As the afternoon approaches, aunty Funke and her husband leave the house to pay a visit to a friend. Elena then changes into a long sleeve buttoned denim shirt dress and white flat trainers, opens and closes the front door, gets inside the vehicle, and drives away.
Elena arrives at Berton Elementary School, where her daughter attends. She parks her car, exits, and waits for her daughter; there are other parents waiting for their children as well, waiting for the bell to ring.
The school bell rings, and a large number of children begin to walk out of the school entrance; some go to their parents, while others go to the school bus. Elena notices her daughter from a distance and waves her over to get her attention, but she also notices Austin, the friend introduced to her by Alessia.
Cameron has a conceited look on his face as they approach Elena.
"What a delightful surprise! Did you come here to see me, Lena?"
Elena rolls her eyes and dismisses his remark.
"How did school go, darling?" Elena inquires of her daughter.
"It was awesome! When and how to use, prepositional phrases was taught to us by our teacher."
"That's great. Could you please provide an example?"
Alessia pauses for a second as Austin and Cameron observe their interaction.
"He found cover beneath the duvet." Alessia says, and her mother applauds.
"Way to go, sweetie!" Alessia beams as her mother praises her.
Elena looks at Cameron, then at Alessia, realising what she is supposed to do.
"Elena, could you please go talk to Austin by yourself for a little while? I need to speak with Mr. Evans." Her daughter nods, and they walk away in a corner where the adults can keep an eye on them.
"Let's talk about Alessia, Cameron."
"And what about her?" He responds with a question.
Elena gives him a frown.
"I was only joking. Damn."
Elena can hear him muttering.
After a minute, Cameron speaks to end the silence.
"This is not the appropriate location. Would it be better if we first visited Scoops of Delight and then Salisby Park?" He makes a suggestion.
"The one about fifteen minutes away from school?"
"That's it, that's the one." Elena thinks about it for a moment before nodding in response to his response.
They summon the kids, invite them over, and then leave the parking lot in their own car. They drive to the ice cream shop, where they stop to get ice cream for everyone, including the kids, before heading to the park on foot.
When they arrive, Austin and Elena both say at the same time, "Can we please go to the swings?" They inquire, excited, and both adults' consent to their requests.
The kids dash to the swings, where they sit on the swing seat, waiting to be pushed. The adults catch up to them and walk behind them before gently pushing them.
Austin and Elena exclaim with delight.
"Before we begin, what caused you to change your mind?" Cameron asks, pushing Austin's swing.
"My aunty".
She simply says, and he nods in response.
"All right, so how are we going to go about doing this?" As she pushes Alessia's swing, she asks him.
"Wow, you're just going for it, aren't you? Let's at least catch up on something?" He says this while gently pressing Austin's swing, causing the child to shriek with delight.
She turns to face him while cautiously pushing Elena's wing with more force.
"Catch up? There is nothing to be caught up on. Our primary concern should be Alessia, your daughter. Unless you're trying to replicate your acts from 10 years ago?" She asks, taking him by surprise and rendering him dumbfounded.
"Can Alessia and I go on the seesaw, Uncle Cameron?" Austin interrupts their talk with a question.
"Of course, buddy."
Cameron says as he slows the swing down, and Austin gets out of his seat and walks over to the seesaw, followed by Alessia and Elena.
On either end, the children sit and begin to swing up and down by pressing the ground alternately with their feet; in the meantime, Elena and Camerin keep an eye on them to prevent any accidents.
She chooses to speak first as Cameron is still keeping quiet.
"Would you like to discuss this again?"
"Oh, no, we can discuss it now. It's simply too much for me, you see."
Elena laughs at his reply.
"Do you think I didn't feel overwhelmed when I found out I was pregnant? You don't believe I felt overwhelmed when you instructed me to get rid of the unborn baby?" She says this sternly.
On the edge of tears, she turns to the side and breaths in and out, comforting herself.
"I apologise; please disregard my statements." He states.
She exhales a sigh and nods.
The youngsters come to a halt and gesture to the slides. Elena nods, and they swiftly move over to it, followed by the adults, who are watching the youngsters play on the slide.
"It's probably better to schedule another meeting to tell Alessia the truth, right?" Elena frowns when he offers his suggestion.
"Won't that be soon?" She inquires.
"Perhaps not immediately now. Is that acceptable with you after a few of weeks?" Elena contemplates it for a second before nodding in agreement.
"Does this mean she'll have to see more of me?" He inquires.
"Of course, she can hang out with your brother's son, since -"
"- She feels more at ease and familiar with him." Cameron completes her sentence.
"See, we're already becoming pals."
Elena looks at him and shakes her head.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves; let's just be nice to one another."
"That's OK with me." He smiles.
"I suppose she can come to yours after school on Mondays to Wednesdays. But she's with me on Thursdays and Fridays. She'll be spending the weekend with me and my family. Is it all right with you?"
"That seems like a plan." He extends his hand and motions for her to shake it, which she unwillingly complies.
They all leave the park quickly, walk towards where they parked their cars, and then get into their respective cars and drive away in opposite directions. Elena is weary by the time they go home, and instead of a big meal, she makes noodles for herself and broccoli cheddar pasta for her daughter.
After dinner, her Aunt Aaliyah inquires about her interaction with Cameron, but she instead decides to inform her on the situation tomorrow; her aunt accepts her choice and departs to watch TV with the others. She says goodnight to Alessia, who is already in the living room, but warns her not to stay up late because her bedtime is at 9 o'clock. Elena enters her room, changes into her pyjamas, and retires to bed.
YOU ARE READING
The Life of Eniola (rewriting story)
RomanceWhen she was just a child, Eniola's dad passed away so her mom attempts to take her own life, her childhood best friend also moved away and her aunt took her in. What will Eniola's life be like as she grows up? 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁...
