ALL I NEED
Chapter Twenty-Six
There was a long, marbled
corridor and I could hear my steps echoing as I walked down it. I looked around
to see some other corridors that led to a few other rooms, which I assumed
would be the rooms for charity and the seminars of the church. Incredibly, no
one was around, at least not anyone who I was able to see.
As I reached the end of the
corridor, I opened a wooden door and found the alley outside. I narrowed my
eyes at the contrast of things. Not even half an hour before, Harry had
released me from my burden, and then there were the long moments when I walked
down the corridor, and now, there I was in the alley. I could hear some
commotion coming from the street, probably the press after Mr. Henderson.
I walked down a few stone steps,
and suddenly a hand grabbed me from behind. I jumped and looked back to find
Larry. He was dressed in a fine tuxedo and had a concerned look on his face.
"Quite a fuss, wasn't
it?" he joked nervously. I nodded. "All right. You go to the car
there across the way. Come on."
He directed me to the alley,
where a car was parked, waiting for us. As he opened the door, I found none
other than Molly inside. She gave a big smile as she saw me.
"You look so
beautiful!" she said, and paused for a second, as if she had lost her
train of thought. "Come on in, sweetie. We've got to get you out of here.
They are already shouting your name in there." She gestured for me to step
in.
With Larry's help, I entered the
car and sat down in the seat in front of Molly. Larry entered right after me
and closed the door, sitting beside his mother and ordering the driver to
leave.
"No! Wait!" I said
suddenly. "What about Harry?"
"Oh, no worries, honey. He
will catch up at the hotel. He can't leave now," Molly said confidently,
and nodded for the driver to go. The car started to move.
Molly made sure the curtains were
blocking the view of the curious faces looking towards the luxurious car we
were in as it made its way down the street. When we passed in front of the
chapel, I saw my mother shouting my name at someone, hundreds of people
surrounding her. My family looked confused and concerned, while Mr. Henderson's
family seemed nervous. I didn't see Harry anywhere. The sky was already dark
and the flashbulbs of the press seemed much more intense.
"Well." Molly's voice
brought me back to earth. I looked at her as the car moved down the street,
away from the crowd. "Now we're going to get you to a hotel. I thought of
bringing you to my house, but that will be the first place they’re gonna look
for you."
"But what about Harry?"
I couldn't stop thinking about him. In fact, since I'd known him, I couldn't
stop thinking about him…that thought had just crossed my mind.
"Don't worry. He will be
there. You two leave in the morning for Europe." Molly smiled widely. "No
one will bother you two there."
I smiled back at her and looked
at Larry. He listened to our conversation carefully and smiled faintly as our
eyes met, but his eyes were sad. I knew why. He had said he loved me and he was
helping me to leave with another man. I was breaking his heart. I wondered if
Molly knew about it. I looked at her and she seemed more preoccupied with
wondering if someone had noticed us. She kept looking out the window between
the curtains.
For the first time, I stopped to
realize what had just happened. Harry had taken his stand against Mr.
Henderson, and loving me or not, he was now his enemy. Probably the fact that
we'd been together all this time would worsen the situation, but Harry had
already made himself his enemy by putting him in jail.
And now I was leaving with him,
leaving it all behind. Leaving it all behind always seemed something so
difficult to do, but I had done it so quickly and in such a smooth way that I
simply didn't notice it. I left it all behind the moment I told Harry I
believed in him on the Titanic. It was my first step, and I would never have
been able to do it without him. For that, I knew I would love him for the rest
of my life. He wasn't only the love of my life. Harry was my savior.
*****
Molly left the car to check
everything at the hotel before I entered with Larry. She went to make sure that
no press was around, and no one else who might be interested. I looked through
the window as she entered the hotel, then back at Larry, who was also watching
her.
"Larry?" I asked,
unsure if he would answer. He looked at me, nodding. "I...I wanted to say
that I am very thankful for everything you've been doing for me...for
Harry."
I looked intently into his dark
eyes and he kept the eye contact without blinking for a few seconds. There was
a long silence and he remained emotionless, lost in his thoughts. He nodded
after a while and smiled faintly.
"I remember that I told you
that I wanted you to follow your heart and be happy," he said. "I
know your heart tells you to be with Harry and that you love him and the only
way for you to be happy is by staying with him. That's why I helped you."
"But you didn't have to take
the blame for anything. What Mr. Henderson did to you..."
"He would kill Harry,
Catherine." His tone was more serious now. I frowned. "He really
would. Fortunately, you were not aware of Mr. Henderson's true personality. You
did have a taste of it, but you didn't know it. He's evil, and he would kill
Harry. He did not kill me because I am influential, but Harry...he is not. Do
you think I would let the woman I love marry a man like him and kill the man
who she loves?" He kept going as I remained shocked, looking at him.
"I could not let him do that, even if it meant I would see you leaving
with another man. But then again, this would happen either way for me, so I'm
just glad that you're leaving with a man who truly loves you. An honorable man
who will never harm you in any way."
It seemed that all these words
had been caught in his throat for a long time, and finally he had the chance to
say them. His voice was as sweet and calm as always, but his eyes were looking
strongly into mine. When he finished talking, he looked at the other side of
the street and I looked down. I wanted so much to do something that would ease
the pain of his broken heart.
"I will be leaving tomorrow
for Colorado to visit a few relatives," he said suddenly. I looked at him.
"So, this is our good-bye."
I knew he wasn't leaving because
he had to. He was leaving because he didn't want to see me with Harry again, to
watch me leaving. I nodded, respecting his choice, but at the same time, I
didn't want him to go. I thought of all his dedication to me, almost as strong
as Harry's, and looked through the window. Molly was leaving the hotel and
talking to a security guard in the front.
I looked back at Larry. So, this
was our good-bye. He kept sitting behind me, his eyes watching the cars through
the other window, his face barely turned sideways. And his heart...I couldn't
see it, but I could feel it broken in his chest. I felt tears coming to my
eyes. I didn't want to hurt him and I wanted him to have a good thing to
remember from me.
Without thinking twice, I leaned
forward, and as he turned his face and his gaze to me, I kissed his lips softly.