I'm glad to have so many positive comments about Tracy and Adelaide. I've especially enjoyed writing Tracy's evolution. I watched 'The episode that shall not be named' recently and really, I'd forgotten how annoying Adelaide's character was in her début scene. I like my characters better!
I have a particular fondness for the beginning of this chapter. I hope you all like it just as much!
Chapter Four
Glasses perched on her nose and pen between her teeth, Myka sat on the couch in the study pouring over the Warehouse's latest conundrum. Concentration was in short supply though as energetic chaos ensued around her.
Over the top of her open folder, she could see Adelaide kneeling on the office chair, an un-plugged headset sat atop her dark hair and her fingers tapping away at the keyboard.
Christina stood to one side, a pair of pane-less glasses perched on her nose and holding a stack of papers in her arms as she peered over her friend's shoulder.
Myka didn't know if they were pretending to be secret government agents or private investigators but she was intrigued nonetheless. With Christina's limited knowledge of the modern world, Adelaide had taken the lead in this game but the agent could see that her daughter was catching on quickly.
"Miss Wells," Adelaide began as she turned to face her friend. "Do you have the 'tree house' file?"
"Yes, Miss Sanders," the young Victorian replied dutifully, scrabbling through the papers in her arms and almost dropping them. She pushed her glasses awkwardly up the bridge of her nose.
Myka bit her lip to keep from laughing. She vaguely remembered sitting in a large, empty box with her bear, pretending that she was lost at sea and approaching a deserted island. They had explored that island for hours before her sister interrupted and demanded to play with her. The box had quickly become a house and her bear, the baby. She briefly wondered what it would have been like to play make-believe with a young Helena Wells. What would they have discovered together on that island?
Christina discarded her burden on the corner of the desk and opened the 'tree house' file. "Two boys were witnessed climbing down the rope after midnight. They were captured on camera." She pushed along a rough sketch of two figures in mid-air next to a tree with a roof.
"Have their parents been told?" Adelaide asked with authority and swivelled in the chair.
"I tried," the brown-eyed girl informed her play-mate. "But they're missing." She gazed around the room for a source of inspiration and her eyes landed on the adult. "Mama... I mean, Agent Bering is investigating."
Myka's head shot up, her raised eyebrow causing both girls to break character temporarily and dissolve into a fit of giggles. The adult chuckled along for a moment before disappearing once more behind her file. "I'm on it, Boss," she told them in jest.
As the laughter subsided, the girls returned to their game. There was a great deal of paper shuffling, typing and phone calls before the pair of them ran out of the room, mentioning something about collecting evidence.
Myka rubbed circles around her belly and said, "Freddy, you're sister is loopy."
Out in the garden, the children used a roll of string to create a crime scene around the tree and both had a sandwich bag into which they placed leaves, twigs, tiny pebbles and the occasional unfortunate bug. By the time Helena emerged from the basement to start making snacks for the tea party, the girls were back in the study, putting together their investigation.
Having managed to get some research done during the lull, Myka e-mailed her findings to Claudia and decided to join her fiancée in the kitchen. Approaching her lover from behind, the brunette placed her hands on slim hips and met her in a kiss.
"Jelly, cake and ice-cream?" she wondered aloud, looking at the list of food items on the counter. "This is unlike you, Helena."
HG rolled her eyes at the teasing. "A special occasion calls for a temporary deviation from the norm."
"Can I expect such treatment next week?" Myka asked, referring to her upcoming birthday.
Resisting a smile, Helena continued cutting tuna-sandwiches into triangular quarters. "Why, is there an important event on the horizon? I'm not aware of anything," she lied.
Green eyes narrowed at the teasing. Helena refused to admit that she knew of anything significant about the upcoming weekend, and Myka refused to be specific about her hints. Both knew that the other was being deliberately obtuse but each of them continued to wait for the other to crack. The game of wills was serving well as a way to add a little bit of adult entertainment to their routine.
"You don't fool me for a moment," Myka whispered into the shell of an ear as she reached over the inventor's shoulder and snagged three slices of cucumber and a carrot stick. The cucumber she hardly chewed as she ate it but the stick of carrot she kept while she rounded the island and leant against the opposite side. She took it between her teeth and watched dark eyes wander from her exposed cleavage to her mouth. "You don't mind me hovering, do you?"
