One Wet Noon
-•-•-

The morning dew
Glides down the thin leaf blade
Plop
Onto the leaf below

The leaves bend and sway
as their flowers bloom in content
With the soft breeze,
A slow waltz show

She sits amongst the flowers
Wondering about today
Her toes curled into the wet grass
She accepts her due 
Spots of her white night dress stuck against her skin
wet from the morning dew

Her deep brown hair
shines under the sun
Ruffled from the sleep that still lingers
Under her warm coffee coloured eyes
With a soft sigh she pulls her hair up,
into a bun

Delicate fingers
brush against the wet green blades below
Throwing her head back
She smiles up at the blue sky
Wondering what he must be thinking
Of this certain girl she knows

Her bright eyes search
For a familiar face in the clouds
The heavy grey fluffs
hover over the girl
Covering her,
From the overzealous sun
Just as she lets out a huff

"It's going to rain today,"
She mumbles slowly.
The clouds smile down at her sadly,
she knows them well.

"Are you feeling quite sad today?"
The girl asks the clouds softly.
Her melodious voice
Blends with the breeze
Almost a whisper when it reaches their ears

They send down a sigh
A gust of wind blows
Touching her with love
as the sad girl frowns

"Are you really not raining but crying down your sorrow?"

She asks them again
It is true, they are sad
But the clouds worry
The sweet girl is sad
She's often sad
And that has to end

"Angel eyes,
Don't be sad
At noon today,
we shall dance

Come outside then
And you will see
Every drop that I let fall,
I shall drop for thee

For every drop is a tiny kiss
And when you are drenched,
Sweet angel eyes
the dream must end

But don't be sad,
We shall meet again
When the skies are blue
But I am grey
And the sun is shining
without a care
I will rain down on you
with the hot noon's breeze
I will hold you once again
And you shall hold me"

"We need to be more comfortable with each other if you expect Isaac to believe that we're together. Holding hands every time he demands it isn't very believable."

I'm speechless. I'm sure plain confusion is now dangling in front of my face, right there with humiliation, "I'm sorry?"

"Parents do not just meet by circumstance in their own household and hold hands only when the child demands it, Miss Windly," William clears his throat, I notice though that his grasp on my arm isn't getting any looser.

"I apologise, am I in your personal space?" William suddenly asks, I'm sure reading my bright red face as a sign of suffocation and not embarrassment. I feel his fingers begin to glide on my skin, unwrapping themselves from my arm.

"No, no, it's not that!" I squeak, shocked when I realise that I don't want his touch gone. My wide eyes snap up to William's quiet ones and I feel his fingers completely unwrap from my arm. I let my head drop and watch as he pulls his hand back onto his lap.

The rush of disappointment hits me square in the chest, but I gulp down the emotion and looking up into his eyes again — smile, "I'm just embarrassed because I realise that I am the one who has been barging into your personal space."

"I will not lie, I was surprised the first time," William admits, and I feel my cheeks getting warm again, "But I understand that you are doing all this in my son's interest. Everything that is to be gained by this arrangement is for my son and me, I do realise that you have nothing to gain at the end. That makes me quite indebted to you, Miss Windly."

"You can call me Gemma, you know?" I smile. He's right and he is wrong, I'm sure I will not gain as much as Isaac and his dad will, but I'm still gaining something. I'm gaining sweet memories. Memories that will help me smile whenever I'll have a bad day.

"I suppose so — "

"MUMMYYYYYYYYY!!!!!"

My eyes widen and I turn towards the door and back at William, almost ready to jump a hundred feet away from him.

"Issac's up! I should go!" I whisper, panicking as my fingers curl around the bedspread before I begin getting up.

"MUMMYYYY!!!! MUMMYYY ARE YOU IN HERE?????" Isaac yells from outside William's door and I freeze for a second. My heart's started to drum inside my chest with a rhythm some of only explain from rushing gallops from a horse race.

"Y-Yes I am! Hold on, I'm c—" I'm cut off when the door's knob begins turning and strong fingers curl around my arm once again, pulling me close beside him.

"I'm sorry," William whispers, and I gasp as I feel his arm snake around my waist and pull me closer. Automatically, as I find myself turning into him, my hand finds his chest in support.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry!" I whisper urgently, making sure to not look at him when I feel my nose brush against his jaw.

Just then the door flies open, and Isaac barges in. Both William and I's head snaps towards him. He stops. His eyes slowly moving between William and I for a few seconds before he starts running again.

All three of us collide with a rush when the tiny boy's body meets ours. Both William and I's arm wraps around the now giggling child as we find ourselves falling back onto the bed with the impact.

"Morningggg!" Isaac giggles from against my chest as he lays sprawled over William and I.

"Good morning young man," I chuckle as I rub his back lovingly.

"What were you and pa doing?" Isaac suddenly asks, pulling his head away to look at both his father and I. Embarrassment sinks into my chest again and I find myself glancing at the man beside me from the corner of my eyes. The sudden realisation of our close proximity hits me with a warm minty breath against my cheek and I feel the heat in my cheeks begin to bubble again.

