Isabelle Pov
As soon as my shift is over, I say a quick goodbye to Kenneth and quickly make my way back up the Premier's home. I don't want to be late to Kenneth's lunch, and holding up his parents with my absence is probably not a good way to kick off a relationship with his family. But, I admit that I am also craving to see my baby boy, who had been in a bad mood this morning. I just hope he is doing better by now. Hopefully Claire got him to take a nap so that he is in the mood to accompany me to Ken's house for lunch.
I reach the Premier's home in no time, passing by the guards who nod politely to me as I go. I move through the hallways with ease, smiling at the workers as the me down the hallways. Darcy will most likely be in the small daycare center and not back in my rooms. I run what I am going to say to Carmadon over in my head as I make my way, wincing at all the ways that I have to turn down our regular lunch dates. No doubt, his husband will be able to accompany him instead since he has returned. The idea soothes me a little.
The thought of the Premier's return somehow leads me to think about all the ones I left behind. I don't know when I'll ever see my family again, soon I hope. When things have calmed down between Norta and Piedmont. I near the daycare, and I can't help but think about all that I have to tell them. I have a son. I have a job. I'm getting my own house soon. So much to tell. I don't know when I will ever be able to talk to them, but I do know that I have to be patient.
As I enter the daycare, a few young children mingle, playing with toys and reading colorful books. Not as many as I would have thought considering all the staff that the Premier employs. I immediately find Darcy. He's seated in Claire's lap, captivated by his toy rattle she shakes in front of him. Claire glances up at me as I near, smiling. I smile back as I hear my son's happy giggles as his pudgy arms reaches for the toy, his tiny fingers extending. She hands him the rattle, which he shakes a few times before putting it in his mouth.
I take a seat next to her as Darcy notices my presence. He forgets his rattle, letting it fall to the side as he reaches for me. My heart soars. "Hi sweetie," I pull him to me planting plenty of kisses to his plump cheek. He smiles and giggles more, his hands fisting in my hair. "Hi, my love. I missed you." I pull him close into a hug, kissing his head. "Mommy here."
Claire smiles at the display, "I got him to calm down a few after you left. Enough to eat anyway. Then Mr. Fussy went right into another tantrum. But, all is good now. Everyone has their bad days. We've just been playing. I changed his diaper already about 10 minutes ago, and he should be ready to be fed again soon."
I thank the stars for Claire. She has been so amazing. She gives me a brief summary every time I get back from work. Always smiling. "Thank you," I tell her as I rub Darcy's back. "I don't know what I would do without you."
Claire blushes, "I really no trouble, Miss. Belle. I adore little Dasarious. So, are you really moving out soon?"
I nod, "Soon, yes. A specific date is not yet set."
"So I guess that ends my time with Darcy," she says sadly.
"Not if you don't want it. You are welcome to come visit him whenever you get the chance."
Claire eyes sparkle, "I would like that."
I leave the daycare with Darcy soon after not wanting to be too late to Kenneth's lunch. I check my watch. 1:27. Late again. I sigh, as I make my way to Carmadon's prized gardens. He'll undoubtedly be there.
I push open the unlocked gate and stroll through the garden, adjusting Darcy's baby bag over my shoulder. as I do so. "Carm?" I call.
"Here," I heard him reply as I rounded the rose bushes. There I spotted him, collecting herbs. He looked up and smiled at me. "I've been waiting."
"Yes, I know. I apologize. Seems that I am just late for everything today."
Carmadon offered me a reassuring smile. "No worries Miss Belle, but I must speak with you. And I urge you not to run off this time." He adds with an amused chuckle.
I blush, "I won't." I take a seat on one of marble benches, lifting Dasarious into my arms. Carmadon takes a seat next to me.
"We've had some new additions to the household, Miss Belle."
"Oh," I say although I wonder why he would be telling me this. "Okay."
He blinks, "I'm afraid they're some people you know. Four in total." I feel a sense of dread come over me. Panic seemed to render me mute. It couldn't be. "Lady Evangeline and her brother, along with two others, Lady Elane and Wren arrived about a day or so ago. They've taken up residence here."
"Here!"
"Yes," he says calmly. "We've offered them allowances just as we have offered you. I don't know how long this will last Isabelle, but I deemed it important to inform you," he nods towards Dasarious, "for obvious reasons."
"Carm-,"
"I know that this is difficult for you Isabelle," he says his voice taking on more of a fatherly tone. "I understand that. However, you made a promise." As if on que, Darcy gurgled and began to whine. With a sigh, I leaned over and picked his bottle up from his bag and began feeding him. Carmadon tilted his head in silent question that went unasked as he watched Darcy eat. "Ptolemus needs to know."
