"Oh shoot," Kairah snaps her fingers right as we come to the door of the diner. "I forgot, I have a paper due tomorrow."
"Oh really?" I narrow my eyes at her. "What class?"
"Ethics."
"What's the topic?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Stem cells," she stutters.
"In 1968, two siblings were given bone marrow transplants to treat their severe combined immunodeficiency, but stem cells weren't discovered in human cord blood until 1978. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation owns three patents covering human embryonic stem cells, which were invented by James A. Thomson," Spencer rambles.
"Wow," Kairah blinks. "Maybe I'll include that in my paper."
"And what class was this for again?" I ask.
"Ethics," Spencer answers when Kairah hesitates. "Good luck."
"Thanks," she says quickly. "See you later, Kairhyn. I'll pick Emma up for you, ya know, so you don't have to rush home."
By this point I have killed her in my head three times.
"Thanks, Kai," I give her a fake smile. "I'll see you at home."
She takes my statement as the threat that it was meant to be and runs down the sidewalk.
"So, are you ready for some really bad food?" I smile as I turn my attention back to Spencer after mentally killing Kairah for the fourth time.
"I'm sure it's not that bad," he shrugs as he opens the door for me.
I lead him to the booth that Kairah and I always sit in and within seconds the usual waitress is standing beside us.
"Where's your sister?" The waitress, Amanda, asks.
"Oh she had to go home and change her profile name online to LeavesPeopleHanging," I imperceptibly nod towards Spencer.
"I thought she was writing a paper on stem cell research?" Spencer looks genuinely confused.
"Yeah," I stifle a laugh, "that's what I meant."
"You want your usual?" Amanda grins.
"I do," I smile, "but can you do me a huge favor and instead of the iced tea give me the largest cup of cofree that has ever been attempted? You can give me the whole pot, for all I care, just give me a straw and I'm good."
"Actually, the largest cup of coffee on record contained 14,228.1 liters," Spencer said.
"The largest quantity that you can manage to give me."
"Sure thing," Amanda grins again. "And for you?"
"He will have," I interrupt before he can speak, "both of the usuals with the largest piece of apple pie that you can manage."
"Should I just bring the whole pie?" Amanda jokes.
"Can you do that?" I ask seriously.
"Really?" She sighs.
"I am in need and pie is my whore."
"So.." she stares at me.
"I will pay a lot of money to have my way with her."
"Um.." she looks uncomfortable now.
"Bring the whole pie, Amanda."
"Have you ever considered getting some help?"
"I have, Amanda. But it would ruin the fun," I joke.
Amanda leaves to place our order and Spencer just stares at me.
"Pie is your whore?" He questions. "Pie is actually..."
"Don't overanalyze it," I interrupt laughing. "It was a joke."
"Right," he nods.
"So, what do you do for fun?" I ask him.
"Sometimes I guest lecture in college courses, but when I'm not working or doing that I usually read or play chess."
"So you don't spend your free time scowering the Internet for random fact compilations?" I smile.
"No," he answers looking confused.
"I just wondered because you seem to know so many of them."
"I have an eidetic memory," he says simply.
"Of course you do," I nod my head. "So where are you from?"
"Las Vegas," he answers to the point again.
"And you graduated high school when you were twelve. Where could someone as smart as you go to college? Yale?"
"CalTech. Yale was my fall-back school," he says before taking a sip of the iced tea that Amanda brought. "Oh wow."
"Not a fan of the iced tea?" I laugh at his scrunched face.
"I can't say that I am."
I have Amanda bring him some coffee and then watch as he pours half the sugar container into it.
"Would you like some coffee with your sugar?" I tease.
"I have coffee?" He questions.
"You have a lot of sugar in it is what I mean," I smile.
"Oh, yeah," he shrugs.
"You're not much of a talker, huh?" I observe.
"I talk."
"You talk when you're giving a fun fact or answering a question. Other than that, you don't really speak."
"Well," he hesitates.
"I'm sorry," I say quickly.
Just keep on insulting him, Kairhyn. That's great.
"I don't mean to be rude," I finish at a normal pace.
"When were you being rude?" He tilts his head.
"You don't get offended when people interrupt you or say things that they shouldn't say?"
"Why should I?" He shrugs. "Everyone is different."
Luckily Amanda brings us our food before I have to think of a response to that. It shouldn't have taken me so long to put my finger on it, but now that I have, I know exactly what makes Spencer the way he is.
"This is a lot of food," his eyes widen as Amanda puts the plates in front of him. "What makes you think I can eat all of this?"
"You could use some more meat on your bones," I say as I reach over and poke his thin wrist.
"My mom says it's all the coffee I drink," he smiles widely.
"Moms are usually right," I nod my head. "Mine always was."
"I'm sorry," he frowns.
"Oh, it's okay," I wave my hand to brush off the statement. "C'est la vie."
"That doesn't make it suck any less."
The sound of his ringing phone interrupts the conversation.
"Yeah?" He says answering quickly. "Now? Alright, I'll be there in 20 minutes."
"Work?" I force a smile.
"I'm really sorry," he says pulling his wallet out of his pocket.
