ZORA'S POV"Hey, Finn. Is there anything you want to talk about?"Finn looked up at Katherine, slowly shook his head. His head once more bent over the action figure he was listlessly moving about on his lap.Katherine clapped a hand to her chest. "Ouch. That hurt, Finn." Katherine turned to Freya. "What about you, Freya? Don't you have anything to tell me about school-" Katherine bit her lip, remembering what I had told her about the kids having a hard time at school. She went on quickly. "-or your favourite cartoons or... I'm pretty sure your brother here got up something while I was gone. How about you tell me about that. Huh?" Freya glanced at Katherine, then away. She was like a mirror of her brother. She had a doll in her hand and was engaged in fixing and removing the limbs of the doll. Katherine sighed exasperatedly. "Okay. If you don't want to talk, do you want us to play dress up with your dolly? You'll spoil her legs if you carry on like that. I bet she really wants to try
ZORA'S POVWhat Elliot had just said hit me with the force of a bomb. I was on my feet with hardly a recollection of how I had gotten up. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" I yelled. I pressed the phone tightly to my ear, not wanting to believe that I had heard Elliot correctly. Elliot sighed. "Just- Oh, damn! Now I'm thinking it was a really bad idea to have heard this conversation on phone. But- but I just wanted to give you the heads-up, that's all.""Oh yeah? Well even if we were going to have this conversation face to face, or over the phone, my reaction would still have been the same. All I want you to do now is to tell me that you are bloody joking. You're pulling my legs, right?""If you could just calm down-""Don't you dare tell me to calm down," I shouted, beside myself with anger. "Just don't.""I think you didn't really understood what I said. Just let me explain it to you again."Because I was hoping Elliot could explain this new development in a way that w
ZORA'S POVI glanced at my wristwatch and saw that we were almost running late. Well, not running late, exactly, but I wanted to be there as soon as I could. I once more focused on what I was doing, dishing the food into a foodflask. I listened, but I could not hear Finn. I left the kitchen, moved to the living room, but he wasn't there either. That meant he was still getting ready in his room. "Finn," I shouted. "What are you still doing? I thought you would be ready by now.""I'm just tying my shoelaces, mum," he shouted back. "I will be done in a minute.""Alright. Hurry up."Just as I put the lid on the food flask, Finn ran in. "I'm all done," he announced, grinning from ear to ear. I looked him over. "I can see that. And you are wearing your new pair of sneakers too.""Uh huh. I want her to see it. I think I will even let her wear it. Let's go, mum.""Hold your horses, kiddo. I'm yet to pack up the food.""Oh, what food are you packing?"For answer, I took the lid off the food
ZORA'S POVAs I had predicted during the weekend, the following Monday morning and indeed the rest of that day, was an extremely busy one for me. As soon as I walked through the door of my office, I was swamped with work. I stopped short at the door step and whistled under my breath. There was a pile of paperwork stacked on my desk already, and a glance at my watch told me that it was just a few minutes past 7 a.m. I reflected wryly that my alone time with Elliot had cut into the time I was supposed to use to work. "Not that I regret it though," I muttered to myself as I settled down to work. My time with Elliot had been worth while. It brought a smile to my face to remember all the time we had spent together, what we had done, and all the kids had been up to during the weekend."Had a great weekend, I see," Trey said as he came into the room. "I'm judging by the smile you have on your face."I started to smile and say yes, but then I groaned when I saw the pile of paperwork he was
ZORA'S POV I checked the content of my handbag to be sure that I had not forgotten anything. It would be damned inconvenient if I had. Satisfied that everything I needed was in there, I made my way back to my room and put the finishing touches to the light make up I was going wearing this morning. I returned to the living room, expecting to see Finn there, but he was nowhere to be found. Just as l was about to call him, his voice came floating from the direction of his room. "Mum," he called. "Have you seen my school bag?" "Now, why on earth will you be searching for your school bag on a school day, Finn?" I said when I got to his room. He was moving about, searching for his bag with one sock on, and his shirt half buttoned. "I kept it right here," Finn said, looking around vaguely. "When last did you see it?... Aha! There it is."While talking, I had gotten on all fours beside the bed and had seen the bag thrust a little way under the bed."Yay! Thanks, mum."I glanced at the cl
