Chapter
6
Her
voice on his machine
He
played it again
“Hi,
it’s me” There was no need to explain who ‘me’ was “I, uh hope you had a good flight back…
um Kristina and I were going to the park today, it turned out to be a really beautiful day and…” She was rambling
on his machine “I, Kristina and I were hoping maybe you would like to stop by. We’ll be at the playground…
Ok” one last hesitation “Ok, bye”
Her
voice, her message clung to him as if it were her arms around him
Comfort
The
park, mid afternoon on a Sunday, she and Kristina hoping he would stop by
He
would
He
saw her sitting on the bench from a distance
She
had a smile on her face
He
couldn’t help but try and place her once again in his memory hoping he wouldn’t forget her at that moment
He
spent a lot of time saving her in his mind
Her
smile
Her
hair pulled up in ponytail, her bangs tugging at her eyelashes
The
color of her jacket, fuchsia and how it radiated against her Greek skin
Her
legs crossed
Every
simplistic thing about her, saved
He
sat down beside her
“Hi”
her voice calm, happy to see him
He
immediately made her smile
“Hi”
“I
think Kristina’s made a new friend today” Alexis said again watching Kristina running about the playground
“Boys
chasing her already” Ric said observing
“What
are we going to do when she’s a teenager?”
We?
Did
she mean to say we?
“It’ll
be here before we know it”
“God
a teenage daughter!” Alexis said letting out a laugh
“I
look forward everyday to it”
Alexis
looked at Ric and grinned
“I
know I’m biased but she’s going to be so beautiful”
“She
is…” Ric paused, then made a face and stood up
“Where
are you going?”
“I
have to go get that little boy away from her!” he joked
“Ric!”
He
sat back down
He
grinned
She
laughed
“I’m
glad you came” she said seriously
“I
wouldn’t have missed this for the world”
“I
guess you could tell by my message, I miss you”
Ric
suddenly didn’t know how to respond
“You,
you do?”
She
smiled
“I
really do. New York has made everything seem so different. I mean when we’re here we have to
deal with everyday life and everyone else it revolves around. And I get so caught up in that, and I think I forget about putting
us first. In New York we’re…”
“Different?”
“Yeah,
kind of…”
Ric
appreciated her honesty
But
what she really wanted to say was in New York everything
was different. She could allow herself to be what she wasn’t here, she could allow herself to be swayed and not have
to think so much
The
truth was, the honest truth was, she didn’t want to think so much, she just wanted to be in love with him
“You
know I almost feel like I’m having an affair” he said amused by his own choice of words “Like I’m
trying to live a life in two different places”
“It
does sort of seem that way. And lately I think I’ve found myself wanting things to be the way they are there instead
of here”
Now
she was being honest
He
shook his head
“It
makes you feel alive being there” Ric confessed
“More
alive than I have in a long time” she said agreeing
“Alexis?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m
glad by some twist of fate you ended up there with me”
“Even
when you went to get away from me?” Alexis asked, smiling
“I
didn’t want to get away from you. I’ve never wanted to be away from you” Ric said making sure he had her
attention “I just wanted to try and take my mind off of you. And besides you wanted to do the same thing”
“I’m
just glad it didn’t work out that way, that neither of us got our wish” she said as she watched Ric’s fingers
fumble with the edge of her jacket
“It
will all be over soon” he said disappointed, concentrating on his fumbling
“I
know, I think I’ve actually been trying to think of excuses to prolong things there”
His
hand finally brushed against hers, but he caught himself and pulled away
She
was glad he did
And
she hated he did
His
touch would burn her skin, he was fire
“Yeah”
Ric said letting out a breathy laugh
“But
you know we could go back. We don’t have to be there on business, we could just go there sometime”
“Yeah,
yeah maybe we could”
Any
other time a husband suggesting to his wife that they take a romantic trip to New
York would be a perfect suggestion
But
to them, suddenly it seemed bittersweet
“Alexis?”
“Yeah?”
