𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 | rini & jolivia oneshots

a spoonful of sugar (2)

As they left, I set my fork down on the table. "Where are you going, exactly?"

"We're going on an outing in Central Park," she replied. "Then we're going to the grocery store, so tell us if you need anything."

"Just have them home by 5," I muttered.

Soon, they left, and it was just me, myself, and I. Plus the silence and Ginny the Goldfish sitting in the bowl.

When the kids came home, they were more cheerful than usual. They were singing and prancing around, which they never do. Well, they're not the cheerful type, I run a practical household.

"What happened?" I groaned.

"Nini took us to the park, where we fed the birds! We also saw a man with an accordion, and there was a flash mob singing!"

"In the grocery store, there was a fifty percent off deal!"

"I saw a balloon lady on the way home!"

I gave them dinner and then sent them off to bed with a pat on the head, like every night.

"Now, go to sleep. I'll be there to read your weekly history book later."

Nina turned to me with a confused expression on her face.

"It's 6," she stated bluntly.

"So? Children need to go to bed early to be healthy."

"Not this early."

"It's the practical way to go, Salazar-Roberts. I've already got enough on my hands, and I don't need you filling their brains with stuff and nonsense."

"Why are you so insistent on the fact that love and fairytales don't come true? Kids need a little imagination, Richard."

         "Because it doesn't exist!"

"That's what you always say, but I know that it does."

"It's honestly true. There's no such thing as true love, only if your head is too swept up in those Disney movies."

"It does exist, Richard."

"I KNOW THAT IT DOESN'T!" I screamed, slamming the dictionary on the table.

For once, she was quiet.

"I was once like you, young and naive," I said, about to narrate my entire life story. "I believed in true love, the kind that you talk about all the time. When I was in high school, I met a girl. Her name was Lea. We became really close and got married when we were nineteen. Then, we got a little...drunk and ended up having Charlotte and Clayton. For the first few months, we were overjoyed. I was living in fairyland, too. But after three years, we began to fight for no reason at all, or just silly blasted nonsense. One day, she just...up and left with a note that said, Don't find me. I'm better off without you. That left me as a single parent with two kids left to raise, and poof, I was in the real world. That's why I don't believe in love, not anymore. My parents divorced, and I actually thought that I wouldn't be like that. My fairytale ending became hell, and I'd rather be in New York than Neverland."

"I'm...sorry," she finally said.

"Well, sorry isn't going to change the past."

"I'm just going to use the TV for a few hours. I've got Titanic on, if you want to come join me."

"Thank you, and goodnight," I replied briskly, heading for my bedroom.

"Your loss," she shrugged.

That night, I fell asleep, lost in thought about what Nini had said.