She looked in her cupboards and sighed.
She needed to restock on food, and the baby was hungry.
She had not been used to this
experience of having to take care of the baby on her own. But she insisted that
her guardian let her be for at least a little while. Her guardian had been
reluctant to agree, but in the end succumbed to Selene's wishes. She agreed to
give her three days alone, but then she would be sending Minako to watch and
help her. Minako would be arriving tomorrow. With the money she was given, she
had bought a nice home for her to stay in Savannah, Georgia. It was a pretty
nice two-story house. She didn't know why her guardian insisted that she buy
that house, its not like she would be here that long. She shrugged off the
thought and began to focus on her current predicament.
She didn't have a car, cause she didn't
know where to buy one, and she didn't know her way around town enough to find a
grocery store. In fact, the only reason she made it this far was because her
guardian had given her the number for a baby-sitter and the house was stocked
when she had reached there, well, sort of stocked anyways. She sighed once more
when she saw Darien's card tacked onto the refrigerator.
She starred at it for a while.
She really hadn't wanted to ask for
help, and really had no intentions upon it when she took the card. She was a
very stubborn person, but as stubborn as she was, she really had no choice in
the matter, she had a three-year-old son to think about.
She turned around and looked at the
little boy with black hair that was playing on the floor amongst his toys. She
decided she would ask for as little help as possible. She picked up the phone
and dialed the number. The phone rang twice before someone picked up the phone
and a deep voice could be heard on the other side.
"Good Afternoon." It said in English.
" Bonjour, peux je parlez s'il vous plaît avec Darien." She answered back in French.
"Darien, some French woman wants to speak to you!" The
voice yelled. Selene was positive that she heard chuckling and then some quick
footsteps hit the floor, then a thump, more laughing, and then footsteps again.
"Selene?" Another male voice said.
"Darien?" She replied.
"Hey, how are you, I didn't expect to hear from you so
soon." He continued in French.
"Well...I was wondering if you knew where I could find a
grocery store to buy some things."
"Oh...I could take you, I know exactly where it is." He
replied eagerly.
"No...it's not necessary, I can handle it really, if you
could just give me directions." She tapped the countertop lightly as she
kept watchful eyes on her son.
"Nonsense, it would be my pleasure. I couldn't have you going
out there alone." He was a persistent one.
Alone, not exactly alone.
"Selene...would you like to have dinner with me as
well?" He turned around and saw Malachite on the couch ready to burst out
laughing.
"Dinner, well, dinner may be a problem. I...uh "She was
stalling; he knew she was stalling although he wasn't certain as to why.
"Selene, is everything ok?"
"Sure." She said haphazardly.
"Then let me take you out. I'm pretty sure you would enjoy
seeing something besides that place of yours." He arched his brow, as he
was pretty sure he heard laughing that didn't sound like her own.
"Well..." He sounded so sweet to her and she couldn't
bear to hurt his feelings. "O.K. but..."
"Don't worry, dress casual, and I'll pick you up in an hour
O.K. Bye" He hung up the phone; he didn't want to give her the chance to
change her mind.
She sighed heavily after putting down the phone because he didn't
give her a chance to tell him about her son. As soon as he showed up he would
high tail it out of there when he discovered she had a child; most men do. She
nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone rang.
"Hello?" She answered in English.
"Selene?" Darien asked.
"Uh...Selene is here hold on a minute." She mentally
cursed her mistakes before pretending to call out to someone.
"Selene!" She put the phone down then picked it back up again. "Bonjour." She said using her French accent.
"Where do you live?" He asked. She giggled as she tucked
a curl behind her ear.
"I live at 23rd and Maple."
"Thanks" He said in a rush and hung up the phone.
"Looks like someone can't wait to get in someone's
pants." Malachite chuckled while looking at the paper.
"Why must everything be about sex with you?" Darien
replied. Malachite merely arched his eyebrow at his friend.
"Are you sure it's not really the other way around?" He
turned towards his paper once more. "Hmph, someone's got it bad." He
sang.
"I do not." Darien said coldly, balling his hands into
tight fists.
"Endymion, you practically knocked me down trying to get the
phone, and not to mention falling in the process!" Malachite laughed
uncontrollably; Darien sighed, giving up on the argument, before speaking once
more.
"Listen, I'm taking her out O.K., and you're not coming with
me!" Darien replied sternly.
"I'm sorry your highness, but as your royal guard, I can not
fulfill that request. You know as well as I do that."
