by Linda Verji
Feeling dejected and discouraged, Aiko pushed her seat back and stood. "Okay. Thank you for taking the time to see me."
"Bye," he returned. His eyes burned into her back as she exited his office.
It was no surprise to her when, later that evening, Gertie told her that Damián had been called away on a sudden business trip to Pasadena.
Avoidance 101.
EVEN AS HE got on that plane headed to his very genuine business trip, Damián knew he was wrong. He shouldn't have caved in to Zoe's wailing and pleas to have her things returned, and he certainly shouldn't have treated Aiko like she was the one being unreasonable. After all, he'd agreed to all the rules she'd given Zoe. But at that moment all he'd wanted was to get her off his back, and he'd reacted in anger instead of apology.
His remorse intensified when on Tuesday morning, Mrs. Hackell informed him that, once again, Zoe had skipped school. He didn't even know that Aiko had gone to see Zoe's teachers until the principal asked if Aiko had spoken to him of their conversation. Obviously, his fiancée was trying hard to meet her end of the bargain; he was the one derailing her.
By the time, his plane landed back in Montgomery on Wednesday afternoon, he was ready to make amends. So he headed straight to the car dealership from the airport. When his task was done, he drove home, excited to see Aiko's reaction when she saw her present.
"Daddy," Zoe greeted him happily when he walked into the house. "You're back."
"Hi, sweetheart." Even as he embraced her, he noted that she was in casual clothes, not her school uniform. He smiled anyway. "Did you miss me?"
"Yes," she said shortly, before waving her phone at him. "Look. I got my new phone. It looks just like yours."
The gadget was an embarrassing reminder of his inability to say no to his daughter. He only glanced briefly in its direction before turning his attention back to Zoe. "Is Aiko home yet?"
His daughter's excitement level immediately dipped. Making a face, she shrugged. "Don't know." Then her voice turned pleading as she said, "I don't like her. Daddy, can't you fire her?"
A stronger man would've told her that that wasn't going to happen. Damián diverted the conversation. "How's Shelley? I haven't seen her in a while."
"She's fine. She's still in school right now," an already distracted Zoe said. "But I'm sure she'll be here when school lets out, or maybe I'll go pick her up."
Damián's eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline. Oh, that was her job now? His daughter was now a chauffeur instead of going to school like the rest of her age-mates. But he didn't say anything.
"Are you hungry?" Zoe continued. "Major made lasagna for lunch. I can ask him to warm some for you."
"Yeah, sure." Damián nodded. "Ask him to bring it with some juice."
"'Kay." Zoe skipped toward the kitchen.
Damián wasn't shocked that she was being agreeable. Whenever she was getting her own way, his daughter could be the nicest person this side of the Pacific - a veritable angel. But cross her and the other Zoe came to play.
A few minutes later, Zoe brought him his meal herself. She stayed with him as he ate, regaling him with stories about hers and Shelley's exploits since he'd been gone. Their easy conversation continued for the next half hour or so until Zoe left to go and pick Shelley up from school. A few minutes after she left, the main gates swung open.
Curious, Damián peeked past the drapes. His heart lurched when he saw Aiko's Taurus cruise into the property. When she parked next to the black, brand new BMW sedan, his lips lifted in an anticipatory smile. He sprawled back on the couch, waiting for her to come in search of him with an excited glint in her eyes and a thank you on her lips.
Only she didn't come in search of him.
"Phia, don't leave your bag on the stairs." He heard her call out as her heels tapped past the family room door. "Pick it up and take it to your room before you and Queenie start playing."
"But Mummy-" Seraphina started.
"Phia," Aiko interrupted firmly, her voice making it sound like she was close to the stairs. "Bag. Upstairs."
Little feet pattered up the stairs, and seconds later, Damián heard heavier footsteps follow; probably Aiko. Did she not know that he was around? No, she knew. After all, his car was also parked in the forecourt. So why couldn't she even come and greet him? Slightly pissed off, he took the stairs two at a time headed for her room. He nearly crashed into Seraphina in the upstairs hallway.
