"See…I told you so!" Frank smiled and sat down to watch us from the couch. He looked a little winded but extremely happy. He coughed slightly but it sounded better than before. Waves of heat kept pulsing between the two of us. The dull ache in my back started to fade and my eyes filled with hope.
"Uncle…" I started to say.
"She’s…umm…special," he winked.
"This means she's…"
"Definitely a Valentine!" He burst out laughing. I sat down slowly next to Frank, being careful not to let Madi’s touch escape me. My daughter shared my gift.
"What do I do now?" I asked bluntly. Frank laughed even harder and his wet cough grew worse as he did. I hated that sound.
"Do what you do best Max," he said wiping his mouth with a handkerchief.
"And what is that?"
"Love her." He smiled and headed for the kitchen. He poured us both something to drink and walked back to the living room. His words rattled me something awful. The sight of my sister falling away from me flashed inside my mind for a quick second. I only seemed to hurt the ones I loved. Before I could relish in that sobering thought, I caught a flash of Madison’s brand new eyes and my fear fell away.
"Has she started any fires yet?" I asked, taking a sip of the cold ice water. He laughed again and shook his head.
"Not exactly."
"What does that mean?" I snapped. Madi kept one hand on my arm as she closely watched how I moved. Her chubby little fingers pulsed with heat.
"Just talk to Samantha. Madison’s birthday was quite illuminating," he smiled and scooped her from my arms, placing a fresh bottle in her little lips. She seemed to not want it at first but when she realized that I wasn't far from her sight she began to eat and eat well. Just like my sister used to.
I quickly felt the same pull toward her that I had with Asia. My fires didn’t seem to like it when Asia was away from their protection, and now my daughter shared that bond. That surprised me.
"Her birthday?" I said under my breath. Why was he being so cryptic? Before I could stress about it anymore, the rain started to fall against the window and Madi clapped her hands together as it did. I looked at Frank and he just shrugged his shoulders as Madi ate.
We ignored the light storm outside and enjoyed my daughter the rest of the night together as a normal family would. I spent most of it falling in love with her repeatedly. The way her nose scrunched as she giggled. The curl of her thick, dark, brown hair at the sides of her cheeks. Her big, round, green eyes that seemed to hypnotize me so easily. She had an unnatural calmness that made her seem older than she was. She was just over six months old but acted like she was a full year. As the evening progressed, I changed her diaper for the first time. I fed her for the first time. I laughed with her for the first time, and I fell completely in love with her for the first time.
I thought the rest of the night would be just as fantastic but I was wrong…as usual. A knock at the door startled us as we were dancing to one of my uncle’s favorite records. Frank quickly shuffled toward the front door as I spun with Madi in my arms, lost in her smile.
"Asia!" Frank called out. Lightning flashed from the doorway and thunder rumbled low and long.
"Come in, come in my dear! How are you?" Frank said more excited than I expected.
"Max?" Asia asked from over Frank’s shoulder. Her smell hit us quickly and Madi even seemed drawn to it. Her eyes squinted together as she tried to figure out where the smell was coming from.
"Asia," I said stunned. How I'd missed her sweet floral scent. I turned toward her with Madi in my arms and the thunder grew thick and monstrous. The whole house rattled under its weight.
"Max…" she said again, but much more seriously. The rain fell harder.
"Come in," Frank insisted and tugged her inside the door by her tense arm. She was stiff in her jeans and black tank top as she fought his advances. Her feet froze in place when her eyes met Madi’s. Almost like when Asia and I first saw each other. They stared at each other for a long time and the storm rolled heavy outside the house. The lights flickered off and on as I stepped closer to her.
