October 24, 2003
Frank returned home in the middle of the night from a concert, where he had been interviewing the band. He knew that Coralis had a game in Europe that day, but his sister told him that they would be playing at home on Saturday. Coralis and Sebastian usually head back right after their game when they played home next, so he was hoping she'd be home.
But she wasn't. He looked at the time. He wanted to call Stephanie to see if Sebastian was home, but at 3 in the morning, he figured that his sister was probably asleep and he didn't want to wake her up. He looked at his empty glass of whiskey in the middle of their living room table and the half-empty bottle next to it. He sat in front of it and filled his glass, hoping that it'd help him get some sleep.
He missed her. He needed to know if she was okay. He wanted to believe she didn't leave him, but it was becoming more difficult to hold on to that idea. He needed to know that she was still with him, that he was still in her heart. So long as she still loved him and wasn't with anyone else, he had hope that she would come back to him.
In the morning, he called Sebastian, hoping he would be home with some news from Coralis.
"I got back home last night, yes, but Coralis didn't fly back. I don't know where she went. I think Andrew called her after the game, but I'm not sure."
"It's been 2 weeks and she still hasn't called me. I'm glad to hear she's still alive, but how am I supposed to convince her that I want to be there for her in her darkest times if she won't even call me or pick up my calls? How am I supposed to know that she still wants me?"
"There is something you need to understand and I think you're looking at it with the wrong perspective. Coralis is a full-blooded elemental, yes, but she wasn't raised among us and never was adopted. From my understanding of the human system, she mostly grew up among the aftermath of dysfunctional human families. She saw parents fighting each other over their children, runaway children and such."
Frank refilled his coffee and added whiskey to it.
"True, but she never talks about that. I've been hearing a lot of stories from when she was at school, but she never talks about her childhood. That night where my brother grilled you two with questions is probably the most she ever said about it."
"Right, but you're still missing the point. It never was about proving to her that you're the right one for her. She does want you. That bit has been established a long time ago. If she didn't believe that, she would have broken up with you instead of going through the process of revealing herself to you when you wanted her to move in with you. It's about convincing her that she's the right one for you, that she is what you want, despite your life being in danger because of her."
Frank stayed silent for a moment, thinking about what Sebastian was telling him.
"I would have left already if that was the case."
"Again, think about how she was raised and what she saw growing up. She knows that not all humans are like that, or she would never have dated you, but it explains why she expects you to leave at any point because you'd have enough, especially with her cutting all contact with you. She is doing that to keep you safe, but she does think it's a matter of time before you move on and forget about her."
As he drank his coffee, replaying in his mind his conversation with Sebastian, he thought about his own childhood and remembered his dad telling them that he'd never leave, but he left anyway when he was 5. In the end, his mother kicked him out, but he never bothered to seek custody. He never opened up about it to Coralis, so he realized that he too has been holding back on her. He understood what Sebastian was trying to tell him.
As he was getting ready to go to a work meeting, he thought about what he could do to get her attention, to get in contact with her. Victoria told him that she wasn't picking up her calls either, that Coralis had called her once from a payphone during the week but didn't tell her where she was or what she had been up to. He knew there was no point calling her from Vic's phone.
Before leaving his apartment, he brushed his teeth a second time to make sure his boss wouldn't smell alcohol on him. He couldn't focus on what was said during the meeting. His mind kept drifting away.
The next day, while covering a music event, he thought about a plan. His perfect plan. He may not know where she was at the moment, but he knew where she would be: she never missed a flyball game and he knew they'd be playing home this week. He didn't know when the team would leave again to play abroad, but considering they just got back and were playing at home that night, he figured she'd be playing in Mirabel for the next two or three games.
He knew that on weekends when they played at home, Coralis and Sebastian would usually be home before 22:00. For his plan to work, he needed Sebastian's help. He was still at the music event but had free time between 22:30 and midnight. As soon as he could, he walked away from the loud crowd and found a secluded spot to make his phone call. He felt nervous just thinking about it.
"I love it," said Sebastian after Frank told him his plan. "It's bold, very bold, but count me in, brother. Your plan is risky, given the witch hunt going on, but I think it's going to work and would force her to think of another way to keep you safe. I could take you to Monday's game, sure, but Thursday's game would be better."
"I can't Thursday, I've got a movie release event to cover. I mean, maybe I could see if I could find a replacement, I'm not particularly excited about that movie anyway, but why not Monday?"
"Because if you're serious about proposing to her during an intermission, you want Thursday game. We'll be playing against Britain."