I felt a frown pull on my lips. I knew that I needed to tell Ptolemus about our son. It was his right to know. But another part of me, the angry and vindictive part, that part of me that wanted to hurt him, urged me to keep Darcy to myself. I sigh, pushing away my anger. I don't need to think about this now. "Carmadon, the reason that I wanted to speak with you is because Kenneth invited me to have lunch with me."
Carmadon pulls a frown of his own at my move to change the subject, but he doesn't push me anymore. "That is quite alright, Miss Belle," he nods. "I do have matters of my own to attend to."
I rise from my seat, "Thanks, I'll make it up to you. I promise." I offered him a soft smile. "And I swear to you that I will talk to him, okay. I just...I need time to think about what I'm going to say. I wouldn't even know where to begin."
Carmadon nods with understanding, "The truth about your son would be a great start."
I nod. "Yeah. Ok."
-------
I knock on the door to Ken and Mora's house, about 30 minutes late. Darcy squirms in his stroller, ready to be unlocked and probably ready for a diaper change or a nap. Or both. The door opens and Mora stands there her hair in a high bun and dressed down in a pair of leggings and a sweater. "Finally." She gasps pulling me inside. "What took you so long?"
"I'm sorry," I tell her as she leads me into the house, closing the door behind her. "I had a sort of surprise waiting for me when I got home and-,"
Mora waves her hand in dismissal, "You have a baby boy," she says crouching down to Darcy, unlocking his buckles and pulling him out of his stroller. "Nobody expects you to be on time to anything." She finishes. She grins at Darcy as I hang my jacket on the coat rack. "Hello, little one." She coos. "Hi."
"He might be due for a nap soon," I tell her.
Before Mora has the chance to look up I hear heavy footsteps as Ken rounds the corner. His eyes land on me and he smiles. "Thought I heard your voice," he moves towards me and I full my gut pull. How am I going to tell him? He places a chaste kiss on my forehead. "Lucky for you we haven't gotten around to the food yet."
"Good."
Kenneth eyes his sister who is still cooing over Darcy. "Mo, give Isabelle her baby back." he tells her playfully.
She purses her lips, "No way. I haven't seen him in forever. And besides, I'm sure she is happy for the break."
Mr. and Mrs. White round the corner before I can respond. "Oh, you're here!" Ms. White exclaims happily, folding me into a hug like she did before.
"Yes," I say. "Sorry I'm late."
Like her daughter she waves it off. "Don't fret, dear. Lunch should be about ready now, so you haven't missed anything." She turns to Mora. "Aww, is this your little boy?" She asks.
"Yes, this is Dasarious."
Ms. White gushes over him, much like Mora does. "Isn't he precious. How old is he?"
"3 months," I tell her.
"3 month," she mumbles to herself. "I remember when Ken was just a baby. Oh how he loved to talk. He'd talk and talk and talk."
"Mom," Ken scolds a red flush filling his cheeks.
"And he hated to be put down. He'd always want to be in my arms or Brian's. And he hated wearing pants too. Always running around with no pants." Mr. White snickers behind his wife, Mora giggles, and Ken's face goes bright.
"Mom! I thought lunch was ready." He says, careful to not make eye contact with me.
"Oh yes, yes. Come. Let's eat."
The table is filled with chatter and laughter for the following hours to come, and for a little while I am able to forget about Ptolemus and my concerns. The gathering is filled with embarrassing stories of childhood, and philosophical debates about everyday life, and soft fleeting touches as Ken takes it upon himself to brush against me every once in while, bringing a light blush my cheeks. We fill our stomachs with enough food to be able to skip dinner. My plate sits empty save for the last bits of lemon cake we had for dessert. Dasarious sleeps contently in my arms a the sky turns dark blue outside as Ms. White goes further into her wine glass, and Mr. White find endless amusement in his wife's condition.
Ms. White's drunken gaze slides over to me slowly, as she takes another long sip of her wine. She furrows her brow and places the glass down. "So," she starts loudly enough to gain everyone's attention. "Tell me, Belle. Is the father of your son, is he in the picture or are you alone?"
"Mom!" Mora and Ken scolds in unison snapping her head towards their mother.
Mr. White lays a hand on his wife's arm. "Dear."
She gaps and shrugs. "What? I think its an innocent question, one I'm sure she is used to getting. And besides," she adds moving her gaze towards Ken who sits beside me fuming. "If you thinking about starting a relationship with her, don't you think this ought to be a topic you should cover."
"Not at the table," he says through a clenched jaw.
I lay my hand on Ken's tense arm, "Its okay. Really," I say making eye contact with both Ken and Mora. I adjust Darcy in my arms, feeling my gut twist with nerve and for a moment I regret my words and wish I had just stayed quiet. But its too late now, so I push on. "I...I'm not currently with him, no."
