Across the Pond Ch. 05

"Really?" I cocked an eyebrow at her. She was a worse liar than I was.

Sam looked like she was about to say something else until she sighed heavily and dropped her arms down to her sides. "Shit, I suck at lying. It really is good to see you, though!"

She hopped off the platform and hugged me tightly. She was a little shorter than I was so she kind of nuzzled into my boobs until I laughed. She reminded me of Tess, if Tess had sky-blue twists and talked a mile a minute. "Max called and said you were back and if I wanted to take you dress shopping and then to lunch because you love food like I like food and I was like, duh, of course I will! And then he said you have his credit card but you felt weird spending his money, but I have no problem blowing his cash so he made me promise to make you do some mild damage to it. How are you?" she asked when she finally let me go.

I liked this chick. "I'm good, happy to be back but I have no idea what the fuck to wear to an upscale five-year-old's birthday party?"

"It's not even her birthday, she just has Kenzie's flair for drama." She poured a glass flute full of Dom Pérignon Rosé and handed it to me, giving me cheers before I took a sip. "Seriously, I'm so glad you're back. Maxie's been all moody and mopey and seriously bumming my trip. He sounded giddy when I talked to him, well, as giddy as he's gonna sound anyway. Let's try on some clooooothes," she sang in perfect time with the clerk showing up with an armload of dresses for me to try on and being Sam she had her "Vogueing New Clothes" playlist ready to go on her phone.

I tried on six different dresses while talking to her behind the thick curtain. She told me all about how her and Kenzie met at a club in New York, how they got married almost immediately after reuniting three years later and split their time between Brooklyn and London before settling here once their daughter was adopted. She was animated and funny, my sides hurt from laughing so hard. It made me realize how damn morose I'd been lately, and even if it was only for a little while it felt good not to take everything so damn seriously.

"That's it! That's the one!" She declared loudly when I emerged in my seventh and final dress. I stepped up to the mirror and wondered what the hell she was thinking. It wasn't that the dress wasn't gorgeous - an indigo, haltered floor-length gown, alluring and airy with a flattering surplice neckline and a sweeping, swooshing skirt - it was that the cut in the back went to my tailbone and there was no way I'd be able to wear a bra with it. "Are you sure this is appropriate? I might hurt someone with these things flying free," I adjusted my boobs for emphasis.

"Don't worry about that, it would be a crime for you not to get this dress. It's perfect for tonight." She came up behind me and fluffed up some of the skirt. "You know, I didn't wear white when I married Kenz? My dress was purple and so was my hair. The perks of getting hitched in Vegas."

"Lucky." I meant it too, I wasn't really a girly-girl when it came to that stuff. I started gathering my hair on my head and turning to see myself at all angles. I did look pretty damn good. "I only want, like, five people at my wedding. No rabbi, no church, no fancy cake that looks pretty but you can't eat. I want to do it outside at night with twinkle lights and a lot of whiskey. No shoes, either."

"Ooh, sounds fun. I bet Maxie would like that too."

I snorted at the thought. "Yeah right. I couldn't see him getting married barefoot, I'm sure his wedding cost a fortune."

"Well yeah, it was a couple mil, from what I heard anyway. But that's not him, he's got dumb money but he never spends any of it except on suits. I mean, the Twatwaffle-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named spent his money like it was oxygen and the bitch was born without working lungs but that's not what he's like. I see it in his eyes when he talks about you, now he's getting something he's never really had before."

"And what's that? A bitch with a big booty and a mouth like a sailor?"

"That, and," she looked up at me and gave me the sincerest look, "Love. He gets love from you, Sydney. That's all Max has ever really wanted and now he has it. It's pretty groovy if you ask me."

I had to look away, choosing to focus on the price tag hanging from the waistline. "Now he gets love and a four-thousand-dollar bill too. Man, I haven't even gotten shoes yet."

"You get used to it," Sam tried to reassure me with glee in her voice. "C'mon, they have tiaras here too. Mild damage is about to turn to moderate."

***

IX. As Is.

We shopped for another hour before grabbing a bite to eat, and afterwards Sam took me back to her house to hang out until dinner and so I could meet her daughter. Unfortunately, when we got there all we found was McKenzie running around with nothing on but a pair of jeans and an angry red face while he yelled, "Poppy-Jacqueline Wilson Sinclair, you come out this instant! You are in a world of trouble, young lady!"

"Whoa, what's with the yelling?" Sam interrupted and temporarily distracted him from his tirade for a brief hello, and I do mean brief. "Your daughter bit another boy at school today and the headmistress is threatening expulsion if she doesn't apologize," he explained.

