The Cries of the Butterfly - A LOVE STORY (29 page)

He heard a sharp intake of breath, then a voice said, “Yes, sir.”

For a while a hush fell, both at a loss for words.

Finally, she spoke, “I’m so sorry, sir, I’m so sorry…”

Grant let out a deep sigh, shut his eyes, and cut the connection.

.

“
I
an is here,” Estelle announced.

Grant was in the washroom, washing his face. It was nearing eleven am.

“Okay, but give me a couple of minutes.” He looked into the mirror. For a person who had just gone through a severe traumatic episode, his face looked peaceful and it surprised him. But then again, he had always been a resilient man.

Ian Cass, sixty-two, was a small man. Barely five feet tall, he was a wiry ninety-seven lbs. He had receding gray hair on an oval face. His nose was beaked like a parrot’s and he had a lipless mouth. The big blue sparkling eyes were wholly incongruous to the rest of his face. He was kind of hunched, yet had a surprisingly sprightly gait. He somewhat reminded one of a character from Hobbit.

Ian Cass was hyper—if he stood, he was constantly shuffling on his feet. If he sat, his limbs were acting up all the time. When he slept, he changed sides at least twice every minute. And yet despite all this, he had the attention powers of a Buddhist monk.

There was more. Like Grant, Ian Cass had always been a devoted family man. He had lost his wife twenty years ago, but had never remarried, preferring to live with her memory, single-handedly raising their three children—two boys and a girl. The rearing must have been impeccable, for the kids all grew up to be immaculate citizens, hugely successful in their professional and personal lives. Although they lived separately now, Cass unfailingly kept in regular touch.

Ian Cass and Grant Butcher were known as
The Twins,
despite their physical incongruity. They had pretty much sewn up the city-state and its major resources between them. While Grant held the political power, Cass, apart from being the chief judge of New Halcyon’s top court, headed the important public organizations—the main Church, the various trusts and charities, the two major hospitals, and was a trustee of the St. Teresa Children’s Home. That way, together, they ensured that there was no dishonesty whatever, that the highest moral values were upheld in public life.

Cass was also the chief of the National Adoption Board (NAB), a constitutional body that vetted, authorized and legalized all adoptions in the nation. Although Cass was a judge of a court, under the New Halcyon constitution, he was permitted to hold two or more constitutional posts simultaneously provided it was approved by the national assembly and the President.

“Come in, Ian,” Grant said.

“How are you, my friend?” Cass took Grant’s right hand in both his, then gave him a consoling hug.

Grant shut the door. He sat down on the edge of the bed, while Cass took the chair opposite him. Grant shook his head.

“What a nightmare! A complete nightmare!” he blurted.

“I totally understand. Quite a shock!”

Grant sighed, still shaking his head. “Goodness gracious, what can I say? I still do not believe it. It does not seem real at all. It simply refuses to sink in.”

“Well, better now before it was too late. That’s the only consolation we can draw.”

Grant’s head was between his hands and he was staring at the floor. “How could I have so badly misjudged character? Oh, how could I have?” He was speaking to himself. Agony clattered in his voice. “I thought she was a saint. I truly did. Goodness gracious, how could I have been so wrong?”

Cass quietly observed his dear friend, his face pained.

“To think I accepted this wo…woman as my very own daughter… Goodness gracious!”

Cass got to his feet. He sat next to his friend and put an arm around his shoulder. There was nothing he could say that would be quite adequate.

.

“
S
o what now…where do we go from here?” Ian Cass said. It was an hour later. “What happens to the adoption?”

“Let it go ahead,” Grant said tiredly.

“Without Wolf having a wife?”

“Yes, I know, but can you not find a way? I shall personally see to it that Wolf finds a genuine woman and gets married very soon, but in the meantime, I want him to have something to cling on to. This little girl is his lifeline. I dread to think what would happen if he were to lose her too.”

Cass thought for a second, then shook his head. “Grant, you know you are my best friend. I’d do anything for you. But don’t ask me to break rules. Please understand.”

Grant nodded. Yes, he understood and felt ashamed that he had asked. A moment of weakness had overwhelmed him.

“I am extremely sorry, Ian. I lost my mind for a moment,” he said guiltily, his mind still spiraling.

“That’s okay, my dearest friend, these are abnormal and bizarre circumstances. I wholly empathize with your predicament. You’ve had the worst shock of your life and I’m so deeply pained. I desperately want to help you, but if I now break the rules at the fag end of my career, I ain’t be able to live with myself. My old age would be ruined,” Cass said.

Grant nodded weakly again.

Cass felt horribly bad about his friend…about his inability to help him during one of the worst crisis of his life. He was deeply distressed that he now had to make it even worse.

“There’s another thing, Grant. Let Wolf meet Robin as he has been doing now…that is until he finds an authentic woman he can marry. But in the meantime, he must cut off all relationship with that lady. Or, he ain’t be allowed to see Robin ever again. That woman can only be a very poor influence on the little girl. Please ask Wolf to forget about her. A woman of such disgraceful character cannot have the remotest link with anyone in the most illustrious family in the world.”

Again, Grant nodded. The two men held hands. For a while, the room fell into abeyance.

When they broke, Grant said, “Now, I must make the phone calls.”

“Why ain’t you let me do it for you?” Cass suggested.

Oh, how he would love that! But he sighed. “Thanks, Ian, but I think I should do it myself.” He had personally invited his guests to the wedding…it was only right that he make the reverse calls himself.

***

Savannah
waited. Her limbs twitched, but somehow she remained calm.