HG cleared her throat and returned her attention to her cutting. "Not at all, darling," she responded, wincing internally at the sound of her voice catching. "Hover away."
"Be careful with that knife. You don't want another incident like the time you burnt yourself," Myka reminded her lover, trying again to get a rise out of her.
They continued the verbal back and forth for several minutes more, their gazes lengthening over the laying of the table and loading of the dishwasher until they stood by the sink slowly falling into one another.
Lips touched with gentle reverence while hands explored arms and faces. Just a moment. One small moment, that seemed to stretch beyond anything as mediocre as the fourth dimension. Into a world where the impossible became possible and true love lived indefinitely.
Reality entered the room in the form of two giggling children, effectively breaking the distracted women apart. With nothing left to carry, they remained hand in hand as they made their way to the dining room and sat down.
Christina and Adelaide arranged as many of the young Victorian's stuffed animals as could fit around the table and then dressed them all in party hats before donning their own. Myka was already pulling elastic around her chin when her daughter said insistently, "Hat, Mummy."
HG's eyebrow rose as she levelled firm disapproval at the over-excited girl.
Christina deflated slightly and changed her tone. "Please?"
The inventor's expression quickly softened. "Of course, love. What's a party without funny hats?" she joked and pulled a face that made both girls laugh.
With the afternoon and most of Sunday still ahead of them, neither child was concerned with the prospect of their fun coming to an end. They enjoyed the food and the games, and took great delight in encouraging the adults to release their sillier sides.
Myka in particular basked in the goofier side of her lover, not once considering that her carefree weekend would soon take a nosedive.
A rhythmic buzzing tore the American agent from her peaceful slumber and she shuffled groggily from the warmth of her partner's arms to reach for her mobile. With the early light of morning creeping through the pale fabric of the curtains, she groped around until she had what she needed and checked the caller ID.
Seeing her sister's smiling face on the screen, she accepted the call with a sinking feeling in her stomach. "Trace?" she asked into the receiver. She felt Helena stir and knew that her concerned tone would pull her fiancée completely from her sleep. "Everything ok?"
"Myka, I'm sorry to wake you this early."
Not hearing a huge amount of panic in her sister's tone, Myka glanced at the clock which read 6:51 and attempted to pull herself into a seated position. "It's not too bad," the agent yawned and leant back against the headboard with a grunt. "What's wrong?"
"It's Dad. He's ok, but he was stacking shelves in the store and fell off the ladder. He might've cracked a bone where he landed on his arm so he's in the hospital."
Myka covered her eyes with a hand. If her father was in hospital that meant her mother would need help in the store. With recent events creating a distance between them, she knew that Tracy would be her mother's first choice but her sister was in no position to leave home at the moment and her father was too tight to hire temporary help while there was an alternative available.
Helena sat up next to her and she could feel her bedfellow's curious gaze. "Is he asking or is she asking?" Myka wondered as her tone became increasingly bitter.
"I'm asking," came the soft reply.
The agent sighed. "Damn it, Trace. I can't be righteous and angry if you're going to guilt trip me."
"That was the idea." There was a pause after the brief teasing, during which the caller's voice returned to its expression of sympathy. "I really am sorry, Myka... You could just tell them no."
Myka nodded to herself. Yes, she could refuse to go. She had enough good reasons to not travel all the way to Colorado to help out but she knew she would go anyway. She would do it out of duty, because she wasn't currently tied down by responsibilities for her job, she wasn't so far gone in her pregnancy that she couldn't be on her feet for a couple of hours every day, and at the very least, the time with her mother could potentially help to build a few bridges.
"I'll talk it over with Helena and then give Mom a call. Do you know how long Dad has to stay in?"
HG waited patiently while her fiancée was on the phone, her mind piecing together snippets of information until she had a fairly good idea of what was happening. When the brunette finally wished her sister a fond farewell and hung up, she reached out for the nearest hand and entwined their fingers.
"Your father is in the hospital?" she asked gently.
