Someday Soon, With You

Chapter 15

Mira

Mira woke up five minutes after six. She slept in, again. She took her towel and went straight to the bathroom. She took a bath for only fifteen minutes and then started to put her uniform.

“You’re up early” it was Archi entering the room. He already has taken his bath and wearing his uniform. He sat on the bed and watched her change her clothes.

She rolled her eyes and continued putting her clothes on. “You didn’t wake me up” she complained.

“Love, it’s just six. We still have time for breakfast. Besides, I am driving you to the office” he explained. She didn’t respond and continued drying her hair with the towel. He walked towards her and hugged her from behind, “woke up from the wrong side of the bed again?” he asked. “I’ve bought you donuts last night; we can have coffee this morning” she nodded and he kissed her shoulder after. “I’ll make our coffee” he said and went out of the room.

She saw Archi making coffee in the kitchen after he walked out of the room; she walked closer to him and kissed him.

“Why are you so moody these days?” he asked. “Are you carrying my child?” he joked. She shook her head and smiled. He pulled her closer and kissed her head.

Why are we not talking about the fact that Aro is back? She thought. “I thought you told me not to eat too much sweet foods?” she asked.

“I’d like to spoil you from time to time” he answered. “I haven’t given you the bag and the shirt I bought. We have a matching set” he excitedly said.

“You’re very energetic this morning” she commented.

“And you seem to lack energy this morning, is everything alright, love?” he asked. She nodded, “do you want to skip practice later? We can just stay here so you can rest. Maybe it’s a girl thing” he said smiling.

“No, we can go later” she said.

After they ate their breakfast, Archi drove her to the office. The day went by so fast.

After office hours, Archi waited for her in front of the building. They drove to the complex they’re practicing. After Harold and Mathew heard about Aro’s return, they look very emotional at first with their hugs, but after a while the two started to tease Aro. Aro went to the team’s practice almost every other day for two weeks. But that week, he only went on Monday and then Friday next, he brought Kathara with him. She often heard Mathew and Harold talk so sweetly to Kathara. She never heard them talk like that, but she guessed a child would always be an exception.

“Hi Andrei” she greeted.

“Hi” Andrei greeted back. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Of course. Why do you ask?” she asked. And then she felt someone sat beside her. It’s TJ. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she furrowed her eyebrows.

“Like what?” TJ asked back. She knows he knows what she’s talking about. “See? This is how it feels whenever you ask me about my mystery girl” TJ sounding so vindictive.

“Your mystery girl? Isn’t she a mystery girl because she’s not yours?” she snapped at TJ.

TJ and Andrei got silent at her remarks, their eyes widened as they look at each other and burst into laughter. “Why are you snapping at me?” he asked. “Does Archi know you talk like this?” he looks so amused. She rolled her eyes. “In any case, I am so honored to be the only one you can talk to like that” he said with a slight bow.

She sighed. TJ and his sassy remarks. “How are you? Why are you gone so long?” she calmly asked Andrei. She needs to compose herself.

“Uh-oh, make sure you tell her you didn’t do alcohol or drugs while you’re gone” TJ said starting to stand up. He picked a ball and went with their other team mates to play.

“I’m okay. It’s just my brother. He started to train me, so there’s someone to take his place when he decided retire” he explained.

“Retire? How old is he?” she asked.

“Too young. I guess there’s this girl he wants to live with. But it’s complicated, both with our families” he continued.

“Complicated? How?” she continued interrogating him. He stared at her for a while and them stopped him from answering, “never mind” she said. “Will you teach me some setting techniques? Yuan told me your team was a powerhouse and you were the setter” she requested.

“Sure, I guess” they both stood up and he picked a ball from the floor. They started walking to the edge of the gym where they put their bags. “You can start practicing using a wall. Being a setter means always being sure that the ball will always fall in your hand. No matter how cool a spiker looks from an audience’s point of view, it’s always a setter who touch the ball most in the game. When you're not confident, or unsure, your spikers may not get it they way they want it” he started with his lessons.