"Hi, Phia."
"Hi, Uncle Dam- Dam-" the child stuttered.
"Damián," he corrected with a warm smile. Realizing that he and Aiko's daughter hadn't really had a chance to get to know one another, he lowered himself on one knee until they were at eye level and asked, "Say, Phia? How do you like it here?"
Seraphina twisted to and fro avoiding his gaze as she responded shyly, "Fine."
He smiled. "Do you like the house?"
She nodded enthusiastically. "It's very pretty. And my room too."
"That's nice. What about everyone else?" he asked. "Are they nice to you?"
Seraphina nodded. "Emily and Queenie play with me, and Major taught me to bake a cake."
Even Zoe's nice to you? he wanted to ask. But afraid of the answer, he held back. He knew he'd failed in a lot of ways with his daughter; she was spoilt and rude, but to think of her being cruel to little children - it didn't bear thinking about.
"Can I go and play with Queenie now?" Seraphina cut into his thoughts.
"Sure." He straightened to his full height.
"Thank you, Uncle Dama." She took off at full speed. A smile on his face, Damián tracked her with his gaze, marveling at how polite she was. She reminded him of Zoe at the age - before she'd discovered that she could get anything she wanted by throwing a fit. What he wouldn't do for Aiko to bring back that Zoe.
Once Seraphina was out of his sights, he made his way down the hall towards her mother's room. A soft rap of his knuckles on the door and he heard her call out, "Come in."
He entered the room to find her by the vanity table rummaging through her purse. When her gaze caught his through the mirror, she visibly stiffened. "Damián? You're back."
"Yes, I am." He smiled as he closed the door behind him. He had to admit that he'd missed her. Being in her presence was like breathing in fresh air after a long period of holding his breath. He wanted to stride over and enclose her in his arms; kiss her.
She, it seemed, hadn't missed him at all. Her tone was less than enthusiastic as she asked, "How was your trip?"
"It was good." He felt compelled to add, "The meeting went well - even though it was sudden and unexpected."
Aiko shot him an eyebrow raise, but she didn't confront him even though, he suspected, she knew he was lying through his teeth. The meeting hadn't been urgent - or even necessary. An official at NASA had called to ask when he'd be in the city to see how the space rover he'd designed for them was performing. Hopping on the opportunity to get away from the drama in his house, Damián was the one who'd suggested he head there immediately.
Her movements deliberate, Aiko set her purse on the vanity table then turned to face him directly. "Was there something you need to talk to me about?"
She was in an odd mood, he noted; not confrontational but not reconciliatory either. However, he was sure that his news would change her mood into forgiving. Leaning against the wall, he asked, "Have you seen it?"
"Have I seen what?"
"Your new car." He grinned. "I wasn't sure what color you liked but black seemed like a safe choice."
She blinked. "You mean the BMW in the driveway? You bought that for me?"
"Yes." His grin widened, in anticipation for her excitement.
It never came. She stared at him for a long silent moment as if analyzing him. Then she shook her head. "No, thank you."
"Excuse me?"
"No. Thank. You," she enunciated clearly as she moved from the vanity table and into the walk-in closet.
Confused by her reaction and una
ble to believe that there was any woman on the planet who'd refuse a gift as lavish as a BMW, Damián followed Aiko into the closet. He found her pulling a dress from a hanger. He suggested, "If you don't like the car's color then we can certainly change-"
"It's not the color." Dress still in hand, she turned to face him and her brown eyes fixed on him. "I don't want the car because one; I already have a car. And two; even if I didn't, I still wouldn't take a car that is blatantly a bribe."
His features locked and grew harder as he snapped, "I'm not trying to bribe you."
"Aren't you?" Amusement filtered into her eyes, and her lips tilted in a half-smile. "Let me get this straight; we argue on Monday, don't resolve it, you skip town to avoid me, then you turn up on Wednesday with a car in tow. And I'm supposed to think you're not trying to buy my forgiveness?" She skirted past him and strode back into her room, mumbling, "I'm not an idiot."
