GRACEA short laugh and I gave in to her pulls. I hurried after her little figure and as we approached the elevator after closing the door, I wondered what could be so exciting about the pool.And when we arrived at the pool site, I saw what the rave was about.The swimming pool, while having a bit of gold in its features, was accompanied by a freaking huge slide that was positioned at a height I would not dare to reach without the assistance of the attached ladder.As my widened eyes scanned the grandeur of the indoor pool, I began to wish that I brought my swimsuit. The peaceful water was tempting enough to pull me. But so was the largeness.Gosh... This is what I’d like to call a proper display of money.“I don’t think you will shwim,” Ruby commented as she put down her juice box.“I wish I could right now,” I mumbled to myself. And when I realised Ruby was still waiting for an answer, I looked down at her. “I wish I could. But, don’t worry, I’ll roll up the legs of my trousers and
GRACE“I feel like I should prank Daddy.”Swiftly, I faced Ruby who sat still, nibbling on what was left of her cookie as if she just didn’t say something about pranking her father.We were at her ballet academy, waiting for her session to begin.“Ruby, why do you want to prank your Dad?”She clapped her hands to shake off the cookie crumbs, swinging her legs which barely touched the ground.“He doesn’t play with me at all. And I want him to. So, I’ll prank him to get his attention.”Aww. That’s weirdly... cute.“But, do you have to prank him?”She frowned and looked up at me. “Uh?”“Why don’t you try talking to him first? Tell him how you feel.”After looking up thoughtfully for some seconds, she faintly groaned, “I don’t know. Daddy doesn’t talk to me after he comes back from work.” Her gloomy expression saddened me but when it briefly wore some brightness, I became intrigued. “When Fiona was here, I talked to her about many, many things. But my Daddy doesn’t talk to me.”I reached
GRACEI faced Bethany who stomped her foot on the ground because others in the room agreed with the voice that replied to me.“Listen to me, Bethany. If Ruby tells me that you pushed her again, I will do the same to you and you will not like a bit of it.”I don’t like that I am speaking to a child this way, but this Bethany girl was able to get on my nerves with her annoying attitude.“Miss Sands! How dare you threaten my student?”“Well, freaking tell your students to stop pushing people their size.”I spat at the woman beside me, snatched the box in her hand, and walked back to Ruby.But before I made it to Ruby, a force pressed against my back, and before I knew it, my forehead was kissing the tiled floor. My entire body felt intense pain for some seconds but I was able to get rid of the feeling after seconds.While I swore at the person who pushed me within my soul, I managed to get up.I maintained my grip on the nod and turned to see a huge smirk on both the teacher’s and Bethan
GRACESince rushing up the stairs with an injured child was not advisable, I left Ruby on the couch and found my way to the upper floor to find out what could have warranted my name being shouted the way it was.“Miss Sands! Fucking come up here this minute!”Uh...okay? Now I am more than curious.And that made me hurry my steps. I skipped some of the stairs to that effect.“Miss Sands...” The man in front of me was very, very angry and... covered in flour and egg yolk!It took every inch of self-control in me to not burst into laughter at the sight of my employer.From the top of his head to his face, he was covered in the whiteness of flour and some drippings of yellow decorated him here and there. The gooey part of the egg trickled down his chest which he had somehow managed to make bare in barely a minute after walking out on me and his daughter.The strange thing was that he looked sexier.How on earth does one still manage to have such sexiness even after being furiously attacke
GRACE“I finally have your time.”I narrowed my eyes at Mr. Powers’s sturdy figure which was dressed casually, the fact that he went out dressed that way making it more surprising.As he settled on the couch opposite us, I felt like a little girl that was about to be scolded, especially with the way he was staring hard at both Ruby and me.It has been two days since Ruby’s little prank- which she has refused to tell how she did it- and since Mr. Powers’s accusation of me.And it has been almost two nights since the... encounter.I was about leaving after my job for the day when Mr. Powers called me, saying that we needed to talk.And now... he has not even said a word.His eyes kept darting between me and Ruby who had her back leaned into the couch, with her elbow resting on the arm as she waited patiently for what was about to go down.But on my side, impatience was growing and I checked my phone to that effect.Mr. Powers must have noticed my little action, so he cleared his throat
GRACEMy hand came in contact with my throat which was feeling extra dry. I tried moistening my mouth with some saliva but that didn’t do any good. I needed water.And I needed to get off this seat before my buttocks became flatter.“Mr. Roberto.” The fairly young man who looked way older than his age because of his grumpiness and mostly because of his receding hairline, sneered at me, and I got an answer before I could ask my question. But I asked anyway. “Can I get a bottle of water, please?”“How many times do I have to tell you, I don’t...”“... like strangers touching your stuff. I got it, sir.” Oh if only the two hours spent could just be the end of this torture. I got up and received a deeper frown from Mr. Roberto. But I successfully ignored him and walked to where they were seated. “Ruby, I need to get water upstairs.” She nodded, her mind more focused on the book in front of her. “Do you need anything?”I finally caught her full attention. “A juice box please.” Her grand smi
