Halloween and Thanksgiving have already happened, it's now the week before Christmas. I just bought the house up the street and a couple streets over, 176 Milk Street and also 40 Maple Street behind it. The one on Milk is a triple decker, bought for the intent of Mickie moving in around June or July of next year. 40 Maple is for myself and Elise is more than welcome to come and go as she pleases, she and the kids are getting the keys to my houses for Christmas. She had a small get together for me and Deven to attend in order to celebrate her birthday, Nick popped in with Aaron and the younger one screamed her nickname from him ages ago when she answered the door.
The upcoming weekend is a crazy one. She has to put up with her ex, the kids don't care for the guy due to the simple fact that he's hardly ever around. They've told me he hasn't really cared about them since day one, his focus being video games and what most teen boys think of. If you need me to further explain what most teen boys think of, refer to my first solo album after the group and I'm sorry that you had been raised in the dark ages because you definitely missed a good part of nature and life. Tomorrow begins the day she has to put up with her ex, being Christmas Eve and all and thank goodness it's only for about an hour after lunch at the social services office the next town over. Nick plans on taking her and the kids, Aaron meeting them there while Deven and I stay here to prepare for a special dinner. She won't tell me the traditions she and Elise have with the kids, but keeps assuring me that I'll enjoy it.
~*~9:35am, Christmas Eve morning~*~
Elise is making sure the kids grab the right clothes from the hall armoire, obviously aggravated about having to put up with this situation just because he lives in Rhode Island and this is one of the extremely RARE times that happen to be convenient for him. She's muttering curses and saying things in a foreign language, Japanese is my best guess. "She's speaking in Hmong and Japanese," Deven quietly informs me.
"She looks mainly European or white."
"Her biological sperm donor is French, Blackfoot Native American, Japanese and Hmong. Her mom is British English, Irish, Scottish and Italian with a small sprinkle of Ecuadorian in there for good measure. My advice to you: do NOT piss her off."
"What's this?" I demand, pointing in Elise's direction of the kitchen from the red love seat.
"This is very mildly annoyed. Say nothing about the visit with Percy today, I'm not fixing to deal with her mood."
"How bad does it get?"
"Have you seen an Asian Ecuadorian Gaelic Native American Italian get pissed and beat the fucking hell out of a punching bag to the point of it bursting open and having to buy a new one?"
I furrow my brows, scratching the back of my head. "Not that I can recall."
"You see that oven door?" She points to the object and I look at it.
"The edge of the top looks dented," I observe.
"Little miss Elise did that when he called two months ago."
"How mad had she been?"
"Just a little past aggravated." She leaves the smallest amount of space between her finger and thumb. I raise my eyebrows in surprise.
"Deven! Stop scaring him! Especially if he really wants to chance anything, he's got to learn it on his own!"
~*~12:49~*~
We've slept together a few times; but more often than not, we just lay in her bed and hold each other. We've talked endlessly and I've kept the fact that I own two houses near her hidden for nearly three weeks, discussing everything else. We haven't gone any further than friends with added incentive, she's not comfortable enough about the idea yet. She has told me that her kids like it when I'm here because Elise is much calmer.
I watch Deven pull things out for homemade fried chicken from scratch, Alfredo and vegetables. I'm watching Deven cook her ass off for the better part of half an hour or so, her cell ringing causing her to wipe her hands on the small towel on the counter next to her and interrupting our discussion. She looks at the caller ID and widens her eyes when she looks at me, answering it on speaker. "Hey, Beatrice," she cautiously answers it, placing it on the counter piece near the table.
"I'm gonna korsu the onaka!" Elise screams.
"He didn't show?"
"No, he called me AFTER I had been there for fifteen minutes to CANCEL cuz he didn't wanna FUCKING DRIVE THIS FAR TO SEE HIS KIDS!"
"Elise," I cautiously greet her.
"I'm sorry you have to listen to it, but it's either-" she tries to justify when I cut her off.
"I understand, I really do. Are you driving?"
"Yes, I'm almost back home now, maybe five minutes till I park in the driveway."
"Alright. Make sure you let me know when you get here and send the kids in ahead of you. I have a place I think you need to visit, somewhere Doog showed me and he said when you would get mad is the best time to take you there. He mentioned something about having something like this place you two used to run off to as kids in Tampa."
"It's 23 damned degrees outside and you want me to go somewhere with three inches on the clearest road NOW?" she shrieks at me.
"I'll drive if you feel safer," I offer.
"Yeah, you drive cuz I'm DONE driving."
"That's fine, Mikkaila."
"You know my first name? But how?" Her tone is softer and it was enough to calm her.
"I talk to Nick, I've known his sorry ass since 95 or 96 and he described a girl who looks just like you do and her name is Mikkaila, but just about everyone calls her Elise because it just so happens to be her second middle name and she likes it better. In my opinion, the name Mikkaila is much more beautiful and unique and it shows that she happens to be Hawaiian."
"You and Doog talk far too much and way too often," she laughs. "Yes, I'm of Hawaiian descent. Fine, we can go to this place you're thinking of."
"Text me when the kids get out of the car."
"Will do."
Elise hangs up the phone and Deven eyes me as if I'm a foreign life form, prompting me to stick my tongue out at her. "I knew her as Elise for the first year and a half, I learned her first name during the divorce when the judge called the case. How in the fuck did you really find out?"
"I said Nick told me and he told me just before Thanksgiving."
Deven and I haven't broken eye contact since Elise called her phone until just now, I get Elise's text saying the kids are on the way into the house. I slip out the back door. I climb in the driver's seat and turn toward the park up the road, knowing I'm going to take her to the quarries to sit on the rocks that over look the city. Nick said it should calm her down and she can scream all she wants up there. "I'm sorry today has been frustrating for you."
"Thanks. I just need to scream and bitch and rant."
"We're going to the perfect place for you to do that."
"Doog showed you?"
"Yes," I reply with a smirk.
We get to the top of the rock and I stand back, allowing her to scream away her stress and frustrations. After a good fifteen minutes, she walks over to me and I hold her as she cries. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Mikkaila."
"You keep saying it wrong. It's pronounced 'Mi-kai-lah', not 'Mi-kay-lah'. It's why some of my family and Doog's call me Kai."
"That's why his youngest siblings kept calling you Kai," I observe. I kiss the top of her head. "Sorry about that."
"It's a small thing. Doog has me saved in his phone as Mikki or Kaila, I've had fans of his who have stolen his phone call me and grill me."
~*~3:45pm~*~
Her Samsung Galaxy S13 rings, a ringtone I haven't heard before. She laughs, answering the call. "Yes, milady. Alright, we can be there in a few. Quarries. Talking. I'm not an exhibitionist like you. Ok. Love you more." She looks over her shoulder at me. "Deven says we have to head home if we wanna eat."
"It's almost done?"
"Yes."
