Take My Breath Away

One night, Cecelia called Niles on his landline. She got through very quickly. "I called your brother, but he's not picking up. Since you're in town, could you go check on him?" she asked.

"Um... good evening, Mrs. Li," said a woman's voice on the other end.

Cecelia was confused. She checked the number. She dialed it right.

"Oh, that's right. You're... Blair?" Cecelia asked with uncertainty.

"Yes, Mrs. Li. It's me. I stay—" Blair was going to tell her why she was in Niles' apartment. She didn't want her to think it was a love nest or something.

But Cecelia interrupted her. She said excitedly, "Mrs. Li? Why so formal? Just call me 'Mom.' I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

'Mom?' Blair was shocked, realizing Cecelia had really gotten it wrong. "No, I—" She wanted to explain that she and Niles weren't a couple.

"That's good. I'm just calling to check on you. Don't stay up too late. Tell Niles I'll be in town to see you when I can. Good night." Cecelia hung up before Blair could say a word.

Blair was left speechless. Cecelia jumped out of bed and rushed into the study where her husband was.

"Good news! Good news! We're going to be in-laws!" she exclaimed, beaming.

Baldwin took off his glasses and looked at her in bewilderment.

"What's going on?" "Blair and your son are living together!" She grinned from ear to ear.

"Really? Which son?"

"Niles, of course. He's smooth, unlike Wesley. That boy wouldn't know love if it bit him." Cecelia recalled the pic Niles sent her when he was in England. A selfie of him and Blair. They made a cute couple.

She had a sneaking suspicion Niles was there for pleasure, rather than business.

Just then, a figure with a cane made his way to the doorway. "Cecelia, are you sure?"

Cecelia turned around. Keith stood there, staring at them. He probably heard everything.

Cecelia walked over to him with a big smile. "Yeah, Dad. I just called Niles, and Blair answered. They're either living together or on a date. Why else would she be there at this hour?"

Keith furrowed his brows. 'Blair and Niles?' "That's not right," he muttered as he turned to leave.

Back in his bedroom, Keith couldn't stop thinking about it. He tried closing his eyes, but sleep wouldn't come. Eventually, he decided to call Wesley.

By then, Wesley had just finished his work. Surprised to receive a call from his grandpa in the dead of the night, he asked, "Grandpa, why are you still up? Something happen?"

"Is Blair living in Niles' apartment?" Keith asked, cutting straight to the point.

'Damn Niles and his big mouth!' Wesley thought. "Yeah. She has just broken up with her fiance and needed a place to stay."

Niles spent most of his time out of the country. Now that Blair had moved in, he wouldn't be using his place even if he was back home. So Wesley didn't think he needed to explain anything.

But that was exactly why his family had gotten things so twisted.

Keith hung up after hearing Wesley's reply. That night, he didn't sleep a wink.

He had never seen Wesley with anyone but Megan. Now that he had a thing for Blair, how could she be with Niles?

Not that he was biased in favor of Wesley. Well, maybe a little—when it came to relationships. Wesley wasn't as romantic as Niles. So Keith was worried about him finding a wife.

He could tell that Wesley liked Blair. But he couldn't figure out why she was with Niles. He felt bad for his older grandson.

Early the next morning, Keith called Wesley again. "Wesley, I have got the cure for your blues. The granddaughter of a friend of mine has just completed her studies abroad. I've seen her picture. Beautiful. She has huge... eyes. I think you'll like her. Why not come back home and meet her? A restaurant would be a better place than the army base."

While the old man rattled on, Wesley had a bad feeling about this.

This was the first time his family had tried to fix him up. Some of his comrades-in-arms had been on blind dates. They had told him that once there was a first time, there would be a second. Their family wouldn't stop setting him up until he settled down.

"Grandpa, you know how busy I am. I have a few more years before I will even consider getting married. If a great-grandson is what you want, fix Niles up."

"It's not him I'm worried about. You've been single too long. Time to find someone to take care of you. Come home. I can call your uncle Adalson to ask a leave for you."

Wesley felt a headache coming on. "Grandpa, you told me that a man should be ambitious and driven, not confused by love."

"That's true. I told you that when you were a teen. How old are you now? 26! And still single. It's time to get a girlfriend."

Wesley felt his grandpa was bossy. He seemed to have an answer for everything, and had to be right. "I'm too busy to go home. It'll have to wait. I need to get back to work, Grandpa. Take care of yourself. Bye."

"Hey! Don't hang up! I'm not done. Wesley!" Keith called anxiously.

"Dad, he hung up," Cecelia suddenly said. She was also on the line, which explained the click he heard earlier. Keith looked at the receiver. When he realized what was going on, he scolded, "Cecelia, you've been eavesdropping again!"

"Of course. Dad, I'm on your side. I was trying to help. Wesley needs to find a nice girl and settle down." Cecelia bit into an apple, still holding the phone, not embarrassed at all.

Keith snorted. "Help? Okay. You can start by bringing me the files of all the girls who want to marry into this family, so that I can set up introductions."

"There are too many of them. The list alone might take me two weeks or more. Why don't we think of something else?"

"You're just being lazy. Never mind. I'll ask my son." Cecelia, his daughter-in-law, was 50 years old, but still acted like a child sometimes. It was not a bad thing. She was happy. What was the point of living if you weren't happy?