Breathe Me

19. Not One, but Two

"Sit back down and buckle up!" I yell protectively, anger making it's way into my words. He knows better than to be doing that in a moving vehicle!

I feel a small squeeze on my hand from Charlie. That must be her way of telling me to be nice and calm down. I don't look at her but I know she's looking at me. I sigh before speaking, "Sorry, Bud. I shouldn't have yelled. Just put your seat belt back on, we'll be there soon." I look at the rear view mirror to see Sam's shocked expression. As I've said before, I don't apologize for much of anything, so hearing me say that must've been a pretty big surprise for him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Charlie's face glowing from her beautiful smile. "Good boy." and she pats me on the head like a dog.

I scowl, "Was that really necessary?" I didn't actually care to much because her hands were on me which made me happy.

"Yes, yes it was." She smirks and turns her attention back to the road ahead.

The park come into view making Sam go crazy with excitement. As soon as the car was parked, he was out of the vehicle and sprinting as fast as his little legs could carry him towards the playground set.

I turned the key, shutting the car off before opening my door. I stepped out onto the pavement, allowing the sunlight to cover me. I hear Charlie's door open as well and then close a few seconds later.

"I haven't been to a park in ages." She sighed. I looked at the smile on her face, which in turn brought a smile to mine.

"Come on." I walked around the car and held my hand out for her to take. She slid her hand into mine with ease. Her small hand fit perfectly in mine.

We walked in step towards the playground. I watched Sam do the monkey bars, swinging rapidly. As we got closer, Charlie moved towards the swing set and sat down, grabbing the chains with her hands. Her soft gaze turned in my direction, leading to a smile stretching across my features.

I moved to stand behind her and began lightly pushing the swing, "Do you know any french?" I ask her.

She looks back at me, confusion taking over her face, "No, why?" She laughs at my question.

"Well I'm going to say something in French and someday, I'll tell you what I said." This will seem ridiculously stupid to her, but I want to all the same.

"Why not just tell me now?" She asked.

"Or I could not tell you ever." I replied instantly.

"Okay, okay." She put her hands up in surrender with a roll of her eyes.

I took a deep breath before speaking fast, "Je t'aime mon coeur."

"Now what?" She stares at me intently.

"Now we forget it happened. I just wanted to say that." I'm not ready to tell her I love her in a language she'll understand, but I still want to tell her I love her. It won't make any sense to her, but it makes sense to me.

"You're a strange being, did you know that?" She giggles as I push the swing forward again.

"I know." I laughed as well.

We stayed at the park for as long as possible because Sam had no desire to leave at all no matter how much we pestered him to. It's not like it was a problem for me to stay there with Charlie just talking. I love the sound of her angelic voice, I could listen for days.

"Come on, Sam, we have to leave now or we'll be late getting you to Halley's before I have to set up for the party." I groaned. He refused to let go of the fireman's pole.