The Apple of My Eye

Chapter 456 Drink Down

Anthony and Craig maintained complete silence while they drove back home. Anthony parked the car

and led Craig inside the house. There was still no exchange of words between the grandfather and the

grandson. Craig could not understand what made Anthony so angry. And Anthony found it so terribly

difficult to explain why he could not get married to Lisa.

Once inside the house, he took a deep breath to calm himself down and then looked at Craig.

"Grandpa, please try to understand. I am a grown up now. I know what I am doing and what I should

do. If you keep forcing me to get married, I..."

"What do you want to do then?" Craig stopped him in the midway and asked,"Anthony, why are you so

stubborn? Why are you so resistant to Lisa? I think she is a beautiful and good natured girl. And what is

most important is that she loves you so much!" In just a matter of a brief encounter, Craig developed a

fondness towards Lisa. He believed that she would make a good wife for Anthony.

"Grandpa, it is my business. You are able to understand me." Saying this he immediately checked

himself and lowered his voice. He pleaded,"Grandpa, it is not possible for me to be with Lisa. Please

just don't force me to get married to her." He felt helpless as he could not explain it to his grandpa why

he could not marry Lisa.

Craig looked into his eyes and sensed the earnestness in his voice. But Anthony's words stung him too

hard. He could not utter a single word. He walked out of the door with a straight face and slammed it

right behind him. Anthony kept staring at the closed door as he watched his grandfather walk out of the

house. As soon as Craig came out of the house, his phone rang. The moment he glanced over the This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

phone, the name that flashed on a screen brought smile on his face. He loosed up his facial muscles

as he answered the phone. It was Arthur on the other side. "Craig, when did you get back? Why didn't

you come to meet me? It is so nice to see you back!"

Craig felt light after hearing Arthur's voice. He heaved a deep sigh to lighten up his mood and said,"It is

a long story, my friend! Well, are you free now? Let's have a drink together."

Arthur reciprocated with equal excitement and said,"Okay. When shall we meet? I will come over

soon." As soon as he hung up the phone, Arthur looked all charged up. He changed his clothes and got

ready to go out. Amy was taken aback to find her husband being up and about in such a hasty manner

at such a late hour. She expressed her concern as she asked,"Where are you going? It is already so

late."

"Craig is back," Arthur replied promptly. After a while he explained,"Craig sounded like he was in a bad

mood. He called me to have a drink with me. I will be back soon. You don't worry about me and don't

wait for me. Go to bed on time."

"Okay, take care of yourself." Amy knew that when it came to Craig, no one could stop Arthur from

being with him. She just nodded her head gently to express her consent to her husband.

The two friends met at a small roadside stall. They used to drink in roadside stalls in their younger

days, but as they grew elder they rarely visited this kind of places. Sometimes such places made them

feel like coming back home.

By the time Arthur reached, Craig had started drinking all by himself. Seeing Arthur coming in, Craig

raised his glass and welcomed him with a laugh. It felt like the good old days when they were in their

thirties. Life had come a full circle as their families from children to grandchildren. But even now, when

the two friends met, it made them feel young. Good friends were like old wine. It only got better with

time.

Craig gestured him to take the seat in front of him. "Arthur, come. Sit over here!" Craig was new to the

Y City and just happened to find a place drink peacefully. So he entered this restaurant. But to his

surprise, a small restaurant like this had a upgraded food offering.

Craig could not get over Anthony's behavior that night. It wrenched his heart each time he thought

about him and how he reacted towards Lisa. Hence, he ordered himself some white wine even before

Arthur arrived.

Arthur looked at Craig and spotted the gloom that he was trying to hide behind his smile. "What's wrong

with you? What happened? You look so upset," he asked. "At this age, you should just relax and enjoy.

But you are trying to drink it down. What's the matter?" Arthur asked with concern in his voice.

"It's quite a long story, my friend." Craig looked at Arthur and thought how lucky he was. He let out a

deep sigh and lowered his eyes. Then he looked up at Arthur and said,"I am jealous of you, my friend.

