CHAPTER 38: LITTLE RASCAL

I was lost of words for a while, looking at Michelle, who was silently sitting and also seemed in deep thoughts the minute the doorbell rang. I hastily stood up and walked away from her, but after a few steps, I broke the eerie silence between us after gazing back at her.


“Your Aunt Pamela has arrived. Please be nice to her, princess, can you do that for Daddy?”


“Alright, Daddy, if you say so” She conveyed nonchalantly. Her words were blank and void of any emotions, which heightened the anxiety and bothered me more.


As I headed towards the main door, I couldn’t willed myself to smile and to be merry, not right after the short conversation I had with my daughter. My heart was wrapped with a mixture of sadness and agitation, knowing for a fact that it would take a lot of convincing skills and a bunch of patience to persuade Michelle.



Pamela’s ever beautiful appearance greeted me the moment I opened the door for her. Her smiling and beaming face immediately vanished when she saw me. It was swiftly replaced with apprehension as her forehead creased with clawed lines.


“Is something the matter, Honey? Did I come at the wrong time?”


“No, that’s not it. Please, come in,” I uttered immediately before pecking her lips with a chaste and emotionless kiss.


“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” She inquired momentarily while we slowly paced. Her arm snaked at my back as I anchored mine over her shoulder. I sighed heavily before responding.


“It’s Michelle. I tried telling her about us. Although she didn’t voice out her disapproval, her rationale and her actions speak for themselves.”


“Give her time, Michael. It’s not easy for a six year old child to understand delicate issues like that. Stop stressing yourself, handsome. Things will eventually end the way you wanted it to be.”


This was one of the things I deeply loved Pamela for. Her positive outlook about life and her immeasurable understanding gave her a full length edge from any women I knew. I am so blessed for having this second chance to be with her once again.


“I simply wanted to settle everything first with her before we could finally settle down, Pamela. I don’t wish the two of you to contract or her feeling uneasy at you, especially when you stay here for good with us in a couple of days.”


“Huh? Are you asking me to move in with you, Michael?” My steps paused before facing her.


“Would you say yes if I ask you to?” The corners of her lips swiftly curve, showing her perfectly white set as her eyes sparkled brightly like stars in the night.


“Of course I would say yes. There’s nothing in this world I ever wanted more than to finally be with you on one roof.”


“Really?” She simply smiled wider before tiptoeing and gently kissed me. The warmth of her lips evaporated the worries I was feeling earlier that my hands secured her waist and pulled her closer. We shared very passionate and highly intoxicating kisses, which made my body ache for her all of a sudden. But before I could deeply explore her warm mouth, she pulled back in an instant.


“Hold your horses, handsome. Tonight’s not the night for smooching. Your daughter’s here and she might catch us.”


“Did you mean what you said?”


“Ask me again for you to believe” She teasingly whispered, which made the corners of my lips lift.


“Do you want to live with me, Pamela? To live in your dream home, which I specifically had it built just for you?”


“I loved to live with you, Michael. Wherever you go, I love to be with you.”


Her spoken words were more than enough to lighten up the sour mood I felt earlier. She certainly had this magic in her that swept me off my feet merely by her words. All of a sudden, everything around me turned bright and I no longer feel the worry that once settled inside my heart.


“Can you pack tomorrow? I’ll help you” My quick response made her giggle.


“What’s the rush for?”


“I want to have you all by myself all day, and especially all night.”


“Sorry to burst your bubble, Mr. Smith, but the reg flag is up at the moment” She dramatically uttered, still with eyes flashing in sparkles. It made me chuckle loudly as I shook my head in amusement.


“Bad period.”


“So do you want me to pack my stuff tomorrow? Or do we let my period end first before I move in?”


“With period or without, you’re moving in tomorrow, Miss Watsons.”


We headed towards the dining room with a light spirit. She hastily removed her arms the minute we went in and saw Michelle looking straight at her with inquisitive stares.


“Hello, Michelle. How’s my beautiful niece?”


“I’m good. Thank you for asking, Aunt Pamela.”


Was it me or did I really hear my daughter emphasize the word aunt in her response? I studied her reaction while assisting Pamela to her seat, which was the opposite of Michelle’s. I watched my daughter’s every move and response during the duration of our first dinner with Pamela. There were some instances where I caught her stealing sharp glances, which deeply bothered me yet again.


After dinner, I told her to go to bed since she still has school the following day. But her response made me gazed at her small figure with disbelief, because I know that what she was doing now was purposely intentional.


“I will follow you, princess. You go ahead and prepare for bed.”


“But I want you to take me to bed, Daddy. Read me a bedtime story as well, so I could sleep quicker” I looked at Pamela apologetically as she smiled understandingly as usual.


“I better go ahead, Michael. It’s been a long day for me as well, so I must be heading back home to rest early.”


Deprived of a choice, because it was very obvious that my daughter was purposefully doing everything to grab my attention to her and not to her aunt, a sigh of defeat escaped my throat.


“Alright. I’ll just see your Aunt out, Michelle. Wait for me here.”


“Goodbye, Michelle. Thank you for the wonderful dinner. I had fun dining with you.”


My daughter simply nodded without saying a word, which made me shake my head irritably. The words that wanted to come out from my lips were interrupted by Pamela’s warm hand touching my arm, as if telling me not to argue with Michelle. We walked to the pathway in silence. Once out of sight, I stole an apologetic kiss to her lips.


“I’m sorry you had to leave earlier than what was supposed to, Pamela. I was planning to spend the rest of the evening with you in my arms, but things got out of hand.”


“That’s nothing, Michael. You don’t have to apologize, I understand perfectly. Don’t worry about me. What Michelle did and how she behaved earlier were all normal for kids her age. It’s natural for children to act that way towards someone who they saw as a threat to them and their family. She must be thinking that I was stealing you away from her, which was understandable. Don’t get mad at her, Michael. Things will end well in time, let’s give her the time she needs to cope up with me. I don’t mind waiting.”


“Thank you, my love. Thank you for understanding Michelle. I’ll have a word with her again later before she sleeps.”


We kissed, longer this time, but a shout from Michelle calling me once again interrupted us. We didn’t have a choice but to separate. I watched her as she headed towards her car. On my way back in, tons of thoughts bombarding my head. I didn’t think my daughter was capable of being a little rascal. I never thought she could do such a thing as concocting tricksy plots to benefit her at such an early age. I wanted to scold her for being so rude towards Pamela, but I knew that that would not solve anything.