Redemption (The Bet)

by Phal, Francette

  Sophie remembered him, had never forgotten him in fact and that right there was the problem. They weren't even blood yet the attachment Sophie had to Nicholas seemed unbreakable. Ellie sighed, this was delving way too deep. Delving deep were Nicholas Grayson was concerned was never a good thing.

  "Come here." Sophie approached her mother. Still seated on the swing, Ellie pulled her daughter further between V of her thighs and locked her ankles to keep her there. She gave a small smile before brushing Sophie's hair behind her ear. "Alright, you want to talk about, Nicholas? Let's talk about Nicholas."

  Sophie licked her lips, hope in her teary eyes. "Really?"

  "Yes, really. Here and now is your chance to ask me anything you want and I'll try to answer it as best as I can. But after today, there won't be any more mention of him, deal?"

  Quickly bringing her left hand behind her back, Sophie crossed her middle finger over the index and nodded. There where ways of outsmarting your parents without being bogged down by guilt.

  "Is he Dylan and Bella's dad?" she didn't waste time as she took a seat between Ellie's thighs, leaned back against her mother's chest and lifted her legs off the ground as they oscillated.

  Ellie snorted and rolled her eyes. Of course she started with the difficult questions first. But then again, she hadn't put any stipulation on the Q&A, so really, Ellie had no one to blame but herself. "Yes." She said after a minute.

  "I knew it." There was a smile in her voice. "Mom?"

  "Hmm?" the warm breeze sweeping over their faces as they steadily swung higher gave Ellie a slight bit of comfort. She squeezed her thighs to keep Sophie firmly settled in place, before pumping her legs further.

  "Tell me about him."

  "What do you want to know?"

  "Everything."

  "I thought you remembered him."

  "Only how I felt when I was around him. I saw a picture of him but..."

  "But?"

  "It's not the same. Tell me about him....please?"

  How do you begin to describe Nicholas Grayson to a child?

  It took a moment for Ellie to find the right words. "He was sweet but only when he really wanted to be. He was very unpredictable. You couldn't really tell what he was thinking and the minute you thought you had him all figured out he'd always surprise you with something completely different. He loved to draw; he was extremely good at it too. He used to own a tattoo shop…"

  "Really? That's so cool! Is he the one who gave you the tattoo on your back?"

  The green and black dragonfly on her right shoulder blade, done years ago, still looked as though it could rip free of Ellie's skin and flutter away. Devlin had seen it, had asked questions and Ellie had always given him some vague response. The first months they'd made love and Devlin's lips had tenderly swept over the dragonfly, Ellie had felt the gut wrenching feeling of betrayal. She'd given into her body's absurd need for an hour long shower, where she'd embarked on the desperate process of scrubbing her skin raw, especially the place where the tattoo was positioned.

  In the privacy of her bathroom, Ellie told herself the tears she wept were because of the pain she had unintentionally caused herself and not because she had somehow managed to betray a memory. To Devlin and the rest of her family, it had been done on a whim, by some random tattooist. The dragonfly held no meaning, just a random picture that had grabbed her attention at first sight and had been chosen for her first tattoo. No one knew the truth and Ellie had hoped to keep it that way.

  "Yeah," Ellie brushed her feet on the ground as the swing slowed. "I was really scared, you should've seen me." The memory flew across her mind's eye like a living thing.

  "Did you hold his hand?"

  Ellie couldn't help the short laugh that escaped. "I couldn't, but he did try to distract me from the pain."

  "What did he do?"

  Things that no twelve-year old should know about, Ellie wryly thought. "We talked, about you mostly." not exactly a lie since the majority of the conversations they'd ever had revolved around Sophie. "Nicholas adored you," and that was the truth. "He loved you to pieces and spoiled you rotten too. I remember when you were going through your Legos stage and you saw a picture of the empire state building, you wanted to build it so badly, but…"

  "But I couldn't because I think I didn't have enough Lego pieces?"

  "Yeah, so Nicholas went to the store, bought an entire bucket of new Lego pieces and stayed up all night just to build you your own personal empire state building. He even added your favorite colors as the floodlights."

