Dearly Beloved

10 | talk

C L A I R E
10 | talk

With a non-concentrated effort of my fingers, the pawn goes down the board, causing a groan of disapproval from Zac who slaps the heel of his hand on his forehead.

"Mom, you're just being intentionally bad at this point," he complains while Zayne laughs, lifting a hand to high-five David who gives him a warning look.

We are seated in the gazebo in the garden, David and I playing a game of chess while the twins sit beside us, placing themselves on our respective teams. I draw my hand back on my lap, a flustered flush taking over my cheeks in the warm weather. So far, this is the third game and David has been winning the last two. He is close to winning this one too considering his queen is in direct line with my king.

"You're good at this, Mom," Zayne says. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I think I have lost my touch."

"Now that's just crap. You and Dad play all the time," Zac grumbles, innocently forgetting that the mention of his Dad is doing things to me this past week.

I have tried to keep Vaughn mentally locked in one corner of my head, and tried to throw away the key but he keeps resurfacing. I am so hooked on his thoughts that I have lost touch with myself. Being with the twins has helped and with David joining us, I have felt like all wasn't over yet.

"Kids, don't push your, Mom," David warns them. "She's stressed."

"It's okay, David." I smile at Zac, ruffling the blond tuft of hair at the top of his head. "He's right. I'm getting distracted. You seem to have won this round too."

David shrugs. "It's not winning when the other party doesn't even try."

"Come on, now. Don't be so good," I tease him. "I know how much you love winning."

He clears his throat, his chest pushing against the cotton T-shirt covering his torso as if he has been filled with a sense of pride. "That I do."

He smiles at me and I smile back.

David has been my closest companion over the years. I don't get to see my best friends all the time due to their busy lives so undoubtedly, my bodyguard has taken their place. He is there for me, even when he doesn't have to be.

But I know that a large part of his loyalty to me arises from his loyalty to Vaughn.

"We have to start again then," Zac says, toppling the pieces much to Zayne's horror who looks at the board with the blues of his eyes widened.

"What the fudge! What have you done, Zac? David was winning!" Zayne yells with an accusatory tone at his brother.

"Didn't you hear, dufus? Mom wasn't concentrating. This game isn't fair!"

"You're only saying that 'cause we were winning," Zayne scoffs.

"Shut up, dufus! David's older than Mom. He knows how to play better than her," Zac defends me with all his strength, fuming at his brother with a reddening face.

"Mom was high-school level champion."

"David was the state champion."

"Enough, kids," I tell both of them. "You fight anymore and David and I won't play."

That gets them to stop but the frown remains on Zayne's face as Zac quietly begins arranging the pieces for a new game. I get distracted by a bird pecking at the grass on the mowed lawn when David's hand lands on my knee. I shake myself to the present, finding his eyes squinted in concern.