The Journey Home

6 - Surprise Visits

Alexander

"For God's sake!" I exclaimed, my frustration becoming much more evident as I paced back and forth in the girls section at the toy store. "You work here? Then do your job and tell me what a five year old girl would like!"

The employee sighed and mumbled something about getting her manager before walking away. My hands made their way through my already messed up hair and I groaned.

Why the hell was I here in the first place?

You need to get laid.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit..."

"Are you okay sir?"

I turned towards the voice, finding the manager behind me. I simply raised my eyebrows in exasperation hoping that she'd get the message. It seemed to work as she began asking questions.

"Well, what does your five year old girl like?"

"I don't know, I barely know her." I replied, realizing how stupid that sounded.

"What's her personality like?" The manager asked, actually looking like she cared.

Hm.

"She's bubbly as hell." I said without thinking. The manager laughed softly. "She thinks, or rather behaves like a princess... I guess she is one." I smiled at the thought of the brightness that was palpable wherever the young Angela was.

"Anyways, I don't know shit about kids much less what they like so I need help."

She spent the next thirty minutes giving me options and even then I didn't know what to buy her. The variety of toys available was too much yet it all seemed to look the same to me. Dolls with pink dresses, dolls with pink bottles, dolls with pink strollers. Pink cars. Pink dresses. Pink bicycles. Pink tablets. It was a pink fucking world.

So I did what any frustrated man would do.

"Ah, fuck it. I'll just take everything you showed me." I said, handing the manager my credit card.

  ★ ★★ 

"Are you changing the business name to Moretti Toys or what?"

I ignored Luke's remark as I made my third trip from the car with all the toys I had bought.

"Or maybe Moretti's Princess Incorporated." He said picking up a doll I had set on the floor.

"Shut the hell up." I threw a roll of wrapping paper to him. "Now help me wrap all this up, I don't know how to do it."

He looked at me confused and slightly offended. "What makes you think I know how to do this?"

Taking my suit jacket off and loosening the first buttons of my shirt I sat down on the sofa, finally stretching out my legs. Directly from a meeting with a client I had gone to the toy store and that surely took longer than I had anticipated.

But then again, anything regarding women took longer than expected.

Thankfully, the company was doing great for the past years and I was able to have days off when needed which until recently I'd never even considered. We dealt with the cyber security of different companies and Luke handled anything that went wrong with the computer systems and repaired them. We only had a handful of other people working with us and that made for stressful times considering that I had to conduct all business meetings with the major clients.

I had taken over the company after my father died but it had never been my interest. Of course, I didn't regret it and I appreciated the fact that my father left my sister and I well off, but considering that I had a Political Science major and had planned on going to law school this was definitely not what I would have liked to do.

Forced by the circumstances, I had no choice but to take over the company when my parents died. Addie had only been seventeen when they passed away and at twenty-two I was about to start my Master's sooner than many others my age.

At that point I was also already engaged, something that ended soon after I had no one to live up to anymore. My parent's sudden death made me realized that I didn't need to do anything for anyone, even them.

And yet, even after their death, I was still here trying to fulfill what would have been my father's wish. Maybe one day I could leave the whole thing in Luke's hands. He seemed to enjoy this anyways.

"Don't you think you should have bought boy toys as well?" Lucas said interrupting my train of thoughts. He looked through the toys, not finding whatever he searched for.

"What?"

"Well, this is for the shelter right? The family shelter we always give to? You only bought girl toys and there are boys there too. I don't think they'll be too happy to see you only thought of the girls. Hell, I'm not happy you thought only of girl stuff... You could have bought me a paintball gun or something."

"It's not for the shelter" I said, picking up one of the rolls and ripping a piece of paper off.

We remained silent for a moment when suddenly he jumped to his feet. His eyes had widened and he looked like he was about to be sick.

"What now?" I asking placing a doll on top of the wrapping paper and tried to make it look symmetrical, then folded the paper over it.

"A long lost child of yours finally appeared. I just knew it... It was only a matter of time."

"Oh screw you, man. You know I wrap it up before I do anything with it."

Speaking of wrapping.

I stared down at the toy I had just wrapped, or maybe suffocated. It looked tight in some places while in others the wrapping paper was a bit wrinkled. In other places it had ripped.

"That shit don't look right." Luke muttered.

  ★ ★★ 

"So, are you using the daughter to get to the mom?"

I should have left him at the goddamn house.

"No." I said for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

"I don't get it. I just don't fucking get it."

"You're too stupid. I don't expect you to get it."

We pulled up to the apartment complex which was actually much better than I thought. Of course there was no security which wasn't something I was particularly fond off. Then again I didn't live here but-

"I bet you she's blonde, right? You've always had a thing for blondes." Luke said, glancing over at me. "And she's probably one of those preppy-ass chicks that are always running after you."

He's in for a surprise.

We walked upstairs to the second floor where Eileen lived, my chest tightening the closer we got. It was already somewhat late and perhaps she was already sleeping, maybe she wouldn't even open the door.

It's too late now, I thought as I knocked.

Surely my hands were only sweating because I was carrying all this crap.

There was no answer for what seemed like an eternity, so I decided to knock again a bit louder. It took a few moments but soon I heard soft footsteps making their way to the door before it opened.

"Alex?"

Eileen opened the door, tightening a black silky robe around her body. Her dark hair was down, opposite of how she typically wore it and her face was free of any make up and to my surprise she was wearing the slippers I had given her just a few days ago. It was a fucking revelation to me that this is how she took my breath away.

There was no doubt in my mind on what I'd be doing tonight. It had been too long without getting laid and with her here like this, I knew that I wouldn't settle for another woman. A certain part of me began to wake up at the soft blush that covered her cheeks while she bit her bottom lip.

Is she wearing anything under that robe?

"Well... She's definitely not blonde." I heard Luke mutter behind me.