TILL WE MEET AGAIN

Chapter 16

Ellie

We bid King goodbye and promise that we will come by if we can. Col drives to a fast food restaurant and buys us burgers and milkshakes.

We get out of the car and walk with our food. We find a empty bench close to the street and sit.

"I'm sorry. I kept playing and forgot about lunch and now you are starving." Col apologies.

"Hey it's okay." I focus on his eyes so he can know that I'm fine." Today was so fun. Thank you."

"You had fun?" He asks. Just to be sure.

"Yeah I did." I bite into my burger and stare into space as a memory of one of King's jokes comes to mind." King is the funniest person ever."

"Ouch!" Col exclaims and bends over holding his chest like he's been stabbed in the heart.

"Right after you." I laugh at his drama.

I am about to tell him that he is as dramatic as a pregnant woman when a small boy walks up to us.

The boy is covered in dirt, wearing worn out clothes with no shoes on. He is probably nine or eight.
He holds out his hand to me staring at my burger. He looks like he hasn't eaten in days and my heart goes out to him.

I glance at Col who nods then I hand my burger to the boy.

"Thank you ma'am." The boy appreciates before starting on what's left of my burger.

"Hello." I smile at the boy. The boy waves at me.

"Where do you live?" I ask. Curious.
The boy points at the bench Col and I are sitting on.

My eyes widen in surprise and I look at Col who is just as surprised.

"Where is your mommy and daddy, baby?" Col bends and questions the boy. The boy just shrugs.

Two little girls come up behind the boy and from how hungry they look, Col hands over his burger too. It kills me because they are the same age as London and Paris. So while my sisters are in Disney Land having the time of their lives, kids their age are on the streets starving.

A couple of more kids follow after that and we hand over our milkshakes. In just five minutes, we are surrounded with at least a dozen hungry kids and we have no food to offer.

"I have no cash left. Just a credit card." Col tells me as he checks his pockets. I know we are thinking of the same thing. Buying these kids dinner.

"I didn't carry any." I tell him.

"What are we gonna do for them?" He asks at me. At first it looks like a hopeless situation until I get an idea.

I look around. It's past 8pm so it's dark already but the streets are filled with people.

"I have an idea." I turn to Col. "You brought your guitar right? We can sing and get people to contribute some money."

"You want us to sing? Here?" Col looks around, doubting.

"Why not?"

"Ok. If it can get these kids food then am down." He says as he walks to the car, coming back with his guitar. He places a cap, probably belonging to one of the twins, on the ground.

"You think this will work?" Col asks me.

" I pray it does." We get the kids to sit around us in a small semicircle.

The first song we sing is You are the reason by Calum Scott and I swear it's like all I can see as I sing the song is Col because the lyrics speaks more than words could ever say.

I'd climb every mountain
And swim every ocean.
Just to be with you...

I watch how passionate Col looks when he sings. His eyes closed as he plays his guitar. The way he expresses every word of the song, you would think he wrote the song himself.

I smile when I notice the notes of money in the cap and the number of people who have paused what they are doing to watch us sing.

Col doesn't stop singing. When the first song ends, he automatically starts singing another song Amazing grace by Carrie Underwood and I switch my soprano to match his voice. I am not trying to brag here but we sound amazing.

I don't have to open my eyes but I can here people singing along when we sing I'll be there for you by The Rembrandts

I can't get enough of it. I can't get enough of singing with Col. I could do it all night. The way we sound together is just breathtaking.

An hour and a half later, we sing our last song and I choose a nursery rhyme because I want the kids to sing along and after singing it for the second time, they catch up.

When we are done. It hits me: the overwhelming number of people around us. As they applause, I turn to Col and grin and he grins back.

"Thank you." We say to our audience. As the people disperse, Col counts the money and I wait anxiously hoping that it's enough.

When Col looks up at me and smiles, I know that it's enough and I squeal in delight.

I count the number of kids we have to feed.

"Sixteen." I tell Col." So you will buy sixteen take outs. I will stay here with the kids."

Col frowns." I don't feel comfortable leaving you here alone." He admits.

"Col, I am fine. Don't worry about me." I honestly don't get what he is so worried about. He looks at me one more time before heading for the car.

It takes Col fifteen minutes to get back. Just enough time for me to listen to the kids tell me all their names and who's related to who.

"See!" I point out to Col. "I am safe and sound."

"Thank God." It doesn't seem like a joke to him.

We take the time to hand each of the kids their food and the smiles on their faces, the wonder in their eyes like they cannot believe someone would do that for them. I feel my heart melt.

We wave good night and walk away but just when we reach the car, one of the kids calls out to us.

"Ma'am! Sir!" It's the little boy we first met.

"Is everything fine?" I ask him when he reaches us.

"I just want to say thank you. We haven't eaten like this in a long time. You must be angels from heaven because my mommy used to tell me that God sends angels to help other people."

I am dumbfounded. I am too stunned to speak and I guess Col senses because he reaches out to the child. I don't listen to what Col tells him and I don't notice when the child walks away.

"Ellie." Col voices but I just stare at him like a statue.

"Hey." He sounds a bit worried this time." Are you okay."

"We did it." I whisper in disbelief, tears pooling in my eyes.

"Yes we did." Col chuckles. In that moment I don't care about anything else. I quickly jump into Col's arms and I wrap my arms around his neck.

He chuckles and holds me tight.

I pull back just enough to look into his eyes." We fed those kids." I state still in disbelief.

"Yes we did, love." He whispers back. My heart skips a bit and Col closes the distance between us until our lips are only inches apart.

Ok. Finally. My first kiss! Finally. It's going to happen.

I close my eyes and wait for Col to move in and kiss me but he doesn't. Instead he plants a kiss on my forehead.
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