GRACE “Well, what was your response?” I got off my bed and went to help Sam with the zipper of her red lace dress. “I did not give him an answer.” “It has been two days, Grace. Give him an answer already.” She looked into the standing mirror to fix a smudge on her chin. I gave a dramatic sigh. “It is very sudden and unusual. I have only worked there for two weeks. But why want me to move in? I don’t know.” Sam looked away from the mirror and placed her hands on my shoulders. “What exactly is the problem, Grace?” “Nothing. I just think it is not proper.” “It is not as if you begged to be let into their home. They want you there. Mr. Powers must have noticed something in you. Why else would he have made such a request?” A smug look found Sam’s lips. “Maybe he finally noticed your prettiness.” Contrary to the warmth that sentence brought to my insides, I rolled my eyes. “Oh please. He has a girlfriend.” “Girl, she doesn’t sound like he sees that woman as a girlfriend.” “What o
GRACE “Here, let me help you.” He bent to pick the gown. “No, it is fine. It is not...” But he had already picked it up. He stretched it towards me in my crouched state and I grabbed its tail. He was holding the gown with a little force, as though it was a game of tug of war. So I had to get up and pull harder. Bit by bit, I took the cloth into my hands, the silkiness flowing nicely. During the transfer, my eyes were settled on his fierce ones and I was held down, I was just held down. When the cloth finally made it into my hands, I subconsciously hugged it to my stomach. I was still drowning in the blueness of his eyes. But soon I got out of the trance or moment or whatever you want to call it. I cleared my throat and gathered the rest of my clothes into the bag. “Thanks,” I murmured as I locked the bag, properly this time around. Mr. Powers exhaled loudly but I did not make the mistake
GRACEWe were all in front of Mr. Powers’ ward and swimming in silence after the doctor informed us that the older man was lucky to have survived the cardiac arrest he suffered.After hearing that, I can only imagine how strong the love he had for her was.But I just hope he is okay at the end of the day. He doesn’t deserve to suffer because a particular person could not make a decision that is befitting a person with sense.A sigh left me and I grabbed Dominic’s hand to continue encouraging him to remain strong."What will happen to the wedding?" Quintin asked.Janet, who already joined us, looked at the clock above us. "It is almost midnight," she stated."We can always reschedule the wedding till Father gets better, " I said since that was the only reasonable thing."Maybe." Janet sighed.After a short silence, Dominic said, "We are getting married tomorrow.""How?"Even others found his statement a bit odd. They carried confusion on their faces."Pops won't be able to attend, Domi
GRACEA lot of minutes filled with silence passed before I finally said something.While my mind failed to fully imagine the kind of chaos that could be going on in Janet’s mind, I asked, “Does Dominic know?”She shook her head and set the plate aside. "Neither does Pops. And we need to let him know before that woman does something rash. But I am a little scared.” Her breath shuddered, her jaws tightened. “I know this will be harder on Pops and Dominic.”I took steps forward and said, "I'm coming with you.""No.""Come on, Janet. Now is not the time to follow wedding norms. This is an emergency, Janet.”"I just"I cut in. "I can't sit back and talk about makeup and wedding gowns when something this huge is happening."Janet sighed and the next thing I knew, she was holding my hand. With that contact, she led me out of the room while others stared at our backs in slight confusion.As our feet rushed, Janet asked, "How do you think she found out about the wedding? We made sure to keep t
GRACE“Did you guys plan this on purpose?”“What are you talking about?” I turned to face Tiffany who was heading for the huge closet that came with my suite.“Your wedding is a day before Valentine’s. Did the two of you decide to ditch the official lover’s day?”“I doubt we saw things that way. We just picked a date that seemed fine because we didn’t want to drag things out.”Tiffany smiled. “You two sure are lovebirds.” She dragged out the bag where my wedding gown was resting and I left the dresser and walked to the bed in the middle of the room. “Have you tried your gown since the last time?”"Why? Isn’t it foolish to keep wearing the gown when its moment of service is yet to come?" That question remained on my lips as I grabbed a plate of cake from the food tray that was just delivered to my room.But as I bit in to enjoy the bliss of the pastry, Tiffany gasped and rushed to my side. After snatching the plate to my surprise, she asked, “Why? What do you mean by why? What if you g