“Promise
me we’ll go back together”
His
heart was pounding
She
shook her head yes, she couldn’t say yes. Her eyes were filling with tears
“Hey,
hey why don’t we see if Kristina wants to go to Kelly’s for maybe one little chocolate chip cookie? And maybe
we could even get one for her mom too?” He suggested hoping to lighten her sudden mood
Alexis
grinned shyly
“Bribing
by way of a cookie?”
“I
do what I have to do to spend one more hour with my girls”
The
grin stayed on Alexis’ face
“I’ll
get her” Alexis said leaving him there on the bench
++++++++++
Ric
wondered if anyone who saw them saw a family
Saw
a father, a mother, a beautiful little girl
Maybe
they thought how perfect they were, how lucky
He
wondered if they seemed that way
“Coookie!”
“Well,
well if it isn’t my favorite Granddaughter in the whole wide world!” Mike said holding his arms out for Kristina
She
left Ric’s arms and easily went in to Mike’s
“Hi!”
she said cheerfully to him
“Did
you say you were here for a cookie?”
Kristina’s
eyes widened not forgetting why she was there
“Alexis,
can I get you and Ric something? He asked politely
“Make
that two more cookies actually and two cups of coffee… thank you”
“Coming
right up. Ms. Kristina want to come help Grandpa?”
Mike
looked over at Alexis and she shook her head for the ok to take her
Ric
and Alexis sat
“She’s
really taken to Mike” Ric said taking a glance at him and Kristina over Alexis’ shoulder
“Yeah
he really seems to adore her. And Kristina needs a Grandpa. I mean he’s the only one she’s got. Besides he made
a really big effort when he found out he was her Grandfather. I think it would have been really selfish of me not to at least
give him a chance”
“I’m
sure Sonny loved that you didn’t mind her being with Mike”
“He
couldn’t really argue… he knew I feel that she’s safe with him”
Ric
shook his head agreeing
“Oh
let me get our coffee and cookies… Mike seems to have his hands full!” Ric said making his way to the counter
Ric
quickly made his way back to the table
“Two
cookies for you and two coffee’s for me”
Alexis
grinned; his attempt to be funny was charming
“Cute”
Ric
sat back down and traded a the cup of coffee for a cookie
“So
what time’s your flight Thursday?”
“10:30am”
“Same
flight” he said grinning
She
returned the grin
“Are
you staying the whole weekend?” She asked
“I
was actually waiting to see if you were” he answered truthfully
“I
wanted to stay but Kristina…”
“I’m
sure Viola wouldn’t mind keeping her or I’m sure Sonny would be glad to have her”
Ric
was really reaching suggesting Sonny “Just at least stay on until Saturday you could use the R&R”
“I
don’t know, I just feel guilty about leaving her for so long”
Ric
shook his head understanding
Alexis
studied his disappointed face
“Ric…Ok”
she said giving in
His
eyes widened
“Ok?”
“Yeah,
she’ll be fine and it’s just one extra day”
Ric
grinned
A
happy man
And Alexis loved how happy it made him
“We
should get Kristina” Alexis said taking one last sip of coffee “She has probably terrorized the kitchen by now”
“Well
the kitchen is such a foreign place to her” Ric quipped
Alexis
shot Ric an evil eye
He
laughed
“I’m
going to get her” Alexis said leaving him there to his laughter
++++++++++++
Kristina
once again wrapped her arms around Ric so tightly that she refused to let go
This
was the part it seemed they all dreaded
It
was funny then why they still had to say goodbye
“I’ll
come by and see you tomorrow, ok”
Kristina
shook her head, her bottom lip protruding
“Bye
sweetheart”
Again
goodbye but this time luckily after a great Sunday afternoon
Again
a kiss on the cheek for Kristina
And
this time Ric returned the soft kiss, just as Alexis had given him two days before
“Goodnight
Alexis”
She
bit at her bottom lip
“Goodnight”
Alexis
closed the door and found herself resting her head against the door, clenching her eyes shut
When
she opened them a pair of eyes looked up at her, starring back at her
Alexis
sighed seeing Kristina’s little face
“I
know baby” Alexis said softly “I want him back too. Mommy just has to be sure… when Ric comes back to us
I want it to be sure it’s for forever”
End
Ch. 6