"Fine. Then you leave me no choice." Darien cut him off
flatly. "I order you to stay here and await my return."
"Ugh..." Malachite paused. "For peters sake
Endymion, why can't you just let me do my job!" He knew he couldn't refuse
an order. "You don't want to sleep with her?" He finally added
sarcastically.
"Dammit!" He exclaimed. "I don't have to tell you
of all my personal affairs!" He picked up the keys off of the countertop.
"So you do want to sleep with her?" Malachite laughed as
Darien rolled his eyes and walked out the front door.
She had just finished putting on her son's shoes when she heard a
knock at the door; she sighed deeply.
"Justin, go get mommy's purse please." She watched
silently as he left the room, lamenting as she approached the door to open it.
"Selene, you look great, you
ready?" He said with a smile as his eyes approvingly scanned over the
simple light pink sleeveless cotton dress that she wore, her hair braided in
one down her back with the end coming over her shoulder.
"Uh...sure, could you come in for a minute."
"O.K., where's your sister?" he asked.
"My who?"
"The woman who answered the phone, I assumed it was your
sister." He said.
"Oh...I am an only child, that was just umm, the lady who sold
me the house." She quickly spat when being almost caught at her lie.
"Oh" He silently walked in towards the living room in
deep contemplation. He knew something was wrong; the smile on her face was
proof of that very fact, it seemed so forced.
She watched him walking around in the living room, an observant
yet thoughtful look on his face, before following him and closing the door. It
was now that she was realizing just how handsome he was. His white polo shirt
complimented his body structure very well with khaki pants from New York
casually draped over his lower body.
She was still studying him when he turned around, his ravenous
black bangs falling over his midnight blue eyes.
"I...I have something to tell you." She paused. "I
tried to tell you on the phone, but, but..."She staggered.
"I know, I'm really sorry about that, I was afraid you'd tell
me no." He mentally kicked himse3lf for speaking so quickly; he made
himself to sound like a desperate man. She blushed.
"You see..." She slowly began "there's another guy
in my life who will always come first and..." He felt like his heart was
churning inside. "I don't think I could handle two guys right now."
His pulse sped up. "He's coming with us, so I want you to meet him."
"He's coming, with, us?" He asked unsure; he was almost
hurt, no, he was hurt.
As if on cue, Justin came running down the stairs with her purse
neatly tucked within the crook of his arm.
"Mommy, your purse." He exclaimed as he almost shoved it
towards her haphazardly, ignoring the presence of the invading stranger.
.
"I...I...this is Justin." She looked to Darien with a
soft smile before lowering herself to the ground to look at Justin eye to eye.
"This is the nice man I told you about." She paused. "Say
Hello."
"Hullo" He crossed his arms and stood in front of his
mother protectively as if he was guarding her from an enemy. "I don't like
him mommy." Darien merely arched his brow at the little boy.
"A little spirited, isn't he?" Darien asked
sarcastically.
"A little protective you mean. Justin, say sorry." She
reprimanded.
"Why?" Justin said.
"Because sweetheart, that was very mean." She gave him a
stern glance that told him that he had better make nice or else.
"No, it's O.K. really" Darien interjected. "I'd probably
be the same way if I had a mother as beautiful as you." He flirted openly
causing her to blush again, and for some reason just seeing her blush caused a
warmness within him that he didn't understand.
"Nevertheless, it was still mean." She said calmly
"Justin say sorry."
"Sorry." Justin replied while looking at Darien and then
turning away with indifference.
"So, are you ready to go?" Darien asked.
"You still want to, I mean...I thought that..."
"No, I told you it's no problem. Get your things." She
didn't blush this time, but she smiled genuinely. It was the first time he had
ever seen her truly smile, and it made him feel real good inside. He snapped out of his dreamlike state to see that she was
talking to him.
"Could
you carry this please?" She said as she held out a small car seat.
"Sure"
He took it from her arms and watched silently as she then picked up a big carry
on bag along with her purse and let out her hand for Justin to grab on to.
"What's
the bag for, going on a trip?" He asked sarcastically while arching one
eyebrow up.
"It's
called a baby bag. You don't get out much do you?" She replied
sarcastically. He laughed at the ironic statement.
"If
you don't mind me asking...what's your story?" he asked.
"Well,"
She paused. "I guess...I'm basically a 20 year old single mother with a
three year old boy." She said quickly, then looked towards Justin who was
feeding himself, spaghetti marks all over his face. She picked up a napkin and
reached over to wipe the marks.
