Why do you want her to meet the important people in your life?

Remember those walls I build

Baby they are tumbling down

They didn't even put a fight

They didn't even make a sound…

(Halo)


Chapter twenty-nine: Little Ms. Sunshine

It is already 6:00 a.m. when I decided to get out of the bed and start my day. As I take my bath I can't stop thinking the dinner party three nights ago. Nicky was relentlessly teasing me about our early out during the party. When I asked how she knew about it, she told me that she saw us leaving the venue through the elevator and I think my red face said it all. The newspapers are also not all helping with our situation because of the pictures they took out of the party. One newspaper even made our picture,I was kissing her head after her speech a front page, stating that "It looks like one of the most sought after bachelorette of New York is loving her married life."

Well aren't you enjoying it?

"Of course! If our lovemaking is not any indicator…"

Oh! Love making?

Oh fuck!

I turn the water knob more to take my mind off from Piper. I need to clear my mind if I want to cook a superb meal for this special day.


"It looks like one of the most sought after bachelorette of New York is loving her married life."

I reread the headline again for the nth time since the moment I woke up. Gina already knew my routine that I read newspaper as soon as I wake up. I could feel my face getting warmer and warmer the longer I look at our picture. I know that the photographers took pictures of us during the dinner but I didn't know that someone took a picture of Alex kissing me on the top of my head and looking proud of me after my little speech. I cannot deny the fact that my heart is soaring from the picture but as I remember the night we had after the dinner surely is making me shiver to certain places.

I think I need to have an early shower.

After I finish my shower, I opted to wear a white shirt and black shorts. I get my laptop and phone then walked directly to the kitchen but I stop in the door because of the scene inside the kitchen. An upbeat song is streaming from the Bluetooth speaker and Alex is singing and swaying to the beat of the song while putting tomato sauce in the pan.

"Good morning." I said to her but I don't think she heard me because she just continue with what she is doing so I walk near her and tap on her shoulder. I chuckled lightly when I see that she jumped almost a few inches from the floor.

"Fuck! You almost give me a heart attack, Pipes!" Alex said with surprise in her voice. "How long have you been here?" she asked loudly.

"Long enough to see your performance. Besides I greeted you but you didn't hear me because of the music." I said loudly. Alex walked to the speaker and lowered the volume.

"Good morning!" I greeted her again with a grin and she grins back at me.

"Good morning too, Pipes." Alex greeted me back with the same enthusiasm. We gazed at each other for a few minutes then I can't stop myself from giggling.

"What?" Alex asked with a chuckle too.

"I didn't know that you can sing and dance while cooking." I said teasingly.

"Well it is a secret talent of mine but I'm not really a good singer nor a great dancer." Alex said with a pout. "And you are not allowed to tease me for that or else." Alex said then walked near me.

"Or else?" I asked curiously. She grabbed me by the waist and tickled me relentlessly to the side of my body.

"You are so cruel!" I said breathlessly.

"Ah! Now you know one of the cruelest thing I can do." Alex said teasingly said but not stopping with the tickling.

"Al…Aleeexxx….st…stoooop…Please! I can't breathe anymore! And I think whatever you are cooking is burning already." I said still laughing.

"Oh shit!" Alex released me and tried to hold the pan not remembering that it is so hot.


"I'll treasure your heart of gold…You can find me here…" I sing along with the song streaming in the Bluetooth speaker then sway my hips with the beat of the song. Kim asked me the last time I visited her if I could cook for her birthday and I promised that I will bring Piper also. For some unknown reason when Kim saw her picture in the television with me, she liked her already.

Maybe because of their real connection.

And because I am oblivious with my surrounding, I jumped a few inches when I felt someone tapped me in the shoulder.

"Fuck! You almost give me a heart attack, Pipes!" I said with surprise in my voice. "How long have you been here?" I asked loudly.

"Long enough to see your performance. Besides I greeted you but you didn't hear because of the music." she said loudly. I walked to the speaker and lowered the volume.