"Why?" Ms. White pushes and Mora purses her lips in distaste.
"Well," I start feeling a lump arise in my throat as I am remined that Ptolemus is here, and that I am bound to face him sometime soon. Talking about it only seems to make the feeling of doom worse. "We uh," I clear my throat. "He uh."
"The reason why is none of our business," Ken interjects. "Isabelle is obligated to privacy."
I send a silent prayer of thanks to Kenneth. "We've been separated for some time. But he has made it clear to me that he cares nothing about Dasarious."
Mr. White speaks before his wife can. "Our sincerest condolences Isabelle," he says softly his kind brown eyes filled with tenderness. For a second I think of Ptolemus' father. I don't think he ever had it in him to ever master such a look. Mr. White guides his wife from her chair. "You should not have been put on the spot like this." He leaned down to his wife. "Come sweetheart, time to go home."
"But," Mr. White starts.
"Come. You can apologize when you are sober," he whispers to her. "Mo, Ken, you guys can handle the mess." He gestures to the table.
Mora nodded as she stuffed a piece of cake into her mouth. "Yeah, sure."
Mr. White guides his wife around the table, ignoring her protests. He stops by me. "Sorry about that. Hopefully, we'll be seeing you soon once again."
I smile, "Yes, of course."
"Good. Have a good night, Isabelle."
"And you," I say back as he continues to pull his wife along. Once they're gone I turn my attentions back to Ken and Mora, who are collecting plates and placing them in the sink to be washed. The room is eeriely quiet. "I can help." I voice.
Ken glances up at me, "You are our guest."
"Its no bother," I turn my attention to Mora. "How about you watch Darcy for me and I help Kenneth with the dishes."
Mora drops the plates in her hands nearly shattering the dishes resulting in a loud crash and rattle. Darcy stirs from his sleep, but simply yawns and stretches his legs. "Deal!" she squeals. Quick, she makes her way around the table and grins as she eases him from my arms. Darcy whines a little at being disturbed but automatically settles as Mora cradles him as I was. "Sweet baby," she coos. "I'll take him upstairs where its quiet." She ticks her gaze over to her brother. "You two can have a moment alone."
I watch as she disappears up the stairs still cooing over Darcy. I sigh, and roll up my sleeves as I make my way over to the sink where Kenneth stands washing dishes. "You wash, I rinse."
He nods, "Sure."
We work quietly for a while, the only sound between us being the run of the faucet and the occasional clink of a dish. I wish he would say something. Anything. He is probably still embarrassed about the whole thing with his mother. My mind wonders over to it. Ptolemus is here. I know how Kenneth feels about me. He hasn't tried to hid it. And I think that it is only fair that I tell him about the whole 'father' thing. I open my mouth to say something, but he beats me to it.
"Sorry about my mother. She gets a little talkative when she is drunk." He says his voice rumbling deep in his chest.
"It really not a big deal, and you dad already apologized." He nods and says nothing else. "But there is something that I do need to tell you about Dasarious' father."
He pauses and raises an eyebrow. "What? What is it?"
I pause, trying to figure out how I'm going to start this. "Well, he's back."
"Back? I thought you guys weren't together."
I jump, "We're not. But he was away for a while, and now he is here. He hasn't even met Darcy yet."
"Then how do you know that he doesn't want him?" Kenneth counters, cutting me off.
I ignore the question, "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to have to face him at some point, with Darcy. I didn't want there to be an surprises."
Kenneth stands in silence, his hands still in the soapy water. "Ok. Thank you for telling me."
I chew my lip, "Sure."
After we finish cleaning the dishes and clearing the table, Mora tip toes does the stairs. "Hey, its pretty dark out. Why don't you and Darcy take up the extra bedroom tonight."
"I couldn't."
"Sure you can," Mora smiles. "Besides, Darcy is fast asleep. And none of us have to work tomorrow, it's Sunday. So we can all hang out. I can give you some clothes to borrow for tomorrow, no problem."
I look over at Kenneth. His face looks dark. "Is that alright with you?"
He blinks tiredly and rubs his hands over his eyes. He shrugs, "Yeah. Yeah, that's okay."
After a hot shower, Darcy and I settle into the empty bedroom. It looks to have been Ken's or Mo's old bedroom. I create a little make shift bed for Darcy with the blankets before tucking myself close to him. He breaths quietly as he dreams and I can't help but have knot in my stomach when I think about what tomorrow brings.
Author's Note
Okay, I know what your thinking. What is taking so long for them to meet? Well honestly, I just like dragging it out to make everyone squirm. Hahaha!! Thanks for reading! Leave comments and vote! Be safe!