GRACE“So…” It took some strength to stop my eyes from twitching with confusion and slight anger. “All that time, I was speaking with your sister? How did I not notice? How…?”Samantha got up. “How could you have noticed? Sandra always managed to fool our parents. Anyway, I need you to see something. It is the reason I asked us to meet here.”She motioned to a nearby guard and the man led the way until we reached the end of the corridor that branched to our left. My legs felt heavy as we moved, but I pushed myself because I still desired to know the full truth.I also need to find an answer to the part of me that keeps wondering if there’s a chance that the woman with me is Sandra and not Samantha. After all, from what I have heard, Sandra is good at impersonating her sister.At the end of that corridor was a heavily barred room. No doubt, it was a prison and while I tried to figure out who the occupant was, Samantha stepped aside and gave me a full view of the room beyond the bars.T
GRACEA few hours later, we arrived in Manhattan and I found my way to David’s place. And without wasting time, David drove me to a rarely used state prison yard where I was supposed to meet Samantha… or the person that’s Samantha’s sister.When we arrived at our destination, my eyes carried a certain weary and I became concerned about the next few minutes of that day.“Is she really in there?” I asked David."Yes. Samantha is waiting for you. She is going to explain everything in detail.”“Can’t you just tell me what you know?” My mind could experience a change. I was becoming hesitant and perhaps, I was not ready to face the crazy truth.It seems coming down to Manhattan might be a waste of time."Grace,” David must have sensed me holding back, “you can’t grow cold feet right now. You need to know the truth and you need to know it now.” I darted my sight to him and I was certain that my entire being was screaming silently that I was sacred. “Grace,” his tone softened, “you have come
GRACE"Okay, Dominic. I think it is your time to wear our traditional sweater," Janet announced as she whipped out the said sweater."Oh no, no." Dominic's voice boomed across the room and for some reason, he reached for my hand as though I was a very strong bodyguard that would ward off preying hands that would force him to wear the sweater. "I am not putting on that hideous thing.""But someone has to wear it every Christmas," Janet pouted and I wondered why anyone would want to wear something that looked and smelt like a disaster.Yes. It is that hideous.It possessed a terrible shade of red that failed to blend with the bright green that sprawled over the chest of the sweater in the form of a potato. Or… Santa Claus? The shape was hard to read.So, I squinted my eyes to attempt figuring out what the sweater was all about.Then, Janet asked, "Grace, do you want to put it on?"I didn’t think. I didn’t hesitate. My hands waved frantically and my lips rushed out a response. “No. No. N
DOMINIC“What do you think Father wants to say?”Janet shrugged while her focus remained on the last bit of the cookie in her hand. After a deep swallow and some mouth-twitching noise I chose to ignore, she said, “He might just want to appreciate her. What?” One of her brows jerked with a touch of teasing. “Do you think he will try to convince her to leave you?”“Why would he do that?” My frown was very huge. “He wouldn’t dare.”“Relax. I am just joking. Pops would never do that to both of you. Or any of us.”“I know.” I scoffed. “I was joking as well.”Janet shook her head. “You still suck at making jokes. Some things never change.” I smiled at her words. “Hey, brother?” She looked up at me while noise from the living room hit our ears harder.“What is it?”“I shouldn’t have blabbed about the New York thing. I almost ruined things.” Janet was almost mumbling her words. She still doesn’t work well with portraying her feelings when she is in the wrong. “I am sorry.”“You almost ruined
GRACEChristmas period came within a flash and I discovered that I was especially excited to be going to Dominic’s family house. Perhaps the memories I created in that home were dearer to me than I thought.I wonder if their field of flowers would have a lot of flowers in bloom. I know winter is not so friendly to certain plants. I should take a look anyway. It would be nice to feast my eyes on something beautiful and rare."This place looks peaceful," Ruby commented as she admired every part of the houses we drove past.“Right? Everything is beautiful as well.” Every house and street we drove past carried a touch of celebration decorations and that view made me certain that the whole town would be a great beauty by nighttime.As minutes passed, we became closer to Dominic’s family house and since the route we were taking was quieter, I decided to sit back and enjoy the amazing view.“Daddy, are we going to come here often?” Ruby asked, the joy and enthusiasm in her voice almost conta
GRACE“I can't believe this man,” I muttered under my breath. “Why did he leave these here?” With anger, I picked up the socks Dominic sprawled all over the floor while he was searching for his special socks.It has been many months since we moved and I still don't understand his infatuation with those socks. I won’t deny the beauty of the black and red material, but the fact he only wears them to huge business partnership meetings makes me dislike his love for the socks. If the socks were that special, he would wear them to our dates as well.But no. He would rather turn the house upside down because of those socks, leaving me to take care of his mess.With a gradually dissolving anger, I approached the drawer where Dominic just disarranged and dumped all the socks without care. He can sort out his mess when he gets back.I turned from the dresser and the image of Dominic comically rushing out of the house to escape my nagging tugged in my mind, causing me to erupt peals of laughter.