by Mima
“Papá, tuve una tarta de fresa,”
“That is not breakfast,” Jorge sternly insisted. “You took that before I could stop you and that was supposed to be Diego’s, now he is very disappointed.”
Her eyes drifted toward the only other Latino in the room, appearing apprehensive, she reached for the toast. “Papa…”
“English, Maria, we talked about this,” Jorge interrupted. “You need to practice your English and you have a lot of opportunities while we are in Canada.”
“Now this is Diego and this is Chase,” He introduced the two men and his daughter glanced from one to the other.
“Chase, is that a name?” Maria asked him with perfect English and before receiving a response, turned toward her father. “Is that a name or, how do you say?”
“Nickname?”
“Yes,” She replied and turned toward Chase. “Is that your nickname? Do you have a real name?”
“That is my real name,” He gently replied, suddenly having a feeling who he was ‘looking after’ that day.
“Oh,” Maria reached for a small container of jam. “That name is weird.”
“Don’t be rude,” Jorge warned and she offered Chase an apologetic smile.
“Now Chase,” He continued to speak over the little girl’s head. “I need you to look after Maria today. You have children and I know you can do this…I thought about asking Jolene but, I don’t know.”
“She is not good with children,” Diego replied as he relaxed in the chair, sipping on his coffee. “That’s why she has none.”
“Is that the lady with the big boobies?” Maria sang out, her mouth full of toast.
“Hey! You do not say that!” Jorge warned but Maria merely made a face, wiggling her nose to show dislike.
“Chase, you can take her out maybe,” Jorge stopped for a moment to think. “I don’t know, is there a place for children around here?”
“I want to go to the Eaton’s Centre,” Maria insisted.
“Already a teenager,” Jorge said as he shook his head. “Not even 10 years old and this is what I hear, everywhere we go, she researches the malls in that city and insists we go see.”
Maria giggled, her large brown eyes shyly searched Chase’s face.
Although it wasn’t the task he had feared for the day, it certainly scared him almost as much. What did he know about little girls? He had three boys. Had.
Later that morning, Jorge and Diego dropped the two off at the mall with a handful of cash and Maria excitedly entered the building as if it were paradise. Pulling an iPhone from her little purse, she immediately did a search and pointed toward a popular ladies store. “I want to go there.”
And so that was how the day went. While Diego and Jorge were off doing business, Chase was escorting the child around the mall. He noticed a lot of women smiling as he followed an enthusiastic little Mexican girl from store to store, to the point that he felt exhausted and begged her to take a break. She insisted they go to MacDonald’s. After ordering their food, the two sat down to eat.
“So, I notice you haven’t bought anything yet,” Chase attempted to make conversation. Jorge certainly gave him enough money for the little girl to shop however because the difference in currency, he would have to help her if she wanted to buy anything.
“Neither have you,” She countered.
“I’m not the one who wanted to come to the mall,” Chase pointed out and she giggled.
“I go to all the stores and then I decide what I want and I go back,” She spoke confidently of her strategy. “I take a picture with my phone so I remember and then I go back later.”
He had wondered why she had taken so many pictures along the way but assumed she was posting on social media and not strategizing. Perhaps she wasn’t so different from her father.
“So did you decide yet?” Chase asked hopefully.
“No, I haven’t gone to all the store yet.” She replied as she bit into a fry. “It could take hours.”
He smiled stiffly.
“Papa says you have kids,” Maria tilted her head curiously. “Do you have girls or boys.”
“Boys.”
“Papa says I can’t ask you about them, why?”
Chase wasn’t sure how to answer but her eyes were watching him curiously, as she continued to nibble on a fry, her Chicken McNuggets still untouched.
“I…I think because one of my children died,” Chase spoke hesitantly, feeling reluctant to even broach the subject.
“How did he die?”
“It was an accident,” Chase decided to not get into the details, however, she didn’t let go.
“What kind of accident? Like in a car?” She asked innocently and took a sip of her juice.
“No, it’s probably better we don’t talk about it,” Chase spoke diplomatically. “It might scare you if I tell you.”
“I don’t get scared.”
“You don’t get scared?” Chase grinned.
“No, I watch scary shows all the time,” She replied with a matter-of-fact expression on her face “They don’t scare me.”
“Like scary movies?”
“Like Sons of Anarchy.”
“You watch Sons of Anarchy?” Chase couldn’t help but be a little surprised. “Is that show even on in Mexico?”
“I don’t know, I watch it on dad’s computer. I sometimes watch when he is busy and doesn’t know,” She replied with a giggle. “And Breaking Bad. I like the boy on that show.” She giggled shyly and blushed.
Chase grinned and nodded. “Those shows are more for…adults.”
“I know cause there’s a lot of violence and sexy stuff too,” She continued to nibble on her fries while Chase finished the last of his salad and opened up his coffee. “But it’s not a big deal.
“So how did your son die?” She pushed on, her eyes fixated on his face.
“It’s probably better we don’t talk about it,” Chase replied, hoping to get off the topic.
