Chapter 2
“JT is here.”
Paula noticed the annoyed expression on her daughter’s face, but she simply ignored it at the moment and stood back up to greet her boyfriend. JT automatically pulled Paula into his arms and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
They could feel the tension rise in the room again, stronger than before, everyone that is but JT. Simon had to turn away when JT leaned down for a greeting kiss. He couldn’t help but feel the envy, he couldn’t control himself.
Isabella covered her eyes and muttered, “Ewwies, cooties.”
Once the short kiss was over, JT asked Paula, “How was your day, darling?” His arms were still wrapped around her securely, but Paula inched out of them and her hands only remained in his.
Simon twitched at JT’s use of words. Only he was allowed to call Paula ‘darling’. Jealousy began to fume inside of him once more.
“A bit busy, but we’re doing okay,” Paula replied sweetly.
JT then walked near Isabella and stared down at her, while she folded her arms over her chest, not giving him the happiest face. “Hey, kiddo, I got you a present.” JT then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wrapped gift.
He handed it to her and she winced at it first, but then took it with her tiny hands. “Thanks, JT,” Isabella tried to put a wide smile on her face, but she wasn’t being very successful at it. She decided to not open it now.
Paula crouched down near Isabella again. Tucking a few free strands of hair out of her face and behind her daughter’s ear, Paula smiled, “Sweetie, why don’t you start getting ready for bed?”
Isabella only shrugged her shoulders and started to leave the three adults. Before she was completely out of the room, she turned around and asked, “Can Uncle Simey tuck me in?”
Once hearing his name, Simon’s face automatically lit up, thanking the Lord that he had an excuse to leave. He couldn’t take the gestures between Paula and JT. He saw Paula look over her shoulder at him.
Just then, she realized how quiet Simon had been since JT arrived. She almost forgot his presence in the room due to his silence. Catching her eyes with his, she only nodded and Simon got up from his chair and quickly walked over to Isabella.
“C’mon, Bella-Boo!” Simon exclaimed, pulling a wide smile onto his face.
She raised her arms up as high as she could. She even got on her tippy toes and started jumping up and down. “Can we play rocket ship, Uncle Simey!?” Paula couldn’t help but smile at the adoring scene, while JT looked simply bored at the moment.
Simon picked her up and raised her high and over his head. Isabella stuck her arms out in front of her as though she could fly. A plentiful of giggles was falling from her lips and Simon only chuckled.
“Ready, sweetheart?” He could feel her nod. “1, 2, 3, blast off!”
Then he rushed out of the room and soon enough you could only hear the echoes of Simon’s noise effects and Isabella’s giggling.
--Remember to Forget--
“We’re headed for a landing!” Simon laughed as he gently placed Isabella on her bed. She was still giggling like crazy with a smile that hadn’t left her face. He knelt down on the bed and started to tickle her as she squirmed beneath his hands. “Looks like someone is very ticklish!”
“Uncle Simey, let go!” she giggled as she tried to crawl away from him. He gladly took his hands away and she sat up on her bed, smiling at him still.
He realized that she was still wearing her ballerina outfit and asked, “Are you going to wear that to bed?” She nodded enthusiastically. “Okay then, I have no say whatsoever,” he grinned.
“Uncle Simey, cover your eyes!” she smiled.
Simon quirked and eyebrow and knew that she was up to something. “Now why would I do that? Are you trying to pull a prank on me?” he asked her.
“Just cover them, Uncle Simey! You’ll see!” And so he took his large hands and covered his eyes. He could not see a single thing, but he felt the bed shift at one side. Knowing her, she probably wanted to play a game. “Open them!”
He removed his hands and saw that she was nowhere in sight. As he stood up from the bed, he heard giggling from… under the bed? Usually, she would hide behind the curtains, but not tonight. Simon smiled to himself.
“Hmm… I wonder where Isabella went,” Simon boomed. He slowly walked towards the curtains. “Maybe she’s behind here?” He made a show of lifting the curtains up and then putting them back down, eliciting another round of giggles. “No? How about here? Or maybe… under the bed!?” Simon got down on his knees and looked under the bed. “Aha!” He found Isabella trying to squirm away from his hands, but he was too quick for her.
“Uncle Simey, you found me!” Simon picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, while she continued to laugh.
“You weren’t too hard to find, Bella-Boo,” he smiled. Placing her down in the bed again, she tried to settle down, but she simply couldn’t.
Getting on her knees and hands, she crawled her way towards Simon and plopped herself onto his lap. He wrapped an arm around her and held her close. He couldn’t remember the last time he had put her to bed. “Uncle Simey, where do babies come from?”