ZORA'S POV"So, you're telling me that you haven't given your mum any trouble this week?" Elliot asked. Finn shook his head emphatically. "No. I always do my homework myself, so she doesn't ever have to teach me." He shot a snug look at Freya, who looked up from the hem of Elliot's shirt, which she was pleating, and scowled at her brother. "I'm a good boy."Elliot threw back his head and laughed. "Well, that's something... Usually, someone is supposed to say that about you, instead of you saying it yourself. But-" Elliot reached out and ruffled Finn's hair. "-you are a good boy. And that goes for you too, Freya. Ah! This reminds me of something. Your birthdays are coming up soon, in a week to be exact. I think I see both of you growing taller already.""I'm taller than Freya already," Finn chirped."You are not," Freya retorted. "We are both short."I sniggered. Elliot hid a grin. "Okay. Let's not argue about who is short or tall. When you both turn six, we will see for ourselves. N
ZORA'S POVThe mood in the house that morning was glum. One could feel it in the air. I helped Katherine fold and arrange clothes. I unconsciously did it slowly, as though thinking that if I was stalled enough, I would slow down what was about to happen in the next few minutes. Katherine pulled out another suitcase half filled with clothes. She laid it open beside the one I was currently packing, and glanced at the pile of clothes on the bed. "I guess this set is the last of them," she said. I shook my head, went over to open another side of the wardrobe which was half filled with clothes. "Look at these ones."Katherine groaned. "I totally forgot that those were even there. Goodness! How did I manage to accumulate so much clothes and stuff here? I haven't even packed my shoes and bags yet. One would think that I was trying to open a dress shop here.""More like a boutique," I remarked. "You know that we went shopping several times, and besides, it's only normal for you to have lot
ZORA'S POVI watched as interest leaped into the eyes of a lot of people who were close enough to us. I groaned inwardly. This confrontation was yet another fodder for the fire the paparazzi were always willing to ignite. I glanced over at Elliot who seemed unmoved by the unfolding scene. But then, he always seemed to be unmoved by anything. It was myself I had to worry about. I just hoped I had the right expression on. This crowd of curious people would be watching."Hello, Sharon," Elliot said as soon as she came to a stop right in front of us.She gave Elliot a mocking smile, then gave me a once over, from my heels all the way up to my face. It was a look that was clearly meant to be insulting, but I bore it."Hi," Sharon finally said to Elliot. "You are here, and you brought... her."Elliot nodded. "It's good to see you looking so well. By the way, you called Zora and I just now. Did you want something in particular?"Sharon shrugged and smirked. "I just saw you two on the dance f
ZORA'S POVTEN YEARS LATER"Freya! Freya!" I called repeatedly as I walked towards her room.I did not hold much hopes of her answering though. It was a few minutes to 7 in the morning, and if I knew my daughter very well, she would still be in bed and fast asleep at this time."Fre-" I threw open the door to her room and stopped short.She was not in bed as usual. She was up, and appeared to have been up for some hours. She was already dressed and was sitting in front of the mirror, applying some lip gloss. My eyes narrowed at this. I could not remember when I had seen Freya interested in anything that had to do with makeup. As a mum that was a model, I had half been expecting Freya over the years to have shown some interest in the cosmetics lining my dressing table. But she had been completely indifferent to them. I hadn't minded her indifference though. I had sort of welcomed it."A mother that knows all about fashion, and a daughter that has no interest in it whatsoever," Elliot u
ZORA'S POV"And how is your vacation going?" Katherine asked almost as soon as I picked the call.This question was followed by a giggle. I narrowed my eyes at that. It seemed there was a hidden meaning underlying Katherine's question."And why did you laugh after asking that, Kathy?" I asked her."Oh, don't mind me. It's just that my imagination went into overdrive for a minute. What I actually wanted to ask if if Finn and Freya's presence there has given you and Elliot some much needed smooching time, if you know what I mean.""Kathy!" I exclaimed and blushed when the meaning of her question became plain. "You are something else, you know that, right?""I know. I know. I'm picturing the blush on your cheeks right now." We laughed. "Seriously though, how is everything going over there?"I stretched languidly in bed and transferred the phone to my other ear. "It's going better than I had imagined. We are all having lots of fun. This resort is so beautiful. I can spend hours and hours w
ZORA'S POV"What do you think? That I'm serious about this, or joking?" I asked Elliot with a grin.Elliot traced patterns with his fingers all across my collarbone."You tell me, Zora," he murmured softly. "I can't seem to think straight right now. But I know something that will help improve my thinking faculties right now.""Oh. And er- what could that be?""This." In one fluid movement, Elliot pulled himself up and pressed his lips to mine. His tongue moved across my lips several times, then withdrew. He continued kissing me a few moments longer before pulling away. I was breathless by then and could barely speak. He smirked at the effect he knew he had on me."Now I can think again," he said. "Now where were we? Let me see. Ah. I remember. We were talking about what you just told me-"I pouted. "It's not fair at all. We were having a serious conversation, then you kissed me and sent my thoughts going here and there." I reached for him. "Come back here and finish what you started."
