Chapter 6 - THE HOUSE WITHOUT LOCKS
Elena left the hospital after three weeks. The doctors recommended continued treatment and regular therapy. She could walk short distances, but the weakness in her legs made stairs difficult.
Vincent arranged a ground-floor suite with wide doors, soft lighting, and windows overlooking the garden. He asked before changing anything.
“Would you like the old bedroom?” he asked.
Elena shook her head. “Not yet.”
“Then we'll use the garden suite.”
“And I want the locks removed from the inside.”
Vincent understood immediately. “Every one.”
The maintenance team removed the interior locks that afternoon. Elena watched from her chair as the workers took them away.
Clara stood beside her, holding the music box. “Now Mommy can open the doors?”
“Yes,” Elena said. “Whenever I want.”
Clara seemed satisfied.
Vincent moved his own bedroom to the opposite side of the hall. He did not assume that finding Elena meant their marriage could return to what it had been. Some nights she wanted him nearby. Other nights she asked to be alone. He respected both.
One evening, he found her sitting in the garden, wrapped in a shawl.
“Too cold?” he asked.
“A little.”
He offered his coat. She accepted it.
For several minutes they watched Clara chase bubbles across the lawn.
“Do you remember our first home?” Elena asked.
“The apartment above the bakery.”
“You hated the smell of cinnamon in the curtains.”
“I loved it. I pretended to hate it because you teased me.”
A small smile touched her face.
“I thought about that place every day.”
Vincent sat beside her. “I thought about you every day too.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you look harder?”
He had no answer that could repair the past.
“I trusted people I shouldn't have trusted. I let grief make decisions for me.”
Elena looked at him. “I need you to understand something. I don't want to be watched every minute. I don't want guards outside every door. I don't want every kindness to come with a security plan.”
“I'll listen.”
“I want to take Clara to the park without asking permission.”
“You can.”
“I want to see my doctor without one of your men sitting in the waiting room.”
“Then they won't.”
“And I want to know that if I say no, you will accept it.”
Vincent met her eyes. “You will never have to earn the right to say no.”
That night, Clara asked Vincent to read her a bedtime story. He chose a book about a little fox who lost his way in the forest. He stumbled over the voices, and Clara giggled.
“Daddy, the fox sounds silly.”
“He's nervous.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn't know how to get home.”
Clara thought about that. “Then someone should help him.”
May you like
Vincent looked at Elena, who stood in the doorway.
“Yes,” he said. “Someone should.”
