Chapter 43 I'm Here
After Teresa parked the new car and got into Hubert's car, Hubert's tone became much softer. He asked her, "This is my first time to go to your sister's home for dinner. I should buy something for them. What do your sister and brother-in-law like?"
Teresa fasten her seat belt and said, "Buy Andy a toy. My brother-in-law smokes, so you can buy him two packs of cigarettes. Then buy some fruit."
Hubert agreed.
As the car drove out of Florence Garden, he asked his wife, "Where do we buy them?"
"There is a big shopping mall nearby. Park your car there, and we can easily find everything we need there. Hubert, hadn't you ever lived in the house before I moved in? I feel like you know little about the surroundings."
He was silent for a second, and then said, "I bought this house a long time ago, but I just let it ventilate, not living. I lived with my parents. We just moved in after we got married, because it would be inconvenient if we continued living my parents."
"Is your house large?"
Hubert rarely mentioned his family situation. Teresa had have no interest at first, and plus his misunderstanding and defensiveness towards her, she decided not to ask at all.
Hubert told the truth. The Donovan Manor was still in the name of his grandparents. After his grandfather passed away, his grandmother urged his father to go through the transfer procedures and transfer the manor to his father and two uncles.
Because the manor was jointly owned.
But the transfer had not yet been made, and Hubert suspected that his parents wanted to transfer the ownership directly to their generation to save them the trouble of having to do it again later.
To Teresa's ears, the Donovan family was a poor family, and that was why the whole family had to live together.
Teresa remembered that before she got married, Vivian Donovan had mentioned that she wanted to be surrounded by children. Now they still lived together. Maybe this was because Grandma was reluctant to see her children live separately.
"I will take you to visit there some time soon."
Before Teresa could speak, Hubert took the initiative to say it.
After all, she was his wife in name. He should take her to visit the Donovan family.
They lived in the Donovan Manor. There were many houses in the manor, some of which were for workers. At that time, he did not want Teresa to know his real identity, so he used the workers' house to cheat Teresa.
"Tell me in advance when you want to go back. I'll have to be ready."
Hubert's mouth curved into a smile, but it soon subsided, as if he was afraid Teresa would notice that he was smiling.
"OK."
They talked all the way, so the distance seemed very short.
They soon got to the big shopping mall that Teresa said.
When they got out from the shopping mall, Hubert got many bags in his hands.
Teresa said that there was no need to buy too many things, but he thought that the gifts should be thoughtful because it was his first time to visit her sister. He was not afraid of others despising him for being stingy, but he did not want others to think Teresa married into a poor family.
"Ringing..."
Teresa's phone rang. She thought it was her sister calling. She took out her phone and saw it was an unknown number. She got a hunch that the call might come from the Heller family.
Oliver Heller's phone number had been blocked and he couldn't get ahold of her. Was that another person calling?
"Why don't you pick up?"
After loading his things into the car, Hubert saw his wife staring at her phone and asked casually.
"It could be one of my annoying relatives."
"You'll know who it is only if you answer the phone. No need to worry. I am here!"
She could always rely on his support no matter what would happen.
His "I am here" instantly made Teresa feel warm inside. He had many weaknesses, and she was not perfect as well. But being as a couple who had the lightning marriage, it was good enough that he had done this much.
She felt more satisfied with Hubert, and then she answered the stranger's call.
"Teresa. It's Grandpa."
The voice sounded a bit strange, but was vigorous. Even if Teresa had not contacted people in her hometown for a long time, she could immediately recognize her grandfather's voice.
Teresa said "yes" in a low voice and waited her grandfather to continue.
"Your cousin called you this morning, saying your grandmother was sick, and he asked if you could come to the hospital in the city and register for your grandma. You refused. We came all the way here, yet your grandma couldn't be admitted to the hospital. She had to do a new examination, because they said she could only be admitted until she had been diagnosed."
"Where do you and your sister live now? We went to the places where you used to live, but we couldn't find both of you. Your neighbors said that you had moved away long ago. Why didn't you tell us? Do you still have us in mind?"
"We have a lot of people here, and now we have no place to stay. Send your current address, and we are coming to stay for two nights. Get dinner ready for us because we haven't eaten yet. If you think that we've gotten too many people, and that we're noisy, you can transfer us some money so that we can live in a hotel."
Teresa got extremely angry as she listened.
She tried to suppress her anger and asked coldly, "How did you get here? By bus or by car?"
"Your cousins drove their cars and took us here. By the way, you may pay for the expenses of gas for them because it cost a lot along the way."
"Have you and Grandma's filial children become as poor as a church mouse now?"
"Teresa, what nonsense are you talking about? I know you and your sister have established yourselves in the city, and that you are well off. How can you curse your other brothers and sisters for being poor? To your disappointment, they are well off and successful, too. One of your cousins makes 200 thousand dollars a year.."
Teresa hung up the phone before Robert Heller could finish his words.
He knew her grandpa had a big mouth. He enjoyed bragging about his children's and grandchildren's accomplishments and letting other people know how amazing they were so that he could feel proud.
Robert's children and grandchildren had successful careers. Especially Peter Heller, who made 200 thousand a year. Wouldn't they feel bad if they let Teresa pay for expenses of the hotel and gas for them?
Did they really treat her as a pushover and think they could take advantage of her at will?
Robert, on the other side of the phone, had not even finished showing off how amazing his grandsons' were when he was hung up on his granddaughter. He stared at the phone, and then got angry. He almost threw his phone. He immediately shouted, "Teresa dared to hang up on me!"
Oliver Heller said, "She has probably blocked my number."
"She thinks she doesn't need to pay a dime if she hangs up on me? Oliver, do you know where Teresa and her sister work? If we can made them appear, we'll get them to pay for your grandmother's medical bills. Also, a lot of us are living in the city taking care of your grandma, which would cost a lot. Teresa and her sister also have to pay for it."
Oliver shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I have a way of forcing them to come to us and give us money."
With a sinister twinkle in his eye, he decided to use his connections to punish his two cousins.