His eyes widened at the question. How on earth could he answer a question like that? “Umm, sweetheart, why don’t we discuss that another time,” he told her gently.
She sighed, “That’s what Mommy says, but she never tells me.”
“Umm,” Simon looked around her room, trying to see if something could distract her. Her room was your usual princess-themed bedroom. It had pink everywhere. Pink curtains, walls, carpet, dresser, pillows, blanket, door, etc. It sort of made him a bit dizzy now. “I think it’s time that you go to bed, Bella,” he told her.
She crawled back towards the other end of the bed. Simon stood up and tucked her under the blankets, making sure that his princess was comfortable. “Uncle Simey, tell me a story, pweaseee!” Isabella begged.
“But it’s bed time, and Uncle Simey is really tired now, he wants to sleep,” Simon said as he fell down next to her on the bed and pretended to sleep. Isabella’s squeals of annoyance and excessive jumping brought him laughing as he sat back up. She put her hands on her hips and gave him THAT look… the look Paula would usually give him when she was annoyed.
“No Uncle Simey, you can’t be that tired… if you tell me just one story,” she smiled at him just before finishing, “I’ll go straight to bed.” As she looked pleadingly at Simon, her bottom lip quivered and she looked him straight in the eye and said, “I loveeee you, Uncle Simey.”
Now who can resist a child’s undying pledge of love? He couldn’t help but burst out in laughter. “Alright, alright, just one story, Bella,” he looked at her hopeful face. “But then it’s straight to bed with you.”
“Yay!” she smiled and started jumping on her bed again. Mid-way through one jump, she slid neatly into her bed again and patiently awaited her treat.
“Any requests, Princess?” he asked sweetly.
“Yes!” She sat up straight, like royalty, about to give a command. “I wanna hear how Mommy and Daddy met! I remember you told me it one time,” she said.
Simon laughed. He took a seat on the side of the bed, facing her directly. “Once upon a time…”
--Remember to Forget--
Paula had started to clean up the dishes from the table. JT helped as well, happy that Simon was out of the room so he could have some alone time with her. Once all the cleaning up was done and finished, Paula breathed an exhausted sigh. She fell down into a chair, resting herself.
“You seem tired,” JT said. He walked behind her and started to massage her shoulders.
“I am. I have been running around all day,” she told him. Closing her eyes, she took in the pressure he was putting on her. It felt so relaxing. “You seem a bit quiet tonight. Something bothering you?” Paula asked.
“I’m fine...,” JT paused and took a deep breath. “Paula, have you realized it’s been two years since we have met?’
She laughed slightly, “Yes - I do know how to add, JT.’
He walked out from behind her and stared down at her, while she looked up at him. He stuttered, “Y-yeah, I knew that.”
She began to worry again, concern building up inside of her. She grasped his two hands and held them in hers. “JT, are you sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine- I’m fine,” he paused again. “What I’m eventually going to get around to saying is that it’s been two years since we met. I remember when we did meet- I mean, I remember when I first saw you in my restaurant; I couldn’t take my eyes off you. And then you came over to me, Paula. And you said how lovely of restaurant that I have and…”
“JT, you’re rambling,” Paula said, pulling one of her hands free from his and gently stroking his cheek.
“Sorry… what I’m trying to say is, well…” He paused again, but this time he let go of her hands and dug into his pocket and removed another small box. Except this box was smaller and fancier. “It’s always been you, and it will only ever be you.”
She was slightly confused at his words and opened her mouth to speak, but once he got down on one knee and opened the box up, her hands automatically covered her mouth. All questions were answered. She understood what was going on.
“Will you marry me?”
--Remember To Forget--
“Mommy really loved Daddy and Daddy really loved Mommy,” Isabella said, trying to comprehend the story she had just heard. The love felt so real to her, her Uncle Simey told the story so well and descriptive.
Simon yawned, “They both loved each other very much.”
Isabella sat up from her pillow and looked over at Simon, who was about to practically fall asleep. She couldn’t help but ask a question that has been circling around her head for awhile now. “But what happened to Daddy? Why’d he leave?”
Her angelic voice was too much for Simon. It truly did break his heart that his daughter did not know the full truth of the story. “Sweetheart, you must understand that what your daddy did…” He tried to search for the right words. “… was wrong. But, you must look at all the loving people who surround you now.”
“I guess so,” she frowned.
Simon got up from the bed and stretched his arms over his head. He yawned again, “Time for bed, Bella-Boo.” He tucked her under the covers one last time and fluffed her pillow as well. Then, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her tiny forehead. “Night, sweetheart.”
