Killian

As I took control of the sterling wheel, I kept Henry busy to help me along. The two of us wore matching sailor's hats and blew on a bubble making pipe. I use to use a real pipe back in the past, but thanks to Jefferson, he convinced me to stop and I slowly gave up on tobacco by blowing on this annoying bubble making pipe. Well, nicotine gum helped a little more than the fake pipe.

Henry held on to the sterling wheel and I stood behind him, my arms almost touching his ears.

I removed the pipe from my mouth. "Henry did you put your phone in your mom's room?"

He nodded.

"I'm sure your mother will wake up tomorrow morning. Since it's getting late, what do you say we have hot dogs and Hershey chocolate smores for dinner?"

"Mmmmm..."

"I take that as a yes. Let's pull over here."

The two of us went downstairs and gathered handfuls of food for our dinner and went to the living room. We settled down on the sofa. Henry pierced the hot dogs with the chopsticks while I removed the wrapper off the candy bars. I placed a paper plate in front of both of us and laid a single white toast on each of them.

"I'm all set." Henry picked up the pierced hot dogs and went over to the fire place.

I picked up the plates and followed him from behind. He handed me one as I placed the plates down on the floor.

"Killian, the stick is too short."

"You're right. We need a plan B." I thought for a moment. My lips pursed tightly together when my eyes caught the two set Samurai swords crossing each other, portraying as a display right above the fireplace.

I pulled myself up and went on my toes as my hands reached out for the swords. I sat back down and opened one out of it sheath. They're long enough.

"Henry, can you keep a secret?"

"Oh please, Killian. I thought we promised each other we'll do anything we want till mom wakes up."

I handed the sword to him, making sure he holds the handle the right way.

~ The swords worked perfectly. After our nice hot dogs we moved on to dessert. As both our marshmallows heated near the fire, Henry started off with the honest game to kill the extra hours till bed time.

He cleared his throat. "Okay, my turn. Who do you get along with most, your mom or dad?"

"Mmmm...Neither."

"Really? Come on, there's got to be someone."

I shook my head. "Nope, mate. Neither. Now my turn. Back at the ice cream store, what was all that talk about those boys calling you 'Watch Thief'. I tried to forget about it but I'm a little concerned about them accusing you as a thief. How did that nickname started anyway?"

"Hey, the rules are asking one honest question."

"Fair enough. Answer my first question."

Henry didn't look nervous or even dare hesitate. He pulled his sword away from the fire and blew on his marshmallow and took a small careful bite of it. "Hot. Hot..."

I brushed his bangs to the side. "Hey, stop stalling now. Answer my question. You can trust me."

He chew slowly and lowered his sword. "There's a lot of things mom didn't tell you about. But actually, I don't blame her for not telling you about this because she doesn't know either...When dad was around, he use to work in this pawn shop. But one night, my dad broke in to the shop on his day off and came back to the apartment with a box of nice and shiny watches. They all looked expensive and worth every penny to buy. But my dad was caught by the cops and they took him away. The sad thing was that the cops carried my dad away in a public park. There were some moms whose kids go to my school, and they gossiped about my so called 'dangerous' dad and their kids also over heard it and they of course, believed it. When dad left and I started to talk and walk and attended to school, some kids recognized me and teased me with that one name - Watch Thief. They all think that I'm going to turn out just like my dad - an obsessed criminal who can't keep his hands off of shiny things. I tend to ignore them, but it's not easy to do that when everyone looks at me like I'm an alien and treat me like a complete outsider. There are times when I want to yell at their faces and say 'It's not like I have a disease, stop treating me like I'm contagious to all of you!'. I know saying something like that or act strong against all that bullying are useless and doesn't change what they consider me as. But that's all I could do..."

What has Emma been doing? Hasn't she ever considered listening to her own son instead of expecting him to keep quiet and continue to go to school? Other than thinking about money, she should have done something she could have done - sitting down and protecting her son from any problems.

"Well, those guys are jerks, Henry. They don't know any better and they also don't seem to realize the more they hurt you the more they're staining themselves as senseless and rude kids. You did the right thing to avoid that. You proved them wrong that you're not who they think you are by not attacking back. I'm proud of you to do that."

"Am I really doing the right thing by avoiding them?"

"Of course, if you talk back then it'll only encourage to hurt you even more. So if you think about it, you're the smart one. Don't you agree with me?"

"I guess you're right."

"Not guess, you are. Anyway, it's your turn. What question are you going to attack me with?"

He took another bite of his marshmallow and looked at me sheepishly. "...How did you ask my mom out for a...You know, date?"

I flashed a smile. "Ah. Now that's an interesting question. Is this your way to get my advice or is this just part of the game?"

He immediately shook his head. But I can tell on the look on his face that he's lying. I guess the little guy has lady problems. I can tell him an advice on how I asked out other women other than his mother. Besides, the two of us didn't just meet out of the blue and instantly fell in love. God knows Emma will be speechless if she were in my shoes right now.

"Well, I don't remember how your mother and I ended up together. But I can tell you another story on how I ended up with this beautiful girl back in Hawaii."

"Okay. That could help me - I mean close enough." He let out an awkward cough.

I smiled even wider."I was in the bar, enjoying a nice cool glass of cognac. A friend of mine send it to me from Germany. I was simply looking at the view until a gorgeous Hawaiian woman walked in. She was wearing this beautiful red cocktail dress and these ridiculously high golden pumps. I started off with a casual conversation and then after a while started off with a few jokes. While we talked and laughed I knew it was the right time to pop the question. I pulled out a pen out of my vest pocket and placed it on top of a napkin and pushed them against the bar stand in front of her. She flashed a sweet smile, showing all those white and perfect teeth, and picked up the pen and scribbled down her number."

"It was that easy for you?"

"Well, not neccessarily. I admit I was nervous before I started off with a few jokes, thinking she might not laugh. But I sucked up my pride and just went for it."

"How did you get the courage to talk to her? I have a trouble time with that with girls. I always end up chickening out once I try to start off with the question."

I wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "So you do have a lady problem? Tell me, who is she?"

"Okay I guess I admit it...Her name is Emily. She's the prettiest girl in school. I always wanted to ask her out but it turns out I'm not the only one who feels the same way too."

"Oh? Who's the other guy?"

"Do you remember the guy back in the ice cream store? The sort of short blonde guy? He always liked Emily from the start. A lot of times when I talk to her, he would always warn me to stay away from her. I hate it when he refers to her as 'my girl', they're not even together so I don't know why he's clinging on to some fantasy that she really is his girl."

"For now, she's single, mate. If you didn't tell me about this competition, I'll immediately encourage you to ask her out. But since there is a bully involved, you should think first how that boy will treat you."

"I know, that's why I kept my mouth shut."

"But of course, there's always a plan B. Dating somewhere private is an option. Like taking her out to a movie, or maybe a private helicopter ride."

"Like I have the money for that." He sarcastically mumbled.

"I'll take care of the price tag. All you have to do is be brave enough to ask her in person. Don't mind the bullies, because if they hurt you again I'll tell the principal what I witnessed the day your mother went to the hospital. I still don't forgive those boys to beat you like that. You in for it, mate? Or are you out?"

He gulped hard. "I don't know. What if I chicken out again?"

"That's something you gotta work on your own. Figure it out. First think about what you're going to say to her and then pop the question. You never know if she might say yes."

"But what if she says no?"

"Then I'll rent the ice cream store we went earlier for the day and the two of us will eat all the ice cream we want, and make sure those boys are watching and along with other disappointed children. Deal?"

He smiled. "Deal."