She greeted me again with great enthusiasm and I matched her greeting with the same energy. We looked at each other with a grin on our faces but I don't feel uncomfortable though I wished she didn't see dancing like a headless chicken.

"I didn't know that you can sing and dance while cooking." she said teasingly.

"Well it is a secret talent of mine but I'm not really a good singer nor a great dancer." I said with a pout then an idea strike in my mind. "And you are not allowed to tease me for that or else." I said then walked near her.

"Or else?" she asked curiously. I grabbed me by the waist and tickled her relentlessly in the side of her body. I could feel her squirming and wiggling but I continue with my tickling attack.

"You are so cruel!" she said breathlessly.

"Ah! Now you know one of the cruelest thing I can do." I said teasingly said but not stopping with the tickling.

"Al…Aleeexxx….st…stoooop…Please! I can't breathe anymore! And I think whatever you are cooking is burning already." she said still laughing. I sniffed the air and true to what she said, the meal I'm cooking is almost burning.

"Oh shit!" I released her and tried to hold the pan not remembering that it is so hot. I immediately released the pan and wiggled my hand.

"Alex! Are you alright?" Piper asked with a concern in her voce. She immediately dragged me to the faucet to put my hand under the water.

"Do not remove it under the water." Piper said then walked to the refrigerator. She get a tomato and sliced it.

"Here let me." Piper said then swipe the sliced tomato to my hands.

"Where did you learn that?" I asked curiously.

"Well I love to read right? I read it from a blog. Is your hands fine already?" she asked then looked at me with concern.

"Yup, thank you, nurse Piper." Alex said then grinning and kissed the top of her hair.

"Why, thank you for that, Alex, but no flirting between the patient and nurse." she said playfully. I pouted at her but she just laugh at me.

"So what are you cooking?" Piper asked curiously.


"Just a simple spaghetti with meatballs and some chocolate cookies." Alex answered after inspecting her hand. It has a red patch but nothing beyond that. She looked at me like she is anticipating that I will asked a question but I learned long ago that Alex will tell me something if she wants to.

"Are you planning to do something today?" Alex said then go back with what she is doing.

"I don't really have a plan. Can I help you with something?" I asked curiously.

"Thank you for offering your help. Can you please start mixing the ingredients for the cookies? Make sure to add chocolate syrup to it. What do you think of going out today in the country side?" Alex asked me. I almost spill the chocolate syrup with Alex casual request.

Is this a date?

"F…uhhhmmm…Fine, I guess." I said stuttering.

"Are you okay? " Alex looked at me and I just nodded.

"Great! So we need to finish this early because I know that my sunshine is already waiting for me." Alex said excitedly. I feel a pinch in my heart.

So I will meet this Ms. Little Sunshine after all.

While packing the things needed for Kim's birthday party, I observed that Piper is a bit nervous after changing to a casual clothes for going out. I really don't know how she manage to look good with a t-shirt and a jeans.

"Why are you nervous?" I asked her curiously.

"I guess I'm just nervous in meeting your Little Ms. Sunshine." I answered honestly.

"Don't be. She is the most adorable kid you will ever meet." Alex said.

"Kid?!" I said in a high pitched.

"Yeah. Didn't I tell you that I have a sibling?" she said with confusion. I nodded her head indicating that she did. She looked at me with puzzled expression.

"And here I thought…" I said out loud. Alex look at me with narrowed eyes and then laugh.

"If I didn't know you any better, I would say that you are…" Alex said with a chuckle. I tried to cover her mouth with hand but she bite it playfully.

"Not fair!" I shouted.

"So I'm the unfair one?" she said amusingly. We laughed for a few minutes then she opened the door of the car. The drive going to the place is filled with comfortable silence but there are so many things running on my mind. After half an hour driving going to the country side, we stop in the facility in the middle of a forest.

"I know there are many things running on your mind right now but I want to enjoy this day. I will answer your questions after this event." Alex said when we parked at the front of the facility. I nodded my head and helped Alex to get all the things we brought for Kim.