“Does it make you sad?” The little girl continued to push on and tilted her head as she listened.
“Yes,” Chase answered honestly.
“Do you cry for him?” Maria asked as her eyes widened and she sipped on her drink.
“Sometimes,” Chase replied, feeling grief fill his heart as he spoke. Leland would never be this girl’s age.
“How old was he?
“Almost five.”
“What was his name?”
“Leland.”
“Can I see a picture?”
Chase reached for his phone and found one from the previous summer. Passing it to her, she held the phone carefully as she stared at the image, her finger running over the screen.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Maria frowned with a hint of tears in her eyes. “I will say a prayer for you so you won’t be so sad anymore.”
Chase opened his mouth to say something but couldn’t speak. It took everything he had to not break down over this heartfelt, innocent comment, something he would never expect from anyone let alone a little girl he had just met.
“Thank you,” He finally managed in a quiet voice as he felt his whole body become incredibly hot, his throat tighten and his heart race. The entire room had an echo and a cold sweat grasped his body.
Closing his eyes, he attempted to calm himself but instead thought of what Jorge Hernandez would say if he passed out while babysitting his daughter. The cold sweats seemed to get worse, his body felt like rubber in the chair.
“Chase, are you ok?” Maria had panic in her voice, her small fingers touched his hand and he found himself slowly coming out of the dark tunnel and returning to the present moment. She looked upset. “Are you going to be sick?”
“No, I’m fine,” He responded and took a drink of his coffee, his shaky hand managed to spill some on
his shirt. He grabbed a napkin with his other hand and wiped it off.
“That’s going to stain,” She spoke earnestly. “I can get it out for you though, I get papa’s coffee stains out all the time.”
Chase smiled.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
It was a really long day at the mall. Chase enjoyed spending time with the enthusiastic little girl but quickly grew tired of wandering from store to store. Maria had granted his wishes for many breaks but it was usually during that time that she polluted him with questions about his children, his former marriage and if he thought he would ever marry again.
“Why do you say, ‘I don’t know’ to all my questions?” Maria asked him mid-afternoon, shortly after the pair sat on a bench that faced a cosmetic store. A welcoming fragrance flowed toward them as they watched women having their makeup applied, causing Chase to hope Maria didn’t get the idea to go in and do the same. It was clear that she viewed herself as more of a young lady than a child but he suspected Hernandez wouldn’t appreciate his daughter having a full face of makeup when he picked them up.
“I answer your questions the best I can,” Chase gently replied. “I just don’t always know the answer myself. For example, I don’t know when or if I will get married again and things like breakups are complicated.”
Maria considered his reply but seemed unsatisfied. “But would you like to get married again maybe?”
“I guess, maybe,” Chase shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Papa says if you don’t know what you want, you’ll never get it,” Maria commented airily as she turned away from him and crossed her legs in a ladylike fashion. “Me, I know I want to get married someday. A huge, amazing wedding with lots of flowers and pretty dresses, hundreds of guests and the perfect husband.”
“Aren’t you a little young to be thinking about all that?” Chase asked as a grin curved his lips.
“Aren’t you a little old not to be thinking about it?” She countered stubbornly, her brown eyes narrowing in on his face. “Your life will go nowhere without a plan.”
“Does you father say that too?” Chase grinned, humored by their conversation.
“Yes, he does.”
“Well, in many regards, he is right,” Chase admitted and felt a little awkward about explaining himself to a 9 year-old-girl, let alone one he just met that day. “I should have my life together more but I feel like it’s been off track for a long time.”
Maria nodded in understanding.
“My father likes you or you wouldn’t be with me today,” Maria offered as she tilted her head and gave him a curious stare. “My father doesn’t trust anyone to look after me but he likes you. He said you were good with kids.”
“Your father has never seen me with kids,” Chase quietly replied.
“He said he could tell plus he interviewed people where you used to live,” Maria said and turned more in his direction. “They all said you were a really good father.”
“They did?” Chase attempted to hide his surprise but the clever little girl caught it right away.
“Yes, you did not know?” She asked pointedly. “Didn’t you think you were a good father?”
Chase looked away and didn’t reply. Fortunately, he didn’t have to because Maria’s phone beeped and after checking the message, she quickly jumped off the bench.
“We must hurry, papa is on his way to get us.”
Chase was full of relief as he followed her to one last stop, followed by the main entrance, where Jorge and Diego waited outside.
“Did you buy me anything?” Diego automatically asked and Jorge laughed.
“I didn’t buy me anything,” Chase replied as he climbed into the SUV behind Maria, as she quickly fastened her seatbelt.
“Let me guess,” Jorge looked into the rearview mirror, his eyes glancing from Chase to Maria. “She went to every store in the mall, took a lot of pictures of things she wanted and ended up buying something from the first store she went into.”
“Yes,” Chase replied and Maria giggled.
