Part 5

Things didn’t die down as quickly as I would’ve liked after the, ‘incident.’  No, do you think that Faith would just let it go, she picked on me shamelessly, getting her jollies at my expense; always making comments about, ‘Billy,’ as in billy-goat, the new love of my life.  She tormented me so much that I was actually ashamed to show my face the next morning at breakfast.

I did a few deep breaths, mustering up the courage to face them, and I say them because little Amanda had taken to teasing me too.  I blew out a nervous breath, hiding on the staircase and thought back to the night before and… Faith.  She was laughing and said something to the extent of… “Don’t worry about what people will say B; you love who you love, you just can’t help it and before you know it, we’ll have little chupacabras running round.” 

I was like chupa what?  So she filled in the blanks for me, saying, “You know, little goat boys but don’t worry, regardless of how they look, we’ll still love them.”

I rolled my eyes and straightened out my clothes, getting the courage to enter the kitchen with them and I did.  I walked in as if I was cool, calm and collected and sat right across from my teaser and tormentor.

She put the paper down and half smiled at me, as if she was appreciative of my courage.  She got up, got my plate and sat it in front of me and poured me a big glass of milk.  Of course I stared at the milk… I knew it was just a ploy but I wasn’t going to let her get the best of me now, no, I had to get back to the top and I would no matter what.

She sat back down, her brow arched, smirking at me as I eyed the milk.  She picked the paper up and started reading it again and I took in a deep, nerve steeling breath and grasped hold of the glass.

“It’s still good milk.”  I stated flippantly and lifted the glass to my lips, drinking.

“What makes you so sure that its milk?”  Faith stated casually from behind her paper.

I… spewed… milk… all over the table.  The thought that it could be something else instead of milk literally did me in, I could not drink it, much less swallow any and she probably ruined it for me for life. 

I glared up at her, wiping the spittle from my lip.

She lowered the paper and smiled at me.  We sat there, sizing each other up for quite some time… well until she went back to reading the paper.

I looked back down at the milk and thought to myself, dignity’s over-rated anyway and there’s always tomorrow… and there’s payback, gotta love payback.  I looked at Faith and smiled.

It’s been a month now… and the goat, it’s still in love.  Seriously, it follows me everywhere.  One morning I heard something moving outside my window, so I go and look out and low and behold the goat is peeping in at me and Faith, the sweetheart that she is, has been shamelessly taunting me and in a way like only she can.  I’m mortified.

It’s actually kind of crazy how well we’ve been getting along.  Well, minus the ‘me’ freaking out over Amanda wearing my three hundred dollar designer shoes to jump in mud puddles with.  That was just ugly.  She cried and my ranting just up and died on me.  Here I was, mad as hell over something that was inanimate and here she is, just playing and having fun, not a clue to the world that what she was doing was wrong.

I shamed myself.  But that little child taught me something that day and that something is that children love you completely and wholly.  And they’re forgiving.  I yelled, acted like a real ass and yet she still clung to me, still looked up at me with those big blue eyes and still put her heart out for me to see and it literally tore me to pieces. 

So I wiped her tears, hugged her and apologized then donned a pair of those expensive, designer shoes and went skipping through the mud with Amanda.  We had a ball.  And of course I learned the value of putting up things that couldn’t be replaced, out of reach and out of prying little hands.

I’d started spending a bit of time with Amanda in the mornings, giving Faith free time to work.  I remembered back to a few days ago, we were just sitting in the swing on the front porch, watching Amanda play in the sprinkler and I suddenly wondered just how was she earning a living.  I mean, I hadn’t seen her going to work since I’d been here.  And before I knew it, I’d blurted out.  “Just how are you making ends meet?  I haven’t seen you work?  You do have a job, don’t you?”

She smiled and nodded, looking me right in the eyes, which was still an uneasy feeling for me.  I mean, Faith, looking you in the eyes and speaking.  It was unnerving.  She pulled in a soft breath, readied herself, almost laughing, stating.  “Well, that’s kind of funny.”  She paused, before continuing.  “I write spam.”  She stated casually.

