“All of this must leave quite the lasting impression of us on the young lady.”
“You’re both really nice. Is it okay if I come to your wedding too?”
“Of course. We would love to see you there,” he said honestly in a kind tone. I asked Johnson what the details were for the wedding and he explained since they weren’t exactly rolling in money, they wanted it to be small unlike Dad and Sophia’s wedding. It would be held at a church and then we would be heading over to Johnson’s house for the reception. Apparently, Sophia had already agreed to be their chef and both Dad and Celia would be helping plan out the event. As unprofessional as it all sounded, I was excited for it and was looking forward to seeing them tie the knot. They had both changed a lot since high school and deserved to be happy after going through so much together. It wasn’t long until the doorbell rang, not once, not twice, but three times within only minutes of each other. The first time was Dan and Em who dropped by to check in on us. Dan made coffee for everyone and Em just about talked our ears off with another one of her outbursts. Then it was Risk and Cindy for the same reason. Risk was happy to see Laura doing so well and was also astounded with how nice the place was. Cindy wondered why Raul didn’t just let her live here to begin with as she looked around the house. Last was Anne who pulled up in front of the house in her flashy red sports car. She was ecstatic and almost squeezed the air from our lungs when she hugged me and Angel. Our peacefully quiet home was probably the rowdiest it had been in a long time before us coming here. Johnson, Dan and Risk helped me move the rest of the furniture around the house while the girls went around the house setting up curtains, wardrobes, appliances and then went to inspect the backyard. It was a lot of work from all of us, but I’m glad they were there to help; they made something tedious kind of fun. Around four in the afternoon, it started to rain; everyone was already inside standing at and beside the kitchen table.
“Thanks again for helping us today, everyone,” Angel said sincerely. Anne held her by the hands and said it was no trouble. The guys were also modest about it. Cindy kept quiet with a smile on her face and Em, well Em asked a question I had been trying to avoid even though I would have to face it sooner or later given with how Angel had been acting at the time.
“So, now that you have your own place, when do you think you two will have kids? You said you’ve been really looking forward to it, Angel.”
“Oh, yeah whenever I become pregnant. We’ve already been doing it a bunch lately…” she said openly before Anne and Johnson covered her mouth with a hand each, simultaneously.
“Angel, you’re a lady, you should try to be a little classy and refined with this sort of stuff,” Anne said anxiously.
“I also needn’t remind you that there’s a child in the room, Angel. I am happy the two of you are trying for a child, but please promise you’ll keep the details and the act of doing so from young Laura.” I looked to the young girl and she had an awkward expression on her face and I realised just how uncomfortable she was.
“Sorry guys, I was trying to keep quiet about it too,” I said nervously as everyone brought their attention to me. After about half an hour, everyone went home; they must have felt like they were intruding on us if they stayed any longer now that piece of information was floating inside their heads. Angel was keen as ever on the idea of having kids. I don’t think I slept properly for the next two weeks after that day.
It wasn’t until a few days before the wedding that Angel discovered she was pregnant and I found out that I was going to be a dad. Naturally, Angel told everyone she knew about the exciting news and we received praise left, right and centre. The most excited were Dad and Sophia; they pestered us nearly the entire day that Angel found out. Sinclair gave me a rather intimidating phone call when he found out. At the same time, he was surprised to hear that he would be a grandfather at his age. If I had to give my opinion on the matter, I felt like I had been conned. I said I didn’t want to be a father just yet before our vacation, yet there I was dealing with the situation anyway because Angel got what she wanted. Obviously, I didn’t say anything to her or anyone else and I already knew that I would have to come to terms with it regardless, but no matter how I looked at it, it was a really nerve-racking experience.
The next day I had off from work and went by myself to pick up Laura from school. When I got there, it was lively, and the sun was shining through the clouds after a day of rain. I went inside and saw Laura and Nami standing by the lockers.
“What’s up, you two?”
“Hey Wade, shall we go then?” Laura said calmly.
“Big brother!” Nami yelled as she hugged up to my side. I pried her away from me and bonked her on the head. She then looked at me as if it were a great act of betrayal.
“Don’t try to show off just because you’re at school and besides your teachers will think I’m some older boyfriend you netted in; you don’t exactly look ten after all.”
“You always have to take the fun out of everything. I’ve never had a brother until I met you,” she whined childishly while both her friends and teachers were watching us.
“Sigh. Come here then.” I petted her head gently and she seemed to enjoy it a little too much. I’m not sure if it was because of me or all the attention she was getting from everyone else.
“Can you pat my head too?” Laura asked innocently.
“Later,” I replied sharply as I brought my hand away from Nami’s head. I walked Nami part way home before Laura and I split off from her.
“Bye, Nami.”
“Bye bye, Laura!” she yelled as she hugged her tight and then sprinted towards home.
“You two are pretty close,” I said casually as I walked with my hands in my pockets. Laura nodded and kept walking until I noticed she was staggering slightly in her steps. I stopped her and offered to carry her on my back.