Myka nodded solemnly. "He fell off a ladder in the store. It's not too serious but he might need to be in for a night or two."
"So he'll not be able to work for some time and he wants you in the store?"
"For a couple of weeks at least. Maybe longer if he has to have a cast." She leant her head back against the headboard, closed her eyes and groaned. She felt Helena move around and peeked over at her. "Should I go?"
"I would like to be very selfish and advise you to tell them to bugger off," the inventor declared specifically to make her partner laugh. "But I know you're far too generous to do that. I think we both know that you're going to go and help." She tucked a lock of wild hair behind Myka's ear. "Shall we leave tomorrow, as soon as Nate has picked Adelaide up?"
Myka's surprised expression morphed quickly into concern, acceptance and finally relief. She knew she wouldn't cope with being away from her fiancée again for weeks and having her family with her would make the experience so much easier to bear. It would also give her a good excuse to spend non-working hours away from the bookstore and give her a chance to show her lover and daughter around the places she'd loved as a child.
"Is he still picking her up in the afternoon?" she checked as she began planning where they might stay in Colorado Springs. If it was more than a couple of weeks, it might be cheaper to sign a short-term lease on a small apartment rather than stay at a hotel. Christina would be better off having her own room.
"Sometime between three and four, depending on traffic," HG answered. "We could aim to leave at five?"
"It'll be very late by the time we get there. I don't want to be travelling late. They can wait 'til Monday." The curly-haired agent imagined the first conversation with her mother after months and knew that it would go better if she wasn't exhausted from lack of sleep. "I'm not rushing around for them," she added, her tone fluctuating back and forth now between loving toward Helena and bitter toward her parents.
The inventor agreed that they were better off setting out early Monday and the pair rose reluctantly from their bed to greet the day. They walked passed Christina's room to the sound of silence from within and made their way quietly down to the kitchen in pyjamas and fluffy slippers.
They took their morning drinks into the living room and curled up at opposite ends of the couch so that their legs entwined between them.
HG watched her fiancée's face disappear behind the newspaper and knew that Myka would spend the next little while debating her decision to go to Colorado and considering all the possible scenarios waiting for them there. This unexpected development was going to put a dampener on her plans for Myka's birthday but she by no means felt deterred from giving her lover the celebration she deserved, it was just going to take some tweaking.
Helena spent the better part of the morning searching for hotels and apartments while Myka spoke to her sister and briefly to her mother to confirm that her presence was needed. The conversation with her mother had been short but by no means painless. It made the agent want to massage the bridge of her nose whenever she thought back to it.
"Hello?" Mrs Bering's voice answered cautiously after the fifth ring.
"Hi, Mom," Myka greeted with equal trepidation. "How's Dad?" she asked, attempting to divert attention away from her for a few minutes.
"He's fine. He's complaining about being kept in hospital. He's worried that the insurance won't cover it." Jeannie's voice reflected her husband's concerns and Myka felt her natural sympathies rise to the fore.
"I helped Dad choose that policy, you should be fine, but Helena and I can help if you need it." As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she knew she'd said the wrong thing.
"That won't be necessary," Jeannie replied sharply.
Myka sighed, exasperated. "Mom, you know she and Christina will be coming with me if you want me to help out for a while, right? I'm not spending an entire month away from my family."
There was silence on the other end for several seconds and then, "Tracy mentioned that you were expecting?"
The agent closed her eyes, suddenly realising why her mother had seemed to start their conversation with an almost friendly tone. "Yes, we're expecting a boy in July."
"Myka, don't you think a boy needs a father?" the admonishing reply came.
"I think every child needs family that shows them love and acceptance, which our son will have. Something that not every child has, even with a mother and a father," she shot back, making it quite clear that she was referring to herself. "Look," she added after a pause. "Do you want me to come and help out or not?"
"Your father would have better peace of mind with you in charge," the older woman conceded.
"Fine. We're going to lease an apartment in the city for a month, so you don't have to worry about having house guests. Tell Dad not to worry about the cost; we're going to treat it like a sort of holiday."