"Actually it is Kim's birthday." Alex said when we are nearing the door.

"Why didn't you tell me? I should have bought something for her." I said with panic in my voice.

"I really didn't expect that you will meet Kim on her birthday. But don't worry, I bought enough gifts for her." Alex said nonchalantly but I could sense that she is carefully choosing her words. Just like what we are doing nonverbally, I squeezed her free hand with mine. She smiled at me genuinely and squeezed my hand back.

"Good morning, Ms. Vause. How are you?" the front desk officer greeted Alex.

"Good morning, Mary. I'm fine. By the way this is my wife, Piper Chapman Vause. So technically I'm Mrs. Vause." Alex introduced me properly.

"Hello, Mary. Good morning. I'm Piper Chapman Vause." I said shyly while offering my hand to her I'm not still use with my last name but I'm always filled with overwhelming feeling when she introduced me like that to everybody.

"It's nice meeting you, Mrs. Vause. The party hall will be ready for the party in five minutes. I was informed also by Dr. Rosa that Kim is waiting for you in her room but she is not ready yet because she wants you to take care of her." Mary informed us.

I followed Alex because I don't know my way around. We went to the party hall first to put down the things we brought then she lead me to a hallway that has the biggest rooms in the facility. We arrived at the last room in the hallway but she knocked first before entering.

"Le…Lexie...!" a girl half our height opened the door and excitedly shouted then immediately put her hands up. Alex picked her up and hugged her tight.

"Hello there, sunshine. How are you?" Alex asked then she walked inside the room. I followed them inside quietly.

"I'…I'm fiiiine." She answered briefly then hide in the crook of her neck.

"Oh. Don't be shy, my little sunshine." Alex said then sit on the couch. "This is Piper, my wife." Alex introduced me to Kim.

"Hi there, sunshine. I'm Piper. What is your name?" I said softly towards to Kim.

"H..Hi..my…n…name…is…Ki..Kim…" Kim answered after looking at me swiftly then hide her face in Alex's neck again.

"Wow! You have a very nice name." I said softly. Kim whispered to Alex something but all I could hear is a mumble.

"She said you look beautiful." Alex said to me with mirth in her eyes.

"Why, thank you, Kim. You are also beautiful." I said truthfully. I could see Alex lights up with how our conversation is going.

"T…Thnak…you…" Kim said then tried to look at me with a toothy smile.

"Good morning, Ms. Vause. Kim hasn't taken a bath because she said that she liked to wait for you to take care of her." the maid said who made her presence known while we are talking.

"Has she taken her medicines already?" Alex said while caressing Kim's back.

"Y…yes…I'm a g….good gi…girl…" Kim answered happily.

"Very good, sunshine! Then let me bathe you so we can start the party okay?" Alex asked.

"Do you want me to take care of the food in the party hall so you will have a privacy before the party?' I asked when I observed that Kim is a little bit shy around me.

"Is it okay with you?" Alex asked.

"Of course. See you there." I answered then walked to the party hall.


"Le…Lexie, I'm so ha…happy that y…you are h..here…" Kim said while I'm washing her body.

"Me too, sunshine, me too." I said then kissed her in the cheeks.

"P…Piper is r…re…rea…really p…pre…pretty…" Kim said while removing excess water in her eyes.

"I know. Do you like her?" I asked her. I know that she liked Piper in the picture but I don't really know in person. I am beyond delight when I saw how careful Piper is in talking to Kim and there is no judgment in her voice about Kim's condition. Kim nodded and I saw her unspoken question.

"Don't worry, sunshine. I think she likes you too." I said then kissed her again for the nth time. After making sure that she is ready for the party which actually has less than 15 people all in all, we walked hand in hand going to the party hall. The party hall is well lighted and everyone has a smile in there face when they greeted Kim.

"Happy Birthday, Kim!" everyone shouted happily and Piper even throw some colorful paper to Kim when we enter the hall.