She was on the settee in her living room and glanced at the wall clock. It said: six-twenty-six pm. Wolf would be here any moment now. The buzz outside was unrelenting. The Press sadists had made the lobby and the staircase of the building their own. They had been at it since the news broke this morning, ringing her bell constantly.

“Give us one picture, Miss Burns…one quote…anything…”

When finally they threatened to knock her door down, the police were called. And yet, they wouldn’t leave. But at least the banging and the ringing had stopped.

She had talked to Wolf on the phone on and off all day and she felt for him. Uncle Grant had taken it very badly and that had pained Wolf deeply. Then Wolf had said they would go ahead anyway and get married at the registrar’s and the next day they’d adopt Robin.

“Give it time,” he had said. “They’ll come around in a day or two. Let the shock wear off, and then it’ll be just like before, you’ll see. I know my family—they are bighearted people.”

But Savannah wasn’t sure she could face them ever again, even if they found it in their hearts to accept her back. With what face could she live among them?
A whore in the midst of royalty?
Even to her it sounded obscene.

She cursed herself. Why the damn hell did she allow Wolf talk her out of telling them in the first place?
If only I’d been firm, this horrible spectacle wouldn’t have come to pass.
Just to imagine what they were going through right now, with all the glaring publicity and the rest. How debasing and demeaning it was for a family of such repute.
Oh, how wounding!
To suck them of all dignity…what an awful, unthinkable sin.
…
If only I hadn’t listened to Wolf!
And she cursed herself again. She realized that subterraneanly she had so desperately wanted to belong to that family, she hadn’t really pushed hard enough
. If you had truly wanted, you would have prevailed, like you always do. So be a little honest about it for a change, cunning woman!

There was a sudden uproar outside. Loud voices of people shouting and grappling. The next moment, the door bell rang. Savannah knew who it was. She looked at Lianne, who sat in the armchair, pretending to read a mag.

“It’s Wolf,” Savannah said getting to her feet.

“I’ll get it.”

Savannah went into the bedroom.

She felt a chill enter her when she saw him. He wasn’t donning his usual camouflage and his face was spectral—white as salt. He flopped down on her bed and for a moment shut his eyes. Savannah sat at the foot of the bed and watched him, a spark of fear igniting in her chest.

“The fucking pimps,” he muttered without opening his eyes. “They’re everywhere. My place, your place. They even chased my car. Mercifully, I had police escort.”

Something is seriously wrong,
Savannah thought.

He sat up now and ran his hand over his face.

“So how are you holding up?” he asked. He looked worn out.

Oh, better than you for sure.
“Alright,” she answered. “And you?”

He waved his arms. “Well…”

“Well?’

He shook his head. He began to say something, but couldn’t.

Savannah moved over to him and placed a hand on his chest.

“Wolf, what’s it?”

Suddenly, he covered his face with his right arm and began to weep.

Savannah was so taken aback, she almost recoiled.

“They won’t allow me to see Robin again if I…if I…marry you. … Or even if I see you again,” he sobbed.

Savannah felt her heart clutch.

But she mercilessly overcame her jolt and took Wolf in her arms. He looked so helpless, so forlorn, she ignored herself for a moment and held him tight.

.

H
is arms were around her waist, his head on her shoulder. Her arms were around his back, her lips against his cheek, her eyes shut. That is how they remained for a very long time.

It was Savannah who broke the hush.

“Wolf?” she whispered, without opening her eyes.

“Uh?”

“What shall we do now?”

He was quiet for a while. Then he said in a low voice, “I don’t know.”

She finally looked up, and she took his face lightly between her hands.

“Can I ask you something?”

He nodded.

“On what grounds won’t they allow you to bring Robin home?”

He glanced at her, but then quickly looked away.

“No, please tell me,” she insisted.

Sudden guilt crossed his face.

She had to nudge him. “Please!”

“They…they…say:
what sort of an upbringing will Robin have raised by a…
” He couldn’t continue.

A twisted smile came to Savannah’s lips.

He quickly took her hands in his and squeezed them, as if in expiation for the terrible pain he had just inflicted on her.

“That’s what
they
think, not me. Their thinking is all wrong…all fucking wrong!”

“I know, Wolf, you don’t have to explain yourself to me.” She glanced around the room aimlessly. “So what’re we going to do then?”

“I don’t know,” he repeated feebly.

“There is only one thing to do now,” she said.

“Please tell me.”…his eyes pleading for some answer, some solution.

“We must split.”

“What!”

“For Robin’s sake. She needs you like she needs to breathe. If you now go out of her life, it could be fatal for her. She won’t be able to bear it.”

He couldn’t speak.

Her face was definite. “Her life revolves around you, Wolf. You are her father and her mother…everything. After a lifetime of forlornness, she has found someone who she can claim as her very own. If that is taken away from her now, there’s no knowing…”

He looked down and bit his lip. He began studying his palms, his face screwed in a frown of deep anguish. Savannah knew his mind was in dreadful turmoil and she wanted to hold him again. But this time, she didn’t budge. She couldn’t. It hurt. It hurt like hell. Her world was collapsing all over her. Her life was disintegrating right there before her. She clenched her fists as an assault from within made her shudder. No, she couldn’t lose it. She had to remain strong. Somehow she just had to. If it wasn’t going to be him, it had to be her.

“No!” he said abruptly, startling her. There was a sudden determination on his face.

“What?!”

He shook his head. “I can’t give you up.” Suddenly his eyes were floodlights.

She blinked. “You have no choice, Wolf.”

“That ring you are wearing,” he pointed. “It wasn’t meant as a tease. I’m committed to you, Savannah.” Gone was the frailty of a while ago—his voice was now full and robust.