Until I saw You...

Chapter 11

Secret Talent

I took one good long breath before knocking on the Johnson's door. I was standing in their porch in front of their medium sized house. It was already dark. I took a look around me. As always the little garden in front of the house looked amazing. Mrs. Johnson liked doing the garden in her free time. I waited a few seconds. The lights were on in the first floor and 2 in the second. Suddenly, Mr. Johnson appeared at the door and opened it for me. 'Hello Samantha, I didn't know you were coming. Great to see you.' He greeted me and hugged me. 'Great to see you too Mr. Johnson. I thought my Mum had called.' I said more like a question. 'She properly spoke to Kate and my wife forgot to tell me. Like always. And how many times do I have to tell you? Call me George, my real first name. I know you since you were little no need to be formal.' He smiled. 'Come in and act as if you were at home. Kate is baking, I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you.' He stepped aside to let me in. I loved the Johnson. They were like my second family. I used to spend every day here. I know this house in and out. Mrs. Johnson is like a second Mum to me. I stepped in the kitchen and Mr. Johnson went into his study. As Mrs. Johnson heard my footsteps, she turned around. 'Samantha; honey come here.' I stepped closer to her. She hugged me tightly and I hugged her back. 'You look more beautiful every day. Who thought you would turn out to be such a successful, beautiful young lady. I wished Kyle could find half such a nice, good girl like you. A mother can dream right' She let me go and I blushed. She had seen me the week before but I didn't care. It felt good to hear such nice things. Kate was so sweet, polite and nice. Kate had her long blond hair up in a nice ponytail and her green eyes were sparkling. She had put a little bit of red lipstick which matched her skin and eyes perfectly. She was wearing a black slim dress.  I don't understand how my Mum and Kate could be at home with such formal clothes on. I think it turned to be a habit for them.  She was wearing a white apron with the sentence my mom is the best cook and a red heart on it. It was full of stains but was still adorable.  She pointed to an empty chair and I knew exactly what that meant. She was a hell of a baker and was trying to do the baked Alaska. I was excited to try it. We chatted for a while about school and other topics until the question came. 'Samantha, tell me, does Kyle have a girlfriend? Or does he still sleep around?'                                                                                                                                                                                          'Well the second one is more accurate' I didn't want to lie to her. She deserved the truth and she already knew it, so I wasn't breaking any promises.                                                                                                        'I swear, one day he'll get a girl pregnant. I'm still too young to be a grandma. I'm 32 and a bit more.' We both laughed. 'Why can't he find a nice girl and settle down? Is it so hard? Anyways, tell me about you, do you have someone?' She asked. I told her everything cause I trusted her. She would keep my secret. 'I'm so happy for you my dear! So is he cute?' I showed her a photo of him.                              'Ok he's definitely cute. It seems to me that I already saw him somewhere.' She stated.                                'He's in Kyle's class. He also wants to be a lawyer. They are friends but then they're not.' I told her.  She just smiled. It was a genuine smile. 'I don't think you came to be with me. Kyle is upstairs talking to some girl or watching white girls or fast and furious for the millionth time. You know the way. I'll call you both to come down to taste my Baked Alaska later.' She smiled and I made my way upstairs.

As I was going up the stairs, I looked at the pictures hanging on the wall. There were family photos, Kyle and Henry as babies, school photos and also recent ones. It was adorable. I looked at Kyle's photo of the 7th grade. He wore glasses and braces. His hair was a little longer. He was so thin that with a little push he would shatter on the floor. His face was full of acne. Oh memories. I remembered it so well. One day he changed. He took his braces off, cut his hair, didn't need glasses anymore, started playing basketball, soccer and football in our school's team with the twins and began flirting with girls. I looked at his 9th grade picture and he looked more like he did now. And at the end of the wall, there was a recent picture of Henry and K together. They were smiling. They had the same gorgeous smile. They looked alike but K's hair was lighter than Henry's and K's eyes were light blue and Henry's were like Kate's; light green. I had to admit Kyle was a looker. I arrived at the top of the stairs. I decided to do a quick stop in Henry's room. I heard music playing but I ignored it. I knocked at his door. 'C'mon in Mum' He shouted. I came in laughing. 'I think I'm still too young to be your mother Henry.' He looked away from his drawing.                                                                                                'Oh hey Sam, sorry I thought it was my Mum.' He blew me a kiss and got back to drawing.                                 'So what are you drawing this time?' I asked curiously. Henry was an awesome artist. His room was full of his drawings: SpongeBob, Bateman, Portrait, landscapes... Don't get me wrong he spent a lot of time in front of his TV, playing videogames, just like Tim. but they both had other activities. Tim had dancing and Henry drawing. I looked at what he was drawing. He was drawing a portrait of all the avengers and it looked amazing so far with all the shading and countering. 'Wow' was all I could say. I smiled genuinely and he thanked me. 'I should let you get finish. You're doing a great job' I told him and hugged him from behind before leaving him. As I stepped closer along the hallway the piano sounds intensified. I could swear someone was playing it; it seemed to be so near. But I had to be dreaming. Kate was in the kitchen, George was in his study and Henry was in his room. It couldn't be Kyle because he wouldn't know how to play the piano. Kate had told me once that she dragged him to piano classes but K never talked about it, so I just thought he had dropped it. Then I heard a male voice singing to the rhythm of the piano. Was I getting mad? Or maybe dreaming? It seemed to be so close. The voice was beautiful, soft but still husky. My whole life, waiting for the right time, to tell how I feel. I know I tried to, tell you that I need you and here I am without you, I feel so lost but what can I do? Cause I know this love seems real but I don't know how to feel...  I recognized the song. It was Stay by Hurts. It seemed so different from the original. Could it be a cover? The song suddenly stopped and silence was all that could be heard. It restarted again but it was a different rhythm this time. The voice began again. I was silent and I stopped in my tracks. I recognized the voice but couldn't place it. I listened to the song. Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry. You don't know how lovely you are