"Asia, I'd like you to meet someone," I said softly. She shook her head no for a moment and let me step closer to her. As I stood next to her, the full scent of cherry blossoms filled my head. Madi squealed with delight and dropped her little toy flower. It lit up with different colors as it hit the floor. This startled Asia and she quickly reached down and picked up her toy. She slowly reached over and placed the toy in her hands. Just before she pulled away, Madi grabbed her index finger and wrapped her tiny fingers tightly around her cool knuckle. Asia stood still. The storm began to calm outside. The stars twinkled through the dark purple thunderclouds. Frank looked around wide-eyed.
"Why are you here Asia?" I asked. Her eyes found my bare neck and squinted together tightly.
“Where’s your necklace Max?” she accused angrier.
“Oh…um…in my room…” I was spinning with confusion on how to handle this situation.
"I came back for you." Thunder rolled, agitated. Asia tried to pull her hand away again but Madi wouldn't give it up at first. She scrunched up her round face in determination to hold onto Asia’s cool, slender finger. Asia watched Madi’s eyes closely. I could feel it in the air when she put one and one together. The pain washed over her face as she noticed Sam’s calling card; those green eyes. I felt horrible.
"I guess I’m too late," she huffed and pulled her hand back to her body. Madi’s face furrowed a little.
"Can we talk about this tomorrow?" I asked, hoping. The storm broke free at that moment and the windows rattled violently. Asia searched my face for a brief second before looking back at Madi. Frank quickly took her from my grasp as the storm grew louder and more ferocious. Lightning lit the whole sky and with a quick snap, the power shut off. Not just the house, but the whole block.
"Uh oh…" Frank teased.
“Goodbye Max,” Asia called out as she made her way through the door. I chased after her, being careful not to run down Madi and Frank as I did. My hand caught hers just before she reached her truck. She tried to pull away from me but I insisted on not letting her go.
“Asia don’t leave…not yet.”
“How long have you known?”
“I just found out a few days ago.” I paused nervously. She shifted her weight away from me and the wind changed direction when she did.
“Her name is Madison and she is…mine.” I swallowed a huge lump in my throat.
“And hers!” she accused.
“Yes.”
“This changes everything!” she yelled as the rain covered us. I could taste her anger towards me and it made me feel weak. I let go of her and gave up this battle.
“I know,” I said full of guilt. She climbed into her truck and slammed the door. I wanted to stop her but I didn’t know what to say. The tires peeled out in the mud and she drove off into the storming night. I walked back in the house, my clothes drenched and dripping. It was obvious that I was upset. My uncle shot me a worried look as he tossed me a dry towel. He had already started lighting candles.
“I see she’s still very…umm…passionate,” Frank laughed with a hint of a cough. I shrugged my shoulders in a submissive manner and ran the towel through my hair. When I was done I tossed the towel along the edge of the couch. Madi began to cry from Frank’s arms.
“I think the storm is making her nervous.” He tightened his loving grasp on her and shrugged his shoulders softly. I watched them both, frozen by my guilt. “I kinda like the rain myself,” he giggled with a deep breath and another cough. I sighed and looked out the living room window, past the dark and empty road.
“Me too.”
Uninvited - 17
~Building A Mystery: Sarah McLachlan~
10:30 p.m.
My head was throbbing. It had been an awfully long night and my emotional tank was running on empty. On the drive over to Sam’s it became clear that not only had Asia knock
ed out the power on my block but the entire island. I was going to have a hard time settling her temper. I pulled into Sam’s driveway and she had already placed a couple candle lanterns on the porch. As my fingers turned the keys to the truck to off, I found my eyes falling back to my daughter. The moonlight washed over her little cheeks as her eyes focused on the light filling the inside of the truck. She was so beautiful.
“Well, I suppose this is your stop,” I teased lightly. She smiled up at me from her booster seat and fought a big yawn. Sam waited at the front door of her apartment with a nervous wave and small white candle in her hand. I hopped from my uncle’s truck and slid around to the passenger side and pulled Madi from the seat. She yawned than giggled softly.