"He's
a smart kid." He replied. Wow,
pregnant at 16, that must had been hard. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to the father" He
said quietly; it was quiet for a moment before she looked away from Justin
towards him once more. She folded the napkin within her hands over and over
before giving him her full attention. What he saw in her eyes were a play of
emotions so deep that he wondered what she could have possibly been through; he
had seen fear, doubt, sadness, confusion, and then finally love. "I'm
sorry...is he dead?" he asked softly.
"I
don't know." She replied softly and looked down in her plate. "You
ever wake up like if from a dream and all you remembered was that there was
someone out their looking for you? I don't even remember his name, who he is,
or...or even when he gave me this child but...but " Her eyes began to
water.
"You
love him, don't you?" He paused "I can see it, in your eyes."
"Yeah...I
do...something just tells me deep in myself that I do...and I don't know where
he is, but for some reason I just know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that he'll
find me."
As
they walked through the lines of the grocery store, Selene pushed the cart
while Darien held a sleeping Justin. Surprisingly, he went to Darien when
Selene couldn't hold him anymore, and he stayed in his arms contentedly, his
head snuggly resting within the crook of his neck.
Despite
the scene of peace they seemed to display, they argued quietly about
everything. Every time they managed to calm down once more something else
brewed up. And the when Darien took a bag of candy off the shelf and threw it
in the cart, for Selene, it was the last straw.
"Just
what, I ask, do you think you're doing?" She asked him accusingly.
"Putting
candy in the cart!" He rolled his eyes, a trademark of his that she was
beginning to hate.
"Oh
no, I've heard about your Earth candy, rotting children's teeth away. My son
has never touched the stuff and he is not about to start now! I will not have
my son eating such garbage!" She paused "So take it out of the
cart!"
"Earth
candy?" he said sarcastically and paused "What are you, from another
planet? It's called Snickers, and if you take care of your child's teeth
properly, then you have nothing to worry about!" He finished
"Take
it out!" she exclaimed.
"I
refuse, it will only put a smile on his face, so lighten up!"
"Who's
the parent, you or me?" She knew he was trapped.
"Some
parent, doesn't seem to like to do anything that will keep the child
happy." She picked up the bag of candy, hit him across the face with it
before putting it on a shelf to which it did not belong. "First of all, I
can't believe you hit me!" he paused as she rolled her eyes; she was
mocking him it seemed. "Secondly, that's not where it belongs!"
"Then
go put it where it belongs!" She exclaimed before turning away from him
and continuing down the aisle.
It
was then that they realized that they had become the spectacle of the grocery
store, as everyone seemed to have stopped to look at them. Darien stood stunned
with the baby in his arms as Selene was walking away with what seemed to be not
a care in the world. He immediately caught up with her and began to wonder why
he ever found an interest in her. If he had any interest in her it was slowly
easing away.
When
they had reached her house, they were greeted to an already settled in Minako.
"Mina,
I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow." Selene shockingly asked.
"So
I came early, so sue me." She replied with a smile.
"Mina,
this is Darien, Darien this is Mina my...my nanny."
"Nice
to meecha." She smiled as she put her hand in his own, inwardly miffed at being
referred to as the nanny; she would have to get Selene back for that comment
later.
"Same
here." He replied as he looked at the two. Was
he missing something or did these two look invariably alike?
"So...where
ya been?" Mina asked nonchalantly as she lounged back on the couch.
"Out...shopping,"
Selene replied.
"Where
are the groceries?" She asked puzzled.
"In
the back of the car." She put down her things before addressing her once
more. "Mina, could you take Justin to bed please?"
"Justin?"
Mina replied and then suddenly remembered what Selene's guardian had told them
about his first name.
"You
know...my son." Selene replied sarcastically. "Three year old kid,
about yay high." She finished the last part while make motions with her
hands to show his height.
"Thanks
for the description, I wouldn't have been able to pick him out amongst all the
other little boy's in this room by the name of Justin without you." Mina
replied sarcastically as she approached Darien and attempted to take Justin
from him.
"Well,
you know how I am, always willing to help you...out..." She arched her
brow in wonder as Mina tried to take Justin from Darien, but for some reason he
wouldn't budge, merely snaked his arms tighter round his neck.
"Well,"
Selene paused "it seems he has taken some sort of liking to you."
