London Harmony: Squid Hugs (11 page)

Isaac stepped in, scooting me in farther to look around.  He explained, “There is a little bathroom shoehorned in there.  It only has a shower, there was no room for a tub.  The other door at the end there is the closet.”

I turned and looked at him incredulously, then glommed onto him in a tight hug.  I whispered, “Love you, dad.”

He kissed the top of my head and we released each other as he said, “I love you too, Baby Doll.  Now get some sleep.  I'll call you down for breakfast.”  Then he turned and lumbered out the door and headed down, stairs creaking all the way.

I took a moment to look around the space.  All of my things were there, neatly tucked away.  The place was amazing.  I never imagined the attic could look like this.  I felt that familiar pang of guilt.  Mom had Isaac do this, hoping one day I'd come home.

I yawned so wide and violently that my jaws ached.  Wow, that one snuck up on me.  I flexed my aching thumb then I yawned again and shuffled over to the dresser by my bed and opened the top drawer and smiled.  I pulled out an oversize black tee that I used as a nightshirt back then.  It was a Mandy Harris tour shirt, June would get a kick out of it.  It would barely reach my knees now.  Then I headed to the little bathroom to get ready for bed.

By the time I shut off the lights, plugged in my phone charger and put the phone on my nightstand, I felt the past two days slam down on me like a lead balloon.  I snuggled into bed.  I felt beyond exhausted, but I had one last, extremely important thing to do.

I reached over for my cell and looked at the time, crap, it would be almost three in the morning in London.  I didn't want to wake Jen.  So I texted.  “In Denver, mom was ill.  So very exhausted, will fill you in tomorrow.”  Then I hesitated, I had almost added: “I love you.”  Texting while drowsy is not safe.  Instead, I added as an alternative, “Miss you so very much, lady. -Zil”

I faded off quickly, the last waking portion of my brain noting that my phone buzzed almost right away after I set it down.

I woke up finally feeling rested for the first time since being stuck in the elevator.  I stretched and looked around and was confused for a second until I remembered where I was.  I heard Isaac's voice calling out from the top of the second-floor stairs, “Rita?  You awake?  Breakfast in ten.”

That's when I noticed the tantalizing smell of a home cooked breakfast had snuck its way into my room.  Oh dear lord, was that sausage?  I was drooling a bit as my stomach growled loudly.  When was the last time I ate anything?  That must have been what roused me before Isaac called up.

I chirped out as I pulled stray strands of black hair from my mouth, “Be right down!”

I rummaged through my old things and chuckled.  If I wore any of these shirts, it would be almost pornographic.  I found a larger tee which I used to tie at my belly, it would fit nicely now, then pulled out a pair of sweats.  Fashion statement this would not be, but as they pointed out, I'm not exactly the same size I was when I left for college when I was sixteen.  I've grown a couple inches and developed more umm... mature curves.

I put on my socks, knowing the floors in the drafty house were a little chilly in the morning. Then in a fit of nostalgia, I ran to the door and slid on my socks.  I chuckled at myself then headed downstairs, I paused at my parent's room and noted the bed was neatly made.  Isaac hadn't slept there, I had no doubt he slept in the chair beside mom in the guest room.

I set about following my nose down to the main level, to the eggs, sausage and... When I saw them, I blurted out, “Waffles!” 

This got mom smiling over the rim of her coffee cup at me, her eyes twinkling.  Isaac turned around as I skipped to him and hugged his waist.  He beamed a big smile down at me and said as I released him, “They're still your favorite aren't they, Baby Doll?”

I nodded and went over to mother.

I looked at her, she was looking much better, still weary and a little pale, but much more like mom.  Only with a few little wrinkles and a bit of grey in her honey blonde hair.  Time marches on.  “How are you feeling, Mom?”  I held my own shoulders, afraid to hurt her if I hugged her.

She smiled and held an arm out in invitation, “Sore, tender, and achy, but much better than before.”

I accepted her invitation and hugged her like a porcelain doll.

I went to grab a coffee, but Isaac put one on the table beside mom's and ordered, “Sit.”

I sat my ass down and grinned at him and made dog ears with my hands and lolled out my tongue.  He shook a spatula at me and narrowed one eye as he smiled and rumbled out, “You ladies gossip or whatever womenfolk do, I'll have breakfast ready in a jiff.”

He hopped to the side, chuckling as he retreated, avoiding the coaster he knew mom would fling at him as she snorted, “Womenfolk?”

I was grinning like a loon that they were still so playful with each other after over twenty-five years together.  Dat be luv.  Mom was again smiling over the rim of her coffee cup as she sipped.