“Night, Uncle Simey. Don’t let the bed bugs bite,” she giggled.
“I’ll try not to,” he chuckled. Then he started making his way towards her bedroom door. He turned the lights off and he heard Isabella whisper loving words to the air about her father. As he took one last look over his shoulder at his beautiful baby girl, Simon whispered, “I love you too, Isabella.”
Then he slowly closed the door behind him, leaving it open just a crack. Simon began to walk down the stairs and felt extremely tired. He glanced down at his watch on his wrist and saw that it was past midnight already. Would Paula be asleep by now? As he came towards the end of the stairs, even with the lights all turned off he was able to see a shadowed figure sitting alone in the living room.
“Paula?” he whispered.
“Simon, is that you?”
He walked closer towards the couch and sat down next to her. “Why are you sitting alone out here?”
She shook her head slowly, “I’ve just been thinking over a lot of things.”
“What kind of things?”
“Simon, there’s something you should know… I think you have a right to know, so I’m going to tell you.” He looked suspiciously at her, but allowed her to continue. She had opened her mouth quite a few times, nervous of how to phrase the words until she simply spoke it. “JT asked me to marry him tonight.”
He couldn’t believe his own ears. Did he just hear right? “He what?”
“He asked me to marry him.”
“JT asked you to marry him.” It wasn’t a question anymore, Simon already knew the answer. Paula nodded anyway. He watched as she bent her head down low and then he noticed her hold a tiny box in her hands… most likely the proposal box. “Well, what did you say?”
He felt like a piece of him broke. A special and delicate piece of him.
Paula allowed her hair to fall in front of her face, afraid to see the expression on Simon’s face. What could she have said? How could she agree to marry him when she was living a lie…when she knew it wasn’t right…when she knew she loved someone else more, in such a different way that it could never be the same with JT? But how could she refuse him after so many long months?
“I told him that I needed time to think about it,” Paula whispered.
“And have you thought about it?” he asked.
“Of course, I have,” she said, continuing to look down at her hands. They were shaking uncontrollably and then the box fell to the ground. “I can’t say that it’s gotten me anywhere, though.” Taking enough courage to glance at Simon, she saw him looking directly back at her. She felt she could read his eyes, as they sent off a fearful message. “What do you think I should do?”
“Don’t ask me to choose for you, Paula,” he said with his voice tight. He knew what he wanted to tell her, tell her don’t marry JT and marry him instead. But, that wasn’t reality. He needed to respect her. “This has to be your decision.”
“I don’t want it to be,” she said, some of her growing hysteria leaking out in her voice. She looked up at him, plead in her own eyes. “Please… tell me what I should do, Simon. What’s best for Isa-”
“You should do what will make you happiest in the end,” Simon interrupted her. He didn’t know much about marriage, actually he knew nothing. He had no experience himself, but he could understand why she was being very cautious about it. Number one: she had been divorced, number two: she has been afraid of commitment now as well, and number three: Isabella. “I…” he paused there. “That’s the best I can give you, Paula. I can’t be the reason you make the wrong choice, whatever that is.”
She let her head hang low and folded her hands together again. “I’m sorry, Si. I didn’t mean to put pressure on you to telling me what to do.”
Wrapping an arm around her, he pulled her towards him and she gladly allowed him to. She felt comfortable in his arms. He smiled down at her, “Darling, no need to be sorry. Marriage is a very difficult topic.” He rubbed his arm up and down her shoulder to comfort her. Then he placed a tender kiss on her forehead, lingering there for a few seconds before leaning his head on hers.
Paula looked up at him with her eyes shining into his. “Will you stay the night? I just…” She paused, biting her lip. “I just don’t want to be alone right now.”
With his free hand, he took hold of one of her hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Of course I will, love.”
Chapter 3
Isabella started to shift slightly in her bed. She tossed and turned on her side until her eyes began to blink open. With a tiny yawn coming from her mouth, she slowly sat up on her bed and raised her arms over her head to stretch. Her hands immediately went to her eyes as she rubbed them to adjust to the sunlight coming from her windows.
Once she was fully awake, her eyes darted towards the tiny, white furry animal at the end of her bed. “Maybelle,” she smiled. Upon seeing Maybelle, all the memories of her dream last night flowed back into mind.
Her Uncle Simey, her mother, and herself, as well as Maybelle, were all getting ready to take a nice vacation to “Engrald”! Just thinking about the dream made her bounce up and down on the bed. “Maybelle, maybe Uncle Simey will take me to Engrald with him when he goes back!” she giggled.
