Blossom Babe

Chapter Twenty-One Singing For the Mole

The date was going as well as she had thought it would go. Ealish sat down on the table as she tried to smile at him. Despite the long bath that he had taken a few hours before,he still smelled. She nearly gagged a few times. Her hands toyed with the napkin as she asked,"So. What else do you do for a living, Miles?"

"I am now between jobs.",Miles said. He poked at his spaghetti with his fork as she asked,"Ah. So what did you used to do?"

"I used to work for the grocery store in town as a cashier.",he said. Taking a big bite of her spaghetti. She tried to think of something polite to say about a job as stressful and annoying as that. Ealish said,"I'm guessing that wasn't an easy job."

"Definitely not. Got yelled at by so many customers. People get so upset when you don't accept their expired coupons.",Miles said. He twirled his fork and slurped up a long string of noodle. Shrugging his shoulders,he continued to eat his dinner in silence. Ealish wished that she was better at conversations than this. Especially at pretending to be interested in a date that she isn't interested in. So as she continued to eat her dinner as Miles drank his water.

Ealish looks at her food as she tries to think of something to say. Miles set his fork down as he asked,"Ealish. Miss Marsha says that you can sing and sing very well. I was curious if you could sing for me after dinner?"

"I umm...I'm not very good. She's being to nice about my talent.",she said quietly. Ealish looks up at him as he said,"I'm sure you sing very nicely. Please,Ealish. Just one song..."

"Um. Okay. What kind of song would you like me to sing for you?",Ealish asked. She fiddled with her food as she tried to think of songs herself. And she felt so nervous that she couldn't figure one out. Miles smiled broadly as he said,"I would love to hear this song from my childhood. Child of Sunshine would be lovely."

That lullaby was something her Mother used to sing for her when she was little. At least up until she was seven and felt like she was too old for lullabies. Then her Mother stopped singing for her at night. Unless she was scared or had a nightmare. With a small smile, she said,"I can sing that. My Mother used to sing that for me when I was little."

"Wonderful!",he said as he continued eating his dinner. Ealish tried to think of the lullaby's lyrics as she ate. It was going to be a difficult to sing from complete memory. But she figured that she'd be able to swing it. Hopefully she'd be able to swing it.

~(After Dinner)~

Ealish stood on the coffee table as she straightened her dress. Looking up at Miles as she said,"I can't really remember this song too well. So please forgive me for some bad lyrics."

Miles gave a small grin as he said,"Don't worry. Please just sing."

"You are my Child of Sunshine, you are my very brightest moon.",sang quietly. Her hands gripping each other tight as she thought of each lyric carefully. With a hesitant smile,she sang,"You are the starlight in my eyes, from July right through June."

As she sang,she began walking around the coffee table in a slow pattern. Her hands gripping her elbows as she quietly sang the song. Shutting her eyes,she imagined that she was singing for Asoka. That the fairy princess was seated in front of her at her cousin's home. And her cousins were watching along with her as well as Koa. Her own Mother was there in her imagination. Smiling as she heard her sing.

What she couldn't notice was just how big Miles grin was getting. Or how intently he watched her walk around. The way his hands gripped each other as he muttered,"So beautiful...she's absolutely perfect. Just simply perfect in every way. I...I want to marry her..."

When Ealish finished the song,they watched the movie together. Then he walked her to Marsha's apartment. He asked,"I had a great time tonight. Do you want to go out next week at five?"

"I...um...okay. Sounds nice.",Ealish said. She honestly didn't really want to but she guessed she didn't have much of a choice. Nor was she really going to be able to escape anytime soon. Miles handed her to Marsha,smiled at her and left. Marsha asked,"So. How did it go?"

"Surprisingly. Not bad."

Child of Sunshine by Amy Robbins