When she put it like that it certainly looked like he was trying to buy her forgiveness. However, that wasn't his intention - at least not consciously. The car was a peace offering. He only wanted to get rid of the tension between them and make her happy. But of course, she just had to read his actions the wrong way.
His gaze followed her as she carried the dress to the ironing board by the long windows. Tense silence descended on the room as she arranged the dress on the iron board then started to iron.
Finally tired of the silent treatment, he grumbled, "If I'd known you'd react this ungratefully I wouldn't have bought the car."
She shot him a look so filled with venom were it a bullet he would be dead. He waited for her to say something, anything, scold him - but she went back to her ironing, completely ignoring him.
Throwing his hands up in frustration, he started for the door. "Fine. You don't want the car; I'll take it back."
CHAPTER 13
Only he didn't take back the car. A week later, the BMW was still around.
"Is it pretty?" Misha asked, her curiosity echoing over the line.
"No," Aiko retorted instinctively. Then she sighed and confessed, "Yes. So pretty."
"Girl, take it," her cousin encouraged with a laugh. "You deserve it for having to deal with all their bullshit."
"Even if I wanted to take it - which I don't - I wouldn't," Aiko huffed. "Every time I see that stupid car I want to slash its tires. The nerve of that man. Instead of saying sorry like a normal person then helping me with Zoe, he goes and gets me a car. A car. Who does that?"
"A typical man." Misha kissed her teeth. "They don't like to apologize. You should see Danny when he messes up. He'll make me breakfast, do the dishes, rub my feet, buy me jewelry… anything except say he's sorry."
Aiko chuckled. "At least he doesn't act like a victim and hide out in his study like Damián does when you call him out."
She could count on one hand how many times she'd seen Damián in these last seven days. Each of those times, they'd only mumbled reluctant hellos as they skirted past each other and any conversation about Zoe. There was so much tension between them, it could've powered a whole country.
He hadn’t been to her room either, which was a mixed bag of blessings. She couldn't stand the thought of him touching her when she was this angry, and she was glad that she didn't have to deal with the guilty feelings that plagued her after their 'sessions'. But, her nights were haunted by memories of his touch.
As much as she tried to convince herself that she didn't want him, her body didn't agree. Each night she went to bed aching for him. Her dreams were filled with erotic imaginings of tangling limbs, twisted sheets and his lips, hands and body on her - in her. Every morning, she woke up feeling more sexually frustrated than the previous day. In fact, it was so bad she was considering taking a tour of the sex-shop that was a few blocks from her office building.
Then there were the jealous thoughts! Damián had proved himself a virile man. If he wasn't getting sex from her, then maybe he was getting it from somewhere else. The thought should've given Aiko pleasure because if he was cheating on her she could end this farce of a marriage immediately, and get one hundred and twenty grand. That was enough money to pay half of their mortgage, and the rest she could find some other way.
Instead, the thought made her insides knot. To think of Damián with another woman, sharing himself with her… No, she didn't even want to imagine it.
Ugh! Why was Damián so… so… so….
"Psh! He'll get tired of running eventually," Misha interrupted Aiko's thoughts. "So will you just let the tension go on until he comes to his senses?"
Aiko sighed. "Girl, I don't know."
Dealing with this father-daughter duo was no picnic. Just the other day, she swore she'd seen a gray hair on her head, and she was sure that it was because of them. By the end of six years, she'd have a full head of gray hairs.
"I don't feel like talking to him again," she told her cousin. "But the longer we keep up with this, the worse Zoe gets. She hasn't been to school since last week and I can't even confront her because I'm afraid her dad is going to sabotage me."
"I do not envy you," Misha said, softly. "You should talk to Femi. She's the only one who's got experience dealing with teenagers and could give you some tips."
"You think?"
"Yeah!" Misha said, then chuckled. "Just be prepared for the constant phone calls asking for status updates, and maybe even a visit. Last week, I made the mistake of asking her for her recipe for those delicious red velvet cupcakes. Do you know your sister made me bake them while on Skype so she could make sure I was doing it right?"