"I was just hugging your mum, Isaac," William explains before I can even to. I don't know why but the softness in his voice surprises me. I think this is the first time I've heard him talk to softly with Isaac. Isaac, on the other hand, seems to bask in his father's sudden sweetness without any question.

"But... but mummy only hugs me. Why did pa hug mummy?" Isaac surprises me by pouting. I didn't expect him to react this way. I thought he would be happy.

"You don't like daddy hugging me, Isaac?" I ask, surprise almost dripping from my words. Beside me, I also feel William stiffen.

"But.... but mummy hugs me... and I hug mummy, not daddy," Isaac glances from William and I and I feel my heart pick up its pace. Turning towards William I silently beg him to say something to Isaac... anything because right now I'm truly out of words.

"Why can't I hug her?" William asks Isaac quietly. I instantly notice the change in his demeanor, the bright glow of carefreeness is gone. Instead, there is a sense of seriousness — almost like he's a doctor now instead of a father. The thought irks me for some reason. I mean, although this does seem awkward... what can possibly be wrong?

Instead of answering his father, Isaac instead turns to me with his already misty, large eyes.

"Mum—mummyyyy," Isaac whimpers, crawling off of his father and onto me and I find myself sitting up to hold him properly, "Mummy loves me, right?"

"I do," I answer truthfully. This should feel weird, telling a kid whose name you had not known a week ago that you love him, but I really mean it. As weird as that is — I do.

"Mu— you loves me more than pa.... right?"

'Yes' almost rolls out of my tongue instantly in answer but I find myself biting my tongue down just in time when William sits up as well and I feel him inch away from me — as if expecting the rejection in front of his son.

Sneaking a peek at him I find him looking at the bedroom walls now instead of Isaac and I. Any traces of smile have disappeared from his face and he looks almost like his usual self now — the silent, distant man.

I don't know why but suddenly I feel guilty. The guilt splashes at my face, wakening me up to reality. In reality, Isaac is William's son. Isaac isn't my son. I am no one. Absolutely no one. Then why should William have to see his child be closer to some random woman than his own self?

My mind convulses with thoughts, ideas on how to keep the father and son duo close together begin storming around my mind. There must be a way I can slowly make myself the bad cop and William the good cop while keeping the child still loved in general— in this dynamic of three.

My mind flutters close to him and I find myself sitting straighter. Of course, Mum and Isma khala have always been the 'bad cop'. And I've thought that because they have always been stricter and more serious than our dad's.

I cannot be as strict and serious as them because I truly can't  hurt the sweet boy after what he's been though, but I can try to at least be a little stern so that he seeks favour from his father instead.

Of course, that could work, Gem! What a genius!

Immediately my hand reaches to my side, barely covering William's large hands with my own as I grasp onto it.

Making sure I see that Isaac is following what I am doing, I slowly drag my hand up and hooking my arm around William's — pull him closer to us.

The shock in Isaac's quiet dad's system is apparent in his stillness. So much so that I quickly shoot him a glance which he meets, I smile comfortingly at him then, just till he relaxes in my arms and smiles back.

"Do you know why your daddy and I were hugging Issac? You see, I asked your father who he loves more. Mummy loves your dad and you the same. But your dad told me that he loves you more than me. So I got upset,"

"Mummy lie," Isaac huffs, turning his head down under my neck. I smile when he begins rubbing his hair against my skin moodily, "Mummy won't hug pa because she's mad. You threw things. You lies, mummy."

I tactfully ignored the sad information. Filing it in my memory for future knowledge.

So Isaac's real mum got violent. And Isaac was exposed to this. Wow.

"I was just teasing him until he admitted to liking me just as much as he loves you."

This seems to grab Isaac's attention and he stops moving, "Did mummy win?"

"No, I didn't," I giggle with the excitement of my plan working.

"Really?" Isaac asks, his voice suddenly squeaky and hopeful, I glance at William and smile. There is that feeling again, the feeling that he's watching me. His piercing eyes searing into my soul. But I ignore it and instead, moving my arm around Isaac, I carefully lift him up a little and transfer him onto his father's lap.

"Yes," the quiet dad mumbles this time. I almost 'aww' when I see him hesitantly wrap his arm around the tense little boy.

"Pa will always love you more than your mother," the man mumbles quietly melding the slightly scared looking child into his chest until Isaac too wrapped his arm around his father. Grasping the rare warmth his father was exuding towards him right now. Somehow I feel like he isn't speaking about me now. That he's speaking about Isaac's real mum.

A soft sad smile settles on my lips and I begin to get up and discreetly leave the two alone at this moment. To let them enjoy the comfort of each other as a family. I am not family. My role here is to make Isaac happy. My smile brightens at the thought of Isaac finally seeing that his dad does love him.

