.

"Honey, have you heard about Raphael's new girlfriend? I heard he brought back a woman from Bordeaux, I am concerned, our son has never dated anyone before." She heard the news from Celine about the woman, she texted her as soon as she left Raphael's house the other day. At first she thought her daughter was joking, because she knew what her son was like, but when Celine spoke to her in person, it was clear that what she said was true.

"It's not someone we never meet before though, remember sweet little Clara Bellavance, Dennis Bellavance's daughter from eight years ago?" Darline's memory was getting more vague along with age, but she would not forget the face of the lovely girl. She had a greater memory for beautiful things. In the end, Archard explained the details which Raphael previously told him. Darline listened intently as she made an attempt to draw a conclusion. One which was rather cynical.

"What if she is just using him for his money?" Archard raised his eyebrow. He could not believe his wife had such thought regarding their future daughter in law.

"God forbids. You should not make such assumption about her, darling. Clara is not that sort of woman. I assure you. Our son is not stupid. He definitely would not settle down with a woman like that." Archard had faith in Clara. He was too familiar with the Bellavance to even had such a thought.

Darline was a bit startled that his husband defended the woman. Is Clara really that genuine of a person? As a mother, she was still concerned, her son was a treasure, many women had chased him throughout his life, none of them were ever introduced to the family. About Clara, he had talked about her with Archard and Celine, he must be serious this time.

One thing she feared was the fact that people change, Clara might have been a sweet lovely girl a while ago but she did not know who she was at that moment. It worried her a bit. It was not that she did not trust Raphael and her husband's judgement, she knew Raphael was an adult who was capable of making his own decision, but she was a mother too.

Her husband might call her paranoid, but she had not met the woman in years. People could change along with time, she had to make sure she was a right fit for her son. In her mind, she had made a space in her schedule list to pay the woman a visit. Of course, she would not tell Archard or Raphael about it.

Clara Bellavance, what is it that you have that makes my son fall for you?

After she was done tying the tie, Archard looked at himself in the mirror with a proud gaze, yes, he could not wear his favorite tie that day but his wife had made sure he still looked well presented.

"See, now you are ready to conquer the world. Build that empire darling, I'll continue my morning meditation now." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and Archard left the house. Once she heard the car driving away, Darline walked over to her yoga mat and continued what Archard had previously interrupted.

However, for some reason she could not concentrate, her mind kept on wondering to her youngest son. She opened her eyes and decided that she needed to meet Clara on her own. That way she would be relieved of this impatience of hers and might form a bond with her.

Yes, she should stay away from all negative thoughts at the moment and actually did something to relieve herself. Picking up her phone, she dialed a number.

"Hello, is this Clara Bellavance?"