Chapter 36: Waiting for Gideon

ALICE

Staring at the clock told me exactly how slowly the time was moving. I wished Gideon would hurry up and come back so we could leave, but it looked as if Gideon had no intention of coming back quickly.

And I didn’t want to stay here any longer.

Breakfast went all right, surprisingly. Elizabeth didn’t make me feel like an outcast. She was actually very nice to me.

She tried to make small talk, but I was too nervous to really get the conversation going, which was stupid of me, as she might be thinking of me as cold-hearted or awkward. But she made me so nervous.

Elizabeth was Gideon’s best friend, and I needed her to like me, but the way things were going, I doubted that was going to happen any time soon.

After breakfast, Gideon told me he had to go take care of some things and get a cleaning crew over to the new house, which we would be living in.

He said he would be back in three hours, and now it had been five hours with no sign of Gideon.

I tried helping Elizabeth with chores, as I didn’t want to seem like one of those guests who only sat in the living room or trashed the house and didn’t help.

But just like earlier, Elizabeth told me to sit back and relax, because she wanted her nephew to be comfortable. She eyed my bulging stomach as she said that. Great, even Elizabeth believed that my baby was a boy.

So now I had no choice but to sit in my room and stare at the bloody clock. I had nothing to do, and it was driving me crazy. I wished Gideon would hurry up and come back so we could go to our new house.

There, at least, I would have something to do. I eyed the clock, only to see the minute hand had now moved to four from two. Great, only ten minutes had passed. Sighing, I sat back and closed my eyes.

My eyes opened when the door of the bedroom opened and a boy of about eight entered. He had blond hair and jade-green eyes. He looked like a mini version of Henry. Was this Elizabeth’s oldest child?

The boy strode over to my side of the bed and stopped as soon as his waist touched the mattress. The kid blinked a few times, eyeing me curiously but didn’t say anything. Not knowing what to do, all I did was smile.

Maybe if he saw me smiling, he wouldn’t be scared of me.

“Who are you? Where is Uncle Gideon?” the kid asked, turning his head to the left, as if willing Gideon to emerge from the bathroom.

“Uncle Gideon has gone to do some work,” I answered.

“When will he be back?” he questioned.

“I don’t know, but soon,” I replied.

“Who are you?”

“Umm… I’m…” What was I supposed to tell the kid? That I was his aunt? Was I even allowed to be his aunt?

“Are you Mum’s friend?” he enquired, his green gaze not leaving my face.

“Uhh… I…” This was getting awkward.

The boy shook his head before I could say a word. “No. You can’t be Mum’s friend. I know who you are, but Mummy says you only exist in stories,” he uttered.

I frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“You are a fairy, right? Uncle Gideon told me he has a fairy in his house,” the kid told me.

“A fairy?” What was this kid talking about? What had Gideon told him? And why had Elizabeth told him that I exist in stories?

The kid nodded. “Yes, you are the fairy. Uncle Gideon told me he has a fairy. Can you grant me three wishes?” He climbed onto the bed and sat on his knees in front of me.

“Three wishes?” Wasn’t the genie supposed to grant wishes?

“Yes. Please. I promise I’ll be a good boy this year,” he said. Great, now he was thinking I was Santa Claus.

Before I could get any more uncomfortable, Elizabeth entered the room, her motherly face in place.

“Sam Harold Whitmore! What are you doing here, and why are you still not dressed?!” Elizabeth said sternly, causing the kid’s eyes to widen.

“Mum. Look.” He pointed at me. “Uncle Gideon brought his fairy here. You said fairies only exist in stories, but this fairy is real. I’m asking if she will grant me three wishes,” Sam explained.

Elizabeth’s jaw dropped a little before she recovered. “Sam, I want you to go and put on fresh clothes. Now.” She pointed in the direction of the door.

“But my wishes,” Sam whined.

“You can make your wishes once you’re dressed. Quick. Otherwise the fairy will go away,” Elizabeth said to her son, who scrambled off the bed.

“Okay. I’ll go get dressed. Please, fairy miss, don’t go. I’ll be right back.” Without looking back, Sam dashed out of the bedroom, leaving me bewildered.

Once Sam was gone, Elizabeth turned to me. “I’m so sorry, Alice. I had no idea he would get out of bed and come straight here,” she said, looking apologetic.

“It’s all right. He came looking for Gideon. I told him Gideon wasn’t here,” I responded.

“Yeah. He’s in love with Gideon. If Gideon doesn’t come to visit him, he thinks Gideon doesn’t love him and has abandoned him.” She chuckled.

“I see.”

“And now I think Sam might be in love with you,” she remarked.

I frowned. “Why would you say that?” I inquired.

“Because, according to Sam, you are a fairy who is going to grant him his three wishes,” she answered, an amused smile on her face.

“But I’m not a fairy. And I can’t grant any wishes.” I had Gideon, who fulfilled my every wish and desire. Without him, I could barely pay for a one-time meal.

“Oh, Sam begs to differ. He is going to come back to you in a little while and will tell you his three wishes,” she replied.

“But…but I can’t grant him his wishes. He will be so disappointed …” Guilt stabbed me at the thought of seeing Sam sad.

Elizabeth chuckled before sitting on the bed. “Don’t worry about Sam’s wishes, Alice. The most he’s going to wish for will be an action figure or a PlayStation game,” she stated.

“Yeah, but…”

“Hey. Don’t worry about it. I’ll let Gideon know what his nephew wants, and he’ll grant his wish.”

“But Sam wants ~me~ to grant his wish,” I pointed out.

“Oh, don’t worry. Gideon will get the stuff; we’ll just tell him it’s from you.” And she winked at me. The gesture reminded me so much of Gideon that I missed him right then. ~Oh Gideon, where are you?~

“Thank you. But you don’t have to do that. What is taking Gideon so long?”

“Why are you so worried about him getting back?” Elizabeth queried.

“I miss him. And we have to go. Gideon said the new house will be clean by 2 p.m.,” I informed her.

Elizabeth gave me another amused smile. “He didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?” I asked.

“That you guys aren’t leaving,” she told me.

“What do you mean?” I questioned further.

“I don’t want you guys to go so soon. So I told Gideon that he better not leave my house for the next two weeks, and I haven’t given him the right to say no to me. Being an older sister has its perks.” She laughed.

“Why would you do that?” I asked, flabbergasted.

“Do what?”

“You know, want us to stay… I mean, Gideon is your brother, I get that, but…” How could I say she wanted me and Nico gone without sounding like a presumptuous bitch?

“Are you kidding me? Why would I want you guys to leave? You just got here! And do you have any idea how long I had to wait to finally meet you? Gideon told me all about you over the phone, but now I finally get to meet you, and I want to get to know you more. So you’re staying here for two weeks,” she stated, making my eyes go wide.

She likes me! She actually likes me!

“Are you sure about this?” I gave her a skeptical look.

“Of course. Maybe tomorrow I’ll take you shopping. Have you started shopping for the baby?”

“Not yet. Gideon and I bought a little stuff, but not much. Never really got the time,” I told her.

“Perfect. We’ll go tomorrow then. Have you thought of any names for my nephew?” she queried.

“You know, the baby could be a girl as well,” I stated.

“It’s not, trust me.”

“It can be. Gideon doesn’t believe me either,” I said.

“Well, it’s a boy. The Maslow family has a curse,” she replied.

“But your mother broke the curse.”

“Yeah, and she was the first out of sixty-five women to have a girl as the first baby. Generations have passed without a girl being the firstborn,” she responded.

“Maybe I can break the curse as well.”

“Yeah. Keep believing that. Who knows, it might come true.” Elizabeth patted my shoulder lightly.

I wanted to change the topic and talk about something else, but a nagging thought wouldn’t let me. And so, finally, I asked what I really wanted to ask her.

“Elizabeth?”

“You can call me Lizzy.”

“Thank you. Umm, can I ask you something, if you don’t mind?”

“Shoot.”

“Did you not like me when you met me?” I had no idea if she understood my question or not.

“You mean, if I liked you at first or not?”

“Yeah…I think.” God, I was an idiot.

“Alice, I’ve liked you since the moment Gideon called me and told me he was going to marry you.”

“But…earlier…you seemed a little—”

“Cold? Aloof? Closed off?”

“Yes.” I blushed in embarrassment.

“Yeah, I was just testing you…sizing you up. Don’t tell anyone this, but I like to intimidate people a little when I first meet them. It’s a tactic I use. And I’ll be doing the same with Jenny once she gets here.”

“Jenny’s coming here?” I asked, my eyes wide.

“Yeah. Kieran will bring her here in a few hours. Don’t tell her I’m testing her. Pretend you’re oblivious.” She winked again, her playful attitude helping me relax.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” Elizabeth queried.

“Everything. For accepting me. For giving us a place to live. You have no idea how much you’ve helped us.” I wished I could repay Elizabeth somehow.

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m glad you guys are here.” She gave me a smile.

“I do. I wish there was some way I could repay you.”

“You want to repay me? Keep Gideon happy…forever. That’s all I want,” Elizabeth said.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I love Gideon, and I’ll do everything in my power to keep him happy,” I promised.

“I love you too, little bird.” Gideon strode forward and sat on the bed beside me, pulling me to him.

“Where have you been? I was waiting for you.” I eyed Gideon with disapproval.

“I got held up. In two days, you are going to get a surprise,” Gideon whispered, kissing me below the ear.

“What surprise?” I questioned.

“Patience, little fairy.” He kissed my forehead.

“No. Tell me now!” I demanded.

“No. Be patient.” He turned to face his sister.

“Where is Henry?” he asked Elizabeth.

“Work.”

“Where is Kieran?” Gideon inquired, his hand tangling in my hair.

“Gone to get Jenny,” she answered.

“Did you talk some sense into him?”

“I tried. But he is not listening. I keep telling him he has plenty of time to marry Jenny, but he wants to marry her right now,” she told Gideon.

“I’m afraid he’s going to scare her,” Gideon said.

“Wait. Kieran wants to marry Jenny? Right now?” Wow, these men didn’t know the meaning of patience.

Elizabeth nodded. “Yes. That’s why he went to get her.”

“But isn’t that too soon?”

“No!”

“Yes!”

Elizabeth and Gideon said at the same time. I eyed Gideon then Elizabeth. “Why is it not too soon?” I asked Gideon.

“Come on, Alice. Gideon is a guy; it doesn’t matter to him. But a sudden marriage for a woman, that’s difficult, not to mention scary.” Elizabeth shuddered.

“So you were scared when you got married?” I questioned her.

She let out an awkward laugh. “That’s a story for another time. Anyway, we are not talking about me. We are talking about Kieran.”

“I’ll try and talk to him again. I hope he doesn’t try and kill me when I tell him I couldn’t get a priest for him and Jenny,” Gideon muttered.

“You mean he wants to get married right now?” Now I was shocked.

“Yes. But we are trying to prevent that from happening.” Elizabeth chuckled.

“And we are not succeeding,” Gideon grumbled.

“Should I talk to him?” I offered.

Just then, the sound of the front door slamming shut reverberated throughout the house. And then we heard the distinct voices of Kieran and Jenny.

“Kieran. What is this place? Where are you taking me? Kieran, stop!”

“Shit! I need to deal with this.” Gideon got up from the bed.

“Let me come with you.” I tried getting up, but Gideon stopped me.

“No. I want you to rest. I’ll go handle Kieran. God knows what temperament he’ll be in,” Gideon muttered before jogging out of the room.

“Aren’t you going to do anything?” I asked Elizabeth.

“Nope. There is nothing I can do. Kieran wants to marry Jenny, and he’s not going to stop until he slips the wedding band on her finger. The most Gideon can do is postpone the marriage for two days max,” she answered.

“Why are all these men like that?” I inquired.

“It’s a Maslow thing. The men are insanely possessive about their women. Sometimes I think these men were born in the wrong time, because they act more like cavemen rather than civilized human beings,” she stated.

“Will Jenny be okay?” I was worried about her; she looked so fragile.

“She has no choice. She has to be.” Elizabeth stood up. “I have to go check on the kids. I’ll see you later. Try and relax.” With another smile, she strode out of the room, leaving me with my own thoughts.

Oh God. These Maslows and their unique blood.