Collette leaned in whispering to Alita, “I would be like,Ninosshare what we learned today with your Papa, go ahead, repeat what we learned.The kiddies will all yell out, ¿Dónde está la biblioteca?”
They all burst into laughter.Alita didn't want to, but she laughed as well.The Fer de Lance was at the hotel with them, and she could have a little time off to hang with the girls, whom she was slowly beginning to call her friends.
Micah said little as he watched his guard later that evening, painting her toenails, eating pizza, and laughing with the other teens.In the hotel room when they met with the other kids after the wedding, Jeffrey ordered a movie she'd wanted to see for the room, and the other teens showed up as well.Micah interacted with them all, showing Jasir, the ward of One Way, how he threw ninja stars, using a potato chip that lodged between two cushions on the couch.He spoke with Dexter, the ward of a chemist they called Merge, whom he learned worked closely with The Lemon.He requested a meeting with the guardian to talk shop.
Mainly, he stayed in the room for Alita.She was smiling and happy.
As he fast-forwarded to a week later, sitting astride his horse fondly named Molecule, his father noticed the tension in his son.
“Micah, what is troubling you?”
“Clothes,” he said softly.
“Clothing?”
“Sí, Papa, I may need to borrow the plane to make a visit to the States,” he said.“We have no teen clothing.There is the wedding for Tio Carlos, the Regalia at Perona de la Mar, Andres's betrothal and the meeting of the families of the women I shall reject, politely of course, when we host their families.We need clothes.”
“You wish to take my plane so you can go to the States to shop?”Eduardo asked.
“Among other things,” he said softly.“Alita has forfeited her teen years to protect me and be my friend so I don't come across as a freak.She deserves a new wardrobe whether she decides to go home or attend Uni with me.I think I want to treat her to a bit of what is the word...ahsi, the pamper party.”
“Perhaps...no, never mind,” Eduardo answered.
“It is in my thoughts as well, Papa,” Micah said.“He could also give us both a bit of style, show her how to apply basic make-up, and how to make a few simple dishes.Do you think three or four days will be enough?”
“Yes.However, call first,mijo, and ask; all he can say is no,” Eduardo stated, appreciating the nuance of the request.“You want to pamper Alita; that is a nice gesture on your part.Please tell me your intentions are altruistic versus softening her up.”
“What means this soften up?”
“To make her your woman.”
“No, I would never do that, Papa.If she wants more with me, again, it will be up to her to make the move.I cannot, and will not, cross that line, unless it is her request, her desire, her move,” he said.
“Is it what you want?”
“Oh, hell yeah,” Micah said.“To be her first and only would be an honor, but I would only do so if I can offer her matrimony at the end of our journey.”
Micah’s honesty shocked Eduardo.Andres, his second born, was calculating, and the conversations with that young man required the use of both sides of Eduardo's brain to decipher what was not being said versus what came out of Andres' mouth.Yuñior, on the other hand, was calculative on a level which impressed and frightened Eduardo at the same time.Although, he and his eldest son had stimulating conversations since Yuñior better understood the life of a Czar, it all paled in comparison to the open-faced honesty of Micah.
He stated plainly for his son to respond honestly, “The cooking lessons and living together, that has not been discussed,” Eduardo commented.
“Papa, I am not doing communal living with nasty teens in a dorm,” he said.“Those people are filthy.To share a public bathroom, when half of those young men do not wash their hands after using the facilities and to eat off a buffet in a dining hall?Do you not know the chances and opportunities for me to be poisoned or get a bacterial intestinal infection?I think not!We will have a three-bedroom flat, one each for sleeping, her own bathroom, and a third room for studying.”
“Or if you attend locally, you can stay here at home.”
“The commute time for lab assignments would be too much,” he told him.“It would be easier to stay closer to campus and perhaps come home on the weekends if time permits, but it is too soon.I have a month or so to decide.”
“And the clothing?”
He pulled the reins on his horse, slowing it to a walk.“Seeing her with Bria and Ayanna, doing girl things, polishing her toenails, and them playing with her hair...styling it seems like such a small gesture, but it meant a lot to her.Papa, she only wears her hair down when it is time to call it an evening.I want to see her wear it down and embrace her beauty with the same confidence she has when she wields her knives.”
He looked at his father and gave a crooked grin.“She has nice feet.”
Micah burst into laughter, kicked the sides of the horse, and took off at a gallop.As the day waned, he asked Alita to pack for four days.He didn't say where they were going or what they were going to do.The jet landed in Ohio as a car service drove them to a home, she was familiar with seeing and had visited once before.She wasn't sure why they were back.
Micah., his back straight, led the way to the front up walkway, climbed the stairs, and looked at the space.Bruised, calloused knuckles rapped at the wooden screen door as a head appeared in the glass panes of the heavy oaken door.The door swung wide, and they faced a huge grin.
“Well smack my ass and call me Lucy Pearl; come on here in, kiddos,” Tim Johnson squelched.“It blew my mind when you called.Man, am I glad to see you and how is the family?”