“What?”  I asked, looking at her as if she was crazy.

“Spam.  Filler, Ad’s for companies to send out to the masses.”  She replied.

I scrunched up my forehead, confused, but decided to let it go.  So she’s working.  But anyway… that’s how I’d come to care for Amanda for a few hours a day.  See, Faith had been working late at night, after everything had been taken care of and way after Amanda had been tucked in.  It just seemed natural to offer my time, to help out a bit. 

I guess it would be an understatement at this point to say that I was growing attached to them.  I felt comfortable, at home and I just adored Amanda.   I still had a problem with some of her habits, such as flinging her panties in the bushes and hightailing it around the house naked.

Which brings us to today.  Faith’s working and it’s a rule, during the hours of 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Faith is not to be bothered, unless it’s an emergency.

Okay, so I’m making a late breakfast and I can hear Amanda in the living room, playing an old electronic keyboard.  So I’m smiling and concocting a breakfast for champions when I realize its suddenly gotten quiet.  I’ve learned; quiet is the devil’s friend.  I removed the breakfast from the stove’s eye; learned that too and started cleaning my hands, heading right for the living room when the music started up again. 

“Whew.”  I instantly relaxed and returned back to the stove. 

I got the breakfast ready and went to get Amanda, who was sitting on the small bench playing the piano, her booted feet swinging back and forth, her guns hanging off to the side, her hat bobbing in time with the tune she was attempting.  First thing I noticed were those little butt cheeks shining for the whole world to view.

“Amanda.”  I got her attention.

“Why are you naked?”  I asked, patting my foot and crossing my arms, my best attempt at appearing, matronly and in control.

She threw her little head back, still mashing on the keys, swinging her feet and stated.  “I just like wearing my body.”

She went back to playing, rocking side to side, in what I’m assuming to be, her rendition of Ray Charles. 

I couldn’t help but smile and shake my head.  She was definitely Faith’s child all right.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, Faith doesn’t play the piano naked, at least I don’t think she does… but I wouldn’t put it past her.  Hell, at this point in time… I don’t think I could even trust myself not to trip the light nudetastic.

So later on in the day; we’re all outside, me, sitting in my usual place on the steps, sipping lemonade and watching Faith and Amanda as they dug and weeded through flowers.

It was such a nice, easy flowing activity, and it just seemed to move in slow motion.  Faith in her cut off overalls, her hands covered in work gloves, sitting on her knees in the dirt and pulling out the unwanted and batting away the occasional… creature… and Amanda, wearing a big ole floppy sunhat that looked like something out of an old oriental movie, bobbing up and down when she walked. 

So I sat and I watched them dig through the earth and all of a sudden it was as if the entire world faded and all that was left was the two of them.  The sun shown down behind them, illuminating them, giving them a bright backdrop and the trees overhead cast just enough haze to make them viewable and surreal. 

Amanda and Faith looked at each other, smiled and then leaned in for the sweetest mother/daughter kiss.  Amanda’s little grubbed hand palmed the side of her mother’s face, leaving a lasting impression of the tenderness that was occurring.

They rubbed their noses together, smiling at each other and I watched in complete awe as that little hand slowly slid from Faith’s face.

I caught Faith’s eyes for a second before turning my attention back to Amanda and I watched that big sunhat flop as she galloped off to do something else.  I looked back at Faith, who’d started back to work in the flowers when something touched my arm.

I turned and saw Amanda, holding up a small, yellow daffodil for me to take.  I looked at the offering and back to Amanda and slowly reached out to take the flower.  She smiled big and leaned in and gave me the softest peck on the lips, turned and pranced off to play. 

I looked at the flower and my heart literally melted and I realized that even though I’d been around the world, did everything imaginable, that I’d missed the most important thing, life.

I turned and looked into the eyes of Faith.  We held each other’s gaze, each looking with intent and fascination.  She finally broke the hold by half smiling and slowly returning to her work.

That’s how I spent the rest of the afternoon.  I watched them, completely at peace on the outside but on the inside, my emotions were completely out of control.

