I close the car door with a bang, ushering Mako inside the gas station.
Her eyes are filled with wonder and awe as she stares at the rows and rows of candy. Reminiscent of Haru and motorcycles, or Kyo and catnip.
And while she's occupied with staring at sour gummy worms, I'm once again captivated by the shelves of energy drinks in the cold area. My old friends. I start for their direction when she tugs on my hand, pulling me towards the multicolored snack as she lets out an adorable squeal.
"Mama! Candy! Can I get some?"
I smile...because she's four...
And that means I still had 14 years left with my sweet girl. 14 years...to enjoy her bright and bubbly spirit, and to watch her grow. I hope that she'll never stop being the sunshine I've known her to be, but I know that there are some constants that can never remain unchanging. Because she'll eventually become older. And with age comes moments that both make and break you.
And...every day...I pray that she won't travel the same path that I did.
"Sure." I respond, the softest of smiles gracing my lips as I pick the bright yellow-green bag off the rack for her, taking her small hand in my own again.
Making a final stop for my coveted energy drink, the two of us were on our way with our treasure trove until a sudden, piercing shriek rent the air, causing Mako to startle in my grasp.
"NO!" I hear this sharp disembodied scream of protest. "I WANN CANNIE!" This toddler-like lisped demand comes high pitched at an ear splitting decibel, and Mako gently squeezes my hand for reassurance as I find myself unintentionally pulled towards this ensuing tantrum.
"...Mama..?" She whimpers, nuzzling into me before I hear another, almost exhausted voice respond to this escalation.
"But Mommy already told you no candy before we came in here, Merry..." The woman's tone is calm and soothing...but fatigued as the hand that had been interlaced with my daughters instinctively goes to gently pet her head as Mako further buries her face into my leg.
"It's okay, baby girl..." I coo softly while subtly shuffling past the scene of the crime as more unintelligible screams spew forth from the next aisle over. "I'm here."
And just as I turn the corner with my daughter in tow, I bear witness to an almost saddeningly familiar scene. A petite, blond woman seeming to be in her early thirties. Stooped and almost gracefully balanced on her haunches. Before her, a small toddler with the same blond curls, face first on the grocery store floor. Still shrieking as she battered her tiny fists and kicked her little, chubby legs.
...yeah...I'd been there before.
Though exceedingly rare now as she had grown, Mako was not above throwing a decent tantrum.
Watching as discreetly as I can, Mako clinging to my leg, I hear the woman give a small sigh of defeat. Her head hung imperceptibly to the spectacle her own daughter is making before dainty fingers drift to tuck a lock of her short cropped, blond tresses, revealing liquid pools of bluish gray...like clouds before an impending storm as she gazes upon her child.
"Mommy's not very happy that you're not listening to me, Merry." The woman murmurs softly, matching the little girl's tantrum with calm, maternal tenderness.
"I WANN CANNIE!" The miniature terrorist repeats her demand, and I find myself sighing along with the woman.
"If you can't listen to me..." She murmurs evenly with the patience of a saint. "...then Mommy's going to need to get Daddy... And he won't be very happy, either."
"NO!" The little girl shrieks at the top of her lungs, thrown into another tizzy as her mother shakes her head, contemplating her next move as I see her adjust herself to retrieve her cell phone from the pocket of her blue jeans.
Before I can register how this child had reacted to the consequence of her father becoming involved, I feel familiar arms ensnare my waist as my own child's father plants a kiss on my cheek from behind me.
"Have you already checked out?" I hear the smooth tone of his voice in my ear before he releases my waist and makes his way beside me. "I ran out of coffee." My husband admits almost sheepishly as I feel his gaze unintentionally land upon the scene I had just stumbled upon with our daughter.
"No." I whisper with the infinitesimal shake of my head as Mako claims her father's leg in favor of my own. "We were just about to do that." And I see him nod from my peripheral before observing how the woman became aware of the crowd her own daughter had just drawn.
"Sorry," Her soft, chimelike voice floats above her child's fussing as she give us an apologetic smile on her daughter's behalf. "are we in your way?" And I part my lips to speak before my husband's voice manifests beside me.
"Gomen..." He murmurs this apology in that demure, reserved tone of his that I find simply irresistible. "We didn't mean to stare." And his words come so empathetic and filled with sympathy as he finally asks. "Is she two?"
As I watch her turn her full attention to us, I realize that to call the woman petite would have been a gross understatement. But something about her immediately draws me in. Even through the fatigue shaping her features she's soft. Everything about her is soft. Every angle gently rounded and curved from her delicate eyebrows, full lips, to the tip of her chin. Even the waves of her short blond hair curl and softly curve along her jawline in the dainty bob it had been cropped into.
"Yeah." She almost chuckles to my husband as a smile graces her full lips. "How did you know?"
"They don't call them 'the terrible twos' for nothing." He murmurs lightly in amusement of his own as he taps our daughter on the nose, laughing outright when she scrunches her face. "Right, Mako?"
"Right!" Mako chirps exuberantly with a wide smile and bob of her head as my husband chuckles to himself before his wise amethyst gaze shifts to the woman once more.
"But it doesn't last forever." He offers this up softly in genuine consolation to the woman in her apparent time of need as I found myself giving a nod of agreement.
"Hang in there." I chime in lightly with my own words of encouragement to the clearly new-ish mother as she held the line against this strong willed, spirited little girl. "It really does get easier." And with this the woman gives a nod of genuine gratitude to our empathetic understanding and lack of harsh judgment or scornful looks as my husband gently ushers me away from the spectacle with our daughter between us.