"Thanks for bringing her back so soon," Sam spoke softly, watching us closely as we walked up to her. Sam smiled from the doorway in her faded jeans and loose sweater. It slid over her freckled shoulder exposing her neckline.
"No problem." I smiled and watched her face closely.
"I just worry on nights like tonight," she said, and nodded to the surrounding blackout. I softly placed Madi in her arms. Sam’s arms slid around her as she handed me the half burnt candle at the same time.
"It looks like most of the island is dark," I added sheepishly. I thought she didn't need the specifics of the power outage, but deep down I think she had already figured it out.
"Would you like to come in?" she asked after kissing little Madi’s head and smelling her sweet baby smell. I took a step back placing my free hand in the back pocket of my jeans. As much as I wanted to, I knew I had to play things safe. At least out of respect for my best friend Kai.
"I probably should get back to Uncle Frank and Oz. He's my little hero but he's still scared of the dark." The thunder rumbled in the distance and a slight gust of wind flared up and blew out the candle flame. Sam looked at me, quietly knowing that I was making an excuse.
“Max, I won’t bite,” she smiled. Her glistening green eyes said different though. I swallowed nervously, running my hand along my neck.
“I better not,” I folded. She stepped back with Madi in her arms and walked into her apartment.
"Are you sure?" she asked over her shoulder. Her eyes locked onto mine and my palms filled with moisture. Quickly I ran my hand from my neck and through my hair, messing it up in the process. Her smile doubled in size.
"I guess I should stay long enough to see that the power comes back on," I badly joked, knowing Asia’s tantrum would have the power off for the rest of the night, easily.
"Good," she almost whispered. Was she flirting with me or was I just hoping again. There was so much to be said. So much to ask her about. Too much to catch up on.
As I walked in I realized that Madison was already asleep in her arms and beginning to snore away. I could feel a small laugh bubbling up my throat as her little snorts grew louder. Sam winked at me just before I tripped over something in the front living room. I found I had fallen over a giant suitcase.
"Oops." I shrugged embarrassed.
"Sorry about that. That’s Kai’s."
"Kai’s?"
"Shhh…" she smiled playfully while holding our daughter. I felt my face flush with heat as they both disappeared down a dark hallway. Sam quietly took Madi to her room and crib, tucking her in with a tight kiss. As I waited impatiently, I could not take my eyes off the suitcase I had tripped over. Was Kai going somewhere? A trip maybe? He never said a thing. Slowly I looked around their apartment with my hand ablaze in a small fire. It trickled along my fingers and made it easy to see that things looked out of place, scattered. Almost as if they hadn't unpacked yet. No, that wasn’t quite right. The room looked like it was in the first stages of someone moving.
"She must have had a great night," Sam startled me from behind. I turned so fast that the flame around my left hand trailed me like a ribbon. Her eyes watched with wide-eyed anticipation.
"She never snores like that unless she's put in a full day of giggles and grunts," she laughed to herself with a look of surprise. She almost looked proud of me.
“Well, her and Uncle Frank sure do make a cute pair. I’ve never seen his eyes light up like that before,” I drifted off a little.
“I have,” she smiled with her amazing confidence. “It’s the way he looks at you.”
“It’s not the same,” I said shy.
“Of course it is,” she said unwavering.
"She was a blast," I said changing the subject. I stepped closer to her and let my flame fade away. "Thank you for tonight Sam."
"Your welcome," she smiled again. We stood quietly for a moment not saying a thing. She watched me as I tried to find my courage. The rain fell on the edge of the city, far from Sam’s place, but it smelled as if it were raining just outside her apartment windows. It made me anxious and she knew it. Her face looked guarded as she watched me now. Thankfully Madi made a cooing sound from her crib loud enough for us both to hear and I calmed a little.
“Oh, I almost forgot…” she whispered. Sam shuffled over to a living room desk and pulled open the top drawer. She removed something carefully and walked back over to me. I watched her in a slight trance.
