Ascension - Book Eight - Man x Man

Chapter 95

Our time in Newyork had been different, the smog was not nearly as bad here in Tennessee but the rural nature made finding what we needed difficult. It meant hour long drives and a lot more planning.  

Annoied with himself, he wrinkles his nose at his own voice on the radio, moving to cut the volume but I stop him. "I like hearing you sing." I tell him quickly, lacing my fingers with his, feeling the tension in his wrist as I hesitate. Yet he finishes the gesture, holding my hand in his own.  

"Daddy's song!" Darrius chimes in from the background, kicking his feet excitedly. 

"I could look at it?" I retort, teasing mostly. "I can change a tire now, after all."

"You do seem to fancy cars, don't you?" Verando raises an eyebrow at me, I focus on the ring on his finger, slowly passing my thumb over it as I attempt to not look so overwhelmed at steering with one hand on the curving roads. I hardly ever got to drive, and living here was not a simple task with the winding and twisting the roads took. Hills, mountains, trees, it was so different from our time in France. "Have you gotten better at reading english?"

Wrinkling my nose for just a moment, I swallow back my sarcasm and smile as sweetly as I can. "I'd do anything for my husband." I tell him, offering him a wink before nearly veering off the road. Collectively terrified, I'm sure I'd bee reprimanded for that later. 

Exiting the car in front of the respectable home, it's a cute neighborhood and I enjoy the closeness of the yards. It reminds me of the beach property we had in Newyork, tilting my head as I gauge out the sizes of the lots. Verando shudders from the stress, like a pigeon irritated with it's cage, I can practically feel the nervous energy from his lack of understanding in our near death experience. 

Holding Xaiver on his hip, the little boy yawns as he cuddles into the heavy coat of his father. "I've got to make a phone call, can you make them lunch?"

It's such a domestic request, yet entering the home is like coming home to a strangers house. Surprisingly like our previous home in France, the floor plan is much the same in it's open-ness, vast expanses of floor space with little room to hide. A large open kitchen and neutral furniture. I notice a few hints of Chispa, he must have consulted her and asked what I might like. We'd never decorated a space together, not that he had any need for something such as home comfort. 

The man could make concrete work. 

Taking Xaiver from him, I allow him to slip into the den to take out his phone and pace as he spoke quietly in French. 

"Is Daddy mad?" Darrius frowns, following me into the kitchen. "Is this our new house?"

"No honey, Daddy's working." I sigh, "Sort of. Do you remember the farm? We're going to live there when we can get it fixed."

"What about Papa John?" He rubs his eye with the back of his hand, sliding closer to me as I attempt to figure out how well stocked the place was. It would seem that the place had been staged well for our arrival, I decide on sandwiches, it'd be easy enough while we all adjusted. 

"John and Jan are going to come live closer to us, they are getting older, baby." I attempt to explain that the destroyed property was to much of a murder scene for the older couple to live. Xaiver whimpers as he cuddles closer to me, neither of them much a fan of change when it came to our constant moves. It would appear that they were used to the fact that long periods at home meant long periods away. 

The home lacked the massive window panes but I was fine with the more solid walls, it felt safer. Setting the boys up on the couch with a blanket, their lunch and the television, I get to work making the kitchen my own in reorganizing while getting acquainted with what all was here. My hand freezes on feeling a gun strapped to the underside of shelf.