Chapter 23: Ethan POV - Revelations
Ethan's P.O.V.
I went straight to the parking lot and drove to Maddie's house. I reached their house and knocked on their door.
"Who is it?" Maddie's Mom said, opening the door.
"Hi Mrs. Carter. Good afternoon!" I greeted her.
"Hey Ethan. Do you have a project with Maddie because she is not here?" she asked.
"Oh, no Ma'am. I actually came here hoping I can talk to you." I explained.
"I see. Come on in." she said inviting me in.
I sat in the living room while waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Carter. I was feeling nervous while waiting for them. To be honest, I just went along with my guts.
"Hey Ethan. How are you?" Mr. Carter greeted as he entered the living room.
"I am doing good, sir. Thanks for asking." I replied, standing up to shake his hands.
"Come on, no need to call me sir. Don't you remember what you used to call me?" Mr. Carter replied, motioning for me to take a seat.
I was looking at them confused.
"You have already forgotten, huh? You used to call me Uncle Matty when you were young." Mr. Carter said with a laugh.
"I did?" I said, more of like asked.
"Oh, Ethan. You were so young. You and Maddie were so close when you were kids." Mrs. Carter explained.
She stood up and took a photo album from the bookshelf at the corner of the room. She then sat next to me and showed me a picture of me with another girl. It was a picture of me when I was a kid, and I assume that the little girl right next to me is Maddie.
"Is that Maddie?" I asked Mrs. Carter.
"Yes! You two were inseparable." she explained.
There were more pictures of me and Maddie when we were kids. I was looking at them when Mr. Carter spoke.
"So Ethan, what is it you wanted to talk to us about? Is everything alright?" Mr. Carter asked, and Mrs. Carter looked at me with a worried face.
"Yes. Everything is alright. I actually wanted to talk about Maddie." I said, pausing for a moment.
They were both looking at me and waiting for me to continue.
"I want to be honest. I have liked Maddie ever since Sophomore Year. I just never had the guts to ask her out. I came here to let you know about my intentions and my feelings towards your daughter maam and sir." I explained.
There was a complete silence for I don't know how long. It was making me super nervous. I am already overthinking when Mr. Carter spoke.
"Son, I have only met you twice ever since your family left 10 years ago. I saw how you look at her and how your face lights up when she is around. I am actually surprised that you don't remember her. You two were so close. As a father, I will not decide for her. It is purely up to her whether you both are on the same page. I only ask you one thing - please live up to your promise. Don't promise something that you will break later on." Mr. Carter said.
I was taken back with what he said, but what made me more confused is the fact that he is surprised that I don't remember her. Was I supposed to remember her? Who was she in my life when we were kids? So I had to ask.
"I am sorry to ask, but what is it I am not remembering?" I asked.
Mr. and Mrs. Carter laughed at me.
Mrs. Carter opened the photo album again and showed me a photo of little Maddie crying and a little boy wiping her tears.
"Is that me?" I asked Mrs. Carter.
"Yes. That was the day your family was moving to the U.S. You wanted to stay, but you couldn't. Both of you were crying and did not want to let go of each other. You told Maddie to stop crying and promised her you will come back for her." Mrs. Carter replied.
Suddenly, I remembered. She was my first ever best friend. It was Maddie who I was looking for all this time. How could I have been so stupid not to remember? The resemblance was already there.
"I remember now. I remember I used to call you Aunty Rosey." I exclaimed.
"Yes, you did." Mrs. Carter said.
She showed me more pictures of Maddie and I when we were small and talked about the stories behind those pictures. Hours passed by and we were catching up with what I did in the U.S.
"Why don't you stay for dinner, Ethan? Maddie will be home soon." Mrs. Carter suggested.
"Thank you so much for the invitation, Mrs. Carter." I replied.
"You don't have to call me Mrs. Carter. Just call me Aunty Rosey for old time's sake." she said.
"Ok, Aunty Rosey." I replied.
"Well, i will start preparing dinner then." she said getting up from her seat.
"Can I help?" I asked Aunty Rosey.
