Standing In The Sun

Nine

It's with my face red and my eyes averted that we make our way back into the main room with all of the other guests and wards still chattering away and having such a wonderful time with each other... All of them unaware that somehow the man next to me seems to think that I'm the one who hung the moon amongst his stars... The way Alexei continues to focus almost all of his attention on me while escorting me back here with the help of our chaperones nerve-wracking in the most delightful of ways...

Today had started off on such a sour note... But now my shoulders feel heavy for an entirely different reason...

They are carrying around a lovely pendant and the true weight of what it must mean for me to have Alexei's attention and affection... His generosity with both his words and my birthday present so shocking I still have not figured out what to say to him to thank him for this... To thank him for making today special in a way I did not think would ever be possible...

I still find myself so mystified by the fact that he even thought to visit me here at all... That I'm the one who somehow managed to catch his eye when most of the time it feels like no one but the staff even knows I exist...

And now he's added to it... Gifting me such lovely flowers and now a trinket that feels so special and so pretty I almost don't feel like I deserve it...

I know that I might not get to keep it... I know that we're supposed to accept gifts with discretion and that I need to be careful so that I don't lead Alexei on if I don't like him... But I do like him... And I hope I get to keep his gift...

I probably should have taken it off when the Nurse that had come with us to the other room offered to take my flowers and put them in water for my nightstand... But it feels too special and I couldn't... I didn't want to remove it and I still don't... Not even when the others start to notice that we've finally returned to the luncheon...

Somehow... Even though I keep spotting people's eyes go wide when they notice the oversized pendant hanging from the delicate chain so thoughtfully placed around my neck... No one says anything when we make our way over to the table and finally sit down... Alexei scooting his chair closer to mine just as the food starts being plated for us all... His hand finding mine in order to hold it... His palm warm in mine as he smiles and keeps his eyes on me... His mouth looking almost as if he's ready to speak... Only to be interrupted when a gasped "OH my! Oliver! Wherever did that come from?"

...

Alexei

...

While everyone else is too polite to ask about the first of many presents that I plan on showering upon my Kitten, it seems as though Ms.Ezalie herself does not share the same sentiment as everyone else over seemingly just being happy that I've managed to dry Oliver's precious tears and soothe the obvious ache that has been plaguing him for who knows how long...

Instead of saving this for later and pulling the two of us aside, she draws attention to Oliver in a way that he clearly does not appreciate... The way he sinks down in his chair as if to avoid her eyes and the eyes of everyone else at the table causing such an odd constriction in my chest that I feel as though I have no other choice but to intervene and relieve him of the need to answer her, "It's one of the gifts I told you I would be bringing, Ms.Ezalie. Doesn't it look lovely?"

She herself claimed to have been informed so very clearly from all of the security staff here... Including the men at the front door who had inspected both the bouquet of flowers and the necklace itself upon my arrival... Checking for anything hidden that might prove harmful or that has the potential to be harmful to any of the delicate wards they all have taken on the charge of protecting... Whether or not they did not think to mention such an opulent gift to her or if she simply did not understand what they meant when they told her I brought him a necklace  I shall never actually know... However, I am determined to meet the strange challenge that somehow works its way into her voice when she says, "Oh... How kind of you... Mr.Yahontov...The next time though... Please clear gifts like this one with me first..."

Maybe I should simply bow my head and agree with her... My mind understanding the concern that might be wrapped up in a suitor bringing such a gift... But my mouth, as always, seems to have a mind of its own, "I did. You gave me the list of what was permitted when asked of it."

I find myself ready to say more... The frustration I have over her trying to give Oliver a hard time or even implying that the two of us have done something wrong with her tone ready to spill over with the fierce protectiveness I already feel over my Kitten's well-being... Most of it having cropped up over finding him so weepy and distraught over my lateness and whatever else had been weighing so heavily on his mind that once his tears started they could not stop until he had cried himself out...

But oddly enough...

It's that same protectiveness that causes me to stop and consider the stress that my verbal retaliation might cause the lovely young man sitting next to me... His hands trembling in his lap while he keeps his eyes guided downward, his face flushed so vibrantly while he tries to make himself look as small as possible...

He may not be brave enough to ask me to stop if only to save him from any more unwanted attention... But it's clear that he is uncomfortable...

If I have an issue with Ms.Ezalie, I can do the exact thing that I find myself upset over her not being courteous to do.

I'll bring it up in private.

Because my Kitten doesn't deserve to be uncomfortable right now... Not on his birthday... Not on any day.

And if I want things to work out... I need to keep him in mind from now on.

His needs...

And while it might be a learning curve... I need to show him that I am more than capable of doing that.