Mira intently listens. He never knew Andrei could be so articulate.

“This is how you position your hand” he showed her the positions and how the palm should look like. “The setter is the brain of the team” he continued.

“I never thought of it that way” she commented.

“Yeah, the spiker usually is the main character but the decisions always fall to the setter. He decides who will be the decoy, who will spike, what side of the net the ball will go through” he sounds so proud.

She started throwing the ball to the wall and setting it back and forth as Andrei instructed her when she saw Kathara doing the same thing. She smiled. “Hi, Kathara” she greeted.

The little girl stopped setting the ball and looked at her sheepishly. “Hi” she whispered. Greeting her back. She looked around and she saw Archi, Aro, Harold and Mathew talking and laughing almost in the middle of the gym. She smiled. They looked like they’re having fun. “I like your clothes, it’s very beautiful” she told her.

Kathara’s eyes shined, “My daddy and I bought it!” she shouted.

The shout surprised her, but she laughed at how the little girl proudly said it. “You’re very energetic” she sat in front of her. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” she tried asking. Little girls her age normally don’t know yet what they want to become, but still, she wanted to try asking her. Her eyes are wide, full attention to her. Mira prepared herself, she knows Kathara will shout again.

“I want to be a mermaid!” she shouted. Mira laughed hard. She knew she will shout. And it’s so cute. Kathara watched her laughing still eyes in full attention.

“What are you talking about?” it was Aro walking towards them. As soon as Kathara saw Aro, she ran to him and had him carry her and hugged him. She saw the little girl whispered something to Aro and continued hugging him after.

Aro looked at him smiling a bit, “Tita Mira, Ara’s asking why you’re laughing at her dream. She told me she’s very hurt” Aro told her trying to comfort her.

“Oh! No! I’m sorry baby, I’m not laughing at your dream” she tried to explain, softly rubbing her back. She’s not looking back at her. “I was laughing because you shouted. It was funny. I know you’ll make a very beautiful mermaid princess” she continued.

Ara slowly looked at Aro, then to her and back at Aro. “See? Tita Mira thinks you’ll be a pretty mermaid” Aro told her. She nodded and finally looked at her. They sat and leaning on the wall, Aro started to wipe Ara’s face and back with a small towel.

“Daddy, I want to play more” she told him.

“Okay, don’t run too far” he told her. She nodded and ran towards Archi, Harold and Mathew who then adjusted their plays to suit Ara. “Mira” he started. “I never get to congratulate you and Alpha, congratulations” he told her.

“Thank you, Aro” she replied. “Your daughter is very beautiful” she told him.

“Well, what can you expect? With this face─” then he stopped. He thought what he was about to say and realized that they were not that close yet. He laughed, “I’m sorry, yes she is beautiful. I think she took after her mother, Michaella’s very beautiful” he said.

She laughed at him. She knows he was about to compliment himself. “Well, you are good looking yourself” she started. “You’re totally gorgeous” she continued.

“I know right! Ha-ha!” he joked. “I mean, thank you” he said with a wide smile.

She laughed. He’s really used to people telling him he’s good-looking. “You know, I also believe that mermaids exist” she told him.

His eyes suddenly light up, “Right?! I think so too! You know, mermaids are just creatures we, humans, don’t understand yet. They are just species we rarely see but I really think they’re somewhere out there” he said quickly.

“I know, I mean, how can different countries, with no means of communication back then can have similar descriptions about them, right?” she replied.

“Right?! But they don’t show themselves often, nowadays. They were mentioned in Christopher Columbus' diary. Did you know?” he asked.

“Yes, I read about it but some scientists say it must just be dugongs” she said referring to Columbus' diary. “Maybe they don't show themselves because humans are already progressing. Can you see how fast our technology is developing? Maybe they’re scared. Just imagine if we caught one today, what will they do to her? They would examine her body, how she breaths, how they reproduce” she told him.