As we make our way once again to the register, the little girl's meltdown still in full swing without any sign of letting up, I give a small smile down to my own baby. My Mako. We'd had our days, believe you me. But the sunlight she shines into my life far outweighs the hardship of her temper tantrums over not getting her way. Ruminating over how this little soul holding onto my hand has so profoundly changed my life, my thoughts are gently pulled to the sound of my husband's voice on the other side of our daughter.
"Should I just meet you at the register?" He asks as he plans his getaway to make his coffee run.
"Sure." I nod before I feel another light tug at my hand.
"Mama, can I go with Papa?" Mako questions pleadingly, those beautiful large eyes of hers meeting mine as I let out a chuckle, looking to my husband as he gives a nod of approval that he didn't mind.
"Sure, baby girl." I smile down to her before meeting my husband's amethyst gaze once more. "Just try not to let her rope you into getting her any more treats, okay?" I wink playfully, gaining a small laugh from him as our daughter already begins to break out her adorable puppy dog look.
And it still blows me away at how effortlessly this tiny soul has us both wrapped so tightly around her little pinkie finger.
Go figure.
"Meet you guys at the car when you're done?" I ask, quickly double checking the stash I'd gathered with Mako earlier as my husband gives a small nod.
Quickly checking out without further incident, I make my way through the parking lot to our car. Most people would cringe at the thought of taking a road trip with a toddler in tow, but Mako was surprisingly good with car rides. She just loves them.
Most especially when there are snacks involved.
As I approach the vehicle, I notice another car next to mine that hadn't been parked there when we arrived at the store. Shrugging this off, I make my way to the passenger door to place the goodies in the seat, save for my energy drink. Closing the door and turning to wait for my family in the pleasant warmth of the afternoon sunlight, I notice a man holding a silent vigil at the car next to me, apparently doing the same exact thing. Watching as he takes a drag of the cigarette poised between his long, thin fingers...a strange, dark aura exuding from him as he leans his tall, lanky frame against the car, his gaze coming fixated on the ground...I begin to feel the dredges of an old hunger. Though I had quit smoking and drinking years ago, I'll admit that there were moments where both of these old lovers still called to me.
...even now, in my new life.
And for a moment, as I pop open the can of Red Bull in my hand and savor a sip of the sour energy drink, I find myself fighting the urge to bum a cigarette from the guy and light up myself. For old time's sake. The curl of smoke from his thin, perfect lips comes so tantalizing to me that I swear I almost begin to salivate over the thought of a smoke. Like Pavlov's dog...ring that old familiar bell and apparently I begin to drool.
...woof...
But what hits me even harder than this insane craving, is when the guy actually looks my way. And I'm almost floored by a chocolate brown gaze deeper and darker than any abyss I'd ever stared into.
And this guy. He just...watches me take him in for a moment. The two of us staring at each other in the parking lot through this awkward silence. And I attempt to hold his disturbingly intense gaze...wondering to myself if he knew just exactly how deeply unnerving his foreboding stare was becoming in this messed up game of chicken we were playing...until I finally fold and my own eyes fall away to distract myself with the smaller details of his person.
Wondering why he looks so familiar...
That dark, inky black hair of his is cropped to an almost shaved cut. And it just further accentuates and enhances his lean, sharply angular facial features and high cheekbones. I finally find resolve to move my eyes away from his face, which seems to hold just a hint of familiar rebellion with a few piercings. Like that rad nose stud of his. And I finally take notice of his attire.
Black...
He's wearing a simple black button-down dress shirt with the sleeves rolled to just below the elbows. Strangely accented with tasteful black leather wrist bands that subtlety draw my attention to the decorative tattoos along his forearms. And dark blue jeans come discreetly laced around his waist with a thick studded leather belt...hidden by the un-tucked dress shirt. The whole outfit is finished off with simple black shoes that neither draw my eye or cause it to shy away.
Having graciously given me ample time to take him in, I hear the guy finally clear his throat in order to discreetly call my attention back to my staring as my cheeks burst into a blush of pink.
"Take a picture." He mutters to me flatly in low, almost lifeless monotone with the cock of his eyebrow as he calls attention to my ogling. "It'll last longer."
And the sting of Red Bull painfully floods my chest from going down the wrong tube at the sheer surprise of this old familiar jab as I sputter and almost cough to death on my drink.
"Saboten?!" I choke out, old memories rushing through me at breakneck speed as I watch the man's eyebrows almost shoot into his hairline in shock before his expression goes completely taut and his nostrils flare.
...yep...
There's no mistaking it.
This guy's none other than the infamous Cactus Man himself.
A/N: Greetings! So...this comes as the last and final piece of the Kurumi/Aden saga. Preceded by "Suicide Girl And Her Saboten" "Ships" and "Have A Day." Thank you to all who have loved and supported this saga between the OC of the amazing GalaxyVisionary and my character from my original work "Hard Candy." Seriously, you all have been so amazing throughout this crazy ride. And a special thank you to GalaxyVisonary for being so kind as to lend me Kurumi in the first place and allowing me to create this world for you all.
In this story comes my original characters, Aden McCaffery, Kate Littleton (McCaffery), and Merry McCaffery.
As a side note...yes...I have taken the beginning of GalaxyVisonary's last chapter of "Mirror Mirror." And yes...she knows. Not that I really ASKED her, mind you. But...she knows. Thanks again, girl.
More to come. So stay tuned.