She hung up shortly after confirming that she would arrive on Monday afternoon and return Tuesday to open up the shop. The rest of her morning was filled with packing a month's worth of supplies for her and Christina and informing her Warehouse family of the arrangements.
It wasn't until much later in the evening, after another flurry of activity from the pair of energetic eight-year-olds, that Helena's thoughts brought her back round to their upcoming journey and an idea came to mind.
"Darling?" she called into the en-suite bathroom as she sat on the bed, rubbing cream into her hands. She waited until Myka appeared in the doorway, toothbrush in hand and a quizzical expression on her face. "What do you think about spending tomorrow night in the city?"
Green eyes blinked and stared into space for all of three seconds before a smile tugged at Agent Bering's mouth. "We could take Christina out to dinner and be close to the airport ready for Monday?" she elaborated, liking the idea very much. Being in the city reminded her of the night she and Helena had renewed their physical relationship. What better way was there to cement their feeling of unison before the trial of dealing with her parents? She 'skipped' across the bedroom and pulled inventor into a kiss. "I love it!" she said before retreating into the bathroom to finish her pre-bed ritual.
Helena grinned to herself and stared at the open bathroom door in a slight daze. In her mind, she began to put together a list of items to pack for their journey and people she needed to contact with details of her burgeoning idea.
"We'll show your parents what they're missing," she whispered as the pieces began to come together.
Christina barely had time to lament the loss of her friend the following afternoon as her parents hugged her fiercely and then sent her off to fetch her suitcase. She wandered back upstairs with a mixed sense of melancholy and anticipation. After finding both agents curled up on the couch the previous morning, they had made sweet-potato pancakes and heard the news of her grandfather's unfortunate accident. She was unsure how she felt about seeing her Mama's mummy and daddy, but the idea of exploring the bookshop where one of her beloved parents had spent their youth was first on her mind. Mama had even mentioned the possibility of her being a trainee shop assistant if Jeannie Bering was open to the idea.
As they began their journey to Rapid City to stay for the night, the young girl reviewed the weekend with her BFF, patiently explaining to her Mummy what the acronym stood for and why it was so important to have one, and relating the details involved in 'cracking their case'.
Myka chuckled often, at both the adorable recitation and the expression of painful patience on her lover's face at times, which a frown occasionally replaced when the girl's dialogue dropped in the odd colloquialism. On the open stretch of the I90, with very little traffic to hamper their progress, she reached across the divide between chairs and wrapped her hand around her fiancée's. The comfort she found in that small gesture instantly calmed the pessimistic thoughts in her brain and the uncomfortable churning that sat in the pit of her stomach whenever she thought about walking into her childhood home the next day and coming face to face with her mother.
The obedient little girl inside of her wanted to apologise for being the catalyst for their distance, but she fought the feeling down each time it tried to fill her thoughts. She didn't have anything to apologise for. If anything, she was owed an apology for being treated like a criminal merely for being in love. She had to try not to let her mother's attitude get to her but knew that it would be a difficult task if the woman continued to spout her ignorant beliefs with abandon. Not to mention the struggle that would occur if she said anything to upset either Christina or Helena.
A little voice warned her not to expose her family to the negative energy from her mother but she knew that her partner would not let her face this trial alone and for that, she was grateful. If the worst came to the worst then she would offer her apologies to her father and, if he was in a generous mood, advise him to hire someone who wouldn't offend her mother's sensibilities. Just the thought of being able to say something like that to her parents brought a proud smile to her features. She felt strong and knew that a lot of that confidence came from the woman sitting next to her, holding her hand... and her heart.
Helena had booked a suite at a hotel on the city boarder with quick access to their route to the airport and only a few blocks from the restaurant where they'd had their first official date. They carried their overnight bags up from the car and took out everything they would need for the evening.
Christina saw the size of her double bed next to her parents' double bed and spent ten minutes rolling all over it before they could persuade her to leave the room.
"Mama?" Christina began as she waited with her parents at the service station to be seated.
"Yes, Sweetheart?" Myka answered, looking down at the young girl with her best attentive expression.
"When can I visit Addy's house?"
The American hesitated and exchanged a glance with her fiancée. "Well, I suppose when she and her father offer an invitation."
