APOV
On my way back I pass the buffet and instantly crave for something sweet so I load some pieces of watermelon on my plate before I continue my trip back to our alley. But then I hear a voice known to me.
"Mrs. Steele! It is nice to see you take time to spend this day with your children! I am sure it will be good for them!" purrs Mrs. Burbridge sweetly. How I hate this bitch and her passive-aggressive way.
"Mrs. Burbridge! I have to say that you've really outdone yourself with the organization of this event!" I say dutifully to avoid getting even more minus points.
"Yes, the children are really near and dear to me! I just can't comprehend how any mother can neglect her children!" she says and I have to fight my urge to strangle her.
"Hey vanilla pudding, what are you doing?" Christian asks me and kisses me on the corner of my mouth without hesitation while putting one of his arms around me. Immediately I feel safe and secure.
"I've been carrying a watermelon!" I say and hold the plate, which is filled with it under his nose.
"Awesome!" he replies and takes a piece.
'I've been carrying a watermelon?'. I wonder if I really said it out loud and shake my head mentally.
"Mrs. Burbridge! Seeing you again is such a pleasure!" he says coolly and holds out his hand to her.
"Mr. Steele! I missed you last week!" she tells him and shakes his hand. "Oh, I forgot to tell you about it," I say to Christian, "Mrs. Burbridge and I conferred last week with another pair of parents because their son and Tommy fought after he made fun of Tommy for having no real daddy anymore.," I explain and I take delight in how Mrs. Burbridge contorts her face. Christian stiffens and applies his CEO-face.
"Well, I can't and won't accept such behavior at my school!" she tries to maintain Christian's look. But the try is futile.
"But making fun of someone who lost his father a year ago is acceptable?" he asks furiously.
"Obviously, as it wasn't mentioned with just a single word in our talk," I add, twisting the knife even deeper. Mrs. Burbridge turns white as a sheet and stutters: "You must have misunderstood me!"
"I don't think so! Mrs. Burbridge, it is obvious that you have no clue who you are dealing with so I will give you the following advice: You better leave me and my family alone in the future or you won't know what hit you!" he tells her in a calm voice that makes him sound quite dangerous.
"Goodbye!" he says. Then he turns around and pulls me with him. I simply cannot suppress the smile forming on my lips and I wish for him to always be by my side while dealing with Mrs. Burbridge.
Christian and Tommy make it to the semi-finals but not further. They acknowledge their loss and shake the other teams' hands before they come over to us. I hug Tommy and congratulate him for his good performance before I gift him the Lego-set. We stay for the award ceremony and I get to talk to the red-haired woman from earlier. She tells me that her name is Stephanie, that she is thirty-five years old and divorced. Her former husband didn't come as he doesn't care about his two children and therefore her brother had to substitute as an uncle. She is really likable and I wish her and Ray would connect since he has been alone for quite a long time now and it would really do him good to find someone new. And all the time he looks over to the two of us and it seems like his eyes will fall out.
The event ends and we're going in the direction of our cars when Ray takes me aside with a vexed expression on his face.
"Annie, darling, can I borrow the kids? Stephanie suggested going to McDonald's with the children," he tells me full of hope.
"Of course, Ray! Have fun!" I chuckle and see them off. As I watch them leaving, Christian comes over to me. DAMN.
Well, I hope it won't be necessary to explain the movie quote in this chapter! ;D
ralieghbug10, Guest who loves Annie's bathroom pep talk, bonnetta, Wow-Guest - Thank you for your review!
Christian618 - That was something, which bothered me in the books - At the beginning, she was described as a klutz, but there were barely any klutz-incidents in the books! ;D
hateme101 - Well, he promised ;)
Guest who wants 1000-words-chapters - The chapters contain between 500 and 1000 words, some even over 1000 words, which is a perfect length for editing - Sorry.
joan . goldman . 9 - Christian and Ana will have a talk in the next chapter. Wait and see ;)
emi17 - So now it's mid afternoon at your place? Well it's nearly midnight at mine, so no, there will never be an evening update, because then it would be like 3 AM for me - And I sleep way to good at this time! And no, it was Mrs. Burbridge ;)
Guest who overuses the word 'fuck' - Thank you so very much for your suggestions!
Guest who doesn't have an account to thank him personally - Thank you so much for pointing that out for me!
ashley . mercer . 16 - Yes, but: you have to add Tommy and Andy to your equation. Oopsie, SPOILER! There are just 6 more chapters before Elena's life will slowly change a bit ;) And no, it was Mrs. Burbridge ;)
Pielietje - We will see what will happen in New York ;)
Doc-sama - I'm sure, Detroit (and all of Michigan) is a beautiful place :)