"At
least someone has." he mumbled.
"What
was that?" Selene asked.
"Listen,
I'll take him to bed if you want, really, it's no problem." He paused
"and you can put away the groceries!" He added on quickly and moved
away so that he would not be swatted.
"Some
man you are!" She grumbled, "Fine then, his bedroom is upstairs and
two doors down to the right." She turned towards Minako and gestured for
her to follow her to the car. "Men are so lazy, I swear!" She
continued as they made their way to the door.
"And
women are tyrants!" she heard him say when she had almost stepped outside.
Darien
silently deposited Justin on the bed and then stood to observe his
surroundings. The room was set aglow by a soft blue light and consisted of a
drawer and a bed clad in a big comforter set that had intricately done patterns
of a yellow moon sitting in a dark midnight blue sky with stars in the
background. If he looked closely, he could make out a picture of a boy standing
on the Earth in the background looking at the sky or was it the moon? On the
dresser there was a lamp with a blue stand and a shade with moons and stars
that shined in a way so that when light shown through, it looked as if it the
moon and the stars themselves were casting a glow upon you. To the left of the
bed, a tiny blue toy box lie with Justin's suitcase on top of it. He walked
across the plush carpeted floors to the toy chest and opened the suitcase in
search of clothing, just to find it empty.
"In
da dresser." He heard Justin mumble in a tired voice, catching him off
guard.
He
turned his attention to the boy, just as he began to sit up and yawn, his pudgy
arms stretching their small length. Darien smiled before walking to the dresser
and opening the drawers one by one to look for the drawer that contained his
sleeping wear. He plucked out a dark blue pajama pant set, laid it on the bed,
and then sat down next to Justin, proceeding to help him take off his clothes.
When they were through, Justin tiredly climbed in the bed and spoke once more.
"Can you tell me a stowy?" He asked softly while he yawned once more
and stretched his arms. Darien looked upon him in deep thought before tucking
the covers up to his chin and responding.
"Sure
pal, you have any books?" He asked him.
"I
do...but Mommy forgot to bring them this time." He replied while stifling
a yawn that was approaching once more.
"OK,
then why don't I tell you a story that my mommy used to tell me when I was
little huh?" He asked. "Will that do?" He watched as Justin
nodded profusely with a smile before continuing.
"It's
a story called Jack and the bean stock...and it's about a boy just like you
whose mother couldn't afford to buy them anymore food. So his mother gave him
their cow, their last possession, and told her son to go and sell their cow so
that they can use the money to buy food." He continued. "So then..."
He continued to tell the story until the end, just as Justin's eyelids were
drooping and drawing to a close. He smiled softly as he tucked the covers
beneath his chin once more and reached over to his head to smooth down the down
of his silky black strands. Watching him silently, he gave into his weird
compulsion and leaned over and kissed his forehead, causing a warmth and
happiness to fill his body that he had never felt before. He leaned back up and
ruffled the boy's head before getting up and walking towards the door, somehow
feeling complete for the first time in his life.
When
Selene and Mina walked inside from bringing in the last load, they were greeted
to Darien on the couch, laying down and watching TV.
"By
all means, make yourself at home." Selene said sarcastically "and
there is no need for you to get up and help at all." When she said this,
his head jerked around to look at her.
"I'm
sorry, were you talking to me?" He replied knowing fully well that that
would unnerve her. Seeing the look on her face change to one of contempt, he
smiled at her as he got up to help. "Hey, I was just kidding." He
said in his defense as he walked into the kitchen.
One
would assume that they could do things in a nice order without finding anything
to argue about, however, even when they put away the groceries they began to
bicker.
"That
goes in the cupboard over there." She told him as he began to put
something in the wrong place.
"Personally,
I think it would be more convenient in here." He countered.
"Look,
it's my kitchen and whatever I say goes." She commanded.
"Yeah,
and everything else I touch manages to belong to you." He gave his
trademark roll of the eye.
"Why
you...." she replied.
"I
think I'll leave you two love birds alone, cause I'm tired and I need a break
from noise." Mina interrupted as she began to leave.
"Lovebirds?"
Selene exclaimed, "More like I'm a swan and he's a pigeon."
"No,
I'm the Robin, and you're a stork with that big mouth of yours." He
replied as Mina exited completely and shut her bedroom door when she reached
upstairs.
"Oooohhhhhh"
she said angrily " You take that back!"
"Then
take back what you said." He retorted.
