Ellen beamed when she glanced at the couple. Brian and North were still bickering while Eugene and Olivia leaned against each other sweetly. As Ellen observed everything that was going on in the house, she felt tears welling up in her eyes. It had been a while since there were so many people around her.
Eugene quickly changed the topic when he realized that Ellen was starting to get emotional. “Did Mr. Lowe and the rest of them stay for a few days before leaving?” When he bought Nigel and the rest of them a meal back then, he gave in to the urge to tell them the truth. Eugene ended up telling them about how he and Old Man Nolan lied to the world just to save his mother. There was no specific reason for Eugene to do so-he simply figured that he should be more honest since Nigel and the rest agreed to speak in court for his mother.
Furthermore, since legal action had been taken against Lara and Edward, Eugene’s mother was safe. There was no longer a reason for him to keep the secret. So, he had gotten Brian to bring Nigel and the rest of them over. The main reason for this was to give Nigel and the rest of them some peace of mind, while the second reason was to have a reunion with old classmates whom he hadn’t met in 30 years.
Ellen quietly brushed her tears away before smiling, “They only stayed for three days. Oh, they’re all so old now. Time flies-30 years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Eugene smiled. “You’re a pretty popular woman, Mom. Mr. Lowe and the rest of them agreed to help out once they heard about your situation. They offered to tell the truth for you,” he uttered.
“Yeah. Our classmates have a tight bond. Even though we haven’t met in years, we still have so much to talk about,” Ellen replied. “I think we dealt with it in the best way possible, Eugene. It’s tiring to hate someone forever, so we should just let this be. Forgiving them is also a way of setting yourself free!”
“Yeah. As long as they don’t come back for more trouble!” Eugene agreed. “Stop running around, North. You don’t want to use up all your energy,” Olivia uttered. North obediently returned to his seat on the couch. Brian was panting at this point, and he shot North a side glare. “You’ll get it after I get some rest!” he hissed.
North responded with a threat as well. “You’re the one who’s going to get it!” Ellen’s attention had been spread all over the room, so she didn’t exactly understand what the two younger boys were talking about. “What’s going on? What’s up with North?”
Olivia froze and stole a glance at Eugene. Only then did she recall that Ellen had no idea about North and Eugene’s poisoning incident. After hesitating for a second, Eugene finally provided a vague answer. “He fell sick a while ago, but Olivia treated him after that.” Ellen put on a sorry expression as she gazed at North’s little face. “Was it a cold?”
Eugene and Olivia both glared at the young boy as they thought, He better not say the wrong thing! Fortunately, the young boy’s response. was quick, and he nodded in agreement to his grandmother’s words. “Yeah. I had a headache, and my entire body felt weak.”
Ellen smiled. ‘It’s fine. Your mother’s a pro at this, so I’m sure she made you feel better.” North’s eyes turned into two lines as he smiled. “Yeah. I’m fine now. Don’t worry about it, Grandma.”
All of them sat in the hall as they talked about recent incidents. They talked about Jewel’s throat, how Olivia and Jewel met, and so on. Of course, Olivia only gave a brief explanation as she didn’t want to scare Eugene’s mother.
As all of them were snacking and chatting, Ellen got up all of a sudden. Olivia noticed this, and she poked Eugene when she realized how Ellen had been gone for a while. “What’s your mom doing?”
Eugene looked just as puzzled. “I don’t know. I’ll go check on her.” He walked over to find his mother tidying the room up. “What are your doing, Mom?”
“I’m preparing a room for Jewel,” she replied. There were guest rooms available in the house, but none of them had been tidied. Since Jewel was staying that night, Ellen couldn’t claim that she didn’t have any spare rooms.