Your granddaughter is happily married now. You have nothing to worry about. But my grandson..."

As Craig mentioned Anthony, his eyes mellowed down into an unexplained gloominess and he let out

another sigh. Then he said,"He doesn't even have a girlfriend. He has reached marriageable age.

There is a beautiful foreign girl who likes him a lot. But he just refuses to be with her as well. I don't

know what I should do to help him."

Saying this, Craig heaved a sigh and looked at Arthur's face once again. "You are free from such

worries, Arthur. I am happy for you. But even I want to play with my great grandchild. But with Anthony

not consenting for marriage, I have no idea if my dream will be fulfilled in my lifetime."

Arthur patted Craig on his shoulder and tried to reassure him. "Craig, I think you don't have to worry

about this at all. Anthony is an adult and after a certain age you can't force your wishes on the

youngsters. You have to let them be. We are getting older, but they are still young, so it's better if you

let them to take their own decision." Arthur uttered the words with a lot of concern towards Craig to

make him feel better. He became silent for a while and then he started again. There was a sudden

gloom in his voice that Craig could not avoid noticing. "You are right to say that Autumn is married.

But.." said Arthur, his eyes filled with gloom. After a small pause, he added,"Yes, she is married and is

also on family way. But every happiness comes with a price for her. Do you know? Someone tried to

poison her! And she had just conceived. She has not recovered from it completely. How can you say

that I have nothing to worry about?"

As he finished speaking, his lips curved into a painful smile. He had never spoken about this with

anyone. But now that he was sitting with his close friend, he felt like pouring his heart out. There were

not too many people you could share your thoughts with. Craig, a childhood friend, was the kind of

person with whom Arthur could speak without any inhibition.He could never express the sore and guilt

that he felt for Autumn in his heart. Even Craig was aware of that.

Though he never revealed it in front of anyone, he secretly blamed himself for not being able to protect

his granddaughter.

Thinking about the hardships that Autumn had to face in her growing years, he felt like a knife cutting

through his heart. He remembered her smile that remained constant despite all the debacles that took

place in her life. Thinking of her kind and gentle nature made him feel more miserable.

Craig was aware of everything. Though he was in full empathy towards Arthur, he could not let go of his

anger towards Anthony. He looked at Arthur and said,"Arthur, I am getting old. I don't know how much

time I have. My only wish is to see Anthony marry a good girl and live a happy life. I want to see the

face of my great grandson before closing my eyes. But as you said, the kids are grown up now.

Anthony is not even ready to listen to me. I have no idea how to communicate with him."

He lifted his head and looked back at Arthur. "Anthony told me that he didn't want to get married for

now. And he is not ready to explain why he is so rigid on his decision. He does not even have a

girlfriend. How ridiculous is that? I am so anxious about his future. Alright, he is a grown up man. But

don't I have any say on his life as a grandfather?"

Arthur was in full understanding with what Craig was saying. He tried to pacify him by saying,"Don't be

so anxious. Anthony is a very level headed and kind hearted young man. And I could see that when he

helped Autumn without hesitation. His presence in her case made me feel so much assured. He is a

very sensible person. At the moment, he may only want to devote himself to his career. As for his

marriage, I am sure he knows what he wants to do. So you stop being so worried. Everything will

happen when it has to happen. Don't worry." Arthur tried to persuade him to cool down.

The words uttered by Arthur brushed through Craig's ears but could not reach his heart. He was so

overwhelmed with grief, concern and anger towards Anthony. He said to Arthur,"Leave it alone. Let's

drink!"

And they sat drinking like two jolly good fellows. It was such an incredible feeling to sit with a person

who had been a part of the long journey of your life, through thick and thin. All the grievances and

worries faded away when you came together with such a friend. So they both dunked all their worries in

the alcohol and poured it down their throats and chose to remember the good old days. But no matter

how much they tried to avoid the topic, their conversation came back to the kids once again.

