Liam Moonhovan
It seemed like hanging out with Enzo and having some bonding experiences had become a sort of cycle for us. We had lunch and even went bowling over the course of two weeks. Then, for the following two weeks, I didn't have time to do it again.
Even though I did call him whenever I could, even though I wasn't required to, I felt compelled to, not because of him but because I.... wanted to?
I had several meetings last weekend and didn't have time for anything else, so I promised Alexis that I'd take her to the mall for the day this Saturday.
I've felt like I've been so preoccupied with work recently that we haven't spent nearly enough time together. So here we were, enjoying a day out at one of our city's largest shopping malls. Alexis cheered as I paid for the Uber and we got out.
I really wasn't in the mood to drive, plus if we left late I'd just call Zach to pick us up. I took her hand walking into the mall as we went through security.
So where do you wanna start first love?" I inquired, my gaze falling on her.
"Can I go ride that?" She inquired, pointing to a little bumper car area where a few children were playing and their parents were sitting at nearby restaurants.
"Of course, anything you want" I smiled as we walked over.
Alexis was practically bouncing as I paid for her ride, and after she was in her tiny red bumper car, I sat at a table with two chairs in the outside portion of a small restaurant.
I watched her for a while before checking my phone looking up every ten seconds to see her giggling her head off as she bumped cars with another child each time.
I was reading an article on our company's operations. Every story mentioning our firm was emailed to me or Zach by the social team, so I just read it to pass the time.
"Hey stranger," I said, looking up from my laptop to see Enzo standing across from me, smiling as usual.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, and his smile slightly deflated by my tone.
"I came to check out the new sports store that recently opened here, and as I walked by, I noticed you and thought to myself, "Is that Liam?" 'No way,' I thought, 'hang on, that's definitely Liam.' So I came over to say hi. Did you finish your meeting early or something?" He said sitting down as I began to panic. It was about time for Alexis' turn to end, and I'm not sure I was prepared for him to meet Alexis. but before I could respond I heard small footsteps and a voice behind me.
"Papa Papa. Did you see me go whoosh and then-" Alexis dashed over, but came to a halt as soon as she noticed Enzo. I guess it was too late for me to stop them meeting. I held my breath as they exchanged glances. "Who is he, Papa?" As she approached the side of my chair, Alexis questioned, breaking the stillness.
"Alexis, this is Enzo, my uh- friend," I replied sheepishly and he waved at her.
"and Enzo, this is my daughter Alexis" I said pointing to her. Enzo was stunned, speechless, and his mouth hung agape slightly.
Alexis, on the other hand, gazed at him with a puzzled expression, as if she couldn't determine whether or not she liked him. For some reason I couldn't help but hope she did "I'm Alexis Moonhovan. like papa. He's also called Moonhovan" Alexis said.
It's how she's always introduced herself, and it never fails to make people laugh. Enzo was no exception, letting out a little chuckle as he seemed to recover from his shock. "Well, it's great to meet you, Alexis; I'm a friend of your papa's. Enzo"
"Wow, papa dosen't have many friends. Only uncle Zachy and Aunty Zar" Alexis remarked making me feel embarrassed as Enzo laughed heartily.
"Is that right?" He inquired, his head tilted.
Alexis gave him a nod as she looked over the table at him. "He doesn't really like people," she said, making him laugh even more. "Papa said, I like people because I take before mama" She continued
"It's 'take after,' not before," I corrected Alexis before opting to shift the subject when I noted Enzo's response to her statement, which appeared to be a puzzled expression but also indicated that he wanted to ask a question. "What do you wanna do next love?" I asked Alexis as I stood up.
"I want frozen yogurt" She exclaimed and cheered as I nodded.
"Ok say bye to Enzo now" I said.
"Can he come with us too?" She enquired, her finger pointing to him.
"Oh no, I'm sure he's quite busy," I said a little too dramatically "Perhaps next time." Alexis let out a little 'aww' as I pretended to be upset.
"Actually, I have nothing planned, so I'd love to join you for frozen yogurt," Enzo said as he rose from his seat and smirked at me.
"Yay, let's go!" Alexis said as she walked between us, grabbing my hand.
"How old are you, Alexis?" Making small chat, Enzo inquired.
"I'm five," she declared.
"What five? You're so grown up" He said pretending to be shocked and getting a chuckle out of me.
"I'm gonna turn six on...how many months papa?" She asked looking up at me with curious eyes
"In four months."
"Ya," she confidently said, beaming at Enzo.
