Page 25 of Forbidden Desires

Eventually, though, we had to get up. In the sleepy, early morning hours, we cleaned up, dressed, and headed down to the hotel’s in-house dining room for breakfast. It was a quiet affair, little said until we actually received our food and began to eat.

“So, anything important that I should know before we see your parents today?” I asked, wondering how much of a charade I would need to put on. Playing a part tended to be the most used skill set of my job, and while I had played the part before of girlfriend, lover, date, I had never played the part ofwife.

Eric took a drink of his coffee before answering.

“They won’t expect any specific stories,” he said as he continued to eat his breakfast while he talked. “Usually, they recall things that I’ve told them, or things from the past, but I prefer to keep it simple so they don’t get confused. We don’thave children, work is going well, we’ll come visit for Christmas.” He exhaled a soft sigh, tapping his fingers absently against the tabletop. “Mostly, they speak as though it’s about ten years ago. They’ll focus on me, my mother will likely dote on you and speak to you about wifely duties and the struggles you must have at being committed to a man who is utterly devoted to his work, while also praising you because you’re still with me and, of course you’re beautiful and you must be intelligent to have caught my eye and kept my attention for so long. Just like the women of her time.”

His description made me smile. “She sounds like a wonderful woman.”

“She is,” he said, and I could hear that soft, fond spot he had for his parent. “My mother will speak of anything that has to do with art, fashion, music, philosophy. My father is more reserved. For both of them conversation may be a little fragmented. If you follow my lead, it is unlikely that they will become confused. That is something that I try to avoid.”

I absently pushed around the eggs on my plate with my fork. “Why is that?”

A small frown furrowed between his brows. “When they get confused, they start to try piecing the fragments together, and they become more aware that something isn’t right. When that happens, they go into a furious panicked mode that is very hard to come down from. I’ve witnessed it many times before, but I would prefer that you not be subject to it. They can’t control themselves. It’s something that not everyone understands, or respects.”

“I see.” I gave him an understanding nod. “Follow your lead it is, then.”

A visible look of relief passed over his features before he resumed eating his breakfast. “Let’s finish up. I have a car picking us up at ten.”

CHAPTER 11

Eric

Iwas not naturally an anxious man. For me, life had obstacles and those impediments were there to be defeated, using the skills, tools, resources, and experience available to myself in order to overcome them.

My parents, however, were an obstacle that I had yet to truly learn how to navigate.

When I received the call about my father’s fall, I panicked. It was such an uncomfortable feeling to have, panic. Like all of the control in the world could not contain the storm that barrelled its way through my mind. The concern for my father’s health. How my mother would fair. The fact that I would need to go see them in person. The realization that if I went on my own it would only make their mental health worse because I had created a situation where they now expected me to be accompanied by someone, lest they start to piece together in their fragmentedmemories that something was off, that they were off, that their whole lives were off…

It was a grave that I had dug for myself in thinking that the best thing for them was to let them live out their fantasies of having their one and only son be as happy in a relationship as they had been—and still, in a way, were. It put me in a situation where I had to open up my familial private life to random females who came and went as the seasons did, and now, put me in the same position with Jasmine, who I genuinely liked and enjoyed, to do something that was not technically discussed previously in our contract.

That Jasmine had agreed to come with me before I had the mind to explain things fully to her had been astonishing, in hindsight. That she had been empathetic to my situation, even if I couldn’t find the words to tell her just how deeply the loss of my parents affected me, was just as surprising. Because even though they were still alive, their decline into dementia still felt like losing them. The fact that my mother and father, so strong in their heyday, were now deteriorating…

I pushed the heartbreaking thought out of my head. It wouldn’t do well to have myself too wrapped up in my worries and concerns before I went to see them. My mother could spot inner turmoil even with her mind not all the way there, and the disturbance would upset her.

But I couldn’t stop wondering, had I done the right thing, bringing them to this care facility when I lived so far away?

Had I done the right thing, dragging Jasmine here to meet them?

Was there really a right or a wrong way to do any of this?

The questions circling in my mind seemed endless, with no easy answers.

I had checked out completely on the drive to the Wellington Later Life Care Facility, where my parents stayed. The sprawlinggrounds, contained behind a large, beautiful red brick wall and iron gate, gave off the air of safety. But every time I came here, I could not help but feel that it had to be little more than a pretty prison for people that were fortunate enough to be cast off by family wealthy enough to afford such luxurious assisted living. As if that could ever ease my profound guilt over the situation.

“Mr. Maxim?”

I jolted, caught up in my own fragmented thoughts as Paula, the receptionist at the front desk, called my attention back to the fact that I was supposed to be checking myself and Jasmine in.

I cleared my throat, forcing myself to focus on our upcoming visit. “Sorry. My head spaced out there a little bit.”

The woman smiled, generous and kind. “No worries, Mr. Maxim. I understand that you’re here to see your parents. Richard took a bit of a fall, though I hear he’s been talking non-stop about getting to see you and your wife again since we told him you’d be coming to visit soon.”

She looked to Jasmine, her warm smile never wavering. Paula was one of those who I interacted with here on a regular basis. She knew the charade well and was more than willing to play along in order to keep my parents happy. The entire staff were all very discreet, and never said anything inappropriate to anyone that I brought here.

“What shall we call you, Miss—?”

“Jasmine,” she answered beside me.

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