“I liked the mall but it’s not my favorite,” Maria replied and then went on to name all the shopping centers she had been to on their travels, in the order of her preference. This conversation carried them back to the hotel, where Diego had left his car.
The four got out in the parking area with Chase helping Maria down from the SUV. Her feet barely had hit the ground, when she put her arms up in the air to show that she wanted to hug him. Awkwardly, he leaned over and the little girl grasped him around the neck and gave him a rushed kiss on each cheek, then stood back.
“Thank you, Chase,” She gave him a bright smile. “I had a wonderful day.”
Standing upright, he noticed an appreciative smile on Jorge’s face while Diego looked slightly stunned, he returned the compliment to Maria.
“You’re welcome,” Chase affectionately replied. “It was nice getting to know you.”
With that, Maria took her father’s hand, the two said their goodbyes, as they made their way toward a nearby elevator. Diego pointed toward his car and him and Chase silently headed there.
“I bet you had a better day than I did,” Diego muttered once they were inside the car. “Roaming around the mall while I got dragged from meeting to meeting. I’m not even sure buying this building is a great idea but he seems to think we could have a regular spot. I’m not so sure I like that. I want to keep it exclusive but this sounds like anyone can come in at any time. I’m not sure Jolene is going to like this either.”
Chase remained silent as they made their way out of the parking area and on the side street. “I’m sure it won’t be as easy to get in as a normal, everyday club, right?”
“I don’t know, Chase,” Diego shook his head and appeared frustrated. “The problem is you can’t say no to this guy. He owns us. I think Jolene may have better luck talking to him. I think they’re meeting tomorrow.”
Chase nodded and briefly considered the idea when Diego cut into his thoughts.
“Which means you’ll be babysitting again.”
“What? Really?” Chase asked. “Doesn’t he have a nanny or something?”
“Nope,” Diego replied. “His wife had Maria up until recently.”
“What happened?”
Diego didn’t reply but shook his head.
“Did he get custody or something?”
“Do you think someone like Jorge Hernandez goes to court when he wants something?” Diego countered. “Not likely.”
“But it sounds like she travels with him a lot…”
“Nah,” Diego replied as his lips twisted into a stubborn frown. “They travel together on vacations but not while he’s on business. I believe he is trying to get a nanny. Just hope that’s not you or you might be living in Mexico next week.”
“Hey, no no,” Chase replied. “I’m not moving to Mexico to be a nanny.”
“If Jorge Hernandez says you’re moving to Mexico to be a nanny, even temporarily, you’re gonna be doing it. You don’t say no to this guy.”
“But my life is here….”
“I know that and he knows that but do you think he cares?” Diego replied. “That little girl clearly loves you and she is the only person he cares about, other than himself.”
Chase didn’t know what to say.
“Just wait and see, that is all I’m saying,” Diego continued.
“But I don’t even speak Spanish,” Chase countered. “I don’t know anything about Mexico, wouldn’t he prefer someone who can speak their first language or a woman, at least?”
“Yes, of course, he would, but he could see you as a temporary fix while they look for someone suitable.”
“He didn’t say that did he?”
“No,” Diego replied. “But I’ve known this man for years.”
His accent was creepi
ng in which wasn’t a good sign. Chase felt like he was smothering as he processed the news of what might be around the corner. He fell silent with only his thoughts.
“What a birthday for you,” Diego cut in and reminded him of something Chase had somehow forgotten with his busy day. “But that is fine, Jolene and me, we are taking you out to for dinner. So let’s not think about this stuff now. It’s too soon to say anyway.”
Chase reluctantly agreed but wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.
Back at home, he had a quick conversation with Audrey and the kids before getting ready for his dinner with Jolene and Diego. He couldn’t help but note that no one else in his ‘real’ family bothered to text or call him that day, only clarifying the fact that family wasn’t necessarily the people who brought you up.
The Silvas took him to a well-known restaurant in the city’s downtown area, one that was given terrific reviews by foodies and reviewers alike; it was elegant, distinguished and the food was tremendous. Diego and Jolene made a huge deal over him, insisting he drink glass after glass of wine, something that seemed to lighten his dark mood until he felt comfortable enough to broach the subject of the company’s future. He asked what Jolene thought of buying the former nightclub.
“I think it might be good,” Jolene replied thoughtfully while Diego made a face. “My brother, no, he do not think it will be good but I, I think it will be good.”
“Jolene, you’re so naïve,” Diego shook his head. “Part of what people like is the exclusivity.”
“Then tell this to Jorge,” She insisted. “Don’t be scared. He will not shoot you because you have a different opinion.”
Diego looked skeptical and made a face.
“Get Chase to talk to him,” She suggested. “He likes Chase! You know he don’t let just anyone look after his daughter.”
With that, Chase took another long drink as his head swirled around with the events of the day. So many questions arose in his mind, springing to life, they echoed through his head and were only fading with each glass of wine. Until he got up to leave, it hadn’t occurred to him how much he had to drink, as he stumbled out of the restaurant and into the car. The last thing he remembered was Diego helping him inside the condo.