ZORA'S POVUnder the lights, Katherine's diamond ring sparkled and glinted like there were a thousand fireflies caught in it."I still can't believe it," she gushed. "I'm engaged to the man I love-" She gave Drew, who sat beside her a doe eyed look. He gave her one right back. The sparks flying between the two of them were almost visible. "-and that was after several tortuous days in which I died several times over. I just can't believe it everything turned out so well.""I can't either," I said and groaned, rubbed my forehead. All eyes turned towards me. "I can't believe that you finally proposed to Katherine. I think that at this point, I am happier than Kathy here. She almost drove me out of mind by worrying so much about you, talking on stop about you and forcing me to listen to her do so."This stirred up laughter. A chuckling Elliot put up his hand. "I'm a witness to this. Whenever Zora's phone rang when I was with her, it was Katherine calling more than ninety-nine percent of
ZORA'S POVElliot turned to Finn who he held in the crook of one arm."And how has school been for you lately, Finn?""It's been good. My teacher says I'm smart, and I always do my work at school myself. I do my homework too. Mummy knows that.""Good. I'm impressed with you. By the way, have you been drawing any more of those beautiful pictures?"Finn nodded eagerly. "Uh huh. I've drawn lots and lots of them, but they are at school now. I will get them next time, so you will see them.""I would like that very much.""Aren't you going to ask Freya about how school is too?" Finn questioned.There was a twinkle in Elliot's eyes as he looked over at Freya who he held in the crook of the other arm. She was busily engaged in licking a lollipop from various angles."Freya has told me all about her time at school. She gives me a dialy report every single day." Elliot tipped me a wink.I hid a grin. I knew exactly what he was talking about. Whenever I went to pick the kids from school, Freya w
ZORA'S POVDrew goggled at me. The expression on his face was almost comical. I tried my hardest to keep the laughter in, and to keep my qexpression deadpan."Are you being serious, Zora?""Uh huh. Don't I look serious?"Drew groaned. "Why are you and Elliot being such a pain in the ass today? It's almost like you two had it all planned." He looked at me sharply. "Elliot didn't call you to tell you that I was coming here, did he?"I rolled my eyes at that. "Of course not.""Then why won't both of you help me? You are sort of like my last resort, you know? Who else am I going to ask for ideas?""I don't know, honestly. Like I told you before, I am fresh out of ideas, but I am sure that you will figure something out. You always do. Whatever you eventually come up with will be... adequate."He gasped. "Adequate? Did you say adequate? This is a once in a lifetime event, and I want to get it exactly right for Kathy. Not right even. I want it to be perfect. Adequate won't do at all.""Ah. I
ELLIOT'S POVI looked through the pile of documents on my desk as I waited for my secretary. Seconds later, the door to my office opened, admitting her."Here they are sir," she said as she handed some more files over to me."Okay. Thank you."She resumed her seat, restarted her computer and began to work. I quickly glanced through the files, noted some information on the notepad in front of me."What about the progress reports on that account we just got?' I asked her after a while."I didn't include it because it was not completely ready yet, sir.""Okay... but it is essential for me to have that in order to properly make sense of the bulk of these reports you just gave to me."She quickly made a note and nodded. "Alright. I will get the person in charge of sending the progress report to speed things up.""Good. Now how about the project the company is working on outside the state? I haven't been able to travel to er- oversee it myself. How is it coming along? ""Oh, very well, sir.
ZORA'S POV"Are you quite busy?" Trey said a couple of minutes after he had come into my office and stood around, watching me work.I placed a finger on the place I was reading and looked up at him. "You gave me this files through Cheryl to work on, so I'm saying yes, I'm quite busy."I meant this as a joke, grinned at him, but he did not return the smile. He looked like a man with a lot on his mind. I shut the file folder, and sat up, giving him my attention."Okay. Tell me. What's on your mind?"As though he had been waiting for me to say that all along, Trey quickly seated himself."What's on my mind is a question. When is Elliot making it official?"I had an inkling of where Trey was headed with this already. Katherine had asked me this very question a while ago too. I just wished they would all give it a rest already, at least for now. I was still sorting out myself. I didn't know if I was ready yet for that commitment.I raised a brow. "I am guessing you are insinuating that Ell
ZORA'S POVI watched Finn and excitedly tear off another gift wrap. I winced a little at the squeal of delight that they let out at the same time. My ears still buzzed from the last one."Mum, mum, look. He got me another doll," cried Freya as she held out a realistic looking dolly still in it's plastic wrap.I grinned. "Yes, sweetie. I can see that. You new doll is pretty. What are we going to call her?""Let me see," Finn said, and tried to take the doll from Freya.She immediately held it out of his reach."It's not yours," Freya said.Finn gestured to the pile of unwrapped toys beside him. "I let you see my own toys. Why can't I see your doll?"I felt it was time to intervene now. It was the twins birthday and they had been happily unboxing Elliot's gifts for the past hour. They had gotten through a pile and still had about half a pile more to go."Why don't we go on with opening your presents?" I suggested. "I'm curious to know what is in all those pretty boxes. Aren't you?'S