“Here,” she said holding out her hand. Inside of her fingers was a large photo of Madison. It was the same shot she had given me before, only bigger. My fingers quickly started tracing the round lines of her perfect face. I fell silent, lost in my own little world. She stood quietly, watching me with a proud smile.
"Well, it's official, she has my heart," I gasped in a whisper.
"Mine too," she said more serious than I was expecting.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Your welcome,” she smiled bigger. I could feel myself getting lost in her emerald eyes. So I forced my head uncomfortably toward Kai’s bag again. She watched me cautiously.
“Kai said you two ran into some trouble the other day,” she spoke softly with a nervousness I wasn’t used to hearing in her voice. Her eyes searched my torso for any obvious damage. Kai must have filled her in on my rescue.
“Nothing to worry about,” I said staring at the luggage. She was avoiding telling me what was really going on. I turned to her, determined.
"Sam, you want to tell me what's going on. I just saw Kai earlier and he didn't mention anything about going anywhere." My question made her obviously upset.
"Kai and I have recently hit a snag," she said. I wilted a little.
"You mean me."
After a long slow breath she looked directly into my eyes and whispered, "Yes."
"I didn't mean to…" I tried to say, but she quickly cut me off.
"He’s staying at his parents house until I work through some things," she said even softer and stepped closer to me.
"What things?" I pushed and slowly shuffled a step closer to her. I slid my new picture of Madi into my back pocket carefully. She acted as if she would step away from me but didn’t.
"I knew I had some unresolved feelings about us…about you…but I wasn't expecting them to be this…" she trailed off, almost reaching for me. I leaned right up next to her. I could sense her shaking lightly as I looked down at her. Her hair fell softly over her exposed shoulder. She looked so soft and inviting.
"Powerful," she finished.
"I know what you mean," I added as our faces fell inches away from one another. Our breaths combined together, soft and warm. It was a perfect moment, or so I thought. Her face fell hard and she looked away from me. It was stupid of me to think it would be this easy.
"Do you?" she accused. She sounded as hurt as the day I left her standing in the hall of the hospital. The day I came back to life. That afternoon she was ready to spend the rest of her days together with me but instead…I left.
"Sam, I didn't leave because I didn't love you. I left because I needed to understand that love," I caved.
"With Asia!" she snapped and I thought for sure we would wake Madi. Ignoring her anger, I pulled her to me and kissed her. Softly at first
but then harder as she kissed me back.
"No! It's not that easy Max! It is not going to be that simple," she scolded before pulling away from me and turning to the window. I took a step back and looked down the hallway towards Madi’s room and then back toward Sam. Her cheeks were wet with fresh tears.
"Yes it is," I whispered with confidence.
"I don’t know…"
"We made the most amazing human together, she is perfect. She was meant to be here," I sounded determined.
"Max?" she asked, confused.
"Madison is supposed to be here on this island. We were supposed to make her. I know it deep down inside of me." I stepped back toward her again. "So if that is true, then we are supposed to be together," I finished with my eyes closed.
"Max…no…" she fought my words so I pushed even harder.
"Here I am Sam. My guitar in one hand and my heart in the other." It sounded sappy but it was the truth. It felt right to want to be with her. It felt good to want to be with her. I felt safe. She started to cry and leaned into my chest. With fresh tears in her eyes she looked up at me and kissed me slowly. Heat rose up in my chest and popped like static electricity between us. Our moment would not last though, as the thunder scratched at the windows with a steady rumble. It broke my concentration and scared her.
"Sam…" I tried to get the moment back but her attention was on the big raindrops that began peppering her windows. Lightning flickered through the distant, dark, grey skies unnaturally. As my fingers slid across her warm cheek, she put her walls back up.
"She’s here isn't she? Asia’s back too."
"Yes," I gave up in a weak whisper. She pulled from my grasp and pushed her small frame past me. She walked to her window and studied the streaks of rain along the pane.