Maybelle only yawned loudly and then snuggled back into a beetle position. Isabella gently shook her tiny puppy awake. “Maybelle, c’mon! Uncle Simey is coming over later and we gotta pack!! He can’t say no to this face,” she pointed at herself with a tiny smile.
Isabella slid over to the edge of the bed and dangled her tiny feet above the floor. Being that she was so tiny, she couldn’t reach the carpet. With a tiny jump, she quickly skipped to her closet and began to shuffle things around inside.
Still on her bed, Maybelle began to wake up more and lifted her puppy head to see what Isabella was doing. Wagging her tail, she jumped off the bed as well and sat patiently outside the closet.
“Maybelle, we need a lot ALOT of clothes for Engrald! So, let’s pack this, and this, and that…” Isabella began throwing random clothes out of her closet and a few of them landed straight on to Maybelle. Maybelle only continued to wag her tail and shook the clothes off her.
Soon enough, tiny Isabella was pulling a suitcase, twice the size of herself, out of the closet. She was using all the strength she had and fell on her bottom once it was fully out. “There we go,” she smiled. Quickly, she began to shove clothes inside the suitcase and with one last push and squeeze, she closed the suitcase and zippered it.
“All done!” She clapped her hands and Maybelle barked. Isabella raised a finger up to her chin, trying to look as though she was in deep thought. “Maybe we should pack for Mommy too!” Maybelle only barked again and Isabella took that as a yes.
Before you knew, the two were running out of the princess’ bedroom and into her mother’s bedroom.
--Remember to Forget--
“Paula, open the door.” Simon gave a put-upon sigh and started knocking in time to the ticking grandfather clock at the end of the hallway. Twenty minutes ago, he had just landed in America, being that Paula was upset. He felt responsible for her and knew he had to leave England right away. But upon arriving there, he was only to be greeted by a locked bedroom door and the sounds of her muffled sobs on the other side.
“Paula,” he said softly. “Please love…”
The crying continued.
“Paula,” he repeated sternly, “open the door.” However, his firmer tone only resulted in her louder sobs. “No. No. So sorry darling, don’t cry.” He quickly apologized as he knocked again. “Please love, don’t cry.”
He heard her sniff and snivel as she padded towards him. He could tell she was shifting from one foot to the other, deciding whether to let him in.
“Open the door, darling,” he told her gently. “Tell Daddy all about it.”
”Oh Simon,” she said as she cracked the door a bit. “Don’t call yourself that. It sounds like you’re my pimp.”
Simon only chuckled slightly. “It got you to open the door,” he winked.
She motioned him inside. “You didn’t have to come, Simon.” She wiped away a tear and took a seat on the corner of the bed.
Simon stared at her and then took a seat beside her. “Hey,” he wiped the tears away on her face. “I wanted to…” After that, he placed a tender and lingering kiss upon her forehead and then pulled back. He could see a tiny smile starting to fade onto her face and he returned the smile. He asked, “So what’s the status?”
“Moody,” she said sadly as she stared at the floor.
“Progress?"
“Still moody,” she looked up at him with wide-watery eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, love.” His voice was soft and gentle. Wrapping and arm around her, he pulled her close to him and she rested her head into his chest. He kissed the top of her head. “You’re pregnant. It’s all part of the beautiful cycle. Like the vomiting and the over-eating.”
Her eyes started tearing. “Is that what I do all day?” She bit back a sob.
”No. Oh god…” Simon knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. He gave a small smile. “I was joking. Really sweetheart, I was joking.”
“I know, Simon,” she said as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Honestly, it’s funny.” She managed a brave smile before she burst out crying. Simon hastily drew her to him, cradling her in his arms as they settled on the floor.
“No it wasn’t,” he whispered to her as he held her tightly. “It wasn’t funny at all.” He kissed her forehead and began to rock them quietly as though she was a baby in his arm. She began to calm down.
“Yes it was. It was really funny. I just can’t stop…” her breath hitched, “Stop crying. And my head hurts and my nose is runny and I’m whining. God, I’m whining.” She shook her head. “I didn’t whine before any of this.”
“Of course you didn’t.” Simon rolled his eyes.
She nudged him before going on. “And I know this is the last thing you need, Simon. A clingy and whiny, crying girl in your arms. You really don’t have to be here. You should be with Terri back in England.” She tried to force a smile on her lips. “I’m surprised you came at all.”
Simon only smiled and wiped away a stray tear. “Well, darling, I love you and your all I care about at the moment. You and our baby.” His hand moved towards her stomach and gently rested it there. She smiled and shook her head at the sweet sentiment.
