Listen, Obey

11. Eleventh Lesson

Matthews placed Tilia in the car and secured her seatbelt while she whined about being old enough to do it herself. It made me smile despite being nervous about the entire thing. One look at Lisa cemented my decision, though. She stood with her arms crossed, clearly lost in thought. I still had to prove to her that I could do this.

I opened the car door and sat down in the back seat. Tilia shoved a teddy bear in my direction.

“Say hi to Tony,” she chirped.

Grabbing the small tattered toy, I wondered what the others would think of me if I went with Tilia’s antics.

I had never owned a teddy bear. Did that make this moment special? I didn’t know. When I was a kid, I always asked for one the days before my birthday, but I always ended up empty-handed.

“Hi Tony,” I said, looking into the teddy’s plastic eyes.

Lisa sat down in the front seat and immediately turned her head over her shoulder. Her curious stare only lasted for a moment, but it was enough to make me embarrassed.

“Tony like cars.” Tilia sounded completely serious and stretched out her hands for the teddy. I passed it over and she cuddled it to her chest. It was hard not to smile.

“Daddy, can we watch Frozen? Please, Daddy!”

Matthews started the car. “Again, honey? You’ve seen it two times this week already.”

“But…Ethan has to see.” A small pout formed on her lips, and I wondered if Matthews was the type of parent to fall for it, or if he would simply choose something else for her. Something told me that he liked to spoil his kid.

Matthews steel blue eyes became visible in the rear-view mirror. “Ethan, have you seen it?”

“No.”

“Oh, Elsa is the best!” Tilia exclaimed and wiggled in her seat. If she weren’t seated I bet she would have been twirling around. I chuckled at the scene and for a brief second my eyes met Matthews’ in the mirror again.

The rest of the ride toward their house consisted of a long monologue from Tilia about this Elsa-character. It worked out well because I only had to listen and hum once in awhile for her to continue.

I didn’t know what I expected of Matthews home, but as we drove down the long driveway, I started to form an idea in my mind. Of course this guy was the type to have a mansion of some sort. It made me snort, and Lisa looked at me over her shoulder again. She hadn’t said much to me since we left, but I’d heard Matthews and her make some small-talk while Tilia chatted away.

It wasn’t a mansion. Far from it. The location was rather isolated, hence the long driveway, but the house itself was of a moderate size. It looked cozy—something else I hadn’t expected. It was an old Victorian house with a lot of windows. In its time, I guessed it must have been a large house, but compared to a modern mansion it felt less daunting.

As soon as Matthews stopped the car, Tilia released the belt, opened the door and sprang outside. She stopped in front of the wooden door and seemed impatient for us to come and open it up.

Matthews took his time, and she resorted to running back and grabbing his hand. “Daddy, hurry!”

“There’s no need to hurry, Tilia. Ethan will watch the movie with you after we’ve had a snack.”

“But Daddy, I wanna watch it now!” There was that pout again, but Matthews just ruffled her hair—much to her dismay it seemed—and walked up to the house.

The interior decoration went well with the house: light and earthy colors but still elegant. Matthews took us on a short tour through the rooms, and if anything, Tilia got even more impatient. “You’ll have to wait,” he said to her at some point. She answered with a soft sigh, but seemed to give in.

When we went upstairs, she suddenly took hold of my hand. “I’ll show you my room.” Not knowing what else to do, I followed her and found myself in a room filled with so many toys that I had to watch where I put my feet. It had a wonderful view over a small pond in the garden and the trees beyond. It was serene despite the chaos. The yellow walls gave the room a warm glow, and they were littered with posters of horses and a large photo of a beautiful woman. I stared at it for a moment.

“Mommy,” Tilia supplied. Her cheerful voice was gone, replaced by a low, uncertain one. I wanted to ask if something had happened, but I knew it was a question for Matthews, not a small child who clearly had a difficult time with the subject.

The resemblance was striking, but I didn’t know if it was a bad thing to say or not. I was out of words to say, and I found myself feeling awkward around a five-year old.

A rapt knock on the door saved me from the situation. “Tilia, let’s show Ethan downstairs so we can eat something.” Tilia ran to her father and jumped up in his arms. She buried her face into his shoulder, and I saw him glance at the photo on the wall before looking straight at me. I couldn’t read his expression, but it was clear that the woman on the wall wasn’t around anymore.

On my way downstairs, Lisa stopped me. “It’s a nice house.” It felt like such an offhanded comment after what just transpired, but then again, she hadn’t been there to see it transpire. She didn’t know, and neither did I.

I decided that my questions could wait. Matthews would hopefully tell me what I needed to know if I would start looking after his daughter. It occurred to me then that the logistics wouldn’t work. How would I get here in the mornings? I didn’t have a car, or the money for one. Perhaps that was my way out of this situation. If I wanted out. I wasn’t so sure anymore. Tilia seemed like a sweet kid, and the thought of spending time in this tranquil house was strangely comforting.

A/N I know the pace is a bit slow at the moment, but I'm trying to write without pressure at the moment and allowing things to come out the way they occur in my mind. I hope it will mean more updates :)  Hope you'll like it anyway