"Again?" Sam asked tiredly, dropping our packages by the door. "Where's your shirt?"

"Have a guess at where she hid - and made a considerable mess in - the moment we returned home?"

"...not my studio!" She hauled ass upstairs and about six seconds later started screaming for her kid to come out. Kenzie took a deep breath and came over, giving me a quick kiss on each cheek. I was momentarily sidetracked by how fit he was - again, it was ridiculous how good looking the three of those boys were. "Good to see you, love. I apologize, we're a bit out of sorts at the moment."

"Hey, I'm an expert at hide and seek, why don't you go upstairs and help Sam clean up while I find the kid? Give me ten minutes." He apologized again and ran up after his wife. I started walking around their house, thinking of all the places I would hide whenever I got in trouble with my own parents. Living room and kitchen were too easy. Dining room table had no tablecloth so that was a no-go. I started opening pantry and closet doors when I reached the laundry room, I was about to turn the light back off and look somewhere else until I heard a sniffle coming from...the sink?

Shutting the door behind me I went to the washing sink, bent down and opened the two cabinet doors - low and behold, there was a beautiful, leggy kid in a prep school uniform, furiously rubbing green detergent into Kenzie's stained shirt. She looked at me with teary, puppy dog eyes. "Who are you?"

I smiled at her calmly. "I'm Sydney. I'm your Uncle Max's girlfriend. Your name is Poppy-Jacqueline, right?"

She thrust the shirt at me and pleaded, "Can you fix this please?"

"Let me see." I held out my hand and she put the shirt in in, letting me assess the damage. Red paint on white fabric. "Sorry kiddo, I think the shirt is done for."

"Papa is going to be so mad," she whimpered.

"I think your Papa will just be happy you're okay. He's looking for you, you know. He said you bit another kid at school. Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"It wasn't my fault! Hughie kept taking all my paper at art time, then at music he called me a mu...mull...Milano because Papa is white and Momma and me is brown and his parents are just white and then he pulled my hair when I was playing hopscotch and I had to bite his arm to make him stop! But Miss Hunter only saw me bite him so I got in trouble and she called Papa." She started crying. "But he just yelled at me and when I came home I tried to draw him a picture but then he yelled at me again for being in Momma's room and I didn't mean to squeeze the bottle so hard!"

"Aww, it'll be okay. Do you want a snuggle?" Not knowing who I was didn't stop her from falling out of the cabinet and crawling into my lap sobbing. I rocked her gently and rubbed her back until her cries turned to a soft whimper. I kissed the top of her dark hair that smelled like coconut hair product. Poor kid. I used to get into fights when I was first adopted, being the only black person at my private school fucked me up sometimes too.

I don't know how long we stayed in there but eventually she did stop crying. By the time Sam and Kenzie opened the door they found their kid in my lap, braiding my hair into pigtails and telling me all the classroom gossip before her dad interrupted us. "Alright young lady, come here and explain."

Poppy-Jacqueline looked at me warily, I gave her the go-ahead motion and a gentle push off my legs. She moved slowly but once she was in front of then she told them what happened in a small, timid voice. Once she was done apologizing Kenzie's face was again flushed with anger. "Excuse me, I need to make a phone call."

He stormed out of the room before Poppy-Jacqueline could ask, "Momma, what's a Milano?"

Sam crouched down to bring herself to her daughter's level. "I think Hughie called you a mulatto, sweetie. A mulatto is a not-nice word for someone who is half-black and half-white. It was a mean thing to for him to say and I understand why you were upset. If he ever says it again, you tell Miss Hunter - and if she doesn't believe you, you tell her to call me or Papa. And no one has the right to put their hands on you, so if he pulls your hair again you kick him as hard as you can until he stops. I'll deal with the fallout, okay? I'm very sorry he hurt you, and I'm even more sorry that we yelled instead of listened."

"It's okay. I'm sorry I messed up your room, and Papa's shirt." She gave her mom a big hug and Sam mouthed "thank you" to me behind her back. I gave her a nonchalant wave. Poppy-Jacqueline ran back to me and was practically bouncing in her spot. "Sydney! Have you ever done Dance Dance Revolution? I have it in my playroom, do you want to play?"

"Um, of course I want to play! But first let's go make sure Momma's room is cleaned up. Then it's on, PJ." She ran out ahead of us faster than I could stand up, Sam and I laughing at the kid's energy burst while we followed her out of the room.

***

X: This Bouquet.

"Hi Skipper, what are you up to?"

"It's my birthday and I'm having a party!" PJ waved around her Barbie doll in the air before bending her legs to sit in her blue plastic chair. "Did you bring me a present?"