"No
way you deserved it." She said while pointing a finger at him.
On
sudden impulse he put his mouth around the offending finger before she could
retract it and slowly pulled back allowing his tongue to slide along it's
length, finally releasing her finger and glancing at her obviously shocked
face.
"You
better leave." she continued. "If my son was to come down here asking
for a drink of water, what do you think he would say when he saw what you just
did?" she paused "You know what he would say, he would say"
"Ewwwwww,
you licked a girls finger!" Said a small voice. Both adults turned
abruptly to the voice but didn't see anything.
"For
a minute there I thought I was hearing things." He sighed deeply.
"You
weren't," she paused as she peered over the counter of the kitchen and saw
Justin standing on the other side. "What are you doing up young man?"
She questioned.
"I'm
tirsty mommy." He replied "Can I 'ave so'water?"
"May
I have some water." Darien interceded causing Selene to arch her brow at
him.
"May
I 'ave so'water mommy?" Justin asked again.
"May
I please have some water." Darien interrupted again laughing.
"May
I peeease ha' so'water mommy?" he asked a third time.
"Certainly"
Se replied while looking at Darien from the corner of her eye; she walked to
the cupboard as Darien picked up Justin and went to the coach.
"You
must really like water, after the first time I would have rolled my eyes and
got upset." He joked.
"Yeah"
He smiled a toothy smile.
"Hey,
do you like to play in water as well?"
"Yeah,
back at 'ome, mommy les me pay in the little people pool." He paused.
"But you know what?" he whispered.
"What?"
Darien whispered back.
"I
wanna sim in the big people pool" He replied "But mommy says that I
don know 'ow ta sim well enough."
"You
want me to teach you?" Darien inquired.
"Weally?!"
He nearly shouted, trying to keep a whisper.
"Darien,
you want anything?" Selene inquired politely from where she stood in the
kitchen.
"Yeah,
a soda." He waved her away with the gesture of his hand.
"What
soda?" She replied. "I didn't buy any soda."
"It's
in the bottom cupboard, just pick one." He riposted to a confused Selene
to stall her away. "Justin, how would you like to go to the beach?"
he whispered. "I could get someone to teach you how to swim there."
"Weally?"
Justin cried out happily. "Wait, no, Mommy's not gonna let me go."
"Just
leave it to me, I can handle your mother." Darien responded sardonically
with a wide grin as he leaned over to whisper in Justin's ear.
Selene
stared at the empty cupboard suspiciously before deciding to bring the matter
up with Darien.
"I
don't know what you're talking about, but there is no soda in the bottom
cupboard, or in any cupboard for that matter!" She turned to him to see
both Darien and Justin smiling at her. "What?"
"Has
anyone told you that you were the most beautiful person on Earth?" He
asked.
"All
right, what are you two up to?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot,
her trademark brow raising high.
"See,
I told you it wouln'work!" Justin interjected.
"What
are you two plotting against me?" She inquired.
"Darien
thought that by buttering you up, you would take me to the beach." He
replied "But I told him it wouldn't work."
"Well
Darien, nice idea, wrong people." She replied happily and in dignified
tone.
"S'OK
mommy weally, I can't sim out there anyway, s'too hard, and I know I'll never
learn." He added on sadly.
"Oh,
sweetheart, baby don't ever give up that easily, hey we could go and find
someone to teach you baby." She knelt down before him, taking his hands
within her own in a comforting manner.
"Yeah,
but Darien promised me already." He replied and pointed at him; Darien
gave a look of shock as he looked from mother to son.
"Hey,
I didn't mean tomorrow," He defended. "I meant someday, I refuse to
go to the beach tomorrow," he paused "and like you said, he's your
kid." He added on and Justin began to cry into his mother's dress.
"Why
Darien Wales, you see what you just did?" She said angrily. "How dare
you make a promise to my son and then break your promise!" She continued.
"Tomorrow, you are coming here and you are going to take my son, Mina and
me to the beach with no questions asked, and you are going to teach him how to
swim!" she finished off.
"Fine,
fine." He replied. "I told you that you were a tyrant, I'll pick you
up at 8 o'clock in the morning, be ready!" He replied as he walked to the
door. When Selene wasn't looking, he winked at Justin making him smile before
exiting the house.
"Why
do I feel somehow as if I have been tricked?" Selene said as she took
Justin back to his bedroom.
Justin
merely smiled and kept on walking.