  Ellie remembered Sophie's joy for weeks afterwards and whenever they came into the living room and saw the plastic-brick building looming it all its colorful glory, Sophie would always look up at Ellie, beam her smile and proudly declare that her ‘Nicky' had built that just for her. Ellie had been choked with tears that someone else could be filled with that much love for her daughter that they would go through so much trouble just to make her happy.

  That had been one of the many sweet things Nicholas had done for Sophie, not because he had wanted to get brownie points in with Ellie, but simply because he had wanted too, wanted to do it for the little girl who loved him like he was her blood.

  Despite all that had ever transpired between them, Nicholas's love for Sophie had always remained unaffected and for that Ellie had been thankful.

  "The first time he met you, he was so scared, you'd think he had been sentenced to the electric chair or something. But I think he was happy to have met you."

  "So why'd he leave us?"

  And wasn't that the question of the century?

  "I think…we grew apart." A diplomatic answer as any. No need to delve any deeper. The point of resurrecting the memories of Nicholas was to give Sophie closure. Give her a way to move on from the tightly leashed fixation she had over a man who she believed was the father who would eventually come back and give them a happy ending. And as much as Ellie hated destroying her daughter's hopes and dreams of an eventual reunion, Sophie was going to have to face reality and realize that there would be no happy reunion in their future.

  Ellie had Devlin and Devlin did everything in his power to make them happy. He put his family first above all other things and soon that family would include Ellie and her children.

  Nicholas had been her past. Hectic, wild, and unpredictable but Devlin represented her future. Safe, secure, and happy. She and Nicholas had created Isabella and Dylan during their last month together, the best gifts any parents would be proud to call their own, and with Devlin they would be guaranteed a serene familial environment in which they would grow and be loved by two stable, loving and happily married parents.

  "Did you love each other, Mom?"

  "Yes, but it wasn’t enough." They'd been children dabbling with things they believed they'd understood. They’d been up in the notion of being in love with love and the consuming passion that had come with it. It swept them both off their feet and left them to free-fall to the hard terrain with nothing to break their fall but the harsh truth that love did not conquer all.

  "Do…do you love him still?"

  Ellie sighed, tired of this conversation. Even thousands of miles away, with the gap of years between them, Nicholas still managed to have devastating effects on Ellie's equilibrium. She grounded her feet, moved forward so that Sophie stood and turned her around. "I love Devlin, Soph. I've loved him for the past three years now and I want to marry him. He's a good man and he'll be an even greater father to you, Bella and Dylan. If I didn't think that he was right for this family, I would never have stayed with him for as long as I have."

  Sophie was shocked at the sudden tears brimming in her mother's eyes.

  "Mom...Mom, don't cry," she cupped her mother's face in her smaller hands and thumbed her tears away, then bumped their foreheads together. "I'm sorry for pushing. I...I promise not to do it anymore. I won't talk back to you, I'll listen. I promise to be happy if you want to marry, Devlin. I won't bring Nicholas up anymore
.” Even in her attempt to comfort her mother, Sophie's tears fell hot and wet down her cheeks.

  Ellie wiped at her cheeks feeling silly for crying. She hadn't meant for the tears to pour and she certainly hadn't intended to wheedle promises out of her child just to make her stop crying! For heaven sakes she was a grown woman!

  "Listen, Sophie," She pulled her into a hug. "I don't want you to promise me anything. I just want for all of us to be happy. Like I keep telling you guys, you are the best things in my life. Having you, your brother and you sister is the greatest of joys and I would never ever trade it for anything. We're a family, we've been there for each other and we've helped each other grow and now I think it's time to grow even bigger with Devlin and Roan." Dropping a lingering kiss on Sophie's cheek, Ellie smiled reassuringly at her daughter. "This is going to be good for all of us, you'll see. Just give it a chance, yeah?"

  "Yeah." Sophie smiled halfheartedly back as she took her mother's hand, nodding at the offer of chocolate pancakes and putting her thoughts on the back burner for now. There would be plenty of time later to figure out how she was going to play 'Parent Trap'.