Craig was feeling light after a hearty chat with his friend. He looked at Arthur and said,"Honestly, I really

like your granddaughter, Autumn. Such a good natured and beautiful girl she is. If she were not

married, I would ask Anthony to woo her. She would have been a perfect wife for him."

Arthur shrugged him off immediately and said,"Craig, you are drunk. You have started to talk nonsense

now."

It was already very late for two old men to be out of the house like this. Arthur stood up to pay the bill.

Then he turned towards Craig and said,"Let's go home now. I will walk you home."

Even though Craig did not drink too much, he was quite drunk. Fortunately, Arthur knew the way to

Anthony's house so he could take Craig back to the house.

When they reached Anthony's house, it was quiet late in the night. There were hardly anybody on the

street. Though Y city was one of the busiest cities in the country, the neighborhood where Anthony

lived was a little secluded from the main city. It was a quiet and tranquil neighborhood, especially

during the night time. Anthony was pacing up and down the hall when he heard the gates opening. His

mind was crowded with the thought of all that happened that evening. He was repentant about his spat

with his grandfather. "Grandpa Arthur?" he said in confusion. Anthony was at his wits end. He was

trying to reach Craig on his phone but he did not reply any of his calls. Seeing Arthur out of his house

almost gave him a panic attack. As he opened the door he just prayed and hoped that his grandfather

was alright. And when he saw Craig being assisted through the entrance by Arthur, he heaved a sigh of

relief.

"What's wrong with my grandpa, Grandpa Arthur?" Craig was resting on Arthur's shoulder dragging his

feet into the house. Anthony gave him support and released Arthur from carrying him. Arthur put his

hand at Craig's back as he leaned on Anthony's shoulders.

"He is fine. He is just drunk," replied Arthur calmly. "Take good care of him. I need to go."

"Grandpa Arthur, please come in and sit with us for a while," Anthony spoke in a hospitable manner.

Arthur shook his head with a smile and responded,"It is too late tonight. I have to go home."

Anthony stopped Arthur as he turned door-wards. "Please wait for a second, Grandpa Arthur. Why did

my grandpa drink so much? What happened to him?" He had never seen his grandfather in this

condition. He was really worried. He was afraid that this condition of Craig was the outcome of the

argument he had with him in the evening.

Arthur smiled as he looked into the concerned eyes of Anthony. "He is just worried about your

marriage, so he drunk down," he replied with a smile. "Your grandpa is so eager to play with his great-

grandson. So he is anxious."

Arthur stopped for a while to map the expression on Anthony's face. Then he continued,"Anthony, you

are supposed to be married by now or at the most start seeing someone. Your grandpa is worried

because you don't even have a girlfriend." Now that Anthony had taken the initiative to ask him the

reason, Arthur took advantage of the situation to give him a word of advice.

"I know. I always know that. Thank you, Grandpa Arthur," replied Anthony with a bitter smile. "I am so

grateful to you for bringing my grandpa safe back home. I have been really worried about him for a long

time."

After Arthur left, Anthony helped Craig to his bedroom. Craig had his eyes half closed all this while.

Anthony laid him down gently on the bed. The moment he reached out to the switch board to put the

lights off, he heard a groan coming out of Craig's mouth. And before he could even turn around he

heard him vomiting. Anthony immediately tended to his grandfather. He stayed up taking care of him

throughout the night as Craig went on vomiting intermittently till three o'clock. Then Anthony took a

short nap and got up again at six to prepare breakfast for Craig.

He cooked some porridge and pickled vegetables since Craig was drunk last night. Being in the

medical industry had its own advantage. Anthony knew exactly what kind of diet should be

administered for Craig. And hence he prepared a light breakfast.

By the time, he just finished cooking, Craig woke up.

Even after the night had passed, Craig was still angry on Anthony. But Anthony behaved as if nothing

had happened. He greeted Craig with a big smile and said,"Grandpa, I have prepared breakfast for

you. Come on. Eat the porridge. It is still warm."