Aiko joined in her laughter. The cousins chatted for a few more minutes before saying their goodbyes. Long after the phone call ended, Aiko stayed in her bedroom trying to figure out how she was going to handle the situation. It was tempting to pretend that nothing was wrong, let Zoe and Damián be, and keep getting paid. But she hated to stand by while Zoe's life went to the toilet just because no one was brave enough to set her on the right path.
No, she had to try again. Maybe asking Femi for help wasn't such a bad idea. But first she had to try everything else including having another go at Zoe.
Aiko left her room and crossed the hallway to knock on Zoe's door. There was no response, but Aiko could hear the sound of the TV blaring inside the room, so she knocked again. This time she heard the patter of footsteps edging toward the door, then the door-knob turned. Aiko was surprised when she saw who opened the door.
"Phia, what are you doing in here?" Aiko asked as her daughter stepped aside to let her in.
"Watching cartoons with Zoe," Seraphina answered innocently.
Aiko glanced past her daughter to Zoe who was seated in the cradle-chair, playing with her phone and pretending not to see her. She turned her attention back to Seraphina to make sure the older girl hadn't scarred her. Zoe wasn't exactly known for her ability to sheathe her tongue and who knew what she could've said to the child.
But Seraphina looked just fine, even excited as she said, "She taught me how to make voices like Captain Hook. Hear, Mommy. Err… I'll make you walk the plank." The little girl broke into giggles that were enough to draw a smile from her mother.
Aiko turned wide eyes to Zoe, surprised and delighted that the girl was capable of being kind. It gave her hope that the situation wasn't as hopeless as she thought. To Seraphina, she said, "That's really nice of Zoe. Did you say thank you to her?"
"Thank you, Zoe."
Zoe mumbled something under her breath, even as she changed the channel from the cartoon to a reality show featuring some celebrity or other.
"Baby, why don't you go ask Major if dinner is almost ready while I talk to Zoe?" Aiko asked.
"Okay." Seraphina rushed off.
Once she was gone, Aiko strode into the room and settled on the edge of Zoe's bed. "Zoe, I talked to your Math teacher today. He says that you're falling behind in class. What's going on?"
Zoe's response was a roll of the eyes then she increased the volume of the T
V to an almost ear-splitting din. Aiko rose from the bed, strode to the back of the TV and yanked its cord from the electrical outlet.
"Hey, I was watching that," Zoe yelled.
"And, I was talking to you," Aiko countered calmly. "We need to do something about your Math grades, otherwise you'll have to take summer classes. You don't want that, do you?"
Zoe shot her a dirty look.
Ignoring it, Aiko asked, "Are you falling behind because the class is difficult, or is it because you've missed a lot of the classes?"
"Fuck off," the girl hollered. Tossing the remote control to the floor, she stood and padded toward the door. Luckily, she left her phone behind.
Aiko bent and picked up the phone, but not before Zoe noticed it and rushed back toward her.
"Give me back my phone," she yelled.
"It's not okay to talk to me - or anyone else in this house - in that way." Aiko held the phone away from the yelling girl. "I'm taking away your cell-phone until-"
"Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you," Zoe shrieked.
Obviously she wasn't in the mood for a calm conversation, so Aiko said, "When you're calm, come downstairs and we'll talk about you getting your phone back."
"I'm going to tell my dad," Zoe threatened before racing out of the room.
Aiko heaved a tired sigh as she followed her charge out of the room. If past actions were an accurate predictor of future behavior, Damián was probably going to buy his daughter another phone before the end of the day.
Her prediction was wrong - but not by far.
Damián didn't buy Zoe another phone. Instead, he sent Gertie to collect the current one from Aiko. That coward. He didn't even have the balls to come and take the phone himself so she could see his face as he did it.
By Saturday morning, Aiko was ready for a break from everything Colter related. Fortunately, she was spending the weekend at her family home. She woke up excited and ready to go, go, go. Just as she was descending the stairs in search of Seraphina so they could leave, the front door opened and Damián's father walked into the house.
