“Cinderella said she’s taking me on the rollercoaster.” Brianna said and giggled.
I squatted down to meet her and frowned. “I see how it is. You don’t want to hang out with me anymore? Is that it?”
Brianna shook her head and hugged me tight. “No. I love you,” she said. She was starting to sound like Chris.
I laughed and reciprocated her words. “Tell Cinderella to be nice to you,” I told her as she waddled away. Brianna looked back at me and smiled. I waved until she was too far away to see me anymore.
“So,” I heard Chris say. “What do you wanna do now?” My stomach growled to answer for me. “Hungry?” he asked.
I nodded. We’d been walking Brianna around the Magic Kingdom for five hours and even though she was the sweetest thing I’d ever laid eyes on, toddlers were tiring if you gave them enough time. He took me by the hand and led me to the front of the park. “Where are we going?” I asked wearily.
“It’s my favorite place to eat when we come to Disney World.” We stepped into a restaurant that was just off of Main Street USA “This place has got the best ice cream ever.”
I let him lead me to the far booth. This was funny, I didn’t fee like wrenching my hand from his or spitting on him or ever calling him a jerk. I actually wanted him to hold my hand and although the thought of this scared the hell out of me, I wanted a hug. Don’t ask but it was just something about the way he interacted with Brianna that softened my heart. Chris had told me that she was the one who they’d brought along to change my mind about Joey but I didn’t see the connection. I reached for a menu but Chris held my hand down before I could raise it to my face.
“Let me order. I know something you’ll love. It’s the best dish here.”
The skin on my wrist tingled underneath his fingertips. This was definitely not good. “Okay,” I said and curled my lip into a tight smile. I needed to call Christian, now. I needed to hear his voice. Remind myself of why I loved him so much and hated Chris with a burning passion. “Um, Would you excuse me?”
Chris didn’t let go. His eyes were filled with brown sorrow. His truculent expression stopped my heart for a second. ”Where are you going?” he asked sheepishly.
“I need to make a phone call.”
“You have your cell phone right? Why can’t you just call from here?”
“It’s private.”
“I won’t listen. I’m not like that, just stay. Please.” I looked at him, incredulous. “I mean, Finally I get you alone and you want to leave?”
I wanted to call Christian but I couldn’t tell Chris that, it would break his heart. “Why do you care?” I asked myself. “He didn’t care about your feelings a few years ago. Have you forgotten?” Hell no I didn’t forget! I shot him and irate glare. “Christopher Alan, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull but it almost worked. Almost. Where’s JC huh? Where’s Lance and Justin? I know they’re snooping around here somewhere, just fess up.”
Chris closed his eyes and let out and exasperated sigh. “Can we just forget about the prank? That was years ago and I said I was sorry. You don’t understand Abby. For the past two and a half years, my life has been abysmal. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I can’t even breathe without thinking about you. At night I see Joey with Regina…”
I snorted.
“..Justin with Asia, Lance and Beverley, JC with Pamela and I’m all alone. They seem so happy.” He sighed. “I want that Abby, I need that. And I need it with you.”
No one had ever said anything even remotely like that to me in my entire life. Chris sure was good with words but I wasn’t going to let my guard down that fast. “So why now Chris? Why after nearly three years? After I find a boyfriend and my life finally starts making sense again? I went to London a broken wreck. And BBMAK, they made me what I am now and you’re saying that I should forget all of that because now I’m back in the States and you want me? I should just leave them?”
“Wait, what are you saying? Listen to yourself. They this, they that…I thought Christian was your boyfriend but you make is seem like you’re married to the whole group.”
“In my heart I am.”
Chris rose to meet my intensity. “Well until I see three rings on your finger, I’m not going to give up. I’ve never given up on anything and I’m not about to start.”
“Can I get you two anything to drink?” A timorous waitress interjected.
“Come back to us later.” Chris said without even looking in her direction.
“But…you two are the only ones here.”
“She speaks the truth, Satan,” I said with nonchalance.
“Thank you Dante,” he said sarcastically and sat down again. I joined him.
The waitress who had caught us in a tiff swallowed hard and recited the characteristics of the day’s specials and the Soup of The Day. I did as I said I would and let Chris order for me. We ate in virtual silence but our eyes said enough. He knew I was starting not to hate him anymore and I knew he knew he same. We tipped our waitress heavily and Chris signed a napkin for her “cousin”. As soon as we left the restaurant, Brianna came running over to us and gave us both a simultaneous hug, her right arm and around my right leg and her left arm around Chris’ left.
“Uncle Chris, look what Cinderella gave me!” she said and showed him a charm bracelet with a Cinderella motif.
Uncle? Uncle Chris? Chris had sisters but none were old enough to have kids yet, I didn’t think so anyway. He opened his eyes wide and glared at it as if he’d never seen anything so sumptuous. We took her hands again, just like before but this time she brought our hands together and clasped them tight. She ran a few steps ahead then turned around to examine her work. It must not have been enough. She took Chris’s other hand and brought it to mine. “What’re you doing Spaniels?” Chris inquired of our little Aphrodite.
I looked at him and laughed, “Spaniels?”
“When she was little we’d sing to her and her favorite song was ‘Goodnight Sweetheart’ the Spaniels version so…” I nodded and tried to hold in a giggle. “ I just thought of it one day, I don’t think she gets it though.” Our stomachs pressed together, again at the hands of Brianna. “What you doing?” Chris asked again.
“Kissy,” she demanded. “Cinderella says the Kingdom is a place for love and Uncle Chris loves Abby so..”
I could feel my face getting red. “We’ll kissy,” Chris agreed, “but not right now. Maybe later okay?”
Brianna must have figured it was good enough because she simply shrugged and looked for something else she wanted to do. I was hoping we wouldn’t run into any other crewmembers while Bri demanded we hold hands. I didn’t want this getting back to Christian. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky.
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