"Sure thing. Come on, let's cook dinner." she said walking out of the living room.
Mr. Carter stood up and patted my back.
"Looking forward to seeing you around more like before.
Good luck with confessing to Maddie.I bet she does not recognize who you are." Mr. Carter said, leaving the living room.
I went to the kitchen to help Aunty Rosey with dinner. I entered the kitchen and saw her already preparing the ingredients needed.
"What can I do, Aunty Rosey?" I asked.
"Here. Chop these onions and garlic for me." Aunty Rosey said, giving me the chopping board with the knife and onions and garlic.
We talked about random stuff while preparing dinner. Aunt Rosey was showing me how to make Chicken Alfredo when I heard Maddie's voice from the living room.
"I'm home!" she said, and then I heard the front door close.
"In the kitchen, honey!" Aunt Rosey shouted.
I heard her footsteps closer. I greeted her as soon as she stepped in the kitchen.
"Hey Maddie!" I said.
She seemed surprised, and her face clearly showed confusion.
"Uhm. Hi!" she replied.
"Ethan was just around the neighborhood and stopped by, so I invited him for dinner. We are making chicken Alfredo." Aunt Rosey said.
"Cool." Maddie said.
"Why don't you make dessert, honey?" Aunt Rosey suggested.
"Sure. Let me just get changed." Maddie replied before heading to her room.
She came back 5 minutes later.
"So what's for dessert?"I asked Maddie.
"Her specialty - brownies." Aunt Rosey said.
Aunt Rosey turned the burner into low heat before putting the cover over the pan.
"Can you keep an eye on the chicken for me, please?" Aunt Rosey said before leaving the kitchen.
Maddie went to the fridge and took out butter. She also grabbed some chocolates, flour, baking powder and sugar from the cabinet and placed them on the table. She then took out bowls and measuring cups.
"So what do we do?" I asked her, waiting for her to tell me what to do.
"You can melt the chocolates with the butter while I measure the dry ingredients." she said, giving me the bag of chocolates, butter and a glass bowl.
"Pour 2 cups of water in the pot and let it simmer. Then place the glass bowl on top of the pot. Pour the whole bag of chocolates and butter on the glass bowl and wait for it to melt. Mix it slowly once it melts completely." she said before turning her back to me to start on the rest of the ingredients.
"Got it." I said grabbing the pot and doing exactly what she told me to do.
"Looks like you finished shopping early." Maddie said.
"Nah! A friend of hers called her saying she was having some outfit problem, so I had to drop her off at her friends' house which was just around your neighborhood so I stopped by." I lied.
I can't really tell her I came here to talk to her parents. I guess Uncle Matty is right. Maddie does not seem to figure out that I am her long lost best friend.
We finished the mixture for the brownies and she mixed the chocolate with the flour and the rest of the ingredients. After that, she took a pan and poured the brownie mixture in them, then placed them in the oven. 30 minutes later, dinner, and dessert were done. We had dinner and Uncle Matty was asking me all about basketball games and stuff. After dinner, I helped Maddie with cleaning up. She told me I don't have to, but I insisted. It's not like a gentleman to let the lady clean all by herself.
"So how was your day with Chloe?" I asked her while drying some of the plates.
"It was good, as always. So how long did you stay in the mall before you were brought out of your misery?" she asked, laughing at the misery part.
"4 hours" I replied, making a crying face. .
We continued to talk about random stuff while doing the dishes. After cleaning up, I said that I would head home because Jasmine texted me asking to pick her up. It was actually a lie. I just need to get home to plan for tomorrow.
Aunt Rosey gave me brownies to bring home for Mom. Maddie then walked me to the porch before saying goodnight.
"Thanks for the brownies. I absolutely love them." I spoke.
"Don't forget that one of those boxes is for your Mom." she replied.
"I will try!" I replied laughing.
"Well, drive safe." she said with a smile.
"I will. Thanks." I said before going to my car.
I wanted to kiss her so badly, but then knowing that her parents are inside made me think twice. I drove home with a smile on my face. I can finally call her mine soon.