“You don’t have to do that. I’m fine,” she stubbornly refused. I could understand why though, she had already received so much help from people that were complete strangers to her less than a month ago. To ask for any more would have left her feeling even more guilty. However, I was responsible for her, so I ignored her request and threw her on my back anyway. She looked at me in shock and then turned her head away from me as I carried her. I felt a little guilty from forcing it on her too.
“Laura, I’m not helping you because I have to. It’s because I want to. I hope you understand that.”
She brought her eyes back to me and then thanked me.
We made it home and I sat on the couch and listened to her about her day at school; she was enjoying being able to go to classes. Apparently, she was already quite popular among the other kids despite being the new girl. Although, that didn’t really surprise me, given how nice a girl she was. Angel came home from work shortly afterwards; she was as giddy and cheerful as ever. The first thing she did was leap onto the couch and kiss me. She had been really passionate since she found out she was pregnant and was more attached to me than usual.
‘I love you’ were the first words out of her mouth as she stared into my eyes with her glowing red eyes. I went quiet for about a minute before I said it back. She smiled and then threw her arms around me, only to tackle me against the couch. Laura sat quietly with red in her pale cheeks as she watched us. Angel reached her hand out to her and pulled her in with us. She gasped as Angel hugged up to her.
“What are you doing?” she asked completely flustered.
“We’re a family, Laura. I love you like you’re my own.” Her words may have been caring and sweet, but they touched a nerve in the young girl. She burst into tears and sprinted out of the lounge room through the front door. I dashed after her without a second thought, but suddenly time fell still. I looked around to see the passing cars completely out of motion, the only thing that kept moving were the trees in the neighbourhood as the wind brushed against their leaves. Already half a block ahead of me was Laura, also frozen like a statue; I looked behind me to
see Angel walking out of the house. She walked up to me and took my hand to take me to Laura.
“You really are amazing, Angel,” I said in awe of her.
“Come on, let’s talk this through with her,” she said in a serious tone. We walked up to Laura who was completely still. Angel walked in front of her and the world returned to normal. When it did, Laura bumped into her and she stared down at the white-haired girl who had tears in her eyes.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked in a stern voice. Laura was afraid to the point where she was speechless.
“All I said is that I loved you like you’re my daughter and you decided to run away. Why?” she asked more frustrated than before. I could see why she was angry; people had been running away from her nearly her entire life, people that she loved, like her parents. Laura continued to cry, but she managed to muster the courage to talk back.
“I-I can’t accept that! You’re not my mother! It would upset her if she was watching me let someone else do her job just because she can’t anymore!” she screamed, refusing to look us in the eyes.
“I don’t care,” Angel said, not backing down.
“Angel you can’t just…” I went to intervene, but she cut me off.
“That’s unfortunate you feel that way. My feelings for you won’t change even if you ask me to. I doubt your mother would want you to keep living unhappy and unloved. You don’t have to think of me as her replacement, but I’d like for you not to push me away again. I know I may sound selfish, but I truly do have your best interest at heart.”
Laura stared at her with eyes no longer crying tears. Angel put her hand out and she took it only to be pulled in again. I stood there as she held the young girl in her arms. Angel looked to me and then kissed me.
“Thank you for trying to help, but I caused this. So, it’s only right that I was the one to fix it.”
We went back home after our first real trial as a family and I got started on dinner. I made a stir-fry while Angel and Laura talked with each other at the table. Laura had calmed down and was back to being her polite, loveable self. They were talking about the upcoming wedding that was barely forty-eight hours away.
“Are we all ready for it? I’m not going to be able to check up on you on the day since Johnson made me his best man.”
“No need to worry. Em’s already picked an outfit for me for the day and I’m sure I saw something lying around the store that would look perfect on Laura,” she said cheerfully while pinching Laura’s cheek.
“That’s not what I meant. I was more or less asking if you knew the plan for the day. It’s going to be a busy one.” To that Angel nodded and reassured me that it would be fine. I had no real choice but to trust her on that. I served up dinner and Laura thanked both Angel and me, as well as apologised for her behaviour for earlier.
"I wish Wade had brought you home sooner. Giggle."
“Let’s not sweat the little things any longer than we have to, okay? Now dig in, it’s not every day that I get to cook,” I said with a smile and we enjoyed the rest of our evening together.
The day of the wedding had come, and I woke up earlier that morning with the sun still yet to rise. I made coffee and slurped it down as I stared at the suit and tie I would be wearing for the day. I was tired despite getting a good night’s rest. I had a rinse in the shower and got dressed while I brushed the aftertaste of coffee from my teeth. As I walked out of the bathroom, I saw Angel barely awake; her hair was a mess and her eyes struggled to stay open.
“Ah…good morning. Aww you’re already ready, I wanted to hop in the shower with you,” she yawned.
“I don’t think we have that sort of time today. Now hurry up and get ready,” I said to her as I went to go to Laura’s room to check if she was up. When I knocked on her door and walked inside. She was asleep in her pyjamas; they were blue with small fluffy sheep on them. She slept peacefully with her white hair spread out on her pillow. I went to wake her up, but her eyes gently opened and she said good morning to me as she sat up. I told her to start getting ready and tried to walk away from her; she tugged at the edge of my suit and had a nervous look on her face. I faced her without saying anything and she held her elbows as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say.