“She’ll be dissected” he added. She nodded. It’s so interesting talking to him. “Maybe that’s why they went to hiding”

“Hey” it was Archi suddenly coming towards them. He is carrying Ara. “She’s tired” after he gave Ara to Aro, Archi sat next to her. She’s sitting between him and Aro. “Do we still have water, love?” he asked her.

“Yes” she took one of the water bottles in her bag and gave it to Archi. She’s used to him calling her love, but calling her love in front of Aro makes her feel awkward.

“Daddy” it was Ara.

“Didn’t I tell you not to go with any boys except daddy?” it was Aro talking to her daughter. She finds it really adorable when he talks to her. Ara looked at him then nodded. She saw him smile at the little girl.

“Can you wipe my back?” it was Archi.

She’s not sure if he’s just really irritated with his sweat, or he’s starting to be a little needy. She wiped his back and his neck. She saw his hair also wet with sweat and wiped it too.

“Guys I think we have to go ahead, this girl’s so tired she’s not even talking” said Aro slightly laughing.

“Bye Aro” she said while wiping Archi’s hair.

“Bye Mira, Alpha” he answered. He took his bag and carried in her right shoulder. Ara is leaning her head in his left shoulder. “Guys! You go to my place on Saturday; Mom’s going to cook lunch for us” he said as he walked down the stairs.

“Oh! Free food!” it was Yuan with sparkles in his eyes.

She stood up to wipe Archi’s hair better. He suddenly wrapped his arms in her waist and stared at her. “What?” she asked.

“I saw you looking at Aro” he started.

“And?” she asked.

“Well, he’s good looking. Was your crush for him came back?” he asked.

“No. He sure is good looking, but no” he answered.

“Hmm, okay” he answered.

“Let’s go home” she told him. “I want to sleep” she said as she hanged the towel in his shoulder.

He nodded and took his hands off her waist. “What about dinner?” he asked.

“I don’t want dinner. I just want to sleep” she answered.

“What? No way! You’re not going to bed without dinner” he stood up and took their bags and held her hand. “What do you want for dinner?” he asked again.

“I want donuts and pizza. I want fried chicken and potatoes” she answered.

“Carbs” he replied.

“Otherwise I don’t want to eat dinner” she added. He looked at her and then shook his head three times. “Alright! Just choose whatever you want for dinner” she said trying to sound indifferent.

“That’s so unfair if you put it that way” he complained as they walked down the stairs. “Guys, we’re going ahead now” he yelled to the boys. They also started to pack their things up. “So, are we going to eat out or we’re taking out foods?” he asked.

“You mean you’re fine with the foods I crave?” she asked back.

“Well, yes. Better than not having your dinner” he replied.

“You’re surprisingly agreeable these days” she commented while they were walking to the parking lot.

“You seemed down these days” he answered. “Is something wrong, love?” he asked as he assisted her climbing his pick-up truck. She’s sitting sideways facing Archi. He pulled her waist closer and touched her cheek. “Are you okay, we can go see someone, a doctor maybe, if you don’t feel well” he said.

Mira thought about how she behaved for the past few days. She’s been overthinking about all the text messages of Archi during Aro’s absence, her promise to let him go. She didn’t realize she’s making Archi worry. “I’m sorry, Archi. I just,” she paused and felt a lump in her throat. She stared at him and continued, “just,” then she felt her eyes water and somehow, she couldn’t continue. She sobbed while Archi wiped her tears and rubbed her back. She could even hear him say, it’s okay, in between her sobs. When she finally calmed down, she told him, “Can we talk about this at home?”

“Yes, love. Of course, we can” he softly said. He kissed her lips and then the space between her eyes before going to the driver’s seat. “Let’s go home?” he asked.

“No! What about dinner?” she yelled.

“Oh, yes. Ha-ha! Dinner, sorry” he laughed apologizing. They went to a fast-food restaurant before they went home.