  Chapter 5

  Sundays were family days in the Akers home, when Gabe and Ronnie could devote time to each other and their children. The grand opening of Eos last November had forced Ronnie to seek out her then elusive husband and force him into a pact in which Gabe promised that no matter how busy he got, weekends, Sundays especially would be reserved for his family. Restaurant business could be handled by the very expansive manager he'd hired. It'd taken Ronnie almost leaving with the children for Gabe to realize that no business was worth his family.

  The pact had been made and sealed over lingering kisses and tangled sheets. Ronnie forgave Gabe his negligence and had gained an even more devoted husband and father for her children. Watching him now, tossing his daughter in the air and catching her in a flurry of white and pink polka dotted clothes and joyful giggles, Ronnie had to smile at how lucky she was. She had a wonderful family, a very loving husband and a beautiful home that she enjoyed taking care of on a daily basis. Every day she counted her blessings, thanked God, and lived every moment appreciating all that she had. There were only a rare few who could honestly comprehend what she and Gabe shared while the rest yearned for it.

  "Careful babe, you might blow a fuse if you think so hard." Gabe teased as he leaned over and planted a wet kiss on Ronnie's cheek.

  Sabrina giggled and slapped a hand on Gabe's head. "Oh yeah, defending your Mommy against me? We shall see about that, my little butterball!" Gabe's hands became a battalion of tickling fingers waging war on his daughter's stomach. She laughed a storm, her face turning such an awful shade of pink that Ronnie had to jump to her rescue.

  Ronnie grabbed Sabrina from Gabe's hands and hugged her, then stuck her tongue out at her husband. Not one to stand there and be mocked, Gabe put on his most threatening face, shrugged up the sleeves of his shirt and prepared to do some serious damage.

  Ronnie's eyes widened upon realization and slowly she backed away with Sabrina in her arms. She tried to warn off her advancing husband. "Gabe stop, I was just playing…"

  "You should run."

  Smile unable to leave her lips, Ronnie continued to back away, not knowing whether to laugh, flee or surrender. "Gabe…I have, Rina."

  Gabe shrugged as he glared at his wide-eyed daughter. "Oh don't you worry, the little butterball will get hers too."

  "Gabe!" Ronnie fled the minute Gabe lunged for them, her and her daughter's laughter ringing throughout the first floor of their two-story home. Gabe chased them through the living room, across the dining room where Liam was teaching Eric how to play a new game. The two boys looked up as their parents came storming in, with Ronnie taking coverage behind their chairs.

  "Dad, what's going on?" Eric asked, rising excitedly to his knees on the chair he watched his Dad's face, which was red from all the running.

  "Your Dad is being a bully and won't leave us alone," Ronnie met Gabe's dancing eyes as he tried to maneuver around the table and chairs. "I think we should gang up on him and teach him a lesson," her eyes fell back to Eric's grinning face. "What do you think?"

  "Yeah I wanna be on Dad's team!" Liam descended from his seat, video game forgotten on the table, he ran to his father's side.

  "Come on, Mom," Eric jumped from his seat, excitement causing him to grab Ronnie's hand and pull. "Let's go and find something to get them with." Ronnie was led out of the room and couldn't help but make another face at her husband, who looked like he was ready to tackle her to the ground.

  When involving the kids, things are always bound to get a little messy, proven parental fact #56. Ronnie and Gabe knew this, but honestly they didn't care, because no matter how messy the situation, the only thing that mattered was that they were having a great deal of fun with their children. So instead of it being three kids and two adults chasing each other around the house, there were three children and two very big kids representing Mom and Dad who wielded their respective water guns. The teams where slightly unfair and maybe that was the reason why Gabe and Liam were soaking wet from head to toe, while Ronnie, Eric and Sabrina remained dry. They aimed their cocked water guns at their opponents.

  "Surrender?" Eric asked as he pointed his gun at his brother.

  Liam pouted as he looked up at his father. "Dad?"

  "Son, it is a known fact that we Akers men never, ever surrender in the heat of battle. We live strong, we love long and we die fighting!" Gabe's short speech was followed by gladiator cry as he and his eldest son trudged forward, rushing his wife, Eric and Sabrina. Their water guns squirted as they tackled their opponents to the ground.

