Imagining Us

Ch.44-The Repentance Tour -Part I

Her mum had left them around after midday. They'd successfully separated and organized all of the kid's art supplies evenly into pencil cases for easy distribution. Lena had shuffled off to practice leaving Esi lounging on her bed, flipping through her tv looking for a show to watch.

For some reason—probably pms—she was craving something sweet to eat. Specifically, a warm pretzel sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Unfortunately, the nearest place to buy one would be the mall, which she hadn't been to in forever. Most of her clothes shopping was done online, and there was barely anytime in her schedule to actually enjoy the leisurely time that in-person shopping afforded.

Today was a rare day, and Esi decided that she would capitalize on it. For some reason her mind drifted to Porte and Luka, and she wondered if either of them had ever even been to a mall or if their shopping was done for them.

It probably was, but she didn't want to assume. She wondered if she should invite them along, but a small part of her wanted the opportunity to talk to Porte more about what happened. About what they'd been avoiding talking about over the past few weeks.

She grabbed her phone and texted him.

Any plans for today?

Her phone rang less than five minutes later as she was shuffling through her closet for an outfit to wear.

Esi walked back to her bed where her phone lay.

Porte was calling her. Another change that had happened since their reconciliation. He seemed to favor them actually speaking to each other rather than just texting.

It was nice, but sometimes they got so caught up in some silly topic such as the fact that she was deathly afraid of Orcas, and he had to reassure her that the probability of her encountering them was slim to none. Then, she insisted that they were close enough to the Arctic plus with climate change, you never know. Not that she'd ever be caught on a boat in waters that she couldn't see through.

Just the most random conversations.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"I'm free for anything today...please."

She laughed. "Hello Esi. How are you?" she imitated him in a deeper voice, then in a higher pitch. "Hey Porte. I'm doing well, thank you for asking."

"Sorry. How are you? How's your day going?" he asked hurriedly.

"Nevermind that. What's wrong?" she asked. Even as the question was uttered out of her mouth, she could hear the rumbling of voices in the background.

"Delly and Teddy are at it again," Porte sighed. "I see why Luka is always locked away in his room or never here. I forgot how the two of them can be."

"Your dad isn't there to mediate?" She asked.

"He went back to England, and I thought I'd stop in to make sure there wasn't a murder on our hands. All the other staff have conveniently disappeared and at this point, I don't even care anymore."

"Do you have any idea at all what's with the tension between the two of them?" Esi asked.

"I vaguely remember something happening when I was younger–he paused to think–but I can't quite remember what it was...I had other things going on at the time," Porte answered quietly.

Esi could hazard a guess as to the 'other things'.

"Maybe it has to do with heartbreak or something," she offered. "Like maybe they were in a relationship."

Porte scoffed. "Please don't romanticize my housekeeper and butler. This isn't The Parent Trap."

"Funny how you've seen The Parent Trap but not The Matrix."