"It's okay," I assure him. "You don't have to..."
"I want to," he says and pulls out a fifty dollar bill.
"Sir, your change," Amanda calls after him as he heads toward the door.
"Keep it," he smiles.
"But the pie," I call after him this time.
"Next time, promise," he says and disappears out the door.
"I do believe," Amanda says still standing beside me, "that you've got yourself another date."
"He was just being polite," I sigh.
"Eat your pie before you lose your need," she nudges my shoulder. "I hear she's particularly easy tonight."
I eat a piece of pie that is really the size of two pieces. Despite the fact that she ditched me, I ask Amanda to give me a box so I can take the rest home to Kairah.
When I get there, she and Emma are sitting on the couch watching a movie.
"She should be in bed," I comment as I put the pie in the refrigerator.
"Oh, come on, live a little," Kairah says.
"Don't push it," I fold my arms over my chest. "I already H-A-T-E you."
"Mommy!" Emma exclaims as if she just noticed my presence.
When I adopted Emma, I had no intentions of her calling me Mommy. I planned for her to know who her parents were, but I wanted to wait until she was old enough to understand. In the meantime, I figured that I would Aunt Kairhyn just as Kairah is Aunt Kairah. While she was in rehab, though, it was just me and Emma at home and one day when I finished reading her a bedtime story, she said, "Goodnight, Mommy, I love you." She was two years old and I didn't have the heart to correct her.
"Hey little bit," I pick her up when she runs to me. "Did you have a good day with Auntie Lizzie?"
Elizabeth Perkins was my best friend in high school. She was one of the rare people to marry her high school sweetheart and actually have it last. So far, anyway, but I'm pretty sure they'll be together forever. She married Tyler just before we all went off to college. Tyler was in an accelerated program and by the time he was 20 had already finished his Bachelor's degree. Lizzie had just given birth to their first child, and was able to stay home with the baby since Tyler was working to support them. She decided about a year later that she wanted a little extra income, so she started watching a couple of other kids that belonged to people we knew in school. When I adopted Emma, she offered to watch her for me so that I could go back to school and work while Kairah was in rehab.
"We pay pay-doh," she beamed.
"You did!? That's awesome!"
"Yeah, tat's awesome," she repeated.
"Did Aunt Kairah let you stay up past your bedtime?"
"Yeah, we watch 'Laddin!"
Ever since the first time I let her watch Aladdin, she has insisted that Kairah and I are Princess Jasmine. Yes, both of us.
"I see that," I told her as I turned to look at the tv. "But it's time for you to go to sleep."
"I no finish 'Laddin?" She pouted.
"Let her finish," Kairah said.
"Fine," I sighed. "But as soon as it's over, it's bed time for you, missy."
There's at least 30 minutes left of the movie, if not more, so I go into the bathroom and take a shower. I keep replaying the night with Spencer in my head and I can't help but cringe at the awkwardness.
"Alright, little one," I say to Emma as I walk out of the bathroom. "Off to bed, to bed I said."
"Stoy time!" She squeals and runs to her room.
"Turn down the sheets, the sheets of red," I continue as I tuck her in. "We see in the night, in the night a sled. What's next?"
"Fom house to house, to house tey sped," she giggles.
"Merry Christmas boys and girls, Merry Christmas he said. On milk and cookies, on cookies I've fed. Off to the North Pole, to the North Pole I head. Merry Christmas boys and girls, Merry Christmas he said. Now, little one, it's time for bed."
I told her that story for the first time last Christmas. It was a story my mom used to tell Kairah and I every Christmas Eve. Emma fell in love with it and for months I have had to repeat it to her before bed. If I try to read her a different story, she cries and cries and refuses to sleep. I certainly do not allow her to misbehave, but what difference does it make if I have to repeat the same story every night if it makes her happy? I kiss her forehead, switch on her nightlight, and close the door.
"It's gonna be hard to wake her up tomorrow," I say to Kairah as I sit down at the kitchen table.
"She'll be fine," she rolls her eyes. "One night won't kill her."
"No, it won't," I concede. "But I am going to kill you."
"Ah, yes?" She grins. "How was your night with Spencer?"
"Awkward," I sigh. "Even more do because of your charade."
"He had no idea I was lying," she rolls her eyes again.
"No, but I did," I tell her as I get up and start to fix myself a cup of coffee. "I guess it doesn't matter though, he ended up leaving early."
"What? Why?" She frowns.
"Work. He got a call and had to rush off," I sit back down at the table.
"What does he even do that has him rushing off at strange hours all the time?"
"I don't know," I shrug, deciding to omit the credentials I think that I saw. "Maybe he's really married or something and his wife was wondering why he wasn't home."
"I seriously doubt that. Before you two had even met he said he had no one."
"Yeah, maybe, I don't know."
"Well, I'm off to bed. I'd like to make it to class tomorrow on time. You goin, too?"
"No," I grab a textbook. "I've got to do some reading. We're going over this chapter next week and if I don't start now, I'll never finish in time."
"Don't be up too late," she frowns. "You look like you could use some rest."
"Which is Kairah-code for I look like sh.."