  On their backs and now just as wet as their adversaries, Ronnie and Eric reluctantly conceded defeat. "You fought a brave battle, but the victory is ours." Gabe announced as he sat astride Ronnie's hips, a happy and wet Sabrina in his arms. He placed a kiss on the side of her mouth before turning laughing eyes to Ronnie. "And as my prize I demand a kiss."

  "Anything the brave knight wishes." Ronnie replied. Keeping her eyes on Gabe's descending face, she reached for his abandoned water gun and moments before Gabe's lips met her own, Ronnie brought the gun to up and squirted water in her husband's face.

  Eric rolled over with laughter. "Good one, Mom!"

  "Daaaad you're not supposed to kiss the enemy!" Liam whined in exasperation.

  They all turned their heads at the sound of the doorbell. "I'll remember that next time." he stole a kiss anyway before sitting up and relinquishing a squirming Sabrina to Ronnie. "I'll see who it is."

  "Alright my little ducklings, time to get cleaned up and maybe if you're good I can convince your dad to take us to Coopers." Coopers was a relatively new Pizza and arcade restaurant located downtown. They catered to the fickle pallets of toddlers and preteens alike.

  "Yes Coopers! Can we get a triple cheese pizza, Mom? And play in the arcade? Can we Mom? Can we?"

  "Like I said we'll go and do all those things only if you're good, now let's go upstairs and all get cleaned up."

  Gabe listened to the retreating footsteps of his family, before walking to the door.

  "Hi Gabe…what the heck happened to you?" Elle greeted taking in Gabe's damp attire.

  "Ronnie and Eric happened. Hey little squirts, give your uncle Gabe a hug." Gabe teased and laughed when Isabella and Dylan dodged his advances.

  "No way!" They chorused, dodging his advances.

  Ellie stepped into her godfather's home and closed the door, her children not too far behind her.

  "Where's Soph?"

  "Devlin took her out for the day, something about bonding."

  "How'd you manage to pull that?"

  Ellie shrugged, refusing the offer of a beverage she flopped down on Gabe's LazyBoy. "I didn't pull anything. It was surprisingly Soph's idea. Believe me Dev and I were just as shocked as you are. But I'm glad she made the offer."

  "That girl of yours surprises the hec
k out of me every day. But you're right; it's good that she came up with the idea, shows that she's growing."

  "Or that she's up to something."

  "Uncle Gabe, where are Liam and Eric?" Dylan asked, his patience having worn thin three minutes ago.

  "Upstairs, you can go up if you want and while you up there can you ask your Aunt Ron to bring me a shirt when she comes down?"

  "Sure!" Dylan jumped to action, ready to run his way up the stairs and find his best friends.

  "Wait for me I want to come too!" Bella stood from her seat next to her mother and ran after her disappearing twin.

  "So, what makes you think Sophie's up to anything?"

  Ellie shrugged again. "Just a feeling." Ellie wasn't stupid enough to believe that their little talk this morning had taken effect so quickly. Sure, her daughter could be trying to appease her by trying extra hard in liking Devlin, but again, Ellie wasn't born yesterday. Someone who'd been obsessed with something as long as Sophie’s been obsessed over Nicholas did not simply abandon their ideas for new ones.

  "Do you want me to talk to her?"

  "No," with a small sigh Ellie's shoulders hunched forward and she began to fidget. "I actually came over to tell you guys something."

  Gabe frowned, taking in Ellie's demeanor, worry instantly overcame him. "Are you alright? What's going on?"

  "Oh, Ellie what a nice surprise." A freshly clothed Ronnie entered the room and handed Gabe a clean shirt. "What's going on?" her smile disappeared she looked between Gabe and a fidgeting Ellie. "Gabe?"

  "I don't know, Ellie said she had something she wanted to tell us."

  "Ellie?" Ronnie implored.

  Suddenly nervous Ellie rubbed her clammy hands along her jeans before giving both her guardians a wide smile. "Devlin proposed." She raised her hand and flashed the ring.

  Ronnie’s reaction was instantaneous as she assailed Ellie with a congratulatory hug and questions that Ellie had barely enough time to answer.