“And about that ‘being clingy’ bit,” he added as he nestled his face into her dark locks. “You’ll find that I don’t mind it a bit when you’re being clingy.”She snuggled against him, trying to close all the space between them both. “And about Terri, well…” He tightened his hold on her. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be than right here.”
“On the floor?” she couldn’t help but giggle.
“On the floor with you,” he clarified. “And our baby.”
Then, Paula placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed him just on the corner of his mouth.
Simon began to blink his eyes open from his dream or rather memory. He was trying to adjust his eyes to the newly found light. Once he could see clearly, he couldn’t quite remember where he was until he felt a small weight shift on top of him. Looking in front of him, he could only see dark brown locks in his view. Immediately he knew it was Paula, but the question was… how did they get in this position?
She was lying flat on top of him with her head snuggled on his chest so comfortably. Simon was laying flat on his back with his hand trapped underneath her, so there was no escape. He sighed quietly.
“Well a little more sleep wouldn’t hurt,” he whispered. His eyes began to close and he drifted back into sleep.
--Remember to Forget--
“I guess Mommy went out already, Maybelle.” Isabella shrugged down at her puppy. “Or maybe she’s with UNCLE SIMEY!!” Maybelle barked again, wagging her tail. Isabella giggled.
The two of them had begun to pack for Paula about a half an hour ago. Isabella was able to find another suitcase that was actually three times her size now. Maybelle had helped her to pick out her mother’s cutest outfits and threw them inside the suitcase without folding them properly.
“Do you think Mommy would like jewelry to bring with her?” Isabella asked Maybelle. With no response from Maybelle and only a stare, Isabella said, “She needs to look really REALLY pretty! So let’s get the best she has!” Isabella began to frantically search for her mother’s jewelry, which Paula hid somewhere in her room.
“They gotta be somewhere,” Isabella pouted. Suddenly, she heard Maybelle began to whimper and wait beside the entrance of Paula’s bedroom. “What’s wrong, Maybelle?” Just then, Isabella’s stomach began to growl. “Oh, I bet we’re both hungry,” she giggled and Maybelle wagged her white tail.
The exited Paula’s bedroom together, leaving the suitcase opened and not fully packed still. Maybelle went down the stairs, while Isabella slid down each step on her butt like most children at her age did.
Once they both reached the bottom of the staircase, they walked towards the kitchen, hoping to find something there to eat… but nothing was out on the table. “Maybe Mommy wants us to feed ourselves, Maybelle. Like… cookies for breakfast! That sound yummy?”
Maybelle pushed her bowl towards Isabella and she filled her puppy’s bowl up with a plentiful of doggy treats. Once the bowl was top full, Maybelle quickly started to eat the many treats. After placing the treat box back in its normal spot, Isabella tried to reach the “goody” cabinet, but it was too far to reach. Even with a chair she wouldn’t be able to get any delicious cookies or sweets.
Just then, she heard a mumble from the other room. Anxiety filled within her, but she slowly tiptoed towards the living room, hoping there was no monster or stranger there. “Hello?” she whispered in her tiny voice.
Peeking around the corner, she breathed a sigh of relief. “Phew, just Uncle Simey and Mommy,” she told herself. Once she heard her own words that had came out of her mouth, a deep realization hit her. Quickly running towards them, she exclaimed, “UNCLE SIMEY! MOMMY!”
Both were woken at Isabella’s sudden voice as though she was an alarm clock. Paula had fallen off of Simon with the blanket falling on top of her. Before Paula could take the blanket off her head, tiny arm encircled her waist.
“Mommy! Maybelle and I thought you went out!” Isabella smiled, hugging her mother.
“You know I would never leave the house without telling you, Bella-Boo,” Paula reminded her and held her daughter close. As Isabella was hugging her mother, her eyes then glanced towards her uncle, who was remaining silent at the moment.
“And Uncle Simey!” Isabella pulled away from her mother and jumped on the couch next to Simon. Her tiny arms went up around his neck and she hugged him for dear life. “You said you weren’t spending the night!”
“I umm…”
“Let’s have a big breakfast!” Isabella grasped her Paula’s hand and then took hold of Simon’s and held them close in her own tiny hands. “Just the three of us and Maybelle too!”
Paula nodded and Simon chuckled, “Fine by me.”
As they all got up onto their feet, Isabella didn’t let go of either of their hands. She swung them about with a huge smile upon her face. “By the way, Mommy, me and Maybelle got you packed for Engrald!”
“Packed for England? Why, Bella-Boo?”
“Cuz we’re going to Engrald! You, me, Maybelle and Uncle Simey!”
Paula looked up at Simon and he only shrugged with an innocent look on his face
No comments:
Post a Comment