"W…Wow…T…Thank you…!" Kim said excitedly while clapping her hands. She happily pick some of the paper and looked at it intently. Everybody sing the happy birthday song then Kim blow her candle because she likes to do it immediately. Because some of the kids invited in the party has short attention span, we started the magic show immediately while they are eating. I see Piper enthusiastically handing out food to everyone and even hugging some of the kids in the way going to mine and Kim's table. Kim hold my hand tightly and tried to sit on my lap because of shyness.

"Can I sit on your table, Kim?" Piper asked sweetly. Kim nodded not looking at Piper. Piper choose to sit opposite where I and Kim sit. I smiled gratefully to Piper because I know that she is trying her best to interact with Kim. No one outside my family besides Nicky and Red knew about Kim because my family made sure that Kim will have a private life. Even when we are experiencing financial instability, we gave everything that Kim needed. We don't want her to experience the cruelty of the world.

"She likes to read books." I whispered to Kim's ears. I know Kim likes to listen someone reading a book to her. Kim looks at me in the eyes with a certain light. To my surprise Kim goes down to my lap and walked to Piper's front then stretch her hands towards Piper. I could see the surprise in Piper's eyes but she gets Kim and placed Kim in her lap.


"Do…y…you…l…like…books?" Kim asked me with doe-eyes. I looked at Alex and see how her face lights up with what is happening in front of her.

"Yes. In fact I love to read books aloud to some kids back in my home." I said waiting for Kim's reaction. I am so happy to see that Kim's smile widens and she claps her hand gleefully.

"C…Can…you…r…read…for…me?" Kim asked expectantly.

"Of course but first you need to eat first because your sister cooked all of this for you." I said then get Kim's plate from Alex's front. I cut the pasta and carefully place it in front of Kim. She hesitantly bite the pasta but she claps when she swallowed the food. She send a thumbs up sign to Alex and asked properly for another bite.

After everyone have eaten already, Kim kissed everyone in the cheek to say her thank you. She drag me to her room and give me her favorite book. She climb in the bed and patted a space beside her. I placed an arm around her and then read the book she wanted me to read for her.

"And they lived happily ever after." I read then closed the book I'm reading. Kim is already asleep when I finish reading the book and she is hugging my arm.

"I hope you would like me more, little sister. I will help Alex to protect you and I love you already though we just meet today." I said to her ear then kissed her forehead. I hugged her comfortably and closed my eyes.

Overall the party was a success though the kids didn't do anything much. I was so surprised with how Kim reacted when I told her that Piper reads books. And to say that my heart soared to the sky with how Kim and Piper interacted is an understatement of the year. I almost cried when Kim kissed everyone in the cheek to show her gratitude because it shows some progress in her condition. When Kim dragged Piper out of the hall and Piper looked at me to ask for permission, I nodded my head as an approval.

"Can I speak with you for a moment?" Dr. Rosa said when she approached me in the front desk after putting the last item from the party on my car.

"Sure." I said then followed her going to Kim's room. When we arrived at Kim's room, she finally speak.

"Kim's condition is showing great progress as we speak. Her stuttering is improving too. I think her condition would get better if she is surrounded by the people she knows." Dr. Rosa said without beating round the bush.

"This is a great news for us and I will heed to your advice. I will ready everything by tomorrow." I said with glee in my voice.

"And I think it will not be a hard time for you because she likes your wife." Dr. Rosa said.

"I hope so and thank you for taking care of Kim." I said with optimism in my voice. Dr. Rosa walked out the same time I opened the door. I walked quietly to the living room and opened quietly Kim's room. My tears flowed freely when I see that Piper is hugging Kim. The emotions exploded in my chest when I heard what Piper said to Kim.

"I hope you would like me more, little sister. I will help Alex to protect you and I love you already though we just meet today." she said to Kim's ear then kissed her forehead.

I quietly closed the door and lay down in the couch in the living room.

Damn, I think I'm falling even more.