Then I asked, “So tell me how things have been in Denver.”

She shook her head and said in amazement, “I still can't get over how much you've grown.  You sent pictures, but... Look at you, you're a successful businesswoman now.”  Then she went about filling me in on things she hadn't put in our letters or emails.  It made me realize again that I had been away for so very long.

Isaac went about moving the plates of food from the island to the table.  I went to swipe a sausage link and he slapped my hand with a wink.  I sat on my hands until he was done and finished pouring orange juice for us.  Then he sat and placed a napkin on his lap.  We were like ravenous wolves pouncing on unsuspecting waffles and eggs in their natural habitat.  They hadn't stood a chance.

We chatted throughout the meal, catching up some more.  Then I contemplated the last bite of my fourth waffle.  I really needed to make the time to make proper breakfasts again, I missed home cooked food like this.  A coffee and a bagel for breakfast just weren't the same.

As I pointed a finger and narrowed my eyes in warning at mom, who tried to get up to clear the table, I hopped up and started clearing and washing the dishes.  Isaac came over with a dish towel for drying duty.  Mom spoke as we worked, “Rita.  Isaac and I were talking this morning, we've decided that if Eggbert is a boy, we would call him Quinnel Isaac Slader.”

I smiled, that was a strong name.  A good name.

Isaac chuckled out, “Your mother was always a little eccentric with names.”

I scrunched my nose at him and warned, “You shush, it's a great name.”

He held his big paws up in surrender.  Then he said when prompted by a look from mom, “Your mother and I decided that if the baby is a girl, we'd like for you to pick her name.”

I blinked at them.  Me?  I couldn't possibly... my traitorous mouth blurted out the name I wanted to use if I ever had a daughter of my own, “Luminita.”

Mom smiled at that and softly said, “Luminita.  Little light?”  Then her smile grew, “I like that.  Luminita Ratiana Slader.”

I swallowed at the middle name, then nodded my approval.

Isaac was smiling as mother said it, she sounded like she was afraid to say it too loudly or the world would swallow the sound whole.  The he smirked and teased, “Dear Lord, there are two of them with the gift for coming up with eccentric names.”

I slapped his shoulder lightly and he winked down at me and assured us, “I like it too.  If the child is a little girl, then Luminita it is.”

I looked at the clock on the wall then at Isaac and asked, “Don't you have to be at the bank, dad?  I can sit with mother.”

He shook his head and replied, “No, I took the day off.  You need to go get some things unless you're going to look like some sort of deranged combination goth slash hipster with an identity crisis while you're here.”

I looked down at my cobbled together outfit and protested, “Hey.”

Mom snorted as she shook her head and complained, “You two treat me like I'm an invalid.  I can take care of myself.”

Isaac just crossed his arms with an expectant look. She rolled her eyes and saluted as she stood and took her coffee cup and trudged toward the guest room, “Aye aye, Captain Hook.”

We both chuckled at her as she grumbled her way down the hall.

I hugged my dad and said, “I'll be back soon.  Do you need anything while I'm out?”

He looked thoughtful and offered, “Rope to tie the stubborn one down so she can rest?”

I shook my head sadly and countered, “She'd just use her laser vision to cut them.”

He chuckled and I headed upstairs for my purse.  I grabbed my cell and turned toward the stairs then paused, grinned, and spun around and used the new door and went down the outer stairs.

I pause in the garage to look at my phone.  Jen had responded to me last night.  “I miss you too.  You need to tell me what's up.  Is your mom going to be ok?”

I got such a warm feeling from that for some reason.  Then wondered what she had been doing up so late at night to respond.

I sent a reply, explaining a little what I hadn't had time when I left London in a panic.  I added a little heart emoticon at the end and assured her I'd call her the moment everything slowed down over here.

I got a little heart in response that made me smile and want to hug myself.

I almost got in the right side door instead of the left, then chuckled at myself and mumbled, “Get with it, Zil.”  This was going to be an adventure, re-learning to drive on the right side of the road instead of bass-ackwards like in the UK.

***

Isaac returned to work the following day after being almost shoved out the door by mother and me, and the week just seemed to fly by after that.  When I wasn't with mom as she got more and more active each day, I was on the phone with Jen.  I had really been a terrible friend, leaving her in the dark in my rush to leave.  I should have known that June wouldn't share my personal business with anyone, not even Jen without my consent.  Well, anyone but Vanessa, that is.  So Jen had had no clue as to what had made me run to Denver.  Oh dear lord, did she think it was because of our almost kiss?

