Being Pursued By Ex-husband

As it had been two weeks since Good Friday, there was scarcely anybody else at the cemetery.

Beau's plot occupied five square meters within the cemetery—a reflection of his prestige in life and even in death.

Sophia placed the bouquet before his tombstone, then glanced at Claudius beside her. She did not speak but stood quietly beside him.

Claudius could not remember Beau. He stared at the unfamiliar photograph on the tombstone, unable to summon any recollection of the deceased. Yet, a gloomy feeling was spreading within him.

A faint sob sounded not far away, but they could not see who it was. It sounded indescribably mournful, especially while they were standing in the drizzle.

Sophia glanced at Claudius, who was studying the face on the tombstone with his head bowed.

The wind blew, and with it the rain. It made her shiver.

Sophia pulled her coat tighter around her, trying not to alert Claudius to her movements, but he turned nevertheless. "Are you cold?"

Sophia shook her head with a smile.

She did not answer him. Instead, she asked, "Do you recall anything?"

Claudius glanced once more at the photograph on the tombstone, hoping for a flash of the past when suddenly an image presented itself in his mind.

The image, however, was a strange one. It was of Sophia standing before a grave, but he was looking at her from a distance.

It was an overcast day as well. He was too far from Sophia to see her expression. He only saw her sitting before the grave.

After settling herself down, Sophia produced a container of pies.

As she ate, she spoke to the gravestones.

The cemetery was deserted aside from him and Sophia that day. The recollection of her sitting and eating from afar made his heart ache with sorrow for reasons he could not explain.

From his vantage point behind her, he heard her say, "Mom, Dad, I'm alone again."

Recollecting himself, he met Sophia's eyes. "Have I come with you to a cemetery before?"

Sophia was startled by his words. Suddenly, she recalled the time when Alexander returned to Coldbridge with her. It was New Year's Day, and the year they got divorced.

During a visit to her parents' graves the day after the New Year, she sensed somebody following her. However, she never caught them whenever she turned around.

She suddenly felt certain that the person following her that day was Alexander.

Sophia's heart lurched as she gazed at Claudius. "Did you recall something?"

Claudius returned her gaze and nodded. "I suddenly remember following you and watching you enter a cemetery. It was quite a gloomy day then. I saw you sit before a gravestone, produce a container of pies, and eat it as you spoke to them. I think I was behind you, but that's about all I can remember."

Claudius did not hold anything back. He told her everything he remembered.

Sophia noticed that the man was agitated, but she did not want to place too much pressure on him, so she smiled reassuringly. "That must be the year we got divorced." After a pause, she continued, "My parents died on the second of January, so it must have been then that I paid them a visit."

At the mention of the past, she could not resist adding, "I've never learned how to cook, and my father would tease me about it. He would tell me my cooking is so bad that I wouldn't even be able to bake pies. He loved minced pork pies. When I visited them that day, I made a batch. Seeing their faces again after all these years made me feel funny inside, so I couldn't resist talking to them."

Sophia gave a faint smile at this point. "It's too bad you couldn't remember anything else. I'm curious to know when you started following me."

She had seen him upon exiting Katherine's house, but since he had kept a careful distance from her, she did not expose him.

Alexander was shameless to have followed me the entire day, even after night fell. I'm sure that if I had not stopped to make him show himself, he would have kept tailing me.

Sophia regained her composure before changing the subject. "Do you not remember anything about your grandfather?"

Claudius shook his head.

"Oh," Sophia responded noncommittedly. "Shall we go home, then?"

Though the rain was light, they had been standing under it for over half an hour. The wind had been sending a spray of fine mist all over them.

"Let's go home." Claudius suddenly grabbed her hand.

Sophia looked down at her hand in his. She did not speak but allowed herself to be led out of the cemetery.