"No way six? already?" Enzo's gushing made her smile even more. I'm not sure why I was scared that she wouldn't like him; given his demeanor, it was probably difficult to hate Enzo; he even managed to make me like him.
"You can come to my party" Alexis said.
"I'd love to" Enzo remarked as we walked up to the frozen yogurt place.
I turned to Alexis "You can you pick you flavors first, just don't put too many sprinkles or toppings that aren't frits" I instructed and Alexis nodded running up to the server telling him what flavors she wanted.
As we strolled over to one of the three-person round tables, Enzo spoke first, "I knew you were hiding something from me, but I didn't expect it to be a whole kid."
"Surprise, surprise." "I said sarcastically. "I just don't tell most people about her since I don't think it's necessary to bring them into my personal life," I shrugged.
Both of us nodded as we watched Alexis point to all of the toppings she wanted. "Now it makes perfect sense that Alexis is your daughter," he added, drawing my gaze to him in anticipation of further explanation.
"I'm not sure whether you've noticed, but you often say her name. Like when I called you yesterday and you said it before you hung up or when I showed up at your place. I was beginning to suspect you had a girl friend "Enzo revealed making me scoff.
"All right, let's just grab some," I remarked as I stood up and heading over to the serving station
Enzo suggested we go to the arcade after we finished our frozen yogurt, which Alexis readily agreed to.
We played a few games together, with the most of them pitting Alexis and myself against Enzo, who always lost whining spectacularly, much to Alexis' delight.
I couldn't explain why watching both of them get along so well made me so happy, but I wasn't going to focus on it in the moment
. I stood there watching Enzo move around with Alexis on his shoulder, who was was overjoyed at the fact she could see everything, even over the games.
She enthusiastically pointed to something on the other end of the arcade she had noticed. It was one of those indoor playgrounds with games, slides, and a ballpit.
So we took her over, and she rushed in once I paid and the green band was placed around her wrist. The lady informed us that she would be in for a half-hour. Parents would leave their children here while they went shopping, but we didn't really have any shopping to do.
"Since we'll be waiting for a while, why don't we go play some games while we wait? a little friendly competition, and since Alexis isn't here I can actually beat you now" Enzo smirked.
I sneered, "You wish." "In fact you pick the first game" I said letting my competitive side get the better otherwise I would have called him childish and declined.
"That one," he replied, pointing to a machine and screen surrounded by two fake rifles and Zombies. I walked over with a shrug. I had never played one of these games before, so I took advantage of the opportunity to go over the directions and controls before we began.
After losing three games in a row with Enzo 10 or more kills ahead of me, I realized it's not as simple as it appears. "If you like, we can change games," he remarked, chuckling at my red screen rather than his green one.
"No way," I responded, glaring at him "we're not moving until I beat you, and that doesn't mean you should take it easy."
"Fine fine," he said as he reloaded the game, picked up the rifle, and pressed the start button.
I groaned and stared at the thing after yet another loss. "Here, let me show you my secret," Enzo said as he walked behind me.
I was standing with my back against his chest and his hands totally covering mine. All I could think of was how personal this position was for some reason. I got that dreadful sensation again and attempted to calm my heart and stomach, which I was doing rather well until he decided to speak.
"So you'll need to push here and then aim exactly there," Because of our height disparity, his lips was just above my ear, sending shivers down my spine as I heard his deep voice straight in my ear.
It brought back vivid memories of a night I'd once hoped to forget forever. I followed his every move as he demonstrated what buttons to press and where to point the gun.
"OK, I think you got it now," he remarked as he let go and stepped back, making me miss his warmth, but I quickly shook those thoughts from my mind and returned my attention to the game.
"I won!" I exclaimed as I put down the fake gun.
"Congratulations," Enzo said, smiling. I gave him an enthusiastic high-five, and our fingers locked as I smiled at him. "Even if it was only by one point," he said, drawing my attention to him.
"Let me have my moment". When I realized how relaxed I'd become, I swiftly withdrew my hands away from his. "Let's go get Alexis," I said as I turned back and walked away.
Once her time in the fun house was up we played a few more games before Alexis said she was hungry so we had dinner at one of the restaurants talking and laughing the whole time.
I felt my heart race, but warm and swell and a grin draw onto my lips as I watched Alexis and Enzo debate which color crayon to use for the python on the back of the kids menu.
I was really worried about nothing at all. They we're practically best friends now.
My- I mean Liam's two sunshines finally met!!! They're bestiesss