"I sure did, I brought you your very own...tickle monster!" I dropped my doll and snatched up the kid, tickling her ribs and belly while she squealed in delight. After wiping up paint and putting away brushes and paper we played DDR for a solid half hour before moving on to cars. Then Little People, then coloring books before settling down with some good old-fashioned Barbies. The kid was bright, cheerful and so damn scatterbrained she reminded me of myself when I was five. I get a kick out of little kids. "Hey Sydney, are you going to marry Uncle Max?"

"I hope so, one day. Would that be okay with you?" I asked, trying to brush the kinks out of my doll's matted hair.

"Yes! Then he wouldn't have to live alone anymore, and you can take him to the zoo when I'm at school, and I wouldn't have just uncles. Can I be the flower girl? Momma and Papa bought a whole bunch of flowers this morning."

"Oh yeah? Why?" Before she could answer Kenzie popped up, fully dressed this time. "Petite-Poppet! I segreti sono segrete!"

PJ just rolled her eyes at him. "I know Papa, secrets are secret. Is Uncle Max here yet?"

"Why don't you dress yourself and go search for him? Momma laid out everything on your bed." She jumped up excitedly and ran out of the playroom, but not without giving me a kiss first. Kenzie gave her a little pat on the bottom when she ran past him, turning his attention to me when we were alone. "May I have a moment of your time, Sydney? I'd like to speak with you."

Oh, great. He closed the door and I started throwing Barbies back in the cloth basket they came out of, I knew where this was heading. "Look, Charlie already gave me the "If you hurt Max I'll hurt you" speech so you don't have to."

"Oh yes, he told me you threatened him with a good arse kicking, rightly deserved I might add. But no, I have something to give to you." He pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it over. "You are to guard this secret with your life. No one knows, not Maxie, not Charlie, not even Poppet."

I opened it up and saw a list of about a dozen different brands and names, next to them were random percentages and ounces. "Uh, what the hell is this?"

"That is the recipe for my specialty brewed coffee. You are to memorize the exact amounts and then burn the evidence. On the first of every month you are to call that number and put in an order for two, one will be delivered to your home and the other to his office. He hates tea and it is the only coffee he will drink, lest you want a grumpy bastard 'round the house. Now, you must make sure Maxie eats at least three times a day and that he is home by six, otherwise he will lose track of time and continue to work until midnight. Schedule two holidays to the beach each year, and if he becomes ill - "

"He prefers tomato bisque, not chicken noodle soup. He's allergic to strawberries and likes his dry cleaning picked up on Tuesdays," I finished for him. "Why are you telling me all this?"

Kenzie smiled wildly, like I just told him he'd won the lottery. "Because these are important things to know. I've been taking care of him since we were six, much more than his own parents anyhow, but he doesn't need me anymore because now he has you. He has a tough exterior but is healing from some very deep scars on the inside. I don't believe I've ever seen him truly happy until you came into his life, he speaks so highly of you it's as if he's experiencing sunshine for the first time ever. He's yours now, so be gentle with the boy." He looked up thoughtfully and then added, "Except in the sack. You shag him so thoroughly he forgets his name and begins speaking in tongues."

I snickered. "Done and already done."

"Ah, that explains the tranquil demeanor when he came in. I believe he is looking for you." I couldn't help the silly grin that came over me and I hopped up almost as fast as PJ did, sprinting out of the door while Kenzie laughed behind me at my enthusiasm. I ran downstairs and looked into the living room first, but no one was there. I was so determined to find him I almost knocked Sam over when she came down the hallway. "Whoa, where's the fire?"

"Sorry. Have you seen Max?" I asked impatiently.

"Yes, but can I ask you something first? You like lilies, right?"

"Oh, um," she caught me so off guard I had muddy brain for a second. "Yep, love them. Big fan of the lilies."

She beamed at me brightly, so much more than the conversation warranted. I guess she really loved lilies too. "Max went into the dining room for more wine, do you mind helping him grab the merlot?"

"Fetching booze happens to be my specialty. Back in a sec." I went through the kitchen and took a right, walking into the dining room to find...candles. Several candles lit on the table, the lights off and soft music coming through the wall speakers. I was a little worried I'd just ruined some kind of romantic gesture Kenzie was doing for Sam when the pocket doors behind me opened and closed. I turned around and there was Max, changed out of his suit into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "Hey Dimples! Did I miss a memo, are we doing something for Sam? Or is Kenzie a big fan of The Notebook and this is actually for him?"

"Well, surprisingly enough he is...but no, little one. This isn't for her, or him."

Max slowly dropped down onto one knee and I swear to God I forgot how to breathe.

"This is all for you."