I smiled hopefully. I was going to get my chocolate. “The chocolate Eruption Bar please.”
He made a bit of a laughing sound, but it wasn’t loud enough to be a laugh. “That’s a big candy bar,” he said pushing the buttons. “Are you sure you’re allowed to eat that much chocolate at this time of night?”
“Are you going to tell on me?” I instantly asked. The jig was up. He would tell Mommy and Daddy what I was doing. I knew I wasn’t allowed to eat chocolate this time of night. He must have known about those rules too.
“No...I won’t tell on you. Let’s make it our little secret, alright?”
I nodded enthusiastically at the strange man who I kind of liked. He was friendly. Nice. Helpful.
We took a seat together on some chairs in the hallway. He helped me open up the wrapper and I dug into the chocolate right away.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“My name’s James,” I said with a mouthful of chocolate. A little bit flying out as I spoke. He grinned at me.
“That’s a good name. So James, where are your parents?”
“They’re in the room down the hall. They’re asleep. My Mommy had a baby today.”
The man shifted on his chair. “Oh,” he swallowed. “That must be exciting for you?”
“I guess,” I said shrugging my shoulders. “It’s a girl. They called her Margot. She’s alright. But I can’t play with her yet. She’s too small.”
“She’ll get big soon,” he said staring out in the space in front of him. He looked suddenly sad.
“Are you visiting someone here too?” I asked him. Maybe I could help.
He nodded. “Yes, my son. He’s here at the hospital. I’m just here to watch over him and make sure he’s doing okay.”
“Is he going to be alright?”
“I think so. He’s a strong little boy.”
“That’s good. Maybe when he gets better I can play with him?”
“Hmmm, yeah...maybe...”
He kind of reminded me of my Daddy in how he seemed so protective.
“It’s good you’re here to watch over him,” I said.
“I’ll never stop watching over him.”
What a loving Daddy. And he can keep secrets. Maybe we could be friends.
“What’s your name?” I asked. I had forgotten my manners. I should have asked a lot sooner. Mommy would be upset I forgot. I guess I was thinking too much about the chocolate.
“My name’s Joshua.”
“Hey, my middle name is Joshua!” I looked at his big bright eyes. “And we both have green eyes too. My Mommy says green eyes are her favorite.”
The man’s body got very stiff. “Does she?” He looked really sad then. Even more than before. “Perhaps that’s because you are so special to her James.”
“No,” I said taking yet another bite of my big chocolate bar. “She says it’s because she misses my real Daddy. He died before I was born. She stares at me sometimes and cries. She says it’s because I look so much like him. I know she really loved him. That was before she married my new Daddy. But sometimes she cries when she thinks no one can see her. But I do. I always see her.”
The man went really quiet. Maybe he was thinking about his son in the hospital. He looked like how Mommy’s face gets before she cries. I finished my chocolate bar and climbed off the chair, but as I did, I tripped and almost fell face flat onto the floor. The man called Joshua reached out and grabbed me before I could slip.
“I’ve got you,” he said, holding me close, almost in a hug.
“Thank you,” I said as he helped to steady my feet. “Thanks for saving me.”
He laughed softly. “I’m glad I was here to make sure you didn’t hurt yourself,” he whispered.
He was kneeling now, looking right into my green eyes that were the same color as his. His hand lightly brushed through my hair and pat my back. “There you go,” he said, getting to his feet. “Safe and sound.”
He moved closer like he was about to hug me, but instead he held out his hand. “It was nice...” his voice cracked a bit, “to meet you James.” I shook his hand back. My Daddy had taught me that it was important for a man to have a nice firm handshake. I tried to shake it the same way that Daddy had shown me. “And don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about the candy bar.”
“Thanks Joshua. You’re a really nice man. And thanks for keeping my secret.”
“No problem son. But you should probably get back to your parents now. If they wake up and see you’re not with them, they’ll be very worried.”
I nodded, agreeing with Joshua. I quickly darted down the corridor back to my Mommy’s room door. I stopped and turned to wave goodbye to the nice man, but when I looked again, he was gone.
I guess he had to go back to watching over his son.
TO BE CONTINUED...
AUTHOR NOTE
Fiendish Play is part of a two book series. The second book should be released late 2014. I want to say thank you to my friends, readers and blog supporters who have continued to stay on this journey with me. You all share a place in my heart and I’m always grateful for the emails and supportive comments. Thank you for continuing to spread the word about my stories.
To those readers who have read the PIECES OF LIES trilogy, you are probably wondering if I had planned this while I wrote the third book in that series ‘All the Pieces.’ The truth is that when I wrote ‘All The Pieces,’ I actually wrote two alternate endings stemming from the chapter with the car chase. I struggled for a long time about which ending and epilogue I was going to use. In the end I went with what I felt was right for that series. But when I decided to do James’s story, it allowed me to revisit the other storyline I had penned for that series. Now with James, I have been able to do both. As to how I’m going to end his story and the other characters in Fiendish Play...well...I’m still deciding.
Thanks again everyone. And a special thank you goes out to Susan Cutsforth for all her hard work.
You can follow me on my 'Books by Angela Richardson' Facebook page or on my Goodreads profile.
FIENDISH PLAY
Copyright © 2014 by Angela Richardson.
All rights reserved.
ISBN 9780987505545
Fiendish Play Page 24