Mom always got a little grin on her face when she saw me on the phone with Jennifer.  She said, “I love the smile you get when you are talking to her.  You really need to tell her baby girl.  She makes you so very happy.”

Then she gathered her purse and held mine out to me as she prompted, “We should get going, Isaac will meet us there.”

I nodded and took mine from her and we headed for the back door.  I was humming with excitement.  That was the day they should be able to tell the sex of the baby with the ultrasound.  I could tell mom was just as excited the way she would absently grab her earlobe and rub it.  She would be so terrible at poker, she had too many tells.

When we got to the garage, mom cocked an eyebrow when I headed for the driver's side of Lady.  She asked, “You don't expect me to ride in that do you?”

I whined, “Moooom.”

She grinned and crossed her arms then gave me 'The Look'.  Well, that was that I suppose.  Once she does that there was no arguing with her.  I suffered under The Look my entire childhood.  I was always getting into mischief since I couldn't seem to sit still for more than a minute or two.  That look always stopped me in my tracks.

I sighed in resignation and droned out, “Fine, I'll go park Lady up front, I'll be right back and we can take your car.”

She got this slightly pleased, smug look on her face and I shook my finger at her as I narrowed my eyes. This just got her laughing and me smiling hugely.

After the switch, we were on our way in her car.  The radio started playing when I started the car.  I was surprised at the coincidence, it was Tabby Cat singing ‘Water Gypsy.’  I smiled at mom and sang along.  I was mildly surprised that she hummed along with it.

It wasn't until the third song that I thought something was hookey.  The second song had been Abigail Addison singing ‘Ice Cream Van.’  Now it was J8's ‘Pickpocket.’  Three songs in a row from London Harmony was too much for me to swallow as coincidence.  I cocked an accusatory eyebrow at my mom and asked,  “What station is this?”

She smiled and laid a hand on my arm as she shared with a mischievous tone to her voice, “It's streaming my playlist from my iPhone, sweetie.  You don't think didn't I keep tabs on what my baby girl helps to create?”

I blushed a little and she chuckled out, “I was a little surprised that that June girl you always wrote about in college wound up being that J8 artist.  She sounds as amazing as you described, just like her mother, Mandy Harris.”

My blush drained from my face and the shame rolled in again.  They have never met any of the people I see as my pseudo-family in London.  Most likely they never will since mother is deathly afraid of flying.  I offered to fly them over to visit many times, but she just couldn't overcome the fear.

All of our family vacations had been by car, and one by train when I was young.  I understood phobias far too intimately, how irrational they are, and how real they seem to the person suffering from them.

I absently wondered if she'd be ok on a cruise ship.  Maybe I could get them over on one of those transatlantic cruise lines.

Isaac met us at the doctor's office.

“Looks like your baby bump is starting to show mom,” I giggled out when the ultrasound technician spread the gel on her belly.

She smiled at me where I held her left hand, Isaac was on the right.  All of our eyes became glued to the monitor as the technician did her thing.  The woman started pointing out things and mom could obviously see what the woman was pointing out.

To my embarrassment, I couldn't make head nor tails of what I was seeing.  I shot a meek look over to Isaac, who mirrored my look and shrugged.  The technician chuckled at us and then froze the screen, then with her finger, she traced the outline of the baby's head.

“See, right here is the child's head, and theses cute little things here are its little feet.”

Then I saw it!  When dad's eyes unfurrowed and he grinned, I knew he could see it too.

Then she went back to work and she stopped at one point and we could hear a swishing sound repeating quickly.  She said, “A nice strong heartbeat.”

And that was all it took to start my eyes watering.  Isaac looked extremely proud at that moment and he raised mom's hand and kissed it.

Then the woman looked at mom and asked, “Did you want to know the sex?”

In unison dad and I said, “Yes!”

Mom chuckled at us then nodded to the woman and she did some exploring with the wand or whatever the device is called and she smiled then leaned in to whisper in mother's ear.  Hey! No fair!

Mom looked at us with a warm smile, I could see her tearing up too and then she looked back at the monitor and said, “Hello Luminita, we can't wait to meet you.”

I think I let out a little squeak as all sorts of emotions seemed to crash down around me.

I let go of mom and ran to the hall with my hand clamped over my mouth.  I put my back to the wall and slid down to sit on the floor.  I started hyperventilating as I sorted through what I was feeling.  Top of the chart was extreme joy, then on top of that was almost debilitating guilt that I was so happy I'd have a little sister again.  It felt like I was diminishing all the joy I had with Ratiana in my life.