“Don’t know how that came about, but honestly, I would have been more afraid for him coming up against her,” Passion Fruit said.“She’s scary in a quiet, I’m going to poison you and watch you die in pain kind of way, all the while sipping tea and holding a book.”
“Interesting,” Elm said, watching the boy provide the toast.
Food arrived at the table with meal selections as each set of guests chatted away.The bandage on Mustang’s chin had begun to fall off, making him excuse himself from the room to apply a fresh covering.During that time, the meal was nearly over, and the teens took to the dance floor.Helen smiled, watching as Micah Delgado joined Bria and Ayana on the dance floor, offering a greeting to Collette, the last girl added to Lemon’s nest.A line dancing song came on, and all the kids whooped as the music started.Jeffrey and Stephen joined in with other teens Helen didn’t know, but belonged to members of The Directions.
The air current next to her moved.She didn’t need to look around to know who it was.A smile came to her lips as she stood close to the dance floor, watching the kids dance, and Micah Delgado employed moves that seemed to bring the girls into a tizzy.Stephen wasn’t far behind, being charmed by the dark stranger.
“Thank you for this,” the heavy, accented baritone said.
“For what, the invite?I didn’t think you’d come,” she said.
“We were coming to the Continent for college visits; he is narrowing his choices,” Eduardo Delgado, the Fer de Lance said.“No, I thank you for this...he is having...fun.How does he know these teens?”
Helen glanced over at him, cleanly shaven and wearing a black suit with a necktie.The scraggly hair and beard were gone, and the haircut was fresh.He was indeed a good-looking man, virile and sucking the air from the room.
“The girls dancing close to him are the wards of The Lemon stationed in Ohio where he made the delivery of product, and where he and I met,” she said.“The curly-haired one labels Micah as her future husband, and the other one has made it known that he can put his ink anywhere on her he wishes.”
A well-trimmed eyebrow arched and he asked, “And the blond with two left feet?”
“Also, one of Lemon’s.She met him later, and is totally flummoxed by him,” Helen said as the girls’ popped fans.Micah Delgado popped his hip, but his eyes were on her.Helen pulled back her face like she smelled something stinky, “What the hell?”
Eduardo chuckled.Alita was also on the floor being flanked by Jeffrey and a mixed-race Asian kid.She wasn’t interested but kept her eye on her boss.Helen watched the young man’s smooth moves, thinking to herself that perhaps she had missed out on the fig and wine afternoon with decadent cheeses.She gave Eduardo a knowing side glance with pursed lips, making him smile.
The Fer de Lance read her expression.“You made the right choice,” he said in a low tone.“That one rises at five a.m., and all day, he is like the little pink bunny with the battery in its back, bing, ping, ping, and at nine o’clock, he falls over.We are all like, ‘Thank God!’”
Helen laughed a little as her niece Naomi was making her way to the dance floor.She knew the child well, and she’d spotted a new shiny object that had her attention.Evidently, it was Micah Delgado.She reached for his jacket, pulling on the end.He stopped, looking down, spotting the adorable little girl.His eyes went to the tables of parents, searching for the one woman who was also watching him.He locked eyes with Cherry, pointing at the child.Cherry nodded that the child belonged to her.Micah, in silent sign language requested permission to dance with the little girl.
The up-tempo song changed to a slower tune.He asked the lady for a dance, and he bent and lifted Naomi Neary into his arms.One arm cradled the child under her bottom; the other hand he held up for the girl to place her tiny hand in his.He began a turn around the floor, stopping and whispering to the child as she leaned back, and he did as well.
“Is he doing a Viennese Waltz with my niece?”Helen asked Eduardo.
“It would appear so,” he replied, an abject hint of boredom laced in his tone, watching his son gain the respect and admiration of everyone in the room.
He twirled her around the floor several times, and when the song ended, he placed Naomi on her feet, provided a gentle kiss to her hand, and gave a deep bow.In appreciation, a blushing and besotted Naomi yelled out, “Daddy, I’m going to marry him!”
Slow didn’t hesitate.“No, you’re not!”
“Daddy, come place my hand in his and give me to him so he can marry me,” Naomi demanded.
“No, and get over here,” Slow said, adding bass to his voice.His eyes were on his child, but he was also very aware of the moment with the father of the young man looking on, hoping not to offend.He looked at Eduardo and shrugged.
“But Daddy!I love him!”Naomi squelched.Every father in the room felt the beginning of Slow’s pain.
Her bottom lip quivered as she looked back at the young man, she’d chosen to whisk her off to the happily ever after.At any moment, the tears were going to start, and she would fall to the floor and have a tantrum as he’d seen his sisters do on more than one occasion.To head her off at the pass, Micah bent to one knee, opening his arms to Naomi.The child took off at a sprint, throwing herself at him, and he stood.He placed her small hand across his heart, saying soft words to comfort the heartbreak of not being able to marry him and ride off to a vacation in the land of Happily Ever After.Satisfied with what he said, Micah placed her on the floor, and she squared her shoulders, ready to take on her father in the name of love.
“Daddy!Himsaid he would save a special place in his heart for me from this day forward,” Naomi announced, looking back at him with love in her eyes.
Micah looked at Helen, mouthing the words, “I’m saving one for you too.”
“What the hell!”Helen said, making Eduardo work to stifle his laughter.“Señor, what are your other children like, if he is like this?”
“All six of my children are very different,” he said to her shocked face.
“Six?Six!”she said, laughing as well.
“Sí, I am a very tired man,” he said, chuckling a bit at the lightness of the conversation.The Cranberry, to him, was a burst of fresh air.Outside of his wife, conversations with the fairer sex were not in his norm.He enjoyed the brief, interactive discussions.“I also have two grandchildren.”
She looked over at him, but his facial expression altered, prompting her to look to the floor at Micah.Micah’s entire body language changed as he called Jeffrey, Stephen, and one other boy.He rallied Bria, Collette, and Ayana.They moved quickly, coming to Helen’s side.Helen looked over, but Eduardo was no longer beside her, and Micah too had moved to stand in front of her.This gained the attention of everyone in the room, shifting the atmosphere.
