“Oh, okay, but hold on, Arabelle.” Maximilian Kostomarov pulled out his cell phone to reply to the message. He then absentmindedly chimed in, “By the way, is there something wrong with you today? Why are you calling me so many times?”
I made up a lie. “Nothing happened, Max. It's still about Vilhelmina's birthday. She especially cares about her tenth birthday this year. She has been talking about it all this month. She is so excited for her party.”
Maximilian took back his cell phone. He then naturally put his arm around my shoulders.
“Don't worry, my wife. I've been preparing for Vilhelmina's birthday half a year in advance. I promise I will give her an unforgettable memory.” He inhaled and frowned. “What is this smell on you?”
I answered, “Oh, sorry, Max. There's blood all over your pants!”
“It's fine, my wife.” Maximilian suddenly changed his face. “Are you okay? Are you injured?”
That was Vilhelmina's blood. I forced myself to hold back my grief.
“I had a car accident, but I wasn't hurt. This blood is someone else's.”
Maximilian sighed in relief. “Speaking of which, I also saw a car accident victim being brought to the hospital tonight. I think she is a girl who is the same age as Vilhelmina's age. This accident is so tragic, Arabelle Moonstone. It's probably impossible to save her after being hit like this.”
Maximilian took off my coat and found home clothes for me to change. Meanwhile, I just sighed beside him.
Maximilian still explained, “I do not know who is the child of the family. I think her parents probably don't want her to live anymore, right? It's the end of the year and the roads are complicated, Arabelle. We still need to remind Vilhelmina to pay more attention to traffic safety. If she's the one who got into the accident, I really don't dare to think about it.”
After saying that, he kissed my forehead and walked straight to the bathroom. The unfamiliar perfume on his body made me nauseous. I looked at Maximilian's back.
After he entered the room, I called the funeral home. I wanted on the day of Vilhelmina's birthday, to send her to her ultimate happiness.
***
The next morning, Maximilian prepared breakfast as usual before going to work at the hospital.
Meanwhile, I packed the food and threw it to the stray dogs and cats downstairs. After a few minutes, I glanced at the sticky note he left in the entrance hall.
Maximilian: [My wife, please remind me to be home on time tonight to pick up Vilhelmina's call. I love you forever.]
I knew people's hearts were really hard to gauge. Maximilian was playing the role of a good husband and father at home.
But actually, at the same time, he had a rendezvous with his lover, while his daughter was dying.
I pulled the corner of my mouth. My eyes started rummaging through Vilhelmina's belongings.
I then prepared all of them to send to the funeral home for cremation. But I didn't find her favourite peace quilt. She had used it for seven years.
If not for the boarding school to unify the purchase of bedding, she did not want to leave the quilt at home. But I remembered that she had just washed it and put it in the cabinet. In desperation, I had no choice but to call Maximilian.
Maximilian said, “Oh, you search that quilt, Arabelle? I lent it to Kimberly. Didn't her baby just come out? She has been coughing for a long time.”
Kimberly Beadsworth was Maximilian's childhood sweetheart. After they separated, she married abroad that year.
But then she divorced her ex-husband half a year ago. It made her return to Luxembourg with a big belly.
During pregnancy, Maximilian took care of her. It became more intense after the child was born. Maximilian often bought milk powder and clothes for Kimberly’s baby. I just couldn’t believe he also lent Vilhelmina's favourite peace quilt to her.
I cursed to my husband, “You are sick, Maximilian. Vilhelmina will cry if she goes home and doesn't see the peace quilt.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt ridiculous.
Would Vilhelmina even come home?
She was born prematurely. I was nine months pregnant when I went to work with an illness.
I ended up in a coma with a high fever. It caused Vilhelmina to get a bacterial infection. She then went into an incubator after she was born.
After all that happened, Maximilian and I climbed 3,000 steps to get that peace blanket at the Borobudur Temple. Not long after covering it, Vilhelmina's illness miraculously improved.
Maximilian said impatiently, “Why are you so angry at me, Arabelle Moonstone? It's just a quilt, isn't it? Our daughter is going to grow up, that quilt is crippled and old. It will be replaced one day.”