The next day was quiet, too quiet.  Faith was bothered by something she received in the mail and her somberness filtered over to Amanda and that’s how we spent our day.  Faith worried and paced, which was something I was totally unprepared for and Amanda mirrored her mom’s anxiousness.  I watched them carefully, my fear and worry also building up. 

The evening brought with it the cause of all the day’s problems; Faith’s husband showed up and it was a complete mess.

I have never seen Faith so out of it or incapable of dealing or handling anything, but her emotions were all over the place anyway, she was either almost laughing or crying at any given point and this was not good for her or the baby. 

I could hear them yelling from the other room.  She’d asked me to take Amanda and I did and hopefully I did enough to distract her from what was going on around us.  I’d given her my gameboy and hooked up the headset so she’d be into the game zone and while she played I listened.

I was already angry, I mean, he showed up and just completely turned his back on Amanda, as if she was some sort of demon magnet and now listening to him yell about the other baby and its genetic composition, well it only infuriated me more, not to mention, he was dead set against signing away his parental rights to either child, much less signing divorce papers.  I leaned against the door, listening closer, listening to him threaten her with taking the children and worse if she didn’t give into his demands.  I stood there waiting for Faith to kick his ass… and the unthinkable started occurring.

I could hear Faith’s resolve melting and I wanted to scream, to run into the room and bash his head in.  He didn’t come to check on his family, he came to see what they had that he could take from them, even tried the age old, if you don’t give me this or that, as in money, that he’d make waves, this was just not happening.  My adrenaline and anger surged.

It suddenly got quiet and my last nerve snapped.  I glanced back at Amanda and quietly went to the drawer where Faith was keeping the legal contracts, the one for the divorce and the one for custody of the kids.  I grabbed them, a pen and slipped outside.

He finally exited the house and I was waiting, anxious to see him, hit him if need be, hell, I wanted him to say or do something, cause I was sure as hell ready to give it back to him.  He strode up to me, looking as if he’d just won the lottery and every cell in my body quickened and instantly, the slayer in me woke up.

I hoisted him up off the ground and basically pissed all over the nearby territory, marking Faith, the children, the home as mine, claimed them without even asking for their permission.  It took every ounce of strength I had just to not kill him but he had a job to do, and I knew I wouldn’t maim him before he completed it.

I thrust out the contracts on the children and the divorce and waited as he signed them, daring him to cause waves or make any sudden moves.  He handed me the contracts and I grabbed him, making him stay put until I eyed them over.  I tried to sign as a witness but acted like I couldn’t…. so I got him to turn around, to let me use his back as a sort of make shift table. 

I scribbled my name and then stuck the pin into his shoulder blade and smiled triumphantly as he made his leave, calling out over his shoulder something about dykes.  I watched his car until it faded from my view.  I wasn’t worried, I knew, that with my threats and the knowledge that he had of the afterlife, they’d never see him again… and I wouldn’t have to kick his ass or have him ate up by some demon or something.  Didn’t hurt one bit that I’d mentioned that last bit to him either. 

I turned to go back into the house and found Faith standing there watching me.  I stopped, unsure as to what her reaction was going to be.  I was thinking she was going to flip out, angry that I’d intervened between her and her husband.  I waited, fearing the worst.

She stood frozen, unmoving and just watched me.  I finally swallowed and walked up the steps toward her, only stopping when I got right in front of her.

“I’m sorry, I know it wasn’t my place…”  I tried to explain, but she nodded her head no, silencing me and continued to look at me, so I obliged and waited for whatever was fixing to happen, to occur.

We stood there quietly, taking each other in, until she grimaced and pressed her hand against her stomach.  I closed the distance, instantly cupping her hand, trying to determine if she was all right.  She removed her hand and placed hers on top of me, holding my palm against her stomach and that’s when I felt a tiny little fluttering. 

I smiled, glanced at Faith and almost laughed before the seriousness of the day got to me.  I slowly removed my hand, straightened up and faced her.  She looked at me for a bit and then finally hesitantly reached out, nodded, letting me know everything was all okay, took my hand, entwining our fingers together and pulled me behind her into the house.

I closed the door and smiled as I locked it.

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