"Ah ah ah," she interrupts. "Not with Em in the house, remember?"
"I primarily told you that because you have a knack for using them right in front of her. The last thing I need is for her to go to Lizzie's and start calling kids little fu..."
"Kairhyn Aubree," she interrupts again. "Don't make me wash that mouth out."
"Go to bed," I throw my pen at her.
I wake up the next morning with my face mushed in my book and my pen pressed into my cheek. I wince as peel the page away and then tuck my notes into the book and close it. I check the time and see that I've overslept again.
"Emma!" I call as I put on a pot of coffee. "Kairah!"
I pour cereal and milk into a bowl for Emma and put a bowl of oatmeal into the microwave for Kairah.
"Get her situated for me, I've got to get in the shower," I tell Kairah as she and Emma come into the kitchen.
I take a quick shower and brush my teeth while I pull my clothes out of the closet. I throw my shoes by the door and get dressed on my way over to the coffee pot.
"Come on, Ems, we've got to get dressed," I tell her as I take a large drink of my coffee. "Go pick out a shirt."
I clean up her cereal bowl and follow her into her room. She picked out her shirt and was in the process of putting it on, but she has her head in one of the arm holes.
"I'm stuck," she said holding her arms out.
"I see that," I try not laugh as I fix her shirt. "Come on, let's go potty."
She does her business, I help her put her pants on, and we grab her bag to take to Lizzie's. She insists that we bring her Princess Jasmine doll, so I shove it into the bag and rush to the front door.
"I'm coming!" Kairah calls from behind me so I don't shut the door on her.
I stumble a little as I slide on my shoes, and once the entourage has left the building, I lock the door behind us. Kairah and I go our separate ways as she heads to class and I head to Lizzie's. Luckily, we live close enough to the college that Kairah can walk to class and I can use the car to take Emma and go to work. When I get off work, I go home and Kairah takes the car so she can go to work. I've been saving money for almost a year, but I still don't have enough to get Kairah a decent car. Almost all of the money that she makes goes to helping pay the bills. I made her a deal when she moved in that if she stayed clean and helped pay the bills that I would save the money to get her a car. That way, I knew exactly where her money was going, except for the small amount of extra money that she had left over at the end of the month, but that wasn't enough to get her anything that would be up to her standards.
After I drop Emma off, I head to work. Considering the fact that I haven't finished my degree yet, my job pays fairly well. I'm a secretary for Edward Costano of Costano, Williams and Bender: Attorneys at Law. I got the job shortly after I graduated high school. I had taken a Criminal Justice elective class at the college when I was a senior, and one day we had a guest lecturer: Edward Costano. He had worked for several different firms and was pretty well known in the area. The last firm that he worked for was involved in a laundering scheme, so he resigned before they could drag his name through the mud. At the time, he was trying to find partners to start his own firm with. A few months later, I came across a job listing in the paper that was for a secretary for a beginning law firm. I showed up for an interview and Mr. Costano hired me on the spot. He said that he liked that I had very limited knowledge of the law, that way I couldn't be involved in some mastermind scheme. I was glad to get the job, but I certainly didn't miss his implication of my intelligence being limited.
After a very long day at work, I pick up Emma and head home, and Kairah leaves for work. I get Emma fed and we spend the evening putting together puzzles. At bedtime, I tell her her favorite story until she falls asleep, and then I sit in the kitchen and study until I fall asleep at the table.
The rest of the week follows almost this identical routine. The only deviations are on the weekends when there are no classes and I work nights at a local bar.
When Tuesday night rolls around, I'm more anxious than ever to go to Kairah's meeting.
"We're gonna invite him again," I tell her as we approach the entrance to the building. "And this time you're not going to bail."
"Why? You should like having alone time with him."
"I do, but.." I stop short as we see Isobel coming out of the elevator.
"What's going on?" I ask her.
"The meeting's been canceled this week."
"What? Why?" I ask desperately.
"John left a note on the door saying that he had some family emergency so he had to cancel tonight but he should be back next week."
"Have you seen anyone else?" I ask.
"No," she shakes her head.
"Ok, thanks," I force a smile.
Kairah and I walk back towards the main doors.
"No way," she says before I can give my suggestion. "I'm not sitying on a bench waiting for him."
"But..." I begin to protest like a fitful child.
"You just want to see if he's going to show," she says and forcefully pushes the door open.
We run right into Spencer.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she and I say at the same time.
"No worries," he smiles. "What's going on? Why are you two leaving?"
"John canceled the meeting tonight," I explain too quickly.
"Something about a family emergency or whatever," Kairah adds calmly.
"Oh, that's too bad," he frowns.
"Yeah," I frown back, feeling the awkwardness taking over my body.
"We were just gonna go over to the diner," Kairah elbows me subtly. "Wanna come with? I heard you didn't get the pleasure of eating cardboard last week."
"Yeah, I got called into work," he nods, unphased by the fact that she admitted I had been talking about him.
"So, would you like to?" I ask as I return her elbow jab.
"Would I like to...?"
"Come...to the diner."
"Yeah, sounds great," he smiles.