“Do you think people will stare at us? I mean Angel and me that is.” I guess I couldn’t blame her for feeling self-conscious; this would be the first big event she would be attending after changing so much.
“Well at any normal wedding I’d say you might get a few off stares or two. This is Johnny’s wedding though; he accepts all his friends as they are and wouldn’t dare create an atmosphere that they couldn’t all breathe in. Besides, you and Angel won’t be the only ones there with red eyes. Risk, Sophia, Sinclair and Anne will be there too.”
The young girl’s face lit up with excitement, she then pushed me out of the room as best she could so she could get ready. I went back to the lounge room and fitted some black leather shoes I bought for the occasion. I looked at my phone and saw I had some messages from Anne. ‘I hope you’re ready for today! The groom’s counting on you! Xoxo.’ It was good to see she was excited at least. What I didn’t need to see was a video of her singing in the shower that was attached to the message which surprised me enough to drop my phone on the couch. Will she ever give me a break? I thought to myself when suddenly Angel came up behind me and put her hands over my eyes.
“Guess who?” she said playfully.
“Knock it off, we have to leave in an hour.” I turned around to see her only in a towel tied by a loose knot. My face went blank as I saw Laura walk downstairs to see us; her face was sweltering with embarrassment.
“I’ll be in my room!” she yelled in a panic before sprinting back upstairs.
“Sigh. Get ready Angel, I’m going to bring Laura breakfast,” I said in an exhausted tone.
“Where’s mine?” she teased, and I ignored her and went to the kitchen. We had a little over half an hour before we would leave the house. Laura did Angel’s hair as we all had breakfast. I was on my phone to see if there was any news from the soon-to-be-married couple. There wasn’t all too much except a post from Johnson which was rare since he hardly ever gave out updates. He described today as a day he never thought would never come. Angel peaked over my shoulder once her hair was done and I got up from the table.
“Come on you two, it’s probably time we get going. We wouldn’t want to keep the bride and groom waiting.”
We went to the church which wasn’t that far from our house, a few blocks away. Johnson was sitting on the steps at the end of the aisle inside the church. He seemed relaxed for a day like this one. He stood up when he saw me walk in with the girls under their umbrella.
“And here I thought you might have been the slightest bit nervous. I’m glad you’re doing this, Johnny,” I said confidently to him. He smiled and looked up at the coloured glass that decorated the church. He then walked over to the girls. Laura was nervously hiding behind Angel.
“I’m glad I’m going through with this too, Wade; I owe Sabrina this much. I never exactly made things easy on her through high school. If you can remember correctly, I’m sure you would agree.” He said back to me while leaning on one knee to face Laura while he petted her on the head.
“That was then, this is now. You’re a different person from back then. Now you’re the one who’s been helping me out of trouble ha-ha-ha,” I laughed anxiously.
“Speaking of trouble, I heard the news. Congratulations, I suppose I’ll be Uncle Johnny in the near future then, won’t I?” I sort of squirmed on the inside at the thought of it, I was going to be a father.
The next to arrive at the church were my parents with Nami by their side. Celia and Kitten arrived a few minutes later. Dad smacked Johnson on the back as he hardily laughed, overjoyed to be a part of the momentous event. Sophia wore a black dress and we could only see her smile beneath her dark sun hat that covered her face. She then took off her hat
and looked to Angel and me. Her expression was intimidating as ever.
“Be on your best behaviour, you two. Don’t let me find you anywhere you shouldn’t be.” It didn’t exactly feel the best to be picked on by her, even if she was only teasing us.
“Now now, the same could be said for the two of you, Mr and Ms Naem. Chuckle.” We all turned to the entrance to see Sinclair and his new family.
“Ey! Sinclair! I see you’ve brought a couple of new faces. I didn’t think you were this charming.”
“Jason, I believe you’re the one that thinks the least in this room. Consider yourself lucky you’re as strong as an ox. These two are my new family. I thought I’d entertain myself since killing has become rather dull with every fool I have put to rest,” he said in a sly tone before Naomi spoke over him. She introduced both Jasmin and herself to everyone; the moment young Laura and Nami laid their eyes on Jasmin they flocked to her to attempt to charm her into becoming friends with them.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both, thank you for coming. Well, if I want today to be a success, there are some things I must attend to, come with me Wade. Jason, Celia, I trust you’ll do what you assigned yourselves without any problems.” They nodded, and Johnson and I went out to the back of the church. While the rest of the guests arrived, I expected to be helping him with something, but instead we just both sat against a wall outside of the room that Sabrina was using as a changing room. He was using this as a chance to relax before everything went underway.
“Worn out already, Johnny?” I asked as he brought himself from the wall.
“I wouldn’t say that. I suppose I just wanted some time to think to myself is all. After all, once the ceremony is said and done, I still have to host the reception.”
Sabrina stepped outside of the changing room; she didn’t expect to see us there and quickly rushed back inside when she saw us.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked her with his hands inside his pockets.
The Red to My Grey Page 30
