Severing Ties (Book 2. Ties)

38. Smooth as Champagne

After returning from Maryland, for a month I was off. Something in me had been affected when I saw my father after such a long time. Two months after Philip's death, Nicole moved to Texas, since there was nothing left for her in Maryland but her in-laws. She had gotten close to her husband's family, but she wanted the comfort of having both of her dads with her. Nicole went to all the people who could offer her the amount of affection she needed.

She found her new normal, and I went back to mine. The New Year came, and I was over the feelings I had felt after seeing my father. I was back in my game. Time went on like it should have, and I was busy like I should have.

My life was school, work, family, and food. Somehow exercise seemed to escape the list. The truth was it had not completely left the list, since Faith existed. Her being a three-year-old was hard work for the people who took care of her. Usually it was Lucius who took care of her the most, since he was the only one who had stopped working. He had not worked on anything from the moment his daughter was born. There had not been any more movies, shows, or interviews for him; he had disappeared from the Hollywood life. The only time he was connected to Hollywood was in the streets when a photographer was out there and captured him randomly. But after three years, Lucius came out from hiding.

An opportunity arose and he took it but more as a favor for a friend. He was happy with his stay-at-home dad life. Lucius had felt no need to return to the big screen or any screen. Lucius had a friend who wanted to create an indie film and direct it but did not want to act in it, so he asked Lucius if he would participate. Birdy, as people called him, had most of the funding he would need for the film, but if he advertised with someone as famous as Lucius he could get to the money goal he was reaching for and possibly surpass it. Aside from anything, Lucius was a kind person, so he told Birdy he would do it. Him taking the role affected all of us as a family though.

My mom was able to change her schedule at the museum, so she worked from Thursday to Sunday. Thursday, Faith would spend the day at her grandparents' home until Lucius or Mom got off work. So, that left me to take care of Faith on Friday and Saturday for the entire day, since Sunday was shared by Lucius and I. That schedule functioned well until one Friday when a conflict was brought upon me.

Calvin needed someone to work the 7:00 o'clock open class, but he knew I took care of my sister. "You can take her with you. I just need someone to handle this class because there is no one available. Vivianne was supposed to teach, but her sister got into a car accident."

I gasped. "Oh my. Is she going to be okay," I asked.

"I have no idea," Calvin answered.

So, there I was in the subway with Faith on my lap at 6:40 in the evening. When I arrived at the studio, I put Faith down and spoke to Lara. I asked our receptionist how many people had arrived for the class I was substituting. I had only spoken to Lara for a minute, but that was all it had taken Faith to disappear from my side. The front door was too heavy for her to open, so that meant she had gone into the exhibition area filled with people, since it had been rented out for an event. "Will you watch my things, Lara," I asked her with wide eyes, so she was quick to nod.

I sped walked towards the exhibition area to search for the little girl who was going to be in big trouble. The room was occupied by well dressed people; it was like the events I used to attend with too much frequency years back with my parents. With all those people in the room, I stood out like a sore thumb with my jeans and white T-shirt, so I did not drift too far from the exit. My eyes spotted the little rascal, so I quickly walked her way. She was standing with a group of women who were all smiling at her. I went up behind her, tapped her shoulder, and as I waited for her to turn to me, I crossed my arms.