My eyes trained on the front door, I begin to take a stand when I find myself being pulled back. A gasp slips from my lips and I snap my face back, my wide eyes now on the hand gripping my wrist. For a second I marvel at the difference in our skin tones. His milky white fingers wrapped around my olive, tanned wrist. For a second or two I just stand there, staring at the part where our skin meets, then my eyes snap up. To him.

His eyes remind me of the color of the earth after a fresh soak from the summer rain, calming and yet strong in resolution. It tells me to stay. It tells me not to leave and I do not know why. I feel his hand tighten around my hand and he softly tugs me forward, back towards him. Back onto the bed.

"Where is mummy going?" Isaac suddenly asks and my eyes turn towards him before returning back to William's dark orbs.

"Er," I hesitate before quickly dropping down beside William again, noticing that his hand does not leave mine still. I feel a blush rise on my face and dip my head low until my hair curtains my embarrassment away from William's silent gaze, "Errr... nowhere. I just wanted to stretch a little."

"Sta-rech? What's that?" Isaac scrunches up his nose in confusion and I find myself at a loss of words to what I should reply to him. Thankfully, William decides to save the day — again.

"You haven't brushed your teeth have you, young man?"

Immediately I notice as Isaac stiffens in his father's hold and he shrinks, totally giving away that he hasn't brushed or washed up. Secretly I'm more relieved that he's distracted now because of his father's question.

"No," the child whispers meekly, almost as if he is suddenly afraid. And I find myself wanting to grab him and quickly whisk him away to his room. Instead, though, I just sit there. This isn't the time to intervene between father and son. William hasn't even been rude yet.

"Well, off you go, young man. Your nanny must be waiting for you. I want to see you downstairs in less than half an hour, alright?"

"But I— but I want mummy...," Isaac pouts, turning to me with his large, begging eyes. Under his spell, I find myself moving forward to grasp him.

"Then we have a problem, son," William frowns and I almost smile at his playful approach, suppressing the weird jolt of electricity that runs through my body when he looks up and his eyes touch mine.

"What prob...lem?" Isaac frowns hard at his father's words.

"I'm going to the hospital in a bit and I want your mummy right now too," William carries on his facade of being disturbed. I, on the other hand, find my palm beginning to sweat with a feeling I can't really describe. Am I nervous? Or excited? Why is he insisting on keeping me with him? Can't I just go with Isaac?

"For what?"  Isaac folds his arms in front of his chest, tilting his head to the side like an older person. I smile at his antics.

Turning towards William I nudge an eyebrow up in the same but silent question.

Strangely, William looks away, back to Isaac, and I find myself even more confused. What exactly is going on here?

"Pa needs to talk to your mother, Isaac. Please go to your nanny and I'll send your mother over when we are done."

"Please go to your nanny, Isaac. I'll be there soon, okay? I just need to talk to your dad for a bit," I say sweetly to the child as I pull him out of his dad's lap and onto mine before pulling him into a hug. I find his small fingers clutching my clothes and sigh sadly as I run my hands on his back comfortingly. "I'll be there in no time, okay?"

It takes a couple of seconds of silence before Isaac's low voice whispers out, "Okay."

I watch as the sweet boy climbs off of my lap and waddles his way towards the door. Then I watch with barely suppressed humour when he goes on his tiptoe and begins trying to turn the doorknob.

"What's wrong?"  I turn towards William awkwardly when the door finally clicks closed and we are once again alone in this suddenly smaller feeling bedroom.

"I have a favour to ask you," William turns away from me, looking back to the bare walls that suddenly seem more interesting to him.

"Yeah? What's wrong?" I ask again. The sudden nervousness leads me to suddenly start debating between turning his face around until he is looking at me or settling myself down in front of him on my knees.  I need to see his face. See his expression to gauge the intensity of this problem. What could possibly be wrong? Is he going to do longer hours at the hospital and needs me to stay here? Does he want me to take Isaac back home? Does he want me to stay as secretive as possible? Do—

"My friend, Kris's, parents have brought up a marriage alliance between their daughter and I."

My heart drops inside my chest. I don't know why I'm feeling this way. Sad. I don't know why I'm feeling sad. Is it because I might never get to see Isaac again? Or is it because I might never get to see his dad? Maybe both?

"That is why we were at the restaurant that day when  Isaac grabbed you," William continues, oblivious to my strange devastating reaction, "They were proposing marriage."

"Oh," I whisper. William's eyes snap up to mine and I instantly plaster a smile on my face for the sake of my tattered dignity.

I watch as William's face dulls and his eyes drop back to his lap.

What am I supposed to say right now? Congratulations? Why did you let me do this when you're getting married soon? What now?

We sit here in silence for a while. Seconds pass and then minutes but no one dares to speak. The only thing that drifts within the walls of his bright bedroom's interior is the steady rhythms of our breathing.

I know he won't speak first. I don't know why I know this — but I do. So instead I grasp onto the first thing I can and blurt it out.

"When's the marriage?"