The eight-year-old thought about this as they followed a man in uniform to a table by a window and sat down. "But it was Addy's daddy who first asked if she could stay with us before Christmas. So you and Mummy could arrange for me to visit if you wanted to," she reasoned.
Helena sent the waiter away with a request for a jug of water and turned to her daughter. "I will speak with Adelaide's father and see if we cannot arrange something. Though you must not build your hopes up too high; I do not know how he will answer."
Christina sulked in her seat for several minutes; pushing her napkin around in front of her while the adults chose what they wanted to eat and left her to her thoughts. When they started discussing their prolonged stay in Colorado Springs and the places they might like to visit though, her ears pricked up and her disappointment was quickly forgotten.
"Mummy, may I have pudding?" Christina asked almost an hour later.
Their waiter had returned after removing their plates to offer them the coffees and desserts menu. He sincerely hoped that the two women allowed the girl a treat. He had rarely met such a polite and well-behaved child. There was a puzzle book beside her but she had barely touched it in favour of chatting with her parents. He had heard more than one snide comment muttered about the couple that evening but for himself, he'd gladly have them back every night.
"Are you certain that you have room in there?" the inventor asked, gesturing to the girl's stomach. "You're eyes are not too big for your belly?"
"I have room," the eight-year-old insisted.
Myka felt Helena's eyes on her and smiled. "It won't be long 'til bedtime, but I think we all deserve a treat so how about we share something?"
Christina's face lit up and the waiter made some recommendations before leaving them to decide. They spent five minutes deliberating over three or four items before choosing warm chocolate brownies and mint ice-cream. Myka ordered a decaf-coffee with hers and Helena braved the tea.
When it arrived, HG took a small spoon-full of the mountainous construction and found it bordering on the sickly side of her pallet. Not so much that she couldn't enjoy a couple of mouthfuls though. At one point, she made the mistake of glancing at her fiancée just as Myka's lips embraced her spoon and sucked ice-cream from it. She wasn't sure how long her own spoon hovered in front of her mouth as she watched a tongue caress the concave surface, but when low down muscles tightened in sympathy and a small moan escaped her throat, she had to fill her mouth with food and pretend that her enjoyment was for purely gastronomic reasons.
Knowing green orbs assessed her every move with mischievous amusement.
When it was time to leave, HG again tipped well and made a mental note of another restaurant that they might return to when next in Rapid City. They strolled back to the car and Christina spotted a poster on the side of a building advertising a water theme park in the area.
"You could take me there for my birthday!" the child declared with hyper-excitement, her sugar-rush in full force.
"Yes, we could," Helena teased.
Almost rolling her eyes, the young girl turned to her other parent. "Will you take me there? Nine is such an important birthday after all. It's the last time I'll be in single figures," she carefully explained the significance in case the American was somehow unaware.
Myka noted the brief faraway look in her lover's eyes and knew that there was a more sombre reason that her daughter's next birthday was so significant. Gently squeezing the small hand in her own she said, "We will certainly look into it, Sweetheart. I'm ashamed to say that I don't know how well you can swim. We're all going to need bathing suits and we might have to put in some practise beforehand."
"I can swim! Mummy and I used to swim in the sea!"
Helena confirmed this statement with a nod and put the curly-haired agent a little more at ease. She was a fair swimmer herself but had no experience of rescuing someone else from the water, least of all while carrying a whole other person inside of her.
"I have no experience of modern attire when it comes to aquatic activities," the inventor began with a teasing tone and a flutter of her lashes. "I don't suppose you'd be open to the idea of assisting me while I choose the appropriate bathing suit, would you, darling?"
Myka swallowed hard. "No problem," she squeaked.
While the adults discussed shopping trips and changing rooms, Christina let her mind wander over birthday parties, swimming and the plane ride they were going to take in the morning. She'd never been on a plane with her Mama before and was eager to show her all the things she liked to look at when they were in the air. As her imagination took her to lofty heights, a portion of her subconscious took note of something across the street. A car, an eye and an almost indistinguishable flash of light. Cars weren't very interesting though and before the thought could